These phones take photos that really don’t look like they came from a phone
For the last few years, my favorite compact cameras haven’t been traditional cameras at all; instead, they’ve been smartphones produced by the Chinese tech giant Xiaomi. Part of that is because of the company’s work on cutting-edge mobile hardware, but a huge factor is its collaboration with legendary German camera maker Leica. In a world of overprocessed, HDR-heavy smartphone photos, Leica contributes realistic, tasteful color science to Xiaomi devices. While all smartphones need to operate in accordance with the laws of physics, the phones that Leica and Xiaomi have been working on together take photos that really don’t look like they came from a phone. This week in Vienna, Xiaomi announced the latest in its line of collaborative Leica-branded phones, the 17T and 17T Pro. I was in attendance to talk to Leica about the philosophy and technology behind its collaboration with Xiaomi. {"blockType":"mv-promo-block","data":{"imageDesktopUrl":"https:\/\/images.fastcompany.com\/image\/upload\/f_webp,q_auto,c_fit\/wp-cms-2\/2025\/12\/multicore.png","imageMobileUrl":"https:\/\/images.fastcompany.com\/image\/upload\/f_webp,q_auto,c_fit\/wp-cms-2\/2025\/12\/multicore-mobile.png","eyebrow":"","headline":"\u003Cstrong\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ESubscribe to Multicore\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/strong\u003E","dek":"Multicore is about technology hardware and design. It\u0027s written from Tokyo by Sam Byford. To learn more visit \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.multicore.blog\/\u0022\u003Emulticore.blog\u003C\/a\u003E","subhed":"","description":"","ctaText":"SIGN UP","ctaUrl":"https:\/\/www.multicore.blog\/","theme":{"bg":"#f5f5f5","text":"#000000","eyebrow":"#9aa2aa","subhed":"#ffffff","buttonBg":"#000000","buttonHoverBg":"#3b3f46","buttonText":"#ffffff"},"imageDesktopId":91454027,"imageMobileId":91454030,"shareable":false,"slug":"","wpCssClasses":""}} Two options In Xiaomi’s camera app, the main shooting mode lets you flip between two options: Leica Vibrant and Leica Authentic. The