(Image credit: Future)

Xiaomi could have a plan in motion to launch a new phone that's going to challenge iPhone and Samsung devices with something that makes them look outdated. The best news is that this device could be launched as soon as September.

Xiaomi has enjoyed success with the Xiaomi 15 series, especially the Xiaomi 15 Ultra which photographers have flocked to. But the brand's launch cycle is slightly different to other manufacturers, with its new series expected to be announced much earlier.

The details of this new phone come from a couple of sources, with XiaomiTime (via 91mobiles) revealing that this device is internally labelled as "Q200" with the codename "Pandora". According to the source, this is an addition to the Xiaomi line-up, and it will have a dual screen design.

It isn't a folding phone, instead it’s thought to have a second screen on the rear of the device. We saw this previously on the Xiaomi 11 Ultra, with that second screen acting as a selfie preview, music control and some other tasks, like a clock.

Xiaomi's second-screen Android phone: details discovered

The details of the new phone have been discovered in HyperOS code, which suggests that it's well in development, which leads to the thinking that it could launch sooner than expected.

There has also been some information on this device from Digital Chat Station, which describes a phone featuring a "horizontal large matrix full-size secondary screen" (translated). The leaker also talks about a periscope telephoto camera, but that would be expected on any high-end Xiaomi phone.

It sounds like Xiaomi wants to explore what it started with the Xiaomi 11 Ultra and continue with the idea of a rear display, but that does raise questions. Many people place their phone face down so they aren't disturbed by the main display, and this runs counter to this idea.

It's likely that if someone wants to continue interaction, rather than that taking place on a smaller compromised display, they'll just flip the phone over and use the main screen.

It could be purely a decorative measure – like the Nothing Phone 3 that's just been announced – but so far we've not seen any leaks to suggest what this phone might look like.

The launch of the device is likely to be targeted at China initially and the September reveal is likely because Xiaomi typically ties its launches to new Snapdragon hardware.

Qualcomm has pulled its Snapdragon Summit event forward to September (it used to be November) and Xiaomi could be following suit – so it can announce new devices with the new Snapdragon Elite Gen 2.