7 Leica-Flavoured Features of the New Xiaomi 14

It may have an unusually (in these times) compact and sleek design. It might boast top-notch, flagship-level hardware, but make no mistake about it, what makes Xiaomi’s latest flagship, the Xiaomi 14 are its cameras that have been designed in collaboration with one of the biggest names in photography, Leica. And unlike some collaborations between phone and camera brands in the past, Leica’s involvement in the Xiaomi 14 goes beyond its name appearing on the camera unit of the phone. There are many Leica features in the Xiaomi 14, features that make the cameras on the device unique as they are not found on any other brand’s phone. 

Mind you, spotting these Leica features might be difficult as the Xiaomi 14 is packed with photography-related features, in best Android flagship tradition. For those who cannot spot them, here are seven laced-with-Leica features on the Xiaomi 14, that give the Xiaomi phone’s cameras a truly Leica soul:

The Leica look you like: Leica photographic styles 

One of the complaints some users have about phones with high-profile camera tie-ups is that the images sometimes tend to be a little too realistic (read “dull”). The Xiaomi 14 addresses this by providing two Leica photographic styles – Leica Authentic and Leica Vivid. While Leica Authentic sticks to the proper Leica look with brilliant contrast and light and shadow handling, Leica Authentic is Leica in mainstream mode, with brighter colours. Mind you, they are only slightly brighter – you are not going to get eye-popping colours like you do in some Android flagships. This is still Leica, but only a little more eye-friendly. To switch between these styles, simply launch the camera and tap the Leica logo on the top right corner (when the phone is held in portrait mode). 

Speedy and super, no matter the light: Leica Summilux lens

All three cameras on the back of the Xiaomi 14 have been designed in collaboration with Leica. However, the main camera is extra special. This is because it comes with the famous Leica Summilux lens. The Summilux lens series was launched in 1959 and is famous in the photography world because of its large aperture, which enables it to get more light and thus take very good photographs in terms of detail and colour even in low light conditions. The Xiaomi 14 comes with a Summilux lens with a large f/1.6 aperture, which is larger than the f/1.8 on the iPhone 15 Pro Max and the f/1.7 on the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra. What’s more, this is what is known as a ‘fast lens’ because it captures more light and does so quickly. This enables it to capture even moving objects clearly, not just in normal but even in relatively low-light conditions. So if you are looking to capture a fast-moving object or taking pictures in low light conditions on your Xiaomi 14, just go with the main sensor – in simplest terms, shoot in 1x zoom mode in the Photo section of the camera app. You are VERY likely to get the most Leica-like results from it. 

Master them portraits:  Leica’s Master-lens system special modes 

In most phones, the telephoto sensor is for zooming in to get a relatively closer view of distant objects. The telephoto on the Xiaomi 14 does zoom too – you get 3.2x optical zoom and 60x digital zoom (tip: Do not go beyond 10x). However, the telephoto camera on the Xiaomi 14 also has a uniquely Leica touch. It is a “floating telephoto” lens, which means it can shoot at different focal lengths. But that is not the Leica spin – what makes this lens so Leica-ble is the fact that it adds four Leica-flavoured modes to the normal portrait mode of the phone. Called the Master-lens system, this allows you to shoot not just in the normal portrait mode (which is very good, incidentally) but also in four special Leica modes at different focal lengths:

1. 35 mm documentary
2. 50 mm swirly bokeh
3. 75 mm portrait 
4. 90 mm soft focus

Each of these modes comes with its own Leica signature, be it in terms of colour composition, contrast handling and even the kind of bokeh. Speaking of bokeh, you can actually tweak the level of bokeh in each of these modes as well by simply adjusting the aperture slider that appears at the base of the frame. Our favourites are the 50mm swirly bokeh and the 75mm portrait modes, both of which deliver brilliant portraits and are great not just for human subjects but for product shots as well. We would advise some caution with the 90mm soft focus, which as its name indicates, can deliver shots which might seem a trifle blurry but which actually are in line with Leica’s unique focus aesthetic.  As for the 35mm mode, we actually recommend it for street photography, as it lets you shoot from a discreet distance and get very good results indeed. 

Photo filter coffee: Leica’s magnificent monochrome filters 

Blame it on Instagram, but it is common to see phones come with filter options these days. These filters add a different look to photographs and videos by highlighting certain shades and textures. By and large, these have become so templatised to be almost predictable – there will be a certain filter that has a monochrome effect, another with a touch of sepia, yet another that will saturate colours to the point of precipitation and so on. The Xiaomi 14 however, comes with four filters especially designed by Leica. And in best Leica tradition, these are all monochrome. Leica is legendary for its black and white photography, and the four filters featured by it on the Xiaomi 14 bring you the magic of classic Leica photography, showing that you do not need a riot of colours to take a great photograph or video. The Xiaomi 14 has four Leica filters:

1. Leica BW Nat
2. Leica BW HC
3. Leica Sepia
4. Leica Blue 

The BW Nat is perfect for those who want a simple black-and-white snap or video clip, with those slightly richer shades that are trademark Leica. BW HC makes the contrasts a little deeper, while Sepia and Blue add different shades. These filters are available while shooting (in ‘live’ mode) and also while editing your image and video, and are available on all three cameras on the back of the Xiaomi 14. You can even use them while shooting in the Master-lens portrait system described earlier. However, these are not available while shooting selfies, although you can use them while editing them. Call us traditionalists or old-fashioned, but Leica BW HC is our favourite for its sharpness and for being the most Leica of the lot!

The telephoto that does macro: Leica floating telephoto lens

The Leica telephoto camera on the Xiaomi 14 not only delivers good zoom shoots and great portrait snaps (with those very innovative Master-lens portrait mode options for good measure), but actually also triples up as a super macro camera. The Xiaomi 14’s Leica telephoto camera can take some stunning telephoto macro shots from about 10 centimeters of a subject. To get the best out of this feature, open the camera, swipe down and choose the Super Macro option. And yes, you can use the Leica filters ‘live’ in this mode if you wish!

Snap, it’s a Leica: Leica shutter sound​​

The Xiaomi 14 can not just shoot like a Leica, but can sound like one too.  The Xiaomi 14 can emit the classic, crisp click sound that a Leica M series camera does every time you take a photograph. For some reason, this is not labelled as a Leica feature on the phone itself, though. To get on the Leica soundwagon, open the Camera, go to Settings (go to More and tap the Gear icon on the top right corner of the display) and switch on Shutter sound. 

Shot on a Leica, and here’s proof: Leica Watermark frames 

The Xiaomi 14 comes with the Leica Watermark frames that became such a rage with the 13 series. Available in settings before you shoot or in the Edit option of the Gallery app (choose Create and then Art Framing), this places white or black borders around the image you have taken, along with details like aperture and focal length and most important of all, a Leica watermark with the legendary red Leica dot!