Source: Xiaomi
One of Xiaomi's major announcements at Mobile World Congress 2026 in Barcelona, Spain, involves a partnership with premium camera maker Leica. The collaboration brought to the international market the new Leica Leitzphone, which is basically the global version of the Xiaomi 17 Ultra Leica Edition, a China-only device.
One of the key differences between the Chinese version is its battery size, with the exclusive model in China carrying a massive 6,800mAh battery, while the international Leitzphone has a 6,000mAh battery. The Leitzphone is designed to look and feel like a Leica camera, so it sports a mechanical camera ring that you can rotate to manually adjust zoom or exposure.
It also has a grippy, fully black rear panel and has an Essential camera mode that mimics the style and image quality of Leica cameras. The phone's cameras include a 50-megapixel 1-inch main sensor, a 200-megapixel telephoto lens with a 75-100mm focal length, and a 50-megapixel ultrawide camera on the back, plus another 50-megapixel shooter in front.
As a phone, you get the top-tier specs you can expect from a device that costs €1,999 (roughly $3,220 in Canada). The Leitzphone runs on a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, sports a 6.9-inch HyperRGB OLED screen with 3,500 nits of brightness, and 90-watt wired and 50-watt wireless charging support.