We could hardly believe it when leaker Kartikey Singh claimed that Xiaomi would return to the Mi 11 Ultra design with a secondary display in the camera module for the larger Xiaomi 16 Pro model, but this time with a slightly more futuristic design. At the time, the rumor was based on a Weibo post from Digital Chat Station that showed the cover display of a modern foldable phone, which was consequently interpreted as an Honor Magic V Flip 2 leak by many.
However, it is now clear that said claim was actually about the Xiaomi 16 Pro Max and that the leakers might have been right. This is the conclusion after looking at leaked real-life images from China today, which first circulated on Weibo and are now slowly making the rounds on X. The exact source is unknown, but these images have been shared multiple times and are said to be authentic by various insiders, including Kartikey Singh. They show one person using the Xiaomi 16 Pro Max camera, while a second person apparently has the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 flagship phone resting on their thigh.
Leica camera module with a display
Supposedly, the camera module actually spans across the entire width of the back and, similar to a foldable phone's cover display, sports a secondary display with two punch-hole cameras, likely a main camera and a periscope telephoto. The third, significantly smaller (ultrawide) camera is located below, along with an LED flash and presumably Leica’s camera branding. That being said, it is currently not out of the question that these images are fake, but that seems rather unlikely, especially since the woman in the picture is a high-ranking manager at Xiaomi.
Source(s)
Image: Ace100xd