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It sounds like a Xiaomi and Leica partnership could be in the works
- References to Leica have been discovered within the Chinese MIUI Gallery Editor app.
- This suggests that a Xiaomi/Leica partnership is in the works.
Leica joined forces with Huawei for the P20 series back in 2018, and it’s been a fixture on HUAWEI smartphones ever since then. However, it looks like Leica and another major OEM might have a partnership in the works.
Xiaomi tipster Kacper Skrzypek has uncovered (archived link) references to Leica within the Chinese MIUI Gallery Editor app. It seems like these references are related to vlog filters, with monochrome, natural, and vivid options specifically mentioned. Check out an image below, courtesy of Skrzypek.
For what it’s worth, HUAWEI’s Leica-branded phones offered monochrome images (either via software or a monochrome camera), as well as standard, vivid, and smooth color filters in the camera app. However, the Xiaomi strings were found within the gallery app, so we’re keen to see if any Leica additions come to the MIUI camera app itself (if indeed the partnership is happening).
This wouldn’t be the only partnership between a camera brand and an Android OEM in recent years though. OnePlus teamed up with Hasselblad last year, with Oppo joining the party too. Vivo also got in on the action, teaming up with ZEISS for its high-end phones from last year.
Do camera brand partnerships result in better phone cameras?
These partnerships all seemed to focus on various aspects of photography, with OnePlus and Hasselblad working on color science while vivo and ZEISS focused on portrait photography and reducing light flares. So we hope to see more than just color filters from a potential Xiaomi/Leica tie-up.
We asked Xiaomi for comment on a potential Leica partnership but the company said it had “no information to share” right now.