On July 4, 2022, Xiaomi Group announced the launch of the imaging strategy upgrade, and released the first product of the imaging strategy upgrade-Xiaomi 12S series, which for the first time realized the original Leica imaging experience on mobile phones, with performance and The imaging experience is completely transformed.
Since launching the high-end strategy two years ago, Xiaomi is undergoing a transformation from performance leadership to experience priority. This imaging strategy upgrade is another key step in Xiaomi's high-end strategy.
In addition to the three high-end flagships Xiaomi 12S Ultra, Xiaomi 12S Pro, and Xiaomi 12S, this conference also launched Xiaomi’s first Dimensity platform flagship new product Xiaomi 12 Pro Dimensity Edition, as well as Xiaomi Mi Band 7 Pro, With new products such as Xiaomi Book Pro and Xiaomi Home WiFi router, the “mobile phone × AIoT” strategy continues to advance steadily.
It is reported that the professional imaging flagship Xiaomi 12S Ultra starts at 5,999 yuan, and will be first sold at 10:00 on July 8; the high-performance imaging flagship Xiaomi 12S Pro starts at 4,699 yuan, and the Xiaomi 12S starts at 3,999 yuan, and will be sold on July 6 at 10 Click for first sale; Xiaomi Mi 12 Pro Dimensity Edition starts at 3,999 yuan and will be first sold at 10:00 on July 12; in addition, Xiaomi Mi Band 7 Pro is priced at 399 yuan, with a special first-release price of 379 yuan from July 4 to 7; Xiaomi Book Pro 2022 14-inch version starts at 5,899 yuan, and the 16-inch version starts at 6,499 yuan. Xiaomi HomeWiFi is priced at 1,499 yuan and will be sold for the first time on July 8.
Imaging strategy upgrade, opening up a new future for mobile imaging
Xiaomi believes that imaging has become the commanding heights of mobile phone experience, and this will also be the strategic high ground for Xiaomi's continued investment. According to Dr. Yi Yan, general manager of Xiaomi Group's camera department, Xiaomi's imaging strategy upgrade includes four major levels: concept upgrade, technology upgrade, architecture upgrade, and ecological upgrade.
In this strategic upgrade, Xiaomi has proposed a new imaging concept that “transcends the human eye and perceives the human heart.” "Beyond the human eye" is committed to capturing information beyond the physical limits of the human eye through the power of optics + computational photography. "Perceiving the human heart" is to truly reproduce the vital "world in the human heart" through the integration of aesthetics and technology.
To realize this concept, we need the support of a large and complete technical system. To this end, Xiaomi will conduct systematic technological upgrades in core areas such as imaging systems, platform chips, image processing, image calibration, and software systems.
Take the imaging system upgrade as an example. By customizing and developing advanced composite sensors, Xiaomi will bring users better light sensitivity, clearer pictures and wider dynamic range. At the same time, through advanced optical design and continuous innovation of optical structure, lens materials and coating processes, the advantages of the outsole sensor can be brought into full play, and through the efficient and low coupling motor system, the focusing can be faster, more accurate and more accurate. Stable, and ultimately achieve information collection capabilities that “beyond the human eye”. The
imaging system is the basic support for the imaging technology system. In the era of mobile imaging, image processing, image training and software systems can provide greater room for evolution. This is the "Xiaomi Imaging Brain" that has attracted much attention before.
In this architecture upgrade, Xiaomi Imaging Brain has also been fully upgraded to version 2.0. It is no longer just an improvement in the software framework and algorithm level. It has achieved a major leap in "integrating software and hardware" and built a comprehensive architecture including fusion optics, The new architecture, including color engine, bionic perception, acceleration engine, ecological engine, ISP, etc., makes the Xiaomi imaging brain and physical imaging system cooperate more closely and efficiently, and will comprehensively improve basic imaging quality, color presentation and shooting experience.
Not only that, Xiaomi Imaging has also achieved ecological upgrades. Xiaomi announced the official opening of its ecosystem, opening up the capabilities of Xiaomi Imaging Brain to the entire industry. Through the construction and opening of the ecological engine directly integrated into Xiaomi Imaging Brain 2.0, Xiaomi's imaging capabilities will not only exist in Xiaomi system cameras, but will be fully realized in the future. Open empowerment of third-party apps and devices.
Dr. Yi Yan also specially introduced that in the new architecture of Xiaomi Imaging Brain 2.0, the newly added "fusion optics" and "bionic sensing" technologies are of great significance.Among them, "fusion optics" not only involves the multi-field fusion of optics itself, but also includes the three dimensions of space fusion, time fusion, and light and shadow fusion. Such four-dimensional space fusion will further improve the efficiency of light use and bring more vividness to users. light and shadow effects. "Bionic perception" is the first time that digital images are presented in a human brain bionic way through a new sensor + psychophysics model. It can not only capture the moment the user wants in time, but also record more real and natural images. , tones that touch the soul.
"These are two new technical directions that we are trying to open up. We also believe that it will bring new possibilities to the future of mobile imaging." Dr. Yi Yan said.
Authentic Leica, achieving "professional + aesthetic" dual leadership
"Imaging is the fusion of technology and aesthetics. We are standing at the crossroads of technology and humanities." Lei Jun, founder, chairman and CEO of Xiaomi Group, said, As it strives to upgrade its imaging strategy, Xiaomi announced that it has reached an imaging strategic cooperation with Leica. This is a very important part of Xiaomi's imaging strategy upgrade and is also the unveiling.
