Alongside a world launch for Xiaomi's 17 Extremely (examine that proper right here), the corporate introduced an extra deepening of its relationship with Leica. The CEO of Leica, Matthias Harsch, took to the stage to announce a brand new Leitzphone, which seems to be a good deeper collaboration than 17 Extremely by Leica, which is a completely different telephone. Confused? That's truthful.
Design-wise, Leica has shifted again to a single tone physique shade, which appears extra "Leica" to this digital camera dilettante's eyes. And if you happen to’re considering you’ve heard of the Leitzphone earlier than, you most likely have: it was a sequence of telephones made by Sharp that launched in Japan in 2021. All of them had a 1-inch digital camera sensor, as does Xiaomi’s first Leitzphone. It additionally has a mechanical, bodily ring dial across the digital camera unit to manage settings like zoom, publicity and shutter pace.
The digital camera interface can also be designed by Leica. It's designed to be as intuitive as potential, with an Important mode within the digital camera app that strips away all these modes and labels, showcasing no matter you're seeking to shoot. You’ll be able to swap between a monochrome taking pictures mode and a extra acquainted punchy, contrasty Leica filter. And that's it.
Except for that there's no main standout interface or UI modifications that I may spot whereas attempting out the Leitzphone briefly at Xiaomi's MWC keynote. Nonetheless, if you happen to're intrigued by the performance — or the cameras — try our hands-on protection and pattern photographs of the Xiaomi 17 Extremely. The cameras are good.
All three iterations (the common Xiaomi 17 Extremely , the "by Leica" version and the Leitzphone) have a Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chip and a 6.9-inch 120Hz show that may attain as much as 3,500 nits of peak brightness. Whereas cameras are naturally the main target, it’s a flagship gadget by just about any metric. It additionally has a 6,000mAh battery for prolonged trip photograph shoots.
Barring some Leica-tinged wallpapers and design accents, it's rather a lot just like the 17 Extremely by Leica, simply with completely different messaging. That is Leica's telephone, made by Xiaomi, however does a rose by some other identify nonetheless have nice low-light images? Perhaps elevated Leica branding can be sufficient to coax its digital camera followers into making this their subsequent smartphone, maybe.
After years of collaboration (and cute little badges), this can be the primary pure "Leica telephone" manufactured by Xiaomi however offered immediately by each firms. It's priced at €1,999 (roughly $2,362), however it's not identified but whether or not this telephone will launch within the US. Welcome to MWC, everybody.
This text initially appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/cell/smartphones/leica-leitzphone-xiaomi-mwc-2026-135744417.html?src=rss