Supposed leaks of a new Xiaomi lineup were previously spotted online. Speculations suggest that the rumored Xiaomi Meri will come out soon, as evidenced by new real-life images of the new handset.
GizmoChina reports that posts out of China mention that the Xiaomi Meri is real, and the posts are accompanied by images showing what is supposed to be prototypes of the device. In addition to the images, the supposed leaks also suggest that the new entry-level Xiaomi lineup will be unveiled in a press event on Dec. 12. However, there are also reports that instead of the launch date, the "12.12" tag for the Xiaomi Meri is actually its release date into the market. Should this prove true, this means that the new iteration will be launched instead in the last week of November at the earliest.
Meanwhile, the new leaked images support earlier rumors that the Xiaomi Meri will appear soon. Previously, the supposed specs and benchmark results for the new Xiaomi iteration have made their way online. According to the supposed specs and features list, the Xiaomi Meri will be the first iteration to carry the China-based tech maker's own, homegrown SoC. The new device lists the rumored Pine Cone processor as its chipset, paired with at least 3 GB of RAM. The benchmark results also list a 5.5-inch display for the Xiaomi Meri, with full HD resolution. Although expected as a late 2016 release, the upcoming device is listed to be coming out with Android 6.0 Marshmallow right out of the box.
It is uncertain if Xiaomi will indeed be making the Meri as another new lineup for the company, or if it will be launched as a step-down device. There are speculations that say the Meri is actually an addition to the Xiaomi Mi 5 lineup, and will be branded as the Mi 5c.
