First Xiaomi 18 Ultra and Leica Leitzphone 2 rumors: Continuous optical zoom with a new milestone
Xiaomi 17, Xiaomi 17 Ultra and Leica's exorbitantly priced Leica 18 powered by Xiaomi have finally arrived in Europe, which also means that speculation about their successors is already rife. The only certainty so far is that Xiaomi will likely use Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 chipsets, which are expected in September.
In China, leaker Smart Pikachu commented on the Xiaomi 18 series a few days ago and hinted that we can expect the Xiaomi 18 Ultra again in December, possibly with a quad camera instead of a triple camera. There is also talk of a new 6.9-inch design with a new ultra-wide-angle camera, although this tip could well refer to the Xiaomi 18 Pro Max.
New milestone in optical zoom technology
Indian leaker Kartikey Singh also recently commented on the Xiaomi 18 Ultra and the successor to the Leica edition, which was launched in Germany as the Leitzphone powered by Xiaomi. He denies that Xiaomi will return to a quad-camera setup and instead hints at an exciting new development in Xiaomi's optical zoom technology based on the 200 MP telephoto lens. While he doesn't reveal what this might be, we suspect that Xiaomi will primarily focus on extending the optical focal length range, which is currently quite limited at 75mm to 100mm. It would be nice to be able to zoom further – whether Xiaomi will achieve this feat by the end of the year remains to be seen.
Leica Leitzphone 2 on the horizon
Furthermore, the leaker claims to have learned that the Xiaomi 18 Ultra by Leica Special Edition has apparently been approved by both manufacturers. At least in China, this suggests there will likely be a successor to the more expensive Leica edition. The name of the successor in Europe is currently a matter of speculation, but Leitzphone 2 would at least be one option.
Add as a preferred
