This Xiaomi 12S Ultra Concept smartphone features an innovative design that allows it to incorporate full-size Leica M-Series lenses. Here’s how it works.
Earlier this year, Xiaomi released its camera-focused flagship smartphone — the Xiaomi 12S Ultra. Besides becoming the first Xiaomi smartphone to feature Leica optics, the key highlight of the Xiaomi 12S Ultra was that its primary camera featured a massive 1-inch sensor — typically used on high-quality point-and-shoot cameras. While there is no denying that larger sensor size typically translates to better picture quality, the arrival of computational photography and advanced imaging algorithms has completely transformed the smartphone imaging game. Groundbreaking developments in this space have allowed companies like Apple, Google, and Samsung to achieve great results without needing large sensors.
Xiaomi, however, seems to think otherwise and believes that it isn’t entirely impossible to get the right mix of great hardware and equally impressive software on their devices. That, unfortunately, wasn’t the case with the Xiaomi 12S — with most reviewers ranking it well below the latest Apple iPhones, Google Pixels, and Samsung Galaxy S22s in terms of overall imaging capabilities.
