Xiaomi 17 Ultra Deepens Leica Partnership With Industry-First APO Telephoto Camera

Xiaomi's 17 Ultra arrived with a hardware credential no smartphone telephoto had carried before: Leica's APO, or apochromatic, optical certification. The designation, awarded by Leica Camera AG to lenses that correct chromatic aberration across the full visible spectrum, had never been granted to a smartphone telephoto prior to this device. It marked a notable shift in what the camera-phone arms race is actually competing over.

The certification belonged to the 17 Ultra's 200MP periscope telephoto, built around a 1/1.4-inch Samsung HPE sensor with an f/2.39-2.96 aperture and a 75-100mm equivalent focal length, covering 3.2-4.3x optical zoom. The main camera, a 50MP unit with an OmniVision Light Fusion 1050L 1-inch sensor at f/1.67 and a 23mm equivalent, handled wide-angle duty with optical image stabilization. A 50MP ultra-wide using a Samsung JN5 sensor at f/2.2 and a 14mm equivalent rounded out the triple-camera system, all housed inside the phone's signature round camera bezel.

That bezel accepted standard 67mm screw-on filters, including ND and Black Mist options, a detail that signaled Xiaomi's intent to position the 17 Ultra as a bridge between smartphone and dedicated camera. The framing was reinforced by the software: the camera offered Leica authentic and Leica Vibrant color modes, along with a filter menu spanning positive and negative film looks, Leica-branded presets in vivid, natural, black and white, sepia, and blue, and Xiaomi's own cinematic, monsoon, teal mist, and scarlet options. Reviewers drew comparisons to Fujifilm's film simulations for the way the Leica profiles added photographic character without manual adjustment. A LOFIC video filter, built for low-light and dynamic range performance, remained exclusive to the 1x primary camera, the only sensor with hardware support for the technology. All three cameras supported RAW DNG capture, and 4K120 video was available on the 1x and 3.2-4.3x lenses.

The hardware ecosystem extended beyond the phone itself. Xiaomi released two external add-ons designed to snap onto the camera system. The Photography Kit, priced at €99.99, connected via Bluetooth and added a two-stage shutter button with half-press autofocus and a dedicated video recording button, powered by a contact-charged internal battery. Combined with the phone, both met an IP54 standard for dust and splash resistance. The Photography Kit Pro, at €199.99, built around a magnetic case and added a PU leather grip modeled after classic Leica camera design, a 2,000 mAh battery that charged the phone continuously via USB-C, a detachable 67mm filter thread and ring, a removable shutter button in red or black, and a customizable control dial mappable to exposure, ISO, shutter speed, white balance, or filters. Both kit versions unlocked Fastshot, a streamlined street photography mode triggered by a full press of the shutter.

The relationship underpinning the 17 Ultra had evolved considerably since Xiaomi and Leica Camera AG first announced their partnership in May 2022, with jointly developed products arriving that July. For the 17 Ultra, the companies described the arrangement as a co-creation model, an upgrade from the prior joint R&D model, covering lens co-design, sensor selection, and image signal processing. A special edition of the device, the Leica Leitzphone powered by Xiaomi, added a mechanical zoom ring and a dedicated chip that cryptographically authenticates images as non-AI-generated. In China, that edition was priced at CNY 7,999, roughly $1,140, for the 16GB/512GB configuration and CNY 8,999, approximately $1,280, for the 16GB/1TB model. The standard Xiaomi 17 Ultra started at €1,499 in Europe, meaning a buyer who added the Photography Kit Pro would cross the €1,700 mark before a single filter was purchased.