Xiaomi Flaunts Phone With Detachable Leica Lens as Sales Drop
- The concept device has little hope of ever going on sale
- Chinese phone makers have endured a tough year at home
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Facing flagging global demand for smartphones, Chinese producer Xiaomi Corp. has given a novel one-off redesign to its flagship smartphone to remind people it has a very powerful camera inside -- by strapping a Leica lens to it.
The Xiaomi 12S Ultra Concept features a removable mounted lens bearing the branding of Leica Camera AG, its celebrated photography partner, and an additional sensor. While the concept will not itself go on sale, Xiaomi’s hope is that consumers will track down the device with more conventional lenses attached, the 12S Ultra phone, which has a large one-inch sensor co-developed with Leica.