Xiaomi 12 launch date could come before the end of the year

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Same as last year

Xiaomi Mi 11
(Image credit: Future)

You may have been breathing a sigh of relief, safe in the knowledge that all the big smartphone launches of 2021 were over and you could rest for a few months - but surprise! That might not be the case!

According to popular leaker Digital Chat Station, posting on Chinese social media platform Weibo, the Xiaomi 12 looks set to launch sometime in December, with specs that focus on the screen and camera, and a ceramic body.

That's not exactly a surprise, because the Xiaomi Mi 11 launched on December 28 2020. That was a China-only launch, and the phone got a worldwide release in February 2021, so we could see a similar pattern happen in 2022 for the 12-series phones.

This will be the first main-series Xiaomi phone to drop the 'Mi' in the name, though not the first device overall, after the Xiaomi 11T launched without it in September.

We'll need to wait for official confirmation from Xiaomi before we scribble out 'December' in our calendars and cancel our Christmas break plans, but given past performance we're inclined to believe Digital Chat Station.

Analysis: all quiet on the Xiaomi front

Usually when a phone is about to launch, we'll hear loads of leaks and rumors about it, with early ones starting months in advance. However for the Xiaomi 12, we're yet to hear much solid information about the device.

We've seen a few fan-made renders and images, but nothing solid in terms of design, and lots of the specs we've heard, like 192MP cameras or 200W charging, seem too far-fetched to be real.

So the Xiaomi 12 will be something of a mystery to us ahead of launch, unlike the Samsung Galaxy S22 expected in January or February, as it seems like we get a new leak for that device every day.

Whenever Xiaomi officially confirms a launch date for the Xiaomi 12, we'll report it to you, and we'll also tune into the event when it happens to bring you the lowdown of the device, and anything else that gets shown off.

Tom Bedford
Tom Bedford
Contributor

Tom Bedford was deputy phones editor on TechRadar until late 2022, having worked his way up from staff writer. Though he specialized in phones and tablets, he also took on other tech like electric scooters, smartwatches, fitness, mobile gaming and more. He is based in London, UK and now works for the entertainment site What To Watch.

He graduated in American Literature and Creative Writing from the University of East Anglia. Prior to working on TechRadar, he freelanced in tech, gaming and entertainment, and also spent many years working as a mixologist.