Leica Announces Leitz Phone1 Smartphone

Leica has introduced the Leitz Phone1 to the Japanese market. According to Leica, the smartphone “combines uncompromising quality, peerless optical engineering and imaging software mastery with Leica’s iconic design.”

The Leitz Phone1 is the first smartphone designed by Leica, named after its founder, Ernst Leitz (II). The device is designed by Leica design studio in Germany and sports a minimalistic design. The phone is built with an anodised aluminium case and matte black glass. It features knurled edges for a secure fit, even when used wet. The back of the phone features a large Leica lens with the red dot Leica logo on the side and a magnetic lens cap.

The lens has an aperture of f/1.9 with up to 6x digital zoom and an equivalent focal length of 19 mm. The smartphone has a single built-in camera but comes without a built-in optical zoom.

There is a 1-inch image sensor with a resolution of 20.2 MP behind the lens. The sensor records Raw and JPEG images and comes with Leica’s proprietary software engine i.e. the Leitz engine. The Leitz engine performs a variety of tasks, including bokeh, colour correction, edge refinement and noise reduction. It also comes with a Leitz Looks mode for black-and-white images, with a typical Leica camera look-and-feel.

The device runs on Android 11 and is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 888. 5G chip. It is a 5G phone that comes with 12GB RAM and 256GB internal storage. The front of the device sports a 6.6” WUXGA+ OLED display with 1260 x 2730 resolution while the selfie camera comes with 12.6MP resolution and has an f/2.3 lens. This is a rebranded and redesigned Sharp Aquos R6 smartphone, produced in collaboration with Sharp Corporation. The Leitz Phone1 will be sold exclusively in Japan through Softbank, a japanese distributor.