There have been rumours of a Xiaomi-Leica partnership for a long time, but now Kacper Skrzypek has provided convincing evidence in the form of code images containing new strings related to Leica filters on Xiaomi’s MIUI Gallery Editor application.
The strings he discovered were in the MIUI Gallery Editor app’s version 0.7.5, which highlighted new effects that will be available when editing photographs and videos on the forthcoming smartphone. There are a few Leica-branded filters among them.
The strings reference four filters named after the camera company, as shown in the attached screenshots: Leica Monochrom, Leica Monochrom HC (High Contrast), Leica Natural, and Leica Vivid. These filters aren’t available in the current version of the MIUI Gallery Editor, but their presence indicates that Xiaomi is planning to release a phone with Leica-branded cameras in the near future.
Leica, a German-based optical lens manufacturer, was well-known for its partnership with Chinese smartphone maker HUAWEI, which ended in May 2021. So, the latest HUAWEI P50 series was the last to use the Leica branding. Now, according to this reliable source, Xiaomi will collaborate with Leica, which will be exciting to see.