» Xiaomi has teamed up with Leica to launch a new camera phone

Xiaomi has teamed up with Leica to launch a new camera phone

Xiaomi has revealed that it is teaming up with camera maker Leica to launch a new, co-developed smartphone.

The phone will launch in July, though neither brand has revealed much about the design, specs, features, or even what camera sensors it will include.

According to Xiaomi Group Founder, Chairman and CEO Lei Jun, Xiaomi has always hoped to further explore the capabilities of smartphone photography.

In the past, the brand has used a combination of lens optics, chips, and algorithms to improve portraits, night scenes, and snapshots on its phones.

“This cooperation will give Xiaomi’s imaging strategy a strong boost,” Jun said.

“During the cooperation, from the optical design to the adjustment of aesthetic orientations, the innovative technologies, product philosophies and image preferences of both parties underwent an unprecedented deep collision and merger.”

Likewise, Leica considered it an honor to partner with Xiaomi and explained that both brands are striving to lead consumers into a new era of mobile photography.

“We are confident that the first jointly developed imaging flagship smartphone makes the pioneering progress of both companies visible,” said CEO Matthias Harsch.

“We will offer mobile photography consumers exceptional image quality, classic Leica aesthetics, unlimited creativity, and usher in a new era of mobile imaging.”

The mention of Leica aesthetics means we can probably expect phones to produce photos that mimic the look of a Leica photograph. This could be done with filters (or “color modes”), as was available on phones from Huawei’s collaboration with Leica.

Xiaomi called its relationship with the camera brand a long-term strategic cooperation in a recent press release, implying that this won’t be the last smartphone we see from the two giants in their respective industries.

As mentioned, Xiaomi is not the first smartphone manufacturer to partner with Leica. Until 2021, Leica had partnered with Huawei on phones like the P50 Pro.

Meanwhile, manufacturers like OnePlus and Oppo have worked with camera giant Hasselblad to beef up their own camera technology in their flagship smartphones.

Fortunately, with a release scheduled for July, we shouldn’t have to wait long to find out if the Xiaomi and Leica collaboration will deliver photography skills strong enough to be crowned one of our best camera phones.

Xiaomi has teamed up with Leica to launch a new camera phone

Xiaomi has teamed up with Leica to launch a new camera phone

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