Xiaomi 18 Ultra: Never-before-seen flagship SoC to debut alongside Xiaomi's camera monster, says leak

The Xiaomi 18 Ultra might be more than just a camera powerhouse - it is set to become the ultimate showcase for Xiaomi’s ambitions.

Fresh new leak from a well-known tipster suggests that a specific variant of the upcoming flagship will debut with the Xring O3 - a rumored but never-before-seen in-house SoC designed to challenge the industry's Qualcomm, Samsung and Apple.

Codenamed "Lhasa," the Xring O3 represents a departure from traditional mobile architecture. Xiaomi has reportedly redesigned the CPU by eliminating the "big" tier entirely, opting for a streamlined three-tier structure. This new configuration pushes performance to the edge, with "prime" cores expected to crack the 4GHz barrier - a significant jump from the 3.60GHz seen in previous iterations. Furthermore, the GPU should be getting a 25% speed boost, potentially utilizing a successor to the ARM Mali G1-Ultra.

Xiaomi's flagship Xring O3 SoC might power the Chinese variant of the Xiaomi 18 Ultra; a real challenge to Apple’s A20 and Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6?

By developing the Xring O3, Xiaomi is following a path similar to Apple’s vertical integration with its A-series chips and Qualcomm’s push for custom Oryon cores in the Snapdragon 8 Elite series.

Just as Apple optimizes its hardware for iOS, Xiaomi’s shift toward proprietary silicon would allow for deeper integration with its camera hardware and AI tricks. While most Xiaomi 18 Ultra units may still rely on Snapdragon, this alleged Xring O3 variant might ship in China. Unless the Chinese giant has a different “Ultra” phone in mind for the Xring O3 - perhaps a foldable? 

Right now, the Xring-powered Ultra flagship is rumored to be a China-exclusive release, mirroring the strategy used for the earlier Xiaomi 15S Pro. However, if the flagship chip succeeds in its domestic debut, it could lead to a future where Xiaomi no longer relies on third-party vendors like Qualcomm to power its most premium devices.

In related news, Apple is expected to release the industry-first 2nm flagship chips, the A20 and A20 Pro, with the iPhone 18 Pro series - coming in September.