Leica has launched its first ever smartphone dubbed the Leitz Phone 1 and it is a stunner

Leica is best known as the maker of high-end cameras, but it has also built a reputation in smartphone cameras thanks to a recently concluded partnership with Huawei. The company recently partnered with Sharp on the Aquos R6 launched in Japan which features a Leica-branded rear camera set up. This device captured widespread attention despite a primarily Japan-only launch because it incorporates a massive 1-inch camera sensor.

Leica has now branched out with its own Leica-branded smartphone for the first time and looks like it has partnered with Sharp once again. The device features a general design that looks similar to the Aquos R6 from the front but has been given a color scheme and metal finish around the frame that gives it signature Leica appearance. The rear also gets a redesign with a distinctive large circular camera bump resembling a traditional point-and-shoot camera beneath which resides the oversize 20 MP 1-inch sensor. 

Like the Sharp Aquos R6, the Leica Leitz Phone 1 features a 6.6-inch IGZO OLED display with a 2,730 x 1,260 pixel resolution and a 240 Hz adaptive refresh rate. As you would expect, its internals are also identical to the Sharp Aquos R6 which includes a Snapdragon 888 SoC mated to 12 GB of RAM and 256 GB of storage expandable with microSD up to 1 TB. It comes with a special Leica-skinned version of Android 11, an IP68 rating and a large 5,000 mAh battery. It goes on pre-order shortly with a release sadly limited to Japan-only for the equivalent of US$1,700.

Buy the Leica D-LUX 7 camera from Amazon.