The depth of this cooperation is unprecedented. Xiaomi provides a deep understanding, professional technology and rich experience in mobile photography, while Leica provides a century of photography aesthetics and optical technology accumulation. Both parties will carry out imaging with the goal of "making professional photography easier". The comprehensive integration of capabilities opens a new era of mobile imaging development.
As the first product of Xiaomi’s imaging strategy upgrade, Xiaomi 12S series presents the original Leica imaging experience on a mobile phone for the first time. To this end, Xiaomi and Leica have conducted in-depth joint development of the entire link. After intensive communication and in-depth joint debugging, the two parties finally integrated Leica's professional optical lenses, tone image quality and Leica imaging experience into Xiaomi 12S almost perfectly. in the series.
For example, the entire Xiaomi Mi 12S series is equipped with professional optical lenses jointly developed with Leica and has passed Leica Summicron certification. It is also the world's first Leica native dual-image quality phone, offering two image quality options of Leica Classic and Leica Vivid, creating a new way of playing mobile imaging. The Xiaomi Mi 12S series also features the same customized filters from Leica, classic Leica shutter sounds, Leica watermarks, etc. The all-round "immersive Leica experience" also makes it lead a new direction in mobile imaging flagship experience.
In order to maximize the optical precipitation and aesthetic experience of Leica, Xiaomi has also used many of the most cutting-edge imaging technologies in the Xiaomi 12S series, thus achieving its "professional + aesthetic" dual leadership in the field of mobile imaging.
Xiaomi 12S Ultra debuts the Sony IMX989 one-inch professional outsole main camera. This is the first time that mobile imaging is truly close to the camera level in terms of hardware specifications. At the same time, the Xiaomi Mi 12S series continues to lead the way in fast images in all scenes. With the support of self-developed algorithms such as Cyberfocus, it has achieved the world’s fastest 30 frames/second lightning burst shooting and full scene capture, especially night scene capture. Function.
It is reported that Xiaomi will also cooperate with Leica to launch the "2022 Chinese Image Dictionary" image competition, which will be led by world photography master, Pulitzer Chinese Liu Xiangcheng, the first winner of the Pulitzer Live News Photography Award, and Su Li, a famous documentary and portrait photographer and former visual director of GQ. Wang Jingchun, the famous humanistic documentary photographer and vice president of the China Press Photography Society, Yao Lu, a professor of photography at the Central Academy of Fine Arts and a doctoral supervisor, served as judges, and the famous musician Luo Dayou specially recorded the promotion song for the competition. "Love Proverbs". The competition is guided by Xinhuanet and supported by the China Communications Photography Association. Xiaomi users around the world can participate.
With leading performance and priority on experience, Xiaomi’s third generation of high-end products has fully emerged.
From Xiaomi 10 series to Xiaomi 12S series, Xiaomi has released three generations of high-end flagships in two and a half years. In particular, Xiaomi 12 series has focused more on the ultimate experience. This is Xiaomi's attempt to change its high-end products to "leading performance and prioritizing experience" has won huge reputation and a leading share of high-end products.
With the release of Xiaomi 12S series, Xiaomi's third-generation high-end has once again taken a key step in its high-end transformation with the upgrade of its imaging strategy and the dual-engine drive of "self-research and innovation + joint research and development".
It is reported that the Xiaomi Mi 12S series is a concentrated showcase of Xiaomi’s latest self-developed technological innovations. For example, Xiaomi 12S Ultra has realized "two self-developed cores in one machine" for the first time. It is equipped with the Xiaomi Pengpai G1 self-developed battery management chip for the first time, which together with the self-developed Pengpai P1 chip forms the Xiaomi Pengpai battery management system, breaking the technology monopoly of foreign companies and realizing It has developed a self-developed closed-loop battery management full-link technology.
In addition to the continuous upgrade of self-developed imaging technologies such as the Night Owl algorithm and Cyberfocus, Xiaomi Mi 12S Ultra also innovatively released a new generation of vein cold pump cooling technology, which achieves thermal conductivity several times that of VC in a small space.
Self-research innovation and joint research and development go hand in hand. Xiaomi has joined hands with international technology companies such as Leica, Qualcomm , Sony , Dolby Laboratories , etc., through in-depth joint debugging, capability opening and other multi-dimensional cooperation and innovation, which has also contributed to Xiaomi's high-end development. strategy to lay a solid foundation.
For example, the entire Xiaomi 12S series is equipped with the Snapdragon 8+ flagship processor, which adopts the industry’s most advanced TSMC 4nm process. It is the flagship processor with the most energy-efficient and performance in the past three years. Through joint experiments by Xiaomi and Qualcomm Through rigorous testing in the laboratory and in-depth joint debugging by engineers from both parties, the performance and temperature control experience of the Xiaomi Mi 12S series have been greatly improved. Compared with the previous generation, the battery life is a qualitative leap forward and can easily last a whole day.
The Sony IMX989 one-inch graphics sensor first launched on Xiaomi 12S Ultra was also jointly developed by Xiaomi and Sony. Xiaomi was deeply involved in specification definition and part of the design and verification work. Lei Jun said that after Xiaomi’s launch, IMX989 will be opened to domestic peers to jointly promote the progress of mobile imaging.
It is reported that the Xiaomi 12S series has also launched three exclusive services for Mi fans, including the extension of the three-guarantee period for quality issues to 30 days, 400 exclusive VIP customer service fast lanes, 50% off broken screen saver/extended warranty service, etc., and the service experience is once again upgrade.
In short, the Xiaomi Mi 12S series is a highlight of Xiaomi’s cutting-edge technology and comprehensive strength. Its performance and imaging experience are completely reborn. It marks the rise of Xiaomi’s third generation of high-end products and opens a new window for domestic high-end products to continue to impact the global high-end market. situation.
