Xiaomi Reportedly Cancels 18 Ultra as Memory Costs Rise 4-Fold

3 articles · Updated · Memeburn · Jul 13

Leaker Kartikey Singh said the Xiaomi 18 Ultra is “99% confirmed” canceled, leaving the 18 Pro Max as Xiaomi’s top 2026 flagship and pushing any Ultra return to late 2027 or early 2028.
Memory inflation drove the decision: Xiaomi president Lu Weibing said memory costs have risen about 4-fold since early 2025, while AI data-center demand has tightened DRAM and NAND supply.
Xiaomi had already cut its 2026 smartphone production target to about 95 million units from 135 million, signaling a margin-first strategy that makes a separate Ultra model harder to justify.
A second leaker, Digital Chat Station, said the Ultra project is paused rather than dead, with a 1-inch 200MP sensor still in development and potentially shifting to a later model.
The reported cancellation fits a broader industry squeeze as ultra-premium Android phones become costlier and rarer, with DRAM prices expected to keep rising through 2027.