As a result of its recent notable achievements in mobile photography, Xiaomi is among the smartphone manufacturers that provide the first 1-inch camera sensor. Xiaomi phones now have far more capable camera hardware and software thanks to their relationship with Leica. The two businesses have now declared their intention to establish an optical institute in tandem.
According to Xiaomi’s official website, this institute was founded by Xiaomi and Leica with the goals of creating ultra-precision optical lenses in a small form factor, attaining the best possible performance in computational photography, maintaining the highest optical standards for lenses, and conducting research and applying cutting-edge optoelectronic technology.
The founding of this institute involves significant contributions from Leica and Xiaomi. Among those included in this institute is Peter Karbe, a key role in the design of Leica’s high-end Noctilux and APO lenses, who will act as an optical expert. The Director will be Zeng Xuezong, Senior Vice President of the Xiaomi Group and Head of the Xiaomi Mobile Phone Division. Deputy Directors will be Wang Xuanran, General Manager of the Xiaomi Camera Department, and Yi Yan, Head of the Software Technical Team of Xiaomi Group.
The institute that Xiaomi and Leica’s relationship produced has not yet been founded. Three large-scale facilities specializing in camera hardware, imaging, and objective and subjective image quality evaluation are now being planned for Beijing.
It seems that Xiaomi aims to take mobile photography to a even more advanced level. While Xiaomi 13 Ultra has already a powerful camera setup, Xiaomi 14 Ultra is expected to bring even better hardware. You can check out recently shared images captured on Xiaomi 14 Ultra from our previous article.
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Robert Haba is the founder and editor-in-chief of Droid Tools. A lifelong gadget enthusiast with over a decade following the Android ecosystem, he built this publication to cut through the noise and give readers honest, real-world coverage of the tech they actually use.
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