Why it matters: With the new series, Xiaomi hoped to compete with rivals by offering high-quality smartphones at a competitive price. The company has focused the line on quality lenses and imaging capabilities.

Xiaomi’s new lineup is the first to use Qualcomm’s latest processor, making them potentially the fastest of all Android phones.

Details: The three models – Xiaomi 12S, 12S Pro and 12S Ultra – share the same processor, with minor differences in other specifications such as charging speed, cameras, display specifications and cooling system. The three models will be available on Wednesday exclusively in China, in two colors for the Ultra and four for the other two models, according to Android Authority.

The phone uses Qualcomm’s latest Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 processor. The Xiaomi 12S Pro’s theoretical performance outperforms all existing Android phones, scoring 1.1 million points on Antutu, a benchmarking app. The camera is an upgrade from the Xiaomi 12 series. Featuring Leica lenses, the series are the first Xiaomi phones since Xiaomi announced a long-term strategic partnership with Leica in May. The 12S series features Leica lenses and imaging profiles, while the Ultra edition comes with special camera lens materials, such as new materials and aspherical lenses, for better imaging quality. The Xiaomi 12S Ultra has three cameras from 13mm to 120mm. The Ultra model also adopts a relatively larger 1-inch CMOS imaging sensor – the Sony IMX989 – behind the main camera. Such a large sensor helps deliver better imaging performance, especially in low light. Other brands like Sony and Sharp have tried to adopt a large imaging sensor in smartphones, but both brands have relatively small smartphone shipments. The 12S series screen specifications follow industry standards and have fewer highlights. The Xiaomi 12S Pro and Ultra feature a 6.73-inch LTPO display with curved edge design, which supports adaptive refresh rate and 2k resolution. The display can also present content with a maximum brightness of up to 1,500 nits and a native color depth of 10-bit, providing a rich color range and smooth transition, which the brand says guarantees an HDR entertainment experience. For battery and charging, the Xiaomi 12S Ultra will be the first model equipped with the new Xiaomi Surge G1 battery management chipset. It has a large 4860mAh battery, but its charging speed is 44% slower than the Xiaomi 12S Pro’s 100W fast charge. All three models support 50W wireless charging and 10W reverse charging.

Context: Chinese phone makers have often relied on partnerships with notable camera or lens makers to broaden their reach. Huawei has previously partnered with Leica for smartphone imaging systems.

						Ward Zhou is a technology reporter based in Shanghai.  Covers stories about the digital content industry, hardware and all things geek.  Reach him in ward.zhou[a]technode.com.  More from Ward Zhou