- The M261DB model has passed Chinese certification 3C
- Wired charging 100 W, same as Xiaomi 17
- The launch in China is said to be in December
- Leaks: battery 7 200 mAh and a 200 MP camera
When Xiaomi unveiled the 18 Pro and 18 Pro Max models in September and later announced they would also be sold outside China, nothing was said about the basic Xiaomi 18. So some fans started speculating that this year’s successor to Xiaomi 17 won’t arrive. However, Chinese 3C certification shows that the basic Xiaomi 18 is almost ready and could be unveiled before the end of the year.
The certificate confirmed 100 W charging
A phone marked M261DB received the Chinese 3C certificate on November 6, along with the MDY-18-EW adapter, which supports wired charging with a power of 100 W. According to the GSMArena portal, it is very likely the basic Xiaomi 18, which therefore keeps the same charging level as last year’s Xiaomi 17.
Chinese blogger @体验more claims the phone will be unveiled in December, and earlier leaks also pointed to a similar timeframe. It’s likely a China launch, since Xiaomi has so far only confirmed the Pro models for the global market. Xiaomi Group president Lu Weibing previously admitted that the base model exists and will launch separately, not together with the 18 Pro.
A bigger battery than in the pricier 18 Pro
Xiaomi hasn’t confirmed the specs yet, but according to the leaks so far, the basic model will be powered by the regular Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6—not an upgraded version of the chip that the Pro models got. The main camera is said to have a resolution of 200 MP, and the battery capacity of 7 200 mAh, which is 200 mAh more than what Xiaomi 18 Pro has.
The display size is still unclear. According to an October leak we wrote about in a separate article, the phone will have a 6.4″ display and a metal body. However, GSMArena estimates that because of the bigger battery it will be slightly larger and fall between 18 Pro with its 6.4″ display and 18 Pro Max. The rear display and Smart Privacy Display—key features of the Pro models—are, according to the leaks, missing from it.
Only Pro models for Europe so far
The global launch of the 18 Pro and 18 Pro Max models is scheduled for November 17, and the first Slovak store has already published their prices. Whether and when the basic Xiaomi 18 will also reach Europe has not been said by Xiaomi yet, so for now it should be viewed more as a China-market novelty.
If the leaks are confirmed, anyone who doesn’t need a rear display will get a larger battery in the base model than with the 18 Pro. Until Xiaomi officially presents it, you should treat every parameter except charging as unverified.
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