A fresh render leak from China claims to show the upcoming Xiaomi 18 flagship months before its expected September unveiling. While we're still several months away from launch, this early look suggests the company continues to draw design inspiration from Apple's premium devices.
iPhone 16 Pro Design Influence
The leaked render shows the Xiaomi 18 sporting a camera island that looks strikingly similar to the iPhone 16 Pro. The corner curvature appears nearly identical to Apple's 2024 flagship. Remove the Xiaomi and Leica branding, and most casual observers would struggle to tell the difference at first glance.
Of course, the Xiaomi implementation differs in size. The camera housing looks noticeably larger than Apple's, which makes sense given the Chinese manufacturer's reputation for pushing optical hardware boundaries.
Expected Camera and Display Specs
According to previous leaks, the Xiaomi 18 will feature a 6.4-inch OLED display paired with a versatile triple camera setup. The rear array includes a 50MP main sensor, a 50MP ultrawide, and a 200MP periscope telephoto camera. That periscope lens represents a significant jump from what most competitors offer in this size class.
Processor and Pro Model Strategy
Under the hood, the standard Xiaomi 18 will reportedly use Qualcomm's upcoming Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 SoC. Notably, Xiaomi won't use the 8 Elite Gen 6 Pro variant for this base model. According to previous reports, the Pro chipset will skip the standard Xiaomi 18 entirely due to its high cost.
Instead, Qualcomm's top-tier silicon will likely appear in the Xiaomi 18 Pro and Pro Max variants. This strategy mirrors how manufacturers tier their flagship lineups, offering premium processors only on the most expensive models.
With September still months away, these details could change. Xiaomi typically holds its flagship launches in the fall, giving the company plenty of time to adjust specifications and pricing before final release.
Source (in Chinese) | Via