Leica and Xiaomi: focus on a partnership with great ambitions


Leica and Xiaomi, an ambitious partnership

For the first anniversary of their partnership, the Leica and Xiaomi teams invited a good part of the world press to the historic stronghold of the first, in Wetzlar in Germany. The opportunity for Digital to learn a little more about the rapprochement between the two entities, in particular the contributions of Leica to the photo component of the smartphones of the “small grain of rice firm”.

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A team of engineers dedicated to the development of photos on smartphones

After a visit to the Leica museum with an overview of its manufacture, the optician told us that 17 people (85% engineers) are dedicated full-time to the development of the smartphone part.

A new era, nothing less.

A new era, nothing less.

Leica is not reluctant to link smartphones and traditional cameras

Although a classic photo giant, Leica is not reluctant to incorporate technologies from the world of smartphones. His team recalls, for example, that in 2022, the Leica M11, a device that is far removed from the flexibility of smartphones, was the first – and for the moment the only – traditional box to use the pixel binning . An option that we did not find very relevant, but having the merit of demonstrating that gateways exist.

Since the partnership with Huawei, Leica also believes that its expertise in smartphones has greatly improved and that the cooperation with Xiaomi will be deeper and more lasting. However, no roadmap or figures have been communicated.

The meticulousness of the assembly.

The meticulousness of the assembly.

The ultimate camera phone is not yet born

If the advances on smartphones are impressive, Leica engineers are not fully satisfied. For them, the ideal photophone would include a lens with a ring for even more precision, just as we could move the autofocus points to optimize focusing as much as possible. Finally, a physical trigger would not displease them.

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A relevant partnership?

A relevant partnership?

An M-mount smartphone? A nice shot

Regarding the first criterion, Leica and Xiaomi have already partially responded by offering the Xiaomi 12S Ultra “concept” last year, an exceptional terminal that we were able to stealthily handle during our stay. On paper, it is a classic 12S Ultra from which the telephoto module would have been removed to add a second 1-inch sensor left bare on the back of the phone. More chimerical, a Leica M mount has been literally grafted around the photo modules, allowing all the manufacturer’s M (manual) optics to be fixed to the back of the terminal.

A true “hybrid”.

The least practical smartphone in the world, but the most remarkable

There are not 10 prototypes in the world and the handling is confusing. The phone is almost unusable thus weighted, and the development is done by groping. Fortunately, Leica has thought of integrating focus peaking (colored highlighting of the area of ​​sharpness) to facilitate everything. The result is quite surprising, taking advantage of a fairly large sensor coupled with high-end optics. But this remains very conceptual and looks more like a marketing stunt than anything else, in order to demonstrate the synergy between the two manufacturers.

The Xiaomi 13 Pro, the real flagship

The real practical developments are to be found on the side of the Xiaomi 13 Pro, a smartphone above all doped with AI. Because both on the side of Xiaomi and Leica, image processing requires significant learning. Thus, for a high-end device such as the 13 Pro, the processor had to swallow more than a million photos to always better adapt the automatic processing. This figure would drop to 250,000 shots for more modest smartphones.

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The photo module of the Xiaomi 13 Pro is very ambitious.

The photo module of the Xiaomi 13 Pro is very ambitious.

One million images needed to learn AI processing

More concretely, the Leica teams must obey smartphone specifications and try to fulfill their ambitions in a Xiaomi phone. It is more a question of developing filters or software, but Leica also has a say in the choice of sensor or optics.

Leica does not (yet) produce lenses for smartphones

Unlike Vivo, which has its optics designed directly by Zeiss in Germany, nothing manufactured is currently planned between Leica and Xiaomi. In addition, the lenses used by Chinese smartphones remain plastic, while those used by Vivo and Zeiss are glass, therefore made in Germany. But Xiaomi has not yet opted for this material and Leica currently has neither the expertise nor the technical means to make plastic lenses.

This doesn't fit in a smartphone, at least not in this form.

This doesn’t fit in a smartphone, at least not in this form.

The 1 inch sensor, just compromise for Leica

We were also able to discuss with Dr Florian Weiler, technical project manager mobile business unit, and our questions focused on the size of the sensitive cells. For Mr. Weiler, the generalization of the 1-inch sensor is a turning point in smartphone photography, bringing the best compactness-quality ratio.

Leica has been advocating for sensors of this type for a long time, and Dr. Weiler recalls Leica’s contribution to the development of the Panasonic Lumix CM1, which had a sensor of this type as early as 2014.

A large sensor not easily compatible with a telephoto lens

When asked if the 1-inch sensors could be found behind each photo module, Mr. Weiler replies that it is possible without too much difficulty with very wide-angle optics, but that it is quite different with long focal lengths. The optical formulas of telephoto lenses are too complex, with too many lenses. The module would then lose considerably in compactness.

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THE

The “world of Leica” integrated into a smartphone.

Authentic mode for “purists”

We also shared our questions about the differences between the two color profiles: Leica “vibrant” and “authentic”. During our tests, we noted that the “vibrant” mode is more flattering to the eye, with more saturated colors and more marked details, while the “authentic” mode is more neutral and less accentuated.

Electronics have come a long way since the Leica M4-P.

Electronics have come a long way since the Leica M4-P.

Dr. Florian Weiler explains that the “authentic” mode is the one that best corresponds to the result that one would expect from a traditional Leica camera. On a smartphone screen, the race for saturation and micro-contrasts tends to lead to the choice of the “vibrant” mode, but the “authentic” mode is in no way a cheap solution.

Leica guarantees simplicity

However, even at Leica, we tend to want to make life easier for smartphone users, and like Apple, the photo component is designed to remain as accessible as possible. Mr. Weiler explains that, despite its history, Leica aims with a product like the Xiaomi 13 Pro to satisfy a wide audience, with the cleanest images directly from the smartphone, limiting post-production from a phone or computer.

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