Xiaomi has yet to announce the Xiaomi 12 Lite, its latest premium mid-range smartphone, but it has already begun taking pre-orders for it. Every year since 2018, Xiaomi announces a “Lite” version of its flagship phone for that year. This strategy can be likened to Google’s Pixel A series which it adopted in 2019. Like the Pixel A smartphones, Xiaomi’s Lite phones usually come with toned-down specs but a design similar to its more expensive and more powerful sibling (s).
The first model was the Mi 8 Lite, released in 2018, and it has been followed by a successor each year, save for 2021, when Xiaomi launched three — the Xiaomi 11 Lite, the Xiaomi 11 Lite 5G and the Xiaomi 11 Lite 5G NE. The first had a Snapdragon 732 4G chip, while the second was a 5G variant with a Snapdragon 780G 5G SoC. Unfortunately, a chip shortage led to Xiaomi relaunching the 5G variant with a new but slightly less-powerful processor, the Snapdragon 778G, which was available instead.
The Xiaomi 12 Lite is already available for pre-order in select regions before its release, whose date is still unknown. An Instagram post by Xiaomi Azerbaijan reveals what the phone looks like and also mentions some key specifications. The Xiaomi 12 Lite is shown to have triple rear cameras stacked vertically on a protruding camera island. The camera array is similar to that of the Xiaomi 12, which also has one giant sensor and two smaller ones. However, unlike the Xiaomi 12, which has a curved frame, the Xiaomi 12 Lite has a flat frame.
When the Xiaomi 12 Lite arrives, it will pack some exciting features. Among them is a 108MP primary camera on the back of the phone. The Xiaomi 12 series, which includes the Xiaomi 12X, Xiaomi 12 and Xiaomi 12 Pro, will all have a 50MP primary camera but that isn’t the case with their mid-range sibling. The rest of the camera specs are unknown, but users can expect an ultrawide angle camera paired with a depth sensor or macro camera.
The phone will also have an AMOLED display whose size isn’t stated but has a 120Hz refresh rate. In addition to that is support for 67W fast wired charging. This is still plenty fast regardless of what the battery capacity may be. It is also the same charging speed supported by the Xiaomi 12 and Xiaomi 12X. The Xiaomi 12 Pro, on the other hand, supports 120W fast wired charging. Xiaomi ships its phones with a charger, so those who pick up the Xiaomi 12 Lite should find a power brick in the box.
While Xiaomi has yet to announce a launch date for the Xiaomi 12 Lite, the post says pre-orders are open in Azerbaijan until July 8. Based on this info, the phone’s official release should not be far off. Nevertheless, the phone will be available in green, purple, and black when it launches.
