I've always loved the idea of phone accessories that make your device feel more like a camera in your hand, so you can access physical controls easily and shoot more naturally. Xiaomi's taken that concept and run with it on its latest model, whose camera bump doubles as a ring you can twist to adjust the optical zoom.
The Xiaomi 17 Ultra Leica Edition is all about that prestigious co-branding flex, so it gets plenty of photography firepower, as well as some distinctive touches that reference the renowned German luxury camera company. You'll notice the Leica logo encircled in red on the rear panel of the phone, a two-tone finish, along with knurling and the Leica name engraved on the handset's frame.
What's especially cool, of course, is that mechanical ring around the cameras. You can rotate it to zoom in or out, or alternatively, set it to control manual focus, exposure compensation, or white balance.
The main snapper is a 50-megapixel f/1.67 affair paired with a large 1-inch sensor, which should deliver sharp details, natural bokeh, and good performance in low-light conditions. There's also a 1/1.4-inch 200-megapixel periscope telephoto camera for continuously zooming through 75-100mm, and a 50-megapixel ultrawide to round things out. And on the software side, you'll also get color science, filters, and signature film simulations made popular by Leica cameras.
This model is also heavy on specs: it runs on a top-of-the-line Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chip that can be paired with up to 16GB RAM and up to 1 TB of UFS 4.1 storage. The front is graced by a 6.9-inch 120Hz AMOLED screen, along with a 50-megapixel selfie camera. The enormous 6,800-mAh silicon-carbon battery supports really quick 90W wired charging and 50W wireless charging, and it can even juice up your other gadgets with 22.5W wired reverse charging.
From the initial impressions of a couple of reviewers who've got their hands on the 17 Ultra, the camera capabilities, both in terms of how the optical zoom works to the image quality, appear pretty impressive. Xiaomi's new flagship could certainly go up against this year's top-end photography-focused phones like the Vivo X300 Pro and Oppo Find X9 Pro that went hard with telephoto functionality, and I'm excited to see how they stack up in head-to-head comparisons soon.
With all that equipment under the hood and the bright red dot on the back, the 17 Ultra Leica Edition naturally comes with a sizeable price tag. The 16GB + 1TB variant will set you back by RMB 8,999 in China ($US1,285); GeekWills, which promises worldwide shipping, lists it at $1,599 before tacking on delivery costs. The regular, non-Leica 17 Ultra can also be had for as little as RMB 6,999 ($999) in the 12GB+512GB configuration.
Get a closer look over on Xiaomi's site.
Source: Xiaomi
Note: New Atlas may earn commission from purchases made via links.
