Leica Leitzphone is a Xiaomi 17 Ultra in disguise, but with a camera ring that changes everything

Leica and Xiaomi have teamed up to launch the Leica Leitzphone, essentially a Leica-branded take on the Xiaomi 17 Ultra, but with a few meaningful extras that set it apart.Where things get really interesting is the Leica Camera Ring—a physical, rotatable dial built into the rear camera island. It has a knurled finish that feels like an actual camera lens ring, and can be assigned to control zoom, focal length, focus, or bokeh. It's a tactile touch that no other smartphone currently offers. At the heart of it all, the Leitzphone packs a triple rear camera system co-developed with Leica: a 50MP 1-inch primary sensor with LOFIC HDR, a 200MP telephoto with 75-100mm optical zoom, and a 50MP 14mm ultrawide. All three sit behind what Leica calls its UltraPure Optical Design—professional-grade lens modules tuned for low-light and clarity.There's also a dedicated Leica Essential Mode that recreates the colour science and shooting feel of the Leica M9 and M3 cameras, complete with a MONOPAN 50 monochrome film profile.Design-wise, the phone sports a black fiberglass back panel, a silver aluminium frame with Leica Camera engraving, and of course, the iconic red dot. The entire software experience has been reworked too—Leica-designed UI themes, icon packs, widgets, and two visual styles (Authentic and Vibrant) replace the standard Xiaomi look.On the specs front, you get a Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chipset, a 6.9-inch LTPO OLED display with 3,500 nits peak brightness, a 6,000mAh battery, 90W wired and 50W wireless charging, and IP68 water resistance. It ships in a single 16GB/1TB configuration.The Leitzphone is priced at €1,999 in Europe and £1,699 in the UK. It will not be officially available in the US or India.