Xiaomi 17 Ultra to come much sooner, in two variants and with Leica camera surprise: An analysis of the wild rumors
What is an image of the "Modular Optical Systems" presented by Xiaomi at MWC 2025 doing in a Xiaomi 17 Ultra news article? We'll come back to that a little later. First, a few undisputed facts: Two variants of the successor to the Xiaomi 15 Ultra have now appeared during certification in China. In addition to the model with the number 2512BPNDAC, which was discovered at Chinese certification body TENAA (Telecommunication Equipment's Network Access Management) in September, the entry for the variant with the number 25128PNA1C can now be found in the TENAA database:
Model number and leaker indicate potential December launch
Looking at the model numbers, the first four digits suggest a launch as early as December this year, at least in China. Whether this will actually transpire remains to be seen, as Xiaomi smartphones are often launched a little later than the numbers suggest. However, an X-post by Indian leaker Kartikey Singh also recently hinted at a launch in around two months. "See you in December", it concludes.
Xiaomi 17 Ultra: Triple or quad camera, that is the question
The leaker primarily addresses another issue here, which is still unclear. Earlier rumors, based on the assumption that there would be a Xiaomi 16 Ultra, suggested a switch from the quad-cam system of the Xiaomi 15 Ultra to a triple-cam with only a 200 MP telephoto lens, which would nevertheless be enhanced with a continuous optical zoom module, similar to smartphones such as the Sony Xperia 1 VII and its predecessors. According to Kartikey Singh, at least one prototype is equipped with such a zoom camera and triple camera, but he does not know whether it has three or four sensors.
Now it gets interesting: Dual telephoto or real optical zoom?
Erencan Yılmaz from Xiaomitime recently proved with relative certainty, based on code snippets in HyperOS, that the Xiaomi 17 Ultra will have not only three but four sensors. While this is not absolutely certain, it is something that should not be ignored. How these contradictory statements fit together has been the basis for all kinds of speculation, primarily on Chinese network Weibo, which has been further fueled by a recent Weibo post from Digital Chat Station:
High-end variant with revolutionary camera technology
The prominent Chinese leaker also suggests that a Xiaomi 17 Ultra with four camera sensors, three 50 MP and one 200 MP, is on the horizon. He further hints at new optical technology in the periscope module, which will be combined with an extremely dynamic new main sensor, while the other two sensors are said to be conventional. Last but not least, he claims that there are two variants of the Xiaomi 17 Ultra with identical sensors and lenses, but only the high-end model is expected to offer revolutionary camera technology, possibly the optical zoom unit previously hinted at. Whether his hyphenated 50 MP sensors indicate further surprises or is merely a typo is unclear, but it is hotly debated in the comments.
Among other things, the comments also mention the modular optical system that Xiaomi showcased at MWC 2025. At that time, it was still a concept device with a magnetically dockable external camera with a 100 MP MicroFourThirds sensor, a 35mm lens and a 10 Gbit/s connection to the chipset called LaserLink. It cannot be ruled out that one of the two Xiaomi 17 Ultra versions will support a similar clip-on lens in addition to the integrated satellite connection, which would then serve less as a simple teleconverter, like in the Oppo Find X9 Pro and Vivo X300 Pro, but potentially provide true optical zoom.
Alternative speculation: The counterpart to the Huawei Pura 80 Ultra?
There is also other speculation on Weibo, which has been summarized by X-user @Devinarde (see below). In addition to an approximately 3-7x optical zoom, some Weibo users are also speculating about a sensor team consisting of the 1/1. 4-inch 200 MP ISOCELL HPE and the 1/1.276-inch ISOCELL JN5, which apparently form a kind of dual telephoto setup with optics that may work similarly to the Huawei Pura 80 Ultra with its movable slider, only in reverse.
So, instead of using a sensor with two lenses, as Huawei does, Xiaomi may use two sensors alternately with one lens, which, at the same distance, could also offer approximately 3x or 7x zoom due to the extension factor, albeit not with a variable focal length, but as a dual telephoto lens, which seems to have become lost in the discussion and perhaps confused by some. Whether such a complex solution would really offer measurable optical improvements over a pure crop zoom with the 200 MP sensor remains to be seen. In any case, it must be stated that all these rumors are pure speculation and have not yet been verified.
Conclusion: Two Xiaomi 17 Ultras to also get global launch, with potential for surprises
The conclusion of this lengthy essay: Nothing is known for sure. What is currently certain is that Xiaomi is working on two Xiaomi 17 Ultra models, also intended for the global market, as indicated by two international model numbers (2512BPNDAG and 25128PNA1G) discovered in the IMEI database. The two models differ primarily in that the high-end model supports satellite connectivity, but both are likely to be equipped with the same four Leica camera sensors and a 50 MP front camera. Whether or not either of these two Xiaomi 17 Ultra variants will also offer experimental, new camera technologies remains to be seen. While the launch in China may take place as early as December, we still expect the global launch to take place at Mobile World Congress 2026, i.e., from March 1, 2026.
Source(s)
Weibo Diverse via @Devinarde, Digital Chat Station Weibo, Kartikey Singh, TENAA via Digital Chat Station (2)
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