R&D Cost of Camera Sensor in Xiaomi 12S Ultra Reaches $15M

Beijing-based consumer electronics firm Xiaomi has been continuously promoting its upcoming 12S smartphone series. Lei Jun, Chairman and CEO of the company, posted online on Wednesday, saying: “Xiaomi 12S Ultra uses customized Sony IMX989 camera sensor with a complete 1-inch size. This is the top of mobile phone imaging hardware at present.”

Lei said that compared with the iPhone 13 Pro Max, the photosensitive area of Xiaomi 12 Ultra increased by 172%, the photosensitive ability increased by 76%, the photographing speed increased by 32.5%, and the starting speed increased by 11%.

In addition, Lei said that he had received a congratulatory email from Sony, which mentioned that Sony IMX989 was “jointly developed by Xiaomi and Sony.” The Xiaomi Camera Department participated in specification definition and some design and verification work of the IMX989.

SEE ALSO: Xiaomi 12S Smartphone Series to Debut July 4

He revealed that the development cost of IMX989 was $15 million, and that Xiaomi and Sony each were bearing half of it. Xiaomi 12S Ultra will be the first imaging flagship equipped with IMX989 for mass production and sale. After Xiaomi, the sensor will be opened to domestic companies to jointly promote the progress of mobile imaging.

Xiaomi‘s strategic imaging upgrades and new product launch event will be held at 7:00 pm on July 4. During this time, the Xiaomi 12S series will be officially released.

The new series includes the Xiaomi 12S, Xiaomi 12S Pro and Xiaomi 12S Ultra. According to previously leaked information, all three models of the Xiaomi 12S series will adopt a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 chipset, and the Xiaomi 12S Pro will also have a Dimensity 9000 version.