Xiaomi 18 Ultra Reportedly Cancelled Before Launch Over High Price Concerns

The Xiaomi 18 Ultra has reportedly been cancelled before launch due to concerns over its expected price. The rumoured flagship was said to feature three 200MP cameras, a large LOFIC main sensor, continuous optical zoom and a premium flat display.

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A potential problem has already arisen with respect to the launch of the new generation Xiaomi Ultra Flagship smartphone. In fact, the Xiaomi 18 Ultra smartphone is claimed to be cancelled, as the company has decided to cancel the flagship due to the extremely high price. This information has come from the trusted tipster Digital Chat Station, although the manufacturer has not confirmed the cancellation.

Indeed, the new Xiaomi 18 Ultra phone was going to be one of the most radical flagship phones with a camera among those available on the market. Indeed, according to leaks, the company had developed an innovative flagship with three 200MP cameras, big main sensor, upgraded periscope camera with a constant optical zoom and many other high-end technologies. However, all these technologies may have affected the phone's manufacturing cost, which, consequently, would make its price too high for being commercialized.

Indeed, at the moment, the Xiaomi 17 Ultra smartphone costs Rs 1,39,999 in India. Taking into consideration the characteristics and the price of the upcoming model, it would turn out to become even more expensive and become one of the most expensive Android flagships in the country.

Xiaomi 18 Ultra Was Reportedly Planned With Three 200MP Cameras

However, one of the main features of the Xiaomi 18 Ultra was expected to be its camera. According to sources from Digital Chat Station, the phone would feature three 200MP sensors, which was a very bold decision for an Ultra-series mobile device.

As per sources, the main camera was expected to use a 1/1.12-inch LOFIC sensor. The abbreviation stands for lateral overflow integration capacitor, and it means that such technology aims at improving the performance of the sensor in scenes featuring various levels of light intensity. In other words, LOFIC sensor may help to preserve details in extremely bright areas such as sky, bright light, and so forth.

The second 200MP sensor was supposed to be used for ultrawide camera. It would boast 1/1.56-inch sensor, which would be considerably larger compared to other ultrawide sensors used in most mobile phones.

The third camera was perhaps the most interesting of the three. The Xiaomi 18 Ultra was reportedly being developed with a 200MP periscope telephoto camera featuring continuous optical zoom and a 1/1.28-inch sensor. If true, this would have represented a major upgrade for long-range photography.

The reported telephoto sensor would also have been larger than the 1/1.4-inch periscope sensor used on the Xiaomi 17 Ultra. A larger sensor could potentially capture more light and retain better detail, particularly when shooting at longer focal lengths or in challenging lighting conditions.

Flat Display and Extremely High Performance Were Also Reported

Apart from the camera system, the device was also anticipated to get other significant upgrades. For instance, the specifications for the leaked Xiaomi 18 Ultra mentioned a premium flat screen featuring extremely thin borders.

It is known that the phone was to be developed featuring 1mm borders, thus having a high body-to-screen ratio and avoiding the use of the curved screen solution still applied in some flagships. Flat screens can also attract those who want a better control over their device and an easy screen protection.

Apart from that, performance is another aspect Xiaomi aimed at improving significantly. According to rumors, the Xiaomi 18 Ultra was to score more than 5 million points, although it is unknown what kind of benchmark platform and conditions were considered to reach this result.

A score of 5 million means that the phone will belong to the extreme-performance devices category.

Xiaomi 18 Ultra Price May Have Led to Its Cancellation

Although the specs are highly impressive, it seems like the pricing is the major issue with the Xiaomi 18 Ultra.

According to the leak, it was said that the phone was likely to cost somewhere around CNY 9,999 to CNY 10,000, which translates to approximately Rs 1.4 lakh excluding taxes and other charges. The matter of concern is that the Xiaomi 17 Ultra currently sells for Rs 1,39,999 in India.

Thus, it seems like Xiaomi was working on a successor that could have cost them even more than their current expensive phone. After adding up all the costs like taxes and other region-specific costs, the price could have gone up significantly for markets like India.

For a smartphone company, finding the balance is extremely difficult. Upgrading the technology makes the device more impressive but with each new component added, the cost of production goes up. Thus, the question arises if there would be enough people who are willing to buy a phone at such prices.

