The partnership between Leica and Xiaomi has officially entered a new milestone. Prior to MWC 2026, Xiaomi not only launched [a product/service] to the global market...Xiaomi 17 Ultra, a top-of-the-line imaging flagshipFurthermore, it unprecedentedly gained the highest level of trust from Leica itself, becoming the manufacturer of the first "Leica Leitz Phone" to be exported to the Japanese market. Is this special edition phone, adorned with a prestigious red Coca-Cola logo and featuring a physical zoom ring, truly worth the significantly higher price tag compared to the standard Ultra version?
In the past, the Leitz Phone, personally branded by Leica, was always manufactured by Sharp and was exclusively available in the Japanese market. This time, the Leitz Phone, taken over by Xiaomi and launched in the international market, is essentially a "heavily customized Leica version" of the Xiaomi 17 Ultra.
The prestigious "Red Dot" certification: Exclusive appearance and UI design.
The Leica Leitz Phone showcases a distinctly German industrial aesthetic compared to the Xiaomi 17 Ultra.
The back of the camera body features a slightly glossy black finish, while the frame incorporates an industrial-style knurled aluminum alloy anti-slip texture. The most eye-catching design element is undoubtedly the raised metal Leica red dot logo in the corner. In addition, the package includes a high-quality faux leather protective case (perfectly preserving the red dot's perforation), a Leica lens cap, a microfiber lens cleaning cloth, and a bright red camera wrist strap.
At the software level, although the underlying system is also based on HyperOS 3 of Android 16, the interface of the Leica Leitz Phone has undergone a deep "Leica-ization". The system defaults to change the icons of commonly used apps to a monochrome color, and the camera interface also abandons Xiaomi's classic yellow, replacing it with Leica's exclusive font and red accents.
Even more practically, the Leica Leitz Phone includes a dedicated shooting mode called "Leica Essential," which offers filters that reproduce the colors of the M9 camera or the black and white style of the M3. It even allows C2PA content verification credentials to be added to each photo to ensure the authenticity of the image.
Physical zoom ring: Excellent feel, but lacks practicality.
The phone's biggest unique selling point in terms of hardware is the "rotatable physical zoom ring" surrounding the huge camera module. When rotated, the system provides a highly mechanical vibration feedback, as if you are actually operating the gears of the camera lens.
This design sounds very romantic; users can control the camera app's focus zoom, exposure, or switch filters by rotating it.
However, many foreign media outlets, after testing, bluntly stated that it's "not very practical." The reason is that compared to a true SLR camera, the lens module on the back of the phone is too flat, making the gesture of holding and rotating the outer ring awkward. Ultimately, most users will find that zooming directly on the screen is much more intuitive and faster. Currently, the biggest function of this zoom ring may simply be a "fidget spinner" with an excellent tactile feel.
Core Imaging Strengths: Lossless Continuous Zoom and LOFIC Image Sensor
Despite the exclusive Leica packaging, its underlying component is still the Xiaomi 17 Ultra with its exceptional imaging specifications.
• True continuous optical zoom:捨棄前代雙長焦的設計，小米17 Ultra將望遠端整合為一顆1/1.4 吋、2億畫素感光元件。搭配徠卡APO鏡頭，能在3.2倍到4.3倍 (等效焦距 75-100mm)之間進行鏡片物理移動的「連續無損變焦」，並且在此過程中動態調整f/2.39至f/2.96的光圈。雖然外媒認為這個無損變焦的「覆蓋範圍」稍微短了一些，但在拍攝人像時，確實能提供非常自然的散景與優異的暗部細節。
• LOFIC high dynamic range main lens:The 1-inch, 5000-megapixel main camera is the first to incorporate LOFIC (Lateral Overflow Integrated Capacitor) sensor technology. This technology significantly improves the dynamic range of highlights, preventing overexposure issues when shooting brightly lit signs at night or backlit landscapes.
Top-tier performance and long battery life
As a top-tier flagship for 2026, performance is naturally a given. The Xiaomi 17 Ultra is equipped with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 processor, while the Leica Leitz Phone version goes even further with 16GB of RAM and 1TB of storage.
It deserves praise for its built-in 6000mAh silicon-carbon anode battery. Although the capacity is slightly smaller than the version released in China, it can still barely handle two days of daily use while driving the 6.9-inch (1-120Hz LTPO OLED) super large screen. For charging, it supports 90W proprietary wired fast charging and 50W wireless fast charging (but does not support the currently popular magnetic Qi2 standard).
Leica Leitz Phone Suggested Retail Price
The standard Xiaomi 17 Ultra with 512GB of storage has a suggested retail price of £1299 / €1499 (approximately $1750) in Europe, while the Leica Leitz Phone, which includes the Leica red dot logo, a dedicated leather case, and a physical zoom ring, has to be paid a staggering £1699 / €2199.
Considering that both phones have identical core hardware (processor, image sensor, screen, and battery), the zoom ring, while having a good feel, is not very practical and clearly doesn't justify such a large price difference. Unless you're an absolute die-hard Leica fan, saving your money to buy the standard Xiaomi 17 Ultra, which also boasts top-tier imaging capabilities, is definitely a more rational and cost-effective choice.
