Leica launches Leitz Phone 1 as the brand’s first smartphone in Japan

Jeet — Thu, 17 Jun 2021 08:24:35 +0000

Leica, the company known for camera sensors developed in partnership with Chinese giant Huawei, has released its first self-branded smartphone focused towards the Japanese market — Leitz Phone 1, as a SoftBank exclusive device.

Looking at the specifications, the device is quite similar to the Sharp Aquos R6 which was also launched exclusively in Japan. The phone is touted to offer a “true Leica experience” down to the level of industrial design and user interface.

As for the design, the Leitz Phone 1 comes with Leica Red Dot and a magnetic circular lens cap. It also has a matte black glass cover on the “Leica Silver” metallic body. The device measures 9.5mm in thickness and weighs around 212 grams.

The smartphone features a 6.6-inch IGZO OLED display and offers a 2730 x 1260 pixels screen resolution along with an adaptive 240Hz refresh rate. Underneath, the device is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 chipset, coupled with 12GB of RAM and 256GB of internal storage with support for expandable storage.

The highlight of the phone is the massive 1-inch camera sensor on the back that has a 20-megapixel shooter with f/1.9 aperture and 19mm equivalent focal length. On the front side, there’s a 12.6-megapixel selfie snapper.

In the software department, the device is running the Android 11 operating system out-of-the-box with the company’s own custom user interface. The phone, which has an IP68 rating to make it water-resistant, is powered by a 5,000mAh battery.

The Leitz Phone 1, which is a SoftBank-exclusive device, is priced at 187,920 yen in Japan that roughly converts to $1,700. The phone will be up for pre-orders from 18th June and will be available for purchase in late July.

Sharp Aquos R6 Archives - Gizmochina

Leica launches Leitz Phone 1 as the brand’s first smartphone in Japan