Xiaomi 12 Ultra to feature improved telephoto camera setup

The Xiaomi 12 series is expected to debut before the end of the year. Xiaomi is set to release the vanilla Xiaomi 12 this year in China, before taking the wraps off the Xiaomi 12 Pro and Xiaomi 12 Ultra next year. A new leak has now provided some much-needed hype for the Xiaomi 12 Ultra as well. 

According to Chinese tipster Bald Panda, Xiaomi is set to upgrade the telephoto camera of the Xiaomi 12 Ultra. The leaker claims that Xiaomi will replace the 1/2-inch 48 MP sensor that was on the Mi 11 Ultra with an improved 1/1.5-inch 50 MP sensor. 

We're not sure what sensor that is in particular, as the ISOCELL GN5, Sony IMX766, and OmniVision OV50A all fit that description. Xiaomi tends to lean towards Samsung's camera hardware for the most part, though, so the ISOCELL GN5 is the likeliest contender.

Either way, this is a serious upgrade on the flagship's zoom hardware. It also corroborates reports that Xiaomi will use a triple 50 MP system on the Xiaomi 12 Ultra, with the company expected to use the superb ISOCELL GN2 as its main camera again. In addition, going by an enigmatic post from tipster Digital Chat Station, it appears Xiaomi prefers to maintain its 5x telephoto lens while switching to a better sensor, versus simply using a longer range zoom lens.

Buy the Xiaomi Mi 11i on Amazon.