Xiaomi and Leica Partner to Build Advanced Optical Institute for Smartphones
Xiaomi and Leica have teamed up to build the most advanced optical institute in the world for smartphone technologies. The institute, named Xiaomi x Leica Optical Institute, will combine the expertise of both companies to develop a complete product that includes not only smartphone camera optics, but also computational photography and artificial intelligence.
The institute will focus on four key technological factors that make a great camera phone – ultra-precision optical lenses in a small form factor suitable for smartphones, computational photography, setting strict optical standards for lenses, and research and development in optical electronic technologies.
The upcoming flagship Xiaomi 14 Ultra will be the next smartphone to feature the latest and largest collaboration between Xiaomi and Leica, representing the beginning of more advanced research in this field.
The two companies plan to build three labs in Beijing with more than 200 experts, led by Peter Karbe, the legendary optical designer behind Leica’s fourth-generation lenses.
Xiaomi 14 Ultra Specifications
Rumors have suggested that the Xiaomi 14 Ultra will feature a 6.73-inch QHD+ LTPO AMOLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate.
- Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 SoC processor.
- Quad rear camera system (50MP primary with variable aperture, 50MP ultra-wide, 50MP 3.2x zoom, 50MP 5x zoom), and a 32MP front camera.
- IP68 rating for dust and water resistance.
- 5300mAh battery with 90W wired charging support.
- Will run Android 14 with HyperOS on top.
- 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage, as well as 16GB of RAM and 1TB of storage.