Xiaomi announced their partnership with Leica, outlining their work with co-engineering a unique imaging system and overall technical improvements.
Today (July 4, 2022), Xiaomi announced their new Xiaomi 12S Series of phones has been “co-engineered with Leica”. This strategic partnership will be pushing the boundaries of developing different imagining systems between the two companies. The phone company broke down the details of how the new lenses would work in favour of creators who want to express their creativity while maintaining the Leica style of imaging.
Leica has been known for its bountiful knowledge on optics, image processing and image quality, while Xiaomi has a deep understanding of computing photography. With both think tanks at the helm to create a world-class smartphone with an outstanding camera, they co-developed new “sophisticated optical lenses.” Leica has been known for their great work with HUAWEI and hopes to open new doors with Xiaomi.
The best model in the 12 S series, Xiaomi 12S Ultra contains a combination of Leica’s high-class optical testing with Xiaomi’s exquisite ability to specially minimize the components while maintaining ultra-high resolution, ultra-high light sensitivity, reduced dispersion, and lower flare. Its primary camera is said to have an 8P aspheric lens that could tackle issues with flare, ghosting, and chromatic aberration.
The 12S Ultra will also have anti-glare lens coating, lens edge ink coating, cyclic olefin copolymer material, and infrared light filter with spin coating technology to provide the best image quality possible. The phone will also be using two image profiles created from the two partners called “Leica Authentic Look” and “Leica Vibrant Look.”
The “Leica Authentic Look” provides the natural look of photos that Leica has been known for in the past. It does so by retaining light and shadow contrast, adding a feeling of three-dimensional depth to photos. In comparison, the “Leica Vibrant Look” features input by both Xiaomi and Leica. Both partners’ expert teams co-developed this profile to offer users the ability to capture pictures with more emotion and vibrancy in the moment, using cutting-edge algorithms and image technological knowledge.
But this is not all this smartphone camera has to offer as it also has a professional wide-angle camera with a super-large 1″ sensor. The 12S Ultra is packed with Sony’s IMX989 1″ sensor that reduces noise, extending dynamic range, increasing light captured, and achieving overall better imagery in low-light conditions. This technological beast will also be the first Android phone to support Dolby Vision HDR video recording and playback, enhancing picture quality and richer colour details.
To support the hardworking camera, the 12S Ultra will be the first flagship model that holds two Xiaomi Surge chips, the Xiaomi Surge P1 fast-charging chipset and Xiaomi Surge G1 battery management chipset. Both chips are meant to provide better battery management and overall use experience. It will support 67W wired fast charging, 50W wireless fast charging and 10W reverse wireless charging.
As for the overall design and powerhouse of this classy smartphone, it will be using the new Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 Mobile Platform, built on the TSMC 4nm process. This has been a major improvement from the last processor in terms of being 21% smaller, along with the CPU and GPU receiving a 10% improvement in performance and a 30% improvement in energy efficiency. It will also house a new “heat dissipation system” which works like liquid cooling systems in PCs as actively pumped liquids are sent through warm areas in a capillary network.
Both the 12S Ultra and 12S Pro feature a 6.73” AMOLED colour display with E5 luminescent material to highlight the vivid colours and picture quality. They are able to reach peak brightness at 1500 nits, 2K resolution, P3 colour gamut, and 1-120Hz AdaptiveSync Pro. The 12S has almost all the same capabilities mentioned, just with a smaller screen at 6.28”.
The Xiaomi 12 S series in collaboration with Leica is currently available in Mainland China, coming in four different versions: Xiaomi 12S Ultra, Xiaomi 12S Pro, Xiaomi 12 Pro Dimensity Edition and Xiaomi 12S. Each version has various storage options and colour variants, ranging from Black, Purple, Black and Blue, Green and White to Verdant Green. Every type of this device is available to buy from official Xiaomi sellers in Mainland China.
