Xiaomi 18 will debut in Q4: one of the first to feature Snapdragon 8E6, the strongest standard Android version.

On July 28, technology news outlet reported that Xiaomi will officially launch its flagship Xiaomi 18 series in September this year. According to current leaks, the Xiaomi 18 series will break from previous conventions and adopt a new phased release strategy.

In September, the Xiaomi 18 Pro and Xiaomi 18 Pro Max will debut first, while the standard Xiaomi 18 will be released separately at a later date. Blogger Digital Chat Station hinted that the standard Xiaomi 18 is expected to arrive in the fourth quarter of 2026, completing the series lineup by then.

It is reported that the Xiaomi 18 will be powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8E6 standard chip. This chip is manufactured using TSMC's 2nm process and is Qualcomm's first 2nm mobile chip, marking a new phase in Qualcomm's core computing capabilities.

In terms of specifications, the Snapdragon 8E6 features a self-developed Oryon CPU with a 2+3+3 octa-core architecture, sharing 16MB of L2 cache, and integrates an Adreno 845 GPU with support for LPDDR5X memory. Its frequency is slightly lower than the Snapdragon 8E6 Pro version, but it strikes a better balance between energy efficiency and performance, meeting the demands of both daily use and gaming scenarios.

In terms of imaging, the Xiaomi 18 will also feature a Leica dual 200MP imaging system, including a 200MP ultra-large main camera and a 200MP periscope telephoto lens. Compared to the previous generation's triple 50MP+50MP+50MP camera setup, the main camera and telephoto lens of the Xiaomi 18 have seen significant leaps in pixel count and imaging capabilities.

Especially in terms of high pixel resolution and telephoto image quality, it is expected to deliver even more impressive shooting performance, meeting users' higher demands for full-focal-length image quality. With the dual advantages of the 2nm Snapdragon 8E6 and the Leica dual 200MP cameras, the Xiaomi 18 will become the most powerful standard flagship model in the Android camp.

In terms of pricing, due to significant increases in Qualcomm chip and memory prices, a price hike for the Xiaomi 18 is already a foregone conclusion. However, the exact increase remains to be unveiled by the official launch event.

Xiaomi 17 series