Xiaomi 18 Ultra Launch Timeline Tipped: Could Debut Earlier With Return to Quad-Camera Setup

A new leak suggests Xiaomi may already be working on its next Ultra flagship, the Xiaomi 18 Ultra. According to information shared by tipster Smart Pikachu, the company could stick with the same release pattern it used for the Xiaomi 17 Ultra.

Instead of launching early in the year like older Ultra models, the Xiaomi 18 Ultra may arrive in China toward the end of the year, possibly around December.

Xiaomi May Bring Back A Quad-Camera Setup

The biggest change being discussed right now is the camera system.

The leak suggests Xiaomi is testing a quad-camera setup for the Xiaomi 18 Ultra. That would be a shift from the Xiaomi 17 Ultra, which moved away from a traditional four-camera layout and introduced a mechanical zoom solution instead.

If Xiaomi does return to four cameras, the goal could be to offer more focal length options and improve overall shooting flexibility.

This wouldn’t be entirely new for the brand. Before the Xiaomi 17 Ultra switched to a triple-camera design, Xiaomi used a quad-camera system on the Xiaomi 15 Ultra. That phone included a 50MP main camera, a 50MP telephoto lens, a 200MP periscope telephoto sensor, and a 50MP ultrawide camera.

If Xiaomi doesn’t introduce a completely new camera concept this year, a similar approach could return on the Xiaomi 18 Ultra.

A Quick Look At The Xiaomi 17 Ultra

To understand where Xiaomi might be heading, it helps to look at the Xiaomi 17 Ultra that launched in China in December.

The phone features a 6.9-inch 2K LTPO OLED display with a variable refresh rate from 1Hz to 120Hz. It runs on the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 processor and offers configurations with up to 16GB RAM and up to 1TB storage.

It also carries a 6,000mAh silicon-carbon battery with support for 90W wired charging and 50W wireless charging. The device comes with an IP68 rating for dust and water resistance.

On the camera side, the Xiaomi 17 Ultra includes a 50MP main camera with a 1-inch sensor, a 50MP ultrawide camera, and a 200MP telephoto sensor paired with a Leica APO zoom lens that offers continuous optical zoom from 3.2x to 4.3x.

Via