Xiaomi and Leica make their partnership official
Smartphone makers collaborating with renowned camera and lens makers in this day and age and slapping their branding on their latest and greatest phone is nothing new. The results of such partnerships are not exactly groundbreaking, but they help improve the overall camera experience. Huawei was among the first companies to kickstart this trend: it announced a “strategic partnership” with luxury camera maker Leica back in 2016. The deal between the two companies reportedly expired in 2021, with the Huawei P50 series being the final project they worked on together. Leica now has a new partner in Xiaomi, with both companies announcing a “strategic cooperation” today.
We will not have to wait long to see the fruits of this partnership, as the first Xiaomi smartphone carrying the Leica branding will debut in July 2022. The device will likely be the Xiaomi 12 Ultra, with leaks already giving us a look at the Leica branding.
Lei Jun, Xiaomi’s founder and CEO, said, “from optical design to tuning aesthetic orientations, the innovative technologies, product philosophies and imaging preferences of both parties have experienced unprecedented in-depth collision and fusion” with this cooperation. That’s a lot of PR speak but light on actual details on how the partnership will benefit consumers.
The “strategic cooperation” will allow Xiaomi to use Leica’s branding on its phones, which should help further boost its branding in international markets. Both companies could also collaborate on special camera modes and color science, as seen with the OnePlus and Hasselblad partnership. In the long term, though, it remains to be seen how closely the two companies work on improving the imaging experience of Xiaomi smartphones.
Xiaomi’s Mi 11 Ultra from 2021 raised the smartphone photography bar thanks to its massive 1/1.12-inches ISOCELL GN2 50MP sensor. This year’s follow-up model should be no different, with rumors indicating it would feature an even bigger 1/1.1-inch 50MP Sony IMX800 sensor. If anything, it would serve as a good launch vehicle for this Xiaomi and Leica partnership.
For those not in the know, Leica is a 150-year-old German company that specializes in making high-end point-and-shoot cameras and lenses for various purposes. Apart from its partnerships with Huawei and Xiaomi, the company currently also collaborates with Sharp’s smartphone division, with its branding incorporated in Sharp smartphones sold in the Japanese market only.
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