- German camera maker Leica and Xiaomi have announced a partnership.
- The brands plan to launch the first Leica-branded Xiaomi flagship in July 2022.
- In collaboration with each other, the companies aim to provide users ‘a new of mobile photography.’
Iconic German camera maker Leica has announced a partnership with Xiaomi for developing camera systems in upcoming smartphones. Leica has begun its ‘long term strategic cooperation’ with Xiaomi and plans to launch the first Leica-branded Xiaomi flagship in July. The teaser shared by the companies in a press release reveals the brands aim to provide users ‘a new of mobile photography.’ The next Xiaomi flagship will boast an ‘exceptional image quality, classic Leica aesthetics, and unrestricted creativity,’ as per the companies. The phone is most likely the long-rumoured Xiaomi 12 Ultra, which may launch in July.
Leica Camera is a German-based brand, known for its quality lenses and cameras. The cameras from Leica come with a noticeable ‘red dot’ branding. Leica broke its partnership with Huawei last year, seemingly over US sanctions on the brand, after being associated with the Chinese maker for five long years. It has also partnered with Sharp and Panasonic in the past.
The teaser shared by Xiaomi and Leica does not reveal much about the phone, but Xiaomi CEO Lei Jun stated in a press release that the collaboration of brands will bring ‘unprecedented in-depth collision and fusion in optical design, aesthetic orientations, image preferences, and innovative technologies.’
Xiaomi 12 Ultra
Recently, an alleged live image of the Xiaomi 12 Ultra made headlines, revealing rear camera modules. The phone is confirmed to debut with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 processor. Apart from the chipset, the phone is also said to feature a 6.73-inch LTPO 2.0 display whose AMOLED panel supports a 2K resolution and 120Hz refresh rate. It is likely to boot Android 12-based MIUI 13 skin out of the box. It’s now confirmed that Leica will manufacture the camera of Xiaomi 12 Ultra.
