A new leak from Kartikey Singh suggests Xiaomi is planning a handful of ambitious devices for the second half of 2026. Not just routine upgrades either. The focus seems to be on things like camera hardware, modular design, and its own silicon.
This comes after a busy first half, with the Xiaomi 17 series, new tablets, Poco models, and even a lightweight laptop already out. So adding more to that list is a bit surprising, but not completely unexpected either.
One of the claims that stands out is a phone described as having the “most powerful smartphone camera of 2026.” That’s a big statement, though Xiaomi has been pushing camera tech quite aggressively lately, especially with Leica in the picture. So it’s at least believable they’re aiming in that direction.
The modular phone is probably the more unusual part. This likely ties back to Xiaomi’s Modular Optical System, which was shown earlier as a concept. The idea is simple on paper, attach external lenses to the phone and get closer to a proper camera setup. It was experimental at the time, but now there are hints that parts of it may actually be moving toward production.
There’s also talk of a new flagship running on an in-house chipset, possibly the upcoming XRING O2. That’s been a long-term goal for the company, reducing reliance on third-party chips and controlling more of the stack.
Details are still pretty limited, and timelines are unclear. It’s also one of those cases where not everything mentioned will necessarily make it to final release.
Still, taken together, it feels like Xiaomi is trying to do a bit more than just incremental upgrades this year. If even one or two of these ideas land properly, the second half of the year could end up being more interesting than usual.
(Source: @That_Kartikey on X)