The Xiaomi 17 Ultra Leica Edition is going global tomorrow with a new name

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A new name but the same exciting feature

The Xiaomi 17 Ultra Leica Edition
The Xiaomi 17 Ultra Leica Edition (Image credit: Xiaomi)
  • The Xiaomi 17 Ultra Leica Edition will be called the 'Leica Leitzphone powered by Xiaomi' outside China
  • This phone has a mechanical zoom ring for the camera
  • It's launching on February 28

Late last year Xiaomi unveiled one of the most interesting phones we’ve seen in a while, and no, we’re not talking about the second screen-packing Xiaomi 17 Pro and Xiaomi 17 Pro Max. Rather, we’re referring to the Xiaomi 17 Ultra Leica Edition, which only has one screen but includes a mechanical zoom ring for the camera, which can also be used to adjust the focus or exposure.

That launch was just for China, but the phone is about to go global, and Xiaomi has just confirmed that it will do so under a new name.

Posting on its Spanish X account (via Phandroid), the company has revealed that the Xiaomi 17 Ultra Leica Edition will be sold outside China as the Leica Leitzphone powered by Xiaomi, and added — according to the AI translation — that this phone "takes mobile photography one step further."

A tweaked design but the camera ring's intact

Based on leaked images shared by @Frankforphones it seems that this change in name will be accompanied by some tweaks to the design, with this version seemingly ditching the two-tone rear of the Chinese version, and rotating the Leica logo 90 degrees.

But the mechanical zoom ring — which is its most interesting feature — seems to still be present, and we’d expect the specs will be similar too.

For reference then, the Chinese model has a Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chipset, up to 16GB of RAM, up to 1TB of storage, a 6.9-inch 120Hz screen, a 6,800mAh battery with 90W charging, a 50MP wide camera, a 50MP ultra-wide, and a 200MP periscope camera which you can control with that zoom ring.

We’ll find out if there are any spec differences for the global model soon, as Xiaomi is unveiling it tomorrow (February 28) at MWC 2026 in Barcelona.

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James Rogerson

James is a freelance phones, tablets and wearables writer and sub-editor at TechRadar. He has a love for everything ‘smart’, from watches to lights, and can often be found arguing with AI assistants or drowning in the latest apps. James also contributes to 3G.co.uk, 4G.co.uk and 5G.co.uk and has written for T3, Digital Camera World, Clarity Media and others, with work on the web, in print and on TV.

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