Xiaomi 16 vs. Oppo Find X9 vs. Vivo X300 vs. Honor Magic 8: Diverse camera designs, one common trait

The next wave of Chinese flagship phones is expected to debut in roughly two months, pending the announcement of Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8 Elite 2 and MediaTek's Dimensity 9500, which would mark the earliest flagship processor launches in recent years. The successors to the Xiaomi 15, Oppo Find X8, Vivo X200 and Honor Magic 7 could thus be primed for release as early as late September, though other regions may have to wait until 2026, possibly as far out as Mobile World Congress in March 2026.

The upcoming launches in China suggest one thing in particular: The prototypes of these flagships are currently undergoing testing. Renowned Chinese leaker Digital Chat Station claims to have seen all four prototypes and recently posted sketches on Weibo comparing the camera designs of what could become the four most prominent challengers to the Samsung Galaxy S26 and Apple iPhone 17.

The Oppo Find X9 (top left) seems to retain the square-shaped camera design in the top-left corner, consistent with its predecessor. The Vivo X300 (top right) apparently features a centrally located circular camera module, similar to the X200. Meanwhile, the Xiaomi 16 (bottom right) is set to depart from the Xiaomi 15 (available here on Amazon) in terms of design, sporting a camera bar reminiscent of the Mi 11 Ultra. In contrast, the Honor Magic 8 (bottom left) could adopt a rear design similar to the Magic 7.