Within the final week, each Samsung and Xiaomi have taken the wraps off their newest superphones, however solely certainly one of them has correctly impressed me. I’ve spent weeks testing the Leica Leitzphone by Xiaomi forward of its launch at MWC 2026 and I concluded that it is the greatest digicam telephone I’ve ever used. I even gave it a CNET Editors’ Alternative award as a result of it has been so rattling spectacular — and I feel Samsung ought to be nervous.
Samsung’s Galaxy S26 Extremely is a jack-of-all-trades telephone, packing a supercharged processor, a cool privateness display screen and that all-important S Pen stylus. However its cameras solely noticed small enhancements, with a barely bigger aperture on the primary and telephoto cameras being probably the most notable upgrades. Past that, it actually comes all the way down to Samsung’s numerous software program AI tips, like the flexibility to alter the fashion of hat you are sporting in a photograph.
The S26 Extremely’s cameras have not seen a lot of an improve this yr.
This has turn into a development for Samsung, with the previous few Extremely telephones solely barely iterating on earlier digicam setups, including a couple of further megapixels right here and there however largely leaning into software program updates to make up for a scarcity of {hardware} innovation. Whereas Samsung’s top-tier telephones have been among the many greatest digicam telephones round, Xiaomi and Leica’s Leitzphone has proven what true images innovation appears like.
This digicam beast packs quite a few firsts. We’ll begin with the LOFIC picture sensor, which stands for Lateral Overflow Integration Capacitor and is principally a brand new sort of sensor expertise that improves dynamic vary in a single picture. It is able to taking beautiful photos in all situations, together with at evening. Samsung was rumored to be contemplating LOFIC sensors for its telephones (as is Apple) however evidently opted to not go down this route simply but.
The Leica Leitzphone by Xiaomi has some superb images abilities that assist it take pictures that look virtually nearly as good as these I take from my precise Leica digicam.
The Leitzphone can also be among the many first telephones ever to make use of actual transferring lens components in its telephoto zoom, permitting true lossless zooming slightly than leaping solely between particular zoom ranges. It really works effectively and the same setup has been rumored to seem on the previous few generations of Extremely, nevertheless it’s by no means really occurred.
Then there’s the bodily management ring across the Leitzphone’s digicam, the gorgeous Leica color profiles constructed proper into the digicam expertise and the pristine high quality of the Leica Summilux optics used within the lenses.
The Pictures I’ve Taken on Xiaomi’s Leica Telephone Are A few of My Greatest Ever
By partnering with such a images icon, Xiaomi has actually innovated its images, delivering a number of firsts that genuinely enhance the image-taking expertise. As each an expert photographer and a real fanatic myself, I have been blown away by the pictures I have been in a position to shoot with the telephone.
However Samsung hasn’t excited me this time spherical. Its new generative AI instruments could be enjoyable gimmicks, however they don’t seem to be interesting to an precise photographer like myself. The S26 Extremely must be greater than a cameraphone, in fact — it must be “extremely” in each sense of the phrase. However Samsung’s newest mannequin exhibits that correct images is not a precedence for the corporate.
The Leitzphone is arguably extra digicam than it’s telephone.
As such Samsung dangers dropping out on the large variety of photographers and content material creators (each skilled and newbie alike) who’re as a substitute going to be rivals like Xiaomi for merchandise that may reside as much as their imaging calls for.