A few months ago, India launched Xiaomi 15 (review) in February. While this is still a new entry in the Indian market, rumors around its successor – Xiaomi 16 – have started churning. According to the latest leakage, Xiaomi 16 is expected to debut in September 2025, but only in China. For reference, the Chinese version of Xiaomi 15 was launched in October 2024. And if the perception for the upcoming launch is on, then both phones will have a difference of 11 months, which is appropriate. In his blog, Tipster Majon Boo shared that Xiaomi is taking shape as a strong contender in the 16 premium smartphone segment, in which the fresh leaks expect next to its official start. Let’s take a look at what is coming.

Xiaomi 16 reveal render design

A leaked CAD render shared by the Tipster Mejinbu officer reveals a design that retains some visual elements from Xiaomi 15 but introduces notable purification. The back panel sports a dual tone finish, as well as a squeeral-shaped camera island in the top-left corner. Three camera sensors in the module, one LED flash and Lika branding – continue to cooperate with Xiaomi.

On the front, Xiaomi 16 is shown with a flat 6.32-inch display, with a focused hole-pan cutout for slim bezels and selfie cameras. The handset also shows slightly curved edges, which contributes to a smooth and ergonomic look.

Xiaomi 16: leaked battery, camera and more

Powering Xiaomi 16 is expected to be the Snapdragon 8 Elite 2 chipset of the next generation of Qualcomm, which is to be unveiled at the Snapdragon summit in this September. It is noteworthy that the same chipset is rumored to be painted in the upcoming OnePlus 15, which makes them direct competitive. Xiaomi 16 is also rumored to run Hyperos 3, Xiaomi’s in-house software interface on Android 16. This Xiaomi flagship is one of the first tools globally, which is one of the first tools globally to introduce the latest major silicon of Qualcomm, which provides potentially prominent performance and efficiency benefits.

According to the render, the phone will have a volume control and a power button on the left, while the lower edge will have a USB Type-C port, speaker grill and SIM tray. Despite its compact display size, Xiaomi 16 is rumored to pack a large 7,000mAh battery, thanks to the adoption of silicon-carbon (si/c) battery technology-a step that can significantly improve energy density and battery life without increasing the physical footprint of the phone.

While Xiaomi has not yet been confirmed the details, Xiaomi 16 is expected to sports a triple rear camera system led by the 50-megapixel main sensor. Cooperation with Leica shows that photography will be an important sales point for the device.