And boy, does it look awfully familiar
Leica has been around for decades, perhaps best known a household brand when it comes to taking incredible photos. You might even recognize it as the company that occasionally stamps its branding on the camera lens of smartphones from the likes of Xiaomi and Huawei. But as it turns out, the company also sells Leica-branded smartphones, and as you may imagine, they put a strong focus on their camera. The company has now released its second entry, the Leica Leitz Phone 2, and as with its predecessor, it’s exclusive to Japan — but that’s not keeping camera enthusiasts from salivating anyway.
The Leica Leitz Phone 2 has just been announced by SoftBank, and it’s a phone that looks like it makes for a very compelling offer for Japanese camera enthusiasts (via GSMArena). It looks very similar to its predecessor, and its squared corners and hefty rear camera bump draw similarities to another popular, yet much older, powerful camera phone, the Nokia Lumia 1020. The device comes equipped with a Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 SoC, and it’s powered by Android 12 out-of-the-box — it’s not clear when, or if, it’ll get Android 13.
The reason you’d probably buy this phone is because of its camera smarts. It has a 47.2MP primary 1-inch sensor that, according to Leica, will work in-hand with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chip to switch sensor modes depending on the environment and lighting conditions. Its predecessor carried a 20MP camera, so this is already quite a departure from what was previously available, and it’ll sure be interesting to see it in action.
Of course, anyone who follows niche smartphones might recognize this device — and its camera specs — as the Sharp Aquos R7. It’s not a case of mistaken identity; this Leica edition is, effectively, the same smartphone with a new logo. The original even shared its Leica Leitz-branded camera, as the two companies worked hand-in-hand to develop the sensor. There are some small visual changes to the frame, but for the most part, we’re looking at identical models here.
Sadly, you probably won’t be able to buy one. Much like the Leitz Phone 1 and Sharp’s Aquos R7, and it doesn’t look like Leica is planning to bring its successor outside Japan. It’s still a very cool smartphone, though, and we certainly want other OEMs to copy a thing or two from it.
