In a move that essentially shouldn’t surprise anyone, the recent Xiaomi 12S series will most likely almost never make it outside of China. Engadget’s Richard Lai says a Xiaomi spokesperson has confirmed the exclusivity of the Xiaomi 12S for mainland China, so those hoping to get the intriguing new devices in other regions are apparently out of luck.
“Xiaomi will offer the Xiaomi 12S series exclusively in mainland China. Our strategic partnership in imaging technology will have long-term effects beyond the scope of this series, in Xiaomi’s international markets.”
So we will have to wait until Xiaomi 13 for Leica goodies.
— Richard Lai (@richardlai) July 4, 2022
Unfortunately, such exclusivity has been typical of Xiaomi’s most intriguing gadgets in the past, and the Xiaomi 12S series is just the latest in the range of products not available elsewhere in the world. For now, it is certain that it is a proof of concept that will surely ensure the camera power of future Xiaomi phones. Hopefully, by the time the Xiaomi 13 series is released early next year, that is. Leica, Xiaomi’s iconic long-term camera partner, also has a software/hardware camera package that has scored all the new goodies that make the Xiaomi 12S Ultra such an interesting device.
This new sensor is rumored to have been co-developed by Sony and Xiaomi, but is sure to trickle down to other manufacturers’ phones in the near future.
The Xiaomi 12S started at around $600, while the Xiaomi 12S Ultra started at the local equivalent of around $900 in China. Let’s hope Xiaomi doesn’t take too long to bring this promising new camera sensor
