Xiaomi has three new smartphones and one of them comes with a feature everyone’s talking about — a one-inch camera sensor, which is massive for a smartphone. The three phones are Xiaomi 12S, Xiaomi 12S Pro, and 12S Ultra and all three phones have camera modules developed in partnership with Leica but it’s the last phone on the list that is proving to be a conversation starter.
The Ultra has a 48MP periscope-style telephoto lens, a 48MP ultra-wide lens and a 50.3MP wide lens. The headline feature is the one-inch sensor — the Sony IMX 989, for the main camera (wide lens). The sensor is also found in Sony’s high-end point-and-shoot camera, the RX100 VII.
There have been companies that have tried to put one-inch sensors in phones before. Obviously, the larger size allows the sensor to gather more light and capture more detailed images. It’s important to remember that this won’t turn a phone into a DSLR, but it can be an important step forward for the smartphone camera. Just for comparison, the iPhone 13 Pro, for example, has a sensor size of 1/1.65-inch, according to DPReview.
The company has told Engadget that Xiaomi took part in the Sony IMX989’s development, and the $15 million cost was also split evenly between the two companies. But the sensor won’t be exclusive to Xiaomi; according to Xiaomi CEO Lei Jun Lei, it’ll be made available to his local competitors after the launch of the 12S Ultra, in order to “promote the advancement of mobile imaging together”. As for Leica’s part on the Xiaomi 12S Ultra, you get a “Leica Summicron 1:1.9-4.1 / 13-120 ASPH camera system” covering all three rear cameras.
The 12S Ultra also has two proprietary Xiaomi Surge chips: a Surge P1 fast-charging chipset and a Surge G1 battery management chipset. The Xiaomi 12S Series is presently available for pre-ordering in China.
Also unveiled at the event in China is the Xiaomi Band 7 Pro, which comes with a 1.64-inch rectangular display, making it look like an entry-level smartwatch. The AMOLED panel has a pixel density of 326ppi and it comes with a built-in GPS receiver.