Xiaomi announces partnership with Leica for future smartphones that may appear in the upcoming Xiaomi 12 Ultra

Xiaomi has confirmed that it is partnering with German camera manufacturer Leica for its new smartphone. Xiaomi’s upcoming flagship phone, which is likely to be the Xiaomi 12 Ultra, will feature Leica imaging technologies in its camera system.

Xiaomi has also confirmed that the smartphone will be released in July this year. It will be launched first in China and then in international markets. The partnership has already been rumored since last year and with confirmation from Xiaomi, it would be interesting to see what it brings to consumers.

The company announced the partnership on social media. Leijun, founder and CEO of Xiaomi, writes: “Today, I am pleased to announce that Xiaomi and leica_camera have established a global strategic partnership in the field of imaging technology. By combining the legend of photography with our innovations, we are entering a new era of mobile photography. Interesting things are waiting for you in July!” The founder of the Chinese tech giant has confirmed that the phone will be released in July 2022.

Xiaomi 12 Ultra could launch in July, expected specs

Although the company has not confirmed anything about the device and its name, it will most likely be the Xiaomi 12 Ultra. Xiaomi has also confirmed that its upcoming flagship phone will feature the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 mobile chip. Previous reports have shown that the device will feature the new Sony IMX989 sensor. This high quality sensor could be 1 inch and could debut with the Xiaomi 12 Ultra.

Xiaomi 12 Ultra may have a large round camera module with four sensors on the back. One of the four sensors will include a 50 MP sensor. The device is also rumored to feature a 48MP ultra wide-angle camera and a 48MP telephoto camera with 5x optical zoom. The fourth sensor may offer more zoom options.

This is not the first time Leica has partnered with a smartphone manufacturer. Back in 2016, Huawei partnered with a German camera company for its smartphone. Xiaomi is now partnering with Leica. In the past year, many smartphone companies have partnered with camera manufacturers to develop imaging technology for their smartphones. For example, Vivo has Zeiss, Oppo and OnePlus have Hasselblad, and Realme also has a partnership with Kodak.