MWC 2025 | Xiaomi's magnetic clip-on camera adds large sensor and fast lens to smartphones
Xiaomi recently announced the global launch of the Xiaomi 15 and the Xiaomi 15 Ultra. In doing so, the company also used the opportunity to showcase a new concept smartphone based on the Xiaomi 15. This "Xiaomi 15 Custom" has a magnetic ring on the back, which is not used for charging in the manner of Apple's MagSafe but for mounting a camera.
This simply looks like a conventional lens, but there is also a sensor in the lens housing. This camera apparently connects to the smartphone via a series of metal contacts on the back of the specially adapted Xiaomi 15, so that it presumably does not need to be charged separately or connected to the smartphone via Bluetooth.
This clip-on camera is said to offer a sensor in microFourThirds format and a lens with a 35 mm equivalent focal length and an aperture of f/1.4. A microFourThirds sensor is more than twice as large as the 1-inch sensor of the Xiaomi 15 Ultra's main camera, so the clip-on camera is likely to offer advantages in terms of image noise in low light and dynamic range
This idea is not entirely new, as a comparable camera, the Sony QX10, came onto the market over ten years ago. Since this new, modular camera from Xiaomi is still only a concept, it is unclear if or when the "Xiaomi Modular Optical System" will be launched.
