Xiaomi Leica partnership first phone is NOT Xiaomi 12 Ultra! Astonishing info LEAKS!

Xiaomi Leica partnership will not see a Xiaomi 12 Ultra happen this time. Leak suggest a Xiaomi 12S coming to the markets soon.

Xiaomi 12S Pro will flaunt the LEICA branding on its rear, not the rumoured Xiaomi 12 Ultra. (Image: Xiaomi 12 Pro) (Amritanshu / HT Tech)

Xiaomi and Leica announced earlier this week about their new joint venture, promising a new announcement in July. While both companies have kept mum on the product name, the world of leaks has given us an idea on what is coming towards us. And spoiler alert! It is NOT the Xiaomi 12 Ultra, the successor to last year's Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra. In fact, it will essentially be a beefed up variant of the Xiaomi 12 Pro we saw just a month ago. Have a look at all the details.

Based on a leaked post from a tipster on Weibo reported by GSMArena, Xiaomi is working on Xiaomi 12S and Xiaomi 12S Pro smartphones. The IMEI database has listed these phones for the Chinese market only for now but the company could be announcing these phones for global markets later this year. The leaked post also reveals the picture of the phone, showing us for the first time a Leica branded Xiaomi smartphone.

Xiaomi Leica partnership to spawn Xiaomi 12S series

The image shows this Xiaomi 12 Pro with a design that is largely unchanged from the Xiaomi 12 Pro. The camera hump design remains the same with its triple camera system but instead of the 50MP branding, there sits a LEICA sticker along with the lens specifications. Other than that, the phone also appears to be come in a new silver colour variant.

Xiaomi 12S Pro leaked with the Leica branding on its rear. (Weibo via GSMArena)

Xiaomi 12S Pro leaked with the Leica branding on its rear. (Weibo via GSMArena)

Sadly, we cannot see anymore of the Xiaomi 12S Pro as of now. However, given that launch is happening in July, Xiaomi could start teasing the phone in a month's time. The global launch of the phone could happen sometime in September, considering the usual gap between the China and global launches. Moreover, Xiaomi would like to use the Xiaomi 12S series for challenging the Apple iPone 14, especially with its Leica branded cameras.

What remains to be seen is whether the Leica partnership is just a mere sticker-job or will Xiaomi actually take any tuning inputs from Leica. Leica was previously associated with Huawei for its flagship P and Mate series devices. The venture was disrupted after the US-related issues for Huawei.

This will be an interesting development to see considering the Xiaomi 12 Pro has a good set of rear cameras. The Xiaomi 12 Pro launched in India recently with its triple 50MP camera system, which we found capable but not on the same level as the iPhone 13 and Samsung Galaxy S22.