Alongside a global launch for Xiaomi's 17 Ultra (read about that right here), the company announced a further deepening of its relationship with Leica. The CEO of Leica, Matthias Harsch, took to the stage to announce a new Leitzphone, which appears to be an even deeper collaboration than 17 Ultra by Leica, which is a different phone. Confused? That's fair.
Design-wise, Leica has shifted back to a single tone body color, which looks more "Leica" to this camera dilettante's eyes. And if you’re thinking you’ve heard of the Leitzphone before, you probably have: it was a series of phones made by Sharp that launched in Japan in 2021. They all had a 1-inch camera sensor, as does Xiaomi’s first Leitzphone. It also has a mechanical, physical ring dial around the camera unit to control settings like zoom, exposure and shutter speed.
The camera interface is also designed by Leica. It's designed to be as intuitive as possible, with an Essential mode in the camera app that strips away all those modes and labels, showcasing whatever you're looking to shoot. You can switch between a monochrome shooting mode and a more familiar punchy, contrasty Leica filter. And that's it.
Aside from that there's no major standout interface or UI changes that I could spot while trying out the Leitzphone briefly at Xiaomi's MWC keynote. However, if you're intrigued by the functionality — or the cameras — check out our hands-on coverage and sample photos of the Xiaomi 17 Ultra. The cameras are good.
Image by Mat Smith for Engadget
All three iterations (the regular Xiaomi 17 Ultra , the "by Leica" edition and the Leitzphone) have a Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chip and a 6.9-inch 120Hz display that can reach up to 3,500 nits of peak brightness. While cameras are naturally the focus, it’s a flagship device by pretty much any metric. It also has a 6,000mAh battery for extended vacation photo shoots.
Barring some Leica-tinged wallpapers and design accents, it's a lot like the 17 Ultra by Leica, just with different messaging. This is Leica's phone, made by Xiaomi, but does a rose by any other name still have great low-light photography? Maybe increased Leica branding will be enough to coax its camera fans into making this their next smartphone, perhaps.
Image by Mat Smith for Engadget
After years of collaboration (and cute little badges), this may be the first pure "Leica phone" manufactured by Xiaomi but sold directly by both companies. It's priced at €1,999 (roughly $2,362), but it's not known yet whether this phone will launch in the US. Welcome to MWC, everyone.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/mobile/smartphones/leica-leitzphone-xiaomi-mwc-2026-135744417.html?src=rss
China’s biggest phone makers continue to relentlessly forge ahead with high-spec phones that you may never see in the US. With the Xiaomi 17 Ultra this year, the company has continued its pattern from previous iterations by focusing on powerful camera sensors, huge batteries and… being selective about global availability.
Xiaomi’s 17 series is launching across multiple European territories months after its Asia debut, but at the time of writing, no word yet on US availability. Another logistical point of interest? When we last checked out Xiaomi’s devices, it was the 15 series, and the company has decided to skip 16 and leap straight to 17, conveniently matching Apple’s latest number.
Storied camera brand Leica has been involved with Xiaomi’s phones for a few years and its newest flagship doesn’t disappoint in that regard, because this is another Xiaomi device dedicated to photography.
Image by Mat Smith for Engadget
The 17 Ultra has a huge 1-inch 50-megapixel main camera sensor with a f/1.67 lens, and a telephoto setup with a 200MP 1/1.4-inch sensor and going up to 4.3x optical zoom. Xiaomi claims it’s capable of up to 17x “optical-level zoom,” but quality doesn’t measure up to, say, the Oppo Find X9, with its dedicated telescopic lens add-on. There’s also a 50MP ultrawide camera to round things out.
The main camera is very impressive, delivering plenty of detail and performing incredibly well in low light, seemingly before any computational photography kicks in. A new Light Fusion 1050L sensor features LOFIC HDR technology, delivering stronger control over highlights and more detail in darker areas of your shots. I've been impressed by the balanced color tone and contrast, without having to edit or add one of the (many) Leica camera filters.
If anything, the slightly heavy-handed algorithms can sometimes ruin parts of a shot. For instance, by scrambling lettering or capturing blurry, AI-mutated faces where computational photography takes a swing (and a miss) at people in the distance.
Mat Smith for Engadget
The telephoto camera alone is also technically interesting in a few ways. It offers continual optical zoom across the 75-100mm range without in-sensor cropping. This means the lenses physically move to deliver lossless zoom across a range of distances, without jarring leaps between camera sensors and crops. This doesn’t run across the full gamut, but it does roughly cover the 3-4x optical zoom range, which is often used in portrait photography.
The APO (apochromatic) lens design on the telephoto is more immediately useful and effective. An APO lens significantly reduces chromatic aberration by focusing three wavelengths of light (red, green and blue) onto the same focal plane. This lens design means it can correct color fringing and improve image sharpness.
At full optical zoom, this light fitting at Soho Theatre Walthamstow doesn't bloom or fringe to the extent that most smartphone zooms suffer from.
Mat Smith for Engadget
At higher zoom levels, fringing and lighting bloom often hamper telephoto photos on smartphones, and Xiaomi’s solution has some appeal. I noticed less fringing than on other zoom-capable Android phones from Samsung, Oppo and Google. It also supports macro photography, but is hindered this time by a minimum focal distance of 30cm (11.8 inches). Most smartphone cameras’ macro modes let you get much closer.
The 17 Ultra can capture up to 8K video (at 30 fps), 4K Dolby Vision up to 120 fps, and 4K 120 fps Log video, ensuring you can make the most of that huge 1-inch sensor in video, too. That said, it seems to struggle with stabilization at times, while its low-light performance doesn’t match its prowess in still photography, lagging behind flagship phones from Apple, Google and Samsung.
There's also a special Leica edition of the 17 Ultra, which is largely the same, specification-wise, but with a manual zoom ring around the camera unit. It's a cool gimmick, but felt oddly loose on a few devices I've handled.
While cameras may be the highlight, this is a flagship device by any specification metric. With a 6.9-inch display, this expansive OLED display has variable refresh rates (1-120Hz) and peaks at 3,500 nits of brightness.
At that size, the Xiaomi 17 Ultra is in the territory of devices like the iPhone 17 Pro Max and S26 Ultra. A phone this size isn’t for everyone, but it is the thinnest Ultra phone from Xiaomi to date, with a profile measuring 8.29mm. Xiaomi has also reduced the camera unit’s diameter and raised it on the device, making it easier to use and helping keep fingers out of your shots.
Image by Mat Smith for Engadget
Also, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the huge 6,000mAh silicon-carbon battery, with support for Xiaomi’s 90W HyperCharge (if you have the right charger) and 50W wireless HyperCharge (which also requires Xiaomi’s own dock) speeds. Other phone makers: Please put a battery this huge in your flagship.
At MWC 2026, the company announced the global launch and rollout of the device across Europe, including the UK where the Ultra will start priced at £1,299 (roughly $1,750). We're still waiting to confirm US availability and pricing.
While the specs are powerful, “launching” a flagship device that’s already been in the wild for a few months — even if elsewhere in the world — reduces the spectacle.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/mobile/smartphones/xiaomi-17-ultra-global-launch-hands-on-leica-camera-143006810.html?src=rss
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