No Xiaomi 13S series this year, but Xiaomi 13 Ultra is coming with a huge camera module

Published On: February 23, 2023

Highlights

Xiaomi CEO Lei Jun confirms there won’t be any Xiaomi 13S series like last year.
This news comes amidst the Xiaomi 13 series global debut that is set for February 26th.
Xiaomi 13 Ultra back case images have surfaced online.

Xiaomi last year launched the Xiaomi 12S, Xiaomi 12S Pro, and Xiaomi 12S Ultra as half-year upgrades for the Xiaomi 12 series. The top-end model in the lineup introduced the world’s first 1-inch camera, Snapdragon 8+ Gen1 SoC and more. These also introduced the Leica and Xiaomi partnership. Considering the positive reception for the phones, one would expect Xiaomi will introduce successors to the bank on the craze but the company appears to have no plans to launch the phones, as confirmed by founder and CEO Lei Jun.

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Separately, Xiaomi 13 Ultra alleged back case images have leaked online, which show off the large circular camera island. This leak falls in line with a purported sketch of the device as well as the alleged live hands-on images that leaked last week in China.

Xiaomi 13 Ultra

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Xiaomi 13S series cancelled

This news comes amidst the Xiaomi 13 series global debut that is set for February 26th at the MWC 2023 show. The top executive confirmed on Weibo that Xiaomi will skip the half-year update and advised fans to not wait for the Xiaomi 13S models.

The reason for the cancellation is still unclear but we can speculate that last year, the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen1 faced energy and thermal issues and for that reason, the brand introduced the Xiaomi 12S series with the TSMC-made Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1. This offered better performance and battery life comparatively.

Xiaomi 13 Ultra case

The Xiaomi 13 Ultra case image that has leaked shows the phone has a large circular module on the back, which could house at least four cameras, laser autofocus, LED flash, and other cutouts. This doesn’t come as a surprise considering the predecessor is also a big phone. The Xiaomi 13 Ultra is rumoured to launch in March or April in China. The phone’s main focus could be the cameras. There are chances the phone might retain the 1-inch main sensor and might add gimbal stabilisation. All four cameras on the back might have autofocus support and there will be a dToF (direct Time-of-Flight) sensor too.