Xiaomi’s Phone For Photographers

credits: Xiaomi

Chinese smartphone makers have been leaning more and more into photography, and Xiaomi’s newest flagship fits right into that pattern. The company has officially revealed the Xiaomi 17 Ultra by Leica, a camera-heavy phone that puts a lot of emphasis on manual control and hardware features photographers usually don’t associate with phones, the most eye-catching detail being a physical zoom ring built into the camera module.

On the camera side itself, the phone uses a 50-megapixel Type 1 Light Fusion 1050L sensor paired with a 23mm-equivalent f/1.7 lens. Xiaomi says the sensor uses LOFIC technology, which essentially allows each pixel to store more light before clipping, helping with dynamic range in difficult lighting. Alongside the main camera is a 50-megapixel ultra-wide with a 14mm-equivalent lens and a 115-degree field of view, as well as a 200-megapixel periscope telephoto covering roughly 75–100mm equivalent. The telephoto uses a large Type 1/1.4 sensor and features Leica APO optics, meant to reduce colour fringing.

The physical zoom ring ties the whole system together. Turning it launches the Leica-styled camera app and lets you smoothly zoom between 3.2x and 4.3x on the telephoto, or switch between cameras without tapping the screen. The ring can also be reassigned to control manual focus or exposure compensation, which makes the phone feel a bit more like a compact camera. Beyond the cameras, the phone runs on the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, includes up to 16GB of RAM, a 6,800mAh battery, and a 6.9-inch AMOLED display. For now, the Xiaomi 17 Ultra by Leica has only been announced in China, priced at CNY 7,999 (about $1,138), with a global release expected later.