Camera and lens makers partnering with phone companies is not a new innovation. From Hasselblad to Zeiss to Sony, each collaborated with the biggest smartphone brands, resulting in some interesting innovations. In 2022, Leica, too, joined the fray with its partnership with Xiaomi, the third-largest-selling smartphone company. Now in its second year, this alliance has resulted in a much-awaited release of the Xiaomi 14T series and Xiaomi Mix Flip.
What Makes Xiaomi 14T Series Exceptional?
For the Xiaomi 14T series, Leica has utilized its Summilux lens, which is supposed to help users capture excellent photographs with strong contrast and better image quality. Here’s a look at what the phones offer.
Xiaomi 14T Pro Specs
- Triple rear Leica cameras: 50MP f1.6 main lens, a 50MP telephoto lens, and a 12MP ultra-wide-angle camera.
- The 50MP main lens features Leica Summilux optics, an improvement from the Xiaomi 13T Pro series.
- Vibrant images have a high dynamic range.
- MediaTek Dimensity 9300+ processor.
- The first T-model offers wireless charging up to 50W.
Xiaomi 14T Specs
- It also features a triple rear camera setup, with the main 50MP f1.7 lens engineered by Leica.
- Offers cinematic blur and rack focus with the aid of Leica.
- Focal lengths range from 15 to 100 mm.
- 10-bit Rec. 2020 format supports HDR.
- MediaTek Dimensity 8300 Ultra processor.
In addition, the Xiaomi 14T series features a 6.67-inch CrystalRes AMOLED display, 100% DCI-P3 color space, a maximum brightness of 4000 Nits, and a 5000 mAh battery. The Xiaomi 14T Pro is very game-centric, offering more AI features for gaming and photography.
What Does The Xiaomi Mix Flip Offer?
The first vertical foldable smartphone from the company, the Xiaomi Mix Flip, also offers features that are centric to photographers. Here’s a look at what they are:
- A Leica Summilux lens and the Light Fusion 800 sensor.
- It features the “world’s first” Leica 47mm floating telephoto lens, with a minimum focusing range of 9cm to infinity.
- A second 50MP telephoto zoom camera with 2x lossless magnification.
- The design is supposed to help photographers. One can photograph even when the device is closed.
- A dedicated “hover mode” enables hands-free shooting.
What Do We Think?
Truth be told, there is only so much collaboration that can help you. By getting a prestigious camera brand like Leica on board, Xiaomi wants to attract the attention of photographers who want a premium device that can compete with Apple. The latter has excelled and reached various camera milestones some smartphone companies struggle to reach. So far, Xiaomi is still vying to break into that premium space, which is already ruled by Apple and Samsung.
As for Leica’s features, they sound good on paper. However, we will only know for sure once the company unveils the tech specs of the sensor and features. Moreover, the price has not yet been disclosed, so it would be difficult to gauge whether the device will be worth it. However, from my personal experience, where I have been using the Xiaomi Mi A3 for the last five years, the camera is capable of capturing some clear and sharp images in bright light even today. That’s because it features a Sony IMX586 sensor, the best at that time for a budget phone.
With a Leica and a better sensor, that experience could improve much more. However, there are two concerns: lack of stock Android and AI photography tools. Since we haven’t tested phones in a while, we can’t quite comment on the image quality. As we said previously, we don’t recommend devices we haven’t reviewed. The same goes for the Xiaomi 14T series. However, how it performs in European markets remains to be seen, especially with a collaboration by Leica.
For more information, visit Xiaomi’s website.