Xiaomi 12S could be the first smartphone from a brand with Leica branding

Xiaomi on Monday announced its partnership with German camera maker Leica. It was speculated that the Xiaomi 12 Ultra would be the first imaging flagship jointly developed by Xiaomi and Leica, with it expected to be officially unveiled in July this year. However, a new image has leaked online that reportedly belongs to the upcoming Xiaomi 12S, featuring Leica branding on the camera module. The image suggests that the Xiaomi 12S series could be the first smartphones from the Chinese manufacturer to get Leica camera technology.

A tipster appears to have leaked a message image on Weibo, which shows the alleged Xiaomi 12S with Leica branding on its camera module, as mentioned above. Moreover, Leica has previously worked with Huawei, Panasonic, and Sharp. Recently, Xiaomi announced its long-term strategic partnership with Leica to develop camera technologies for the company’s upcoming flagship smartphones.

Xiaomi 12S could be company’s first phone with Leica optics
Photo credit: Weibo

The Xiaomi 12S series is said to consist of two models: the Xiaomi 12S and 12S Pro. The smartphones are reportedly in development and are said to hit the market with smaller displays than other models in the Xiaomi 12 series.

Xiaomi 12S Series Specifications (Expected)

The Xiaomi 12S and 12S Pro are said to feature a full-HD+ flexible curved display with a centered single punch-hole and a 120Hz refresh rate. The phones in the series are also said to feature a 50-megapixel primary camera. The camera is said to come with a new hardware-level algorithm, which could be from the Leica partnership. The Xiaomi 12S series is said to feature the SM8475 processor, which is the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1+ SoC.

The upcoming Xiaomi 12S series was spotted on the IMEI database last month. The listing did not reveal much details about these smartphones. However, the Xiaomi 12S models are expected to come with slightly improved features over the standard models. The Xiaomi 12S and Xiaomi 12S Pro were spotted with model number 2206123SC and shortened model number L3S, and 2206122SC and shortened model number L2S, respectively. It was also speculated that the phones will be codenamed “diting” for Xiaomi 12S and “unicorn” for Xiaomi 12S Pro.