Xiaomi’s 17 Ultra Leica Edition smartphone comes with a manual zoom ring

Xiaomi has just launched its flagship product 17 Ultra from Leica phone that may make you feel bad about the cameras on your current device. Naturally, it’s a spec monster, with a 1-inch 50MP f/1.67 sensor main camera and a 1/1.4-inch 200MP periscope telephoto lens. But it also offers a nice new mechanical feature: a manual zoom ring that also activates the camera automatically when you rotate it.

Both the Xiaomi 17 Ultra and standard Leica editions come with a Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 SoC with up to 16GB of LPDDR5X RAM and 1TB of UFS 4.1 storage, along with a 6.9-inch 120Hz AMOLED display that can reach up to 3,500 nits of peak brightness. In addition to the impressive main and telephoto lenses, they also offer a 50 MP ultra-wide camera and a 50 MP selfie camera. And battery life shouldn’t be an issue, thanks to the 6,800 mAh silicon-carbon battery that supports 90 watts of wired charging and 50 watts of wireless charging.

Leica’s 17 Ultra adds some very, very Leica touches. These include a two-tone finish, a red dot status symbol on the front, textured edges, and film simulations like Leica’s Monopan 50 in black and white. As for the zoom ring, Xiaomi claims “its rotation [eliminates] the need for tedious taps on the screen…and can detect movements as small as 0.03mm. “It can also be reprogrammed for functions such as exposure compensation and manual focus.

Other features unique to this model include a 3:2 “Leica Moments” aspect ratio, a special encryption chip and a dual satellite connection. And as befits a special edition, it comes in a custom box with a lens cap, lanyard, magnetic case, and branded cleaning cloth.

The only downside is the price. While phones aimed at the Chinese market are often cheaper than North American models, Xiaomi’s 17 Ultra from Leica and the classic 17 Ultra start to CNY 7,999 ($1,140) and CNY 6,999 ($995) respectively with 512 GB storage and 16 GB RAM – on par with the latest high-end Pixel 10 And Galaxy 25 models.