Xiaomi's new concept phone can attach an interchangeable Leica M lens

Source: Xiaomi

When Xiaomi developed its camera-centric Xiaomi 12S Ultra phone, it was also exploring the idea of making it an even more powerful camera smartphone. And we got a peek at it recently through the Xiaomi 12S Ultra Concept Phone. It shares the appearance of its namesake but adds an additional 1-inch 50.3-megapixel sensor to its main one. This new sensor occupies the middle of the camera island, and it's built to work with an interchangeable Leica M lens. Yes, you can attach a camera lens to this concept phone.

This 1-inch Sony IMX989 sensor is kept underneath a large, circular piece of durable sapphire glass instead of cutting out an opening like you'd see in traditional interchangeable lens cameras. With this design, the 48-megapixel ultra-wide camera gets repositioned to the side, taking up the space where a 48-megapixel periscopic telephoto camera was placed.

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This new Xiaomi flagship gets a Leica camera with a 1-inch sensor

Xiaomi is not resting on its laurels when it comes to its smartphones. It's been barely six months since Xiaomi announced its last flagship, but now it has a new one with its new partner. Xiaomi partners with Leica to launch its new 12S series. Its most distinctive point, which you really won't miss, is that massive 1-inch, 50.3-megapixel Sony IMX989 sensor. You get a pixel size of 1.6um, doubling to 3.2um via pixel binning for improved colour accuracy and low light performance. Unlike the Sony Xperia Pro-I, it uses the entire portion of the 1-inch sensor.

Xiaomi took part in developing this sensor with Sony, with the two companies splitting the US$15 million cost evenly. But they won't have exclusive rights to the sensor. Xiaomi CEO Lei Jun said it'll be made available to his local competitors after the launch to "promote the advancement of mobile imaging together."

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