According to the leak, Xiaomi apparently found the answer to that question to be negative.

Why Are Ultra-Flagship Smartphones Becoming So Expensive?

Xiaomi 18 Ultra case study brings to attention a bigger issue that smartphone manufacturers face at the moment. Rising costs of components have added extra pressure on manufacturers of smartphones, especially the premium end of the market.

Top-end smartphones demand costly processors, fast memory, large storage capacity, advanced camera sensors, innovative displays and efficient cooling systems. In cases where component prices increase, there is little margin for manufacturers to bear the increasing expenses.

Camera hardware becomes extremely costly when there is a combination of big sensors and optical systems. The combination of three 200MP cameras and large sensors with optical zoom, as suggested for the rumored Xiaomi 18 Ultra phone, requires some top-notch hardware.

Ultra-series smartphones are aimed at an elite group of people. This means that unlike cheap and mid-range phones, they cannot be sold to everybody. Manufacturers, therefore, should make sure that the premium price attracts enough number of enthusiasts of photography.

Would Buyers Have Paid More for the Xiaomi 18 Ultra?

However, the response would largely hinge on how much actual improvement was brought by the camera hardware mentioned in the article.

Unlike most smartphone users, those who buy Ultra-series devices care more about features related to photography, zoom capabilities, display and other hardware aspects. It means that for such users, a considerable camera upgrade might warrant paying extra money.

Equipped with three 200MP cameras especially when they were used in conjunction with large sensors and advanced optical zoom, the Xiaomi 18 Ultra could have been an appealing offer indeed. However, the number of megapixels cannot be used as the only parameter to define the quality of the camera.

Thus, although the release of such a phone at the stated price might have brought significant profits for Xiaomi, it would largely depend on the actual capabilities of its camera.

Xiaomi 18 Ultra Cancellation Has Not Been Confirmed

It is vital to take the cancellation news about the Xiaomi 18 Ultra as a piece of unconfirmed information at the moment.

This news is provided by Digital Chat Station, who claims to have discussed the camera's ambitious design along with the reasons for its cancellation due to high costs. Unfortunately, it was impossible to trace the original Weibo post where this news was initially posted, and therefore it is impossible to say whether the tipper provided any new information on the issue.

In addition, Xiaomi has not announced the cancellation of the Xiaomi 18 Ultra yet. Therefore, it is possible that the company can reconsider their plans and even launch another device.

Therefore, the cancellation must be considered as a mere rumour at the moment.

Xiaomi Is Not Alone in Facing High-Price Flagship Concerns

The possibility of the Xiaomi 18 Ultra being canceled arises at a time when other manufacturers are also said to be struggling with the rising costs of flagship smartphones.

The iQOO 16 has not yet been officially confirmed to launch in India, even after rumors of the global version making an appearance on Geekbench. The high cost of production could be one of the reasons why manufacturers think twice before launching their devices in cost-conscious markets like India.

This is likely to become even more of a problem as smartphone manufacturers continue to add premium hardware to their Ultra or Pro versions of the flagship phones. At some point, there will be a ceiling to how much people are ready to pay for their smartphone, especially with many brands vying for the same segment.

In that case, just adding powerful chips and higher megapixel cameras will not suffice. Manufacturers should also look at whether the price is reasonable.

What This Could Mean for Xiaomi’s Ultra Strategy

Assuming that the cancellation of the Xiaomi 18 Ultra is true, it suggests that the company is taking a more conservative approach when it comes to marketing its Ultra series smartphones at very high prices.

So far, Xiaomi has been gradually positioning its Ultra series smartphones as camera-oriented flagships and challenging premium smartphones offered by Samsung, Apple, vivo and others. Nevertheless, the frequent use of hardware advancements may result in high costs very quickly.

Thus, a more reasonable way would be to find a balance between the need to provide all the necessary features and the cost that will be acceptable for users. For now, however, the future of the Xiaomi 18 Ultra remains uncertain. The reported three-200MP camera system, large sensors and continuous optical zoom would have made it one of Xiaomi's most ambitious smartphones yet, but the alleged price problem may have prevented it from reaching the market.

Until Xiaomi makes an official announcement, the reported cancellation and specifications should be treated as rumours and not confirmed product details.