BEIJING, CHINA – January 2, 2026 – Just as the global tech community prepares for CES 2026, a massive leak has detailed Xiaomi’s most ambitious “camera-phone” to date. The Xiaomi 17 Ultra Leica Edition—reportedly launching in China this week and globally by February—aims to blur the line between smartphone and professional camera with a revolutionary “DSLR-style” hardware interface.
The leak, which includes high-resolution renders and internal spec sheets, confirms that Xiaomi is doubling down on its partnership with Leica to create a device that feels and operates like a traditional rangefinder.
The “Master Zoom Ring”: A Mechanical Breakthrough
The centerpiece of the new design is a physical, mechanical rotary ring built directly into the oversized circular camera island. Unlike the haptic “scrolling” found on previous photography kits, this ring is integrated into the phone’s chassis.
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Tactile Control: Rotating the ring allows for continuous optical zoom adjustment between the 3.2x and 4.3x range of the new periscope lens.
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Programmable Precision: Beyond zooming, users can reportedly remap the ring to control manual focus, exposure compensation, or white balance, offering a level of tactile precision that touchscreens cannot match.
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Instant Activation: A quick “twist” of the ring from the lock screen instantly fires up the Leica-tuned camera app.
Optical Powerhouse: 200MP and APO Certification
The 17 Ultra Leica Edition isn’t just about the “look”—the hardware underneath is record-breaking. It is the first smartphone to earn Leica’s APO (Apochromatic) certification for its telephoto lens, a label usually reserved for $8,000+ professional lenses known for virtually zero color fringing.
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Main Camera: A 50MP “Type 1” (1-inch) Light Fusion 1050L sensor. It uses LOFIC technology to handle extreme light contrast, boasting 6.3x the dynamic range of last year’s models.
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Periscope Zoom: A massive 200MP Samsung ISOCELL sensor that provides “lossless” continuous optical zoom.
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Leica Aesthetics: The device features a two-tone vegan leather finish, knurled metal edges for grip, and the iconic Leica Red Dot logo.
The Silicon: Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5
Powering this photography beast is Qualcomm’s latest flagship, the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5. Announced late last year, this chip is designed specifically for “Agentic AI”—allowing the camera to use real-time “world models” to predict subject movement and adjust focus before a human even reacts.
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Memory: Up to 16GB of LPDDR5x RAM and 1TB of UFS 4.1 storage.
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Battery: A 6,800mAh silicon-carbon battery designed to withstand the heavy power draw of 8K video recording and AI post-processing.
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Display: A 6.9-inch AMOLED hitting a blinding 3,500 nits of peak brightness, ensuring photographers can see their “viewfinder” even in direct midday sun.
Pricing and “Collector’s Box”
The Leica Edition is expected to retail for approximately $1,138 (CNY 7,999). To justify the premium, it reportedly ships in a “Master Kit” box that includes a magnetic lens cap, a branded leather lanyard, and a specialized filter attachment case.
While a China-first launch is imminent, industry insiders suggest a global rebranding as the “Leica Leitzphone 5” for the European and Japanese markets may happen at MWC 2026 in Barcelona.
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