Xiaomi just handed flagship phones a tactile trick usually reserved for camera lenses: a rotating physical zoom ring around the rear camera island. The company teased the Xiaomi 17 Ultra Leica Edition in the run-up to its launch, and the centerpiece isn't just marketing flair — it's a mechanical master ring that promises a camera-like way to change focal length and control settings.
A ring that behaves like a lens
Xiaomi calls it the Master Zoom Ring. Photos and teasers show a metalized rotary band circling the circular camera island, complete with a small red Leica engraving nearby. Unlike software dials or on-screen sliders, this ring rotates under your finger, offering the kind of tactile feedback you get from twisting a zoom lens on a DSLR. Leakers and company posts suggest the ring will directly adjust the continuous periscope zoom — zooming smoothly between about 75 mm and 100 mm (roughly 3.1x to 4.3x). Beyond focal length, Xiaomi hints the ring may be used in Pro mode for fine adjustments such as exposure compensation and white balance, which would make it more than a gimmick.
This isn't the first smartphone to flirt with moving camera hardware — previous devices experimented with sliding or movable lens elements — but the 17 Ultra Leica Edition leans into optical heritage by pairing mechanical control with Leica co-engineering and branding, including a custom watermark and the brand's signature red accent.
Cameras, power and the rest of the spec sheet
On optics, there are multiple reported configurations. The Leica Edition centers on a high-resolution periscope telephoto that some sources list as a 200MP continuous-zoom sensor, while other reports highlight a large 50MP 1-inch-type main sensor and a 50MP autofocus ultrawide. The periscope design uses two fixed telephoto optics and interpolates between them to deliver continuous zoom — a hardware/software combo that imitates true optical zoom without the bulk of shifting lens groups.
Under the hood you'll find the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chipset paired with generous memory and storage options (reports mention up to 16GB RAM and 1TB storage), and a big 6,800 mAh battery with 100W wired and 80W wireless charging. The display is said to be a 6.9-inch 12-bit OLED LTPO panel with a 120Hz refresh rate and an astonishing peak brightness figure in the thousands of nits. Video specs reportedly include 8K/30fps and 4K/120fps capture modes.
Xiaomi appears to be releasing two Ultra variants: a regular 17 Ultra with the same camera hardware but without the mechanical ring, and the Leica Edition that adds the rotary control and Leica styling. Price in China for the base Ultra was reported around CNY 6,999, while the Leica Edition lands higher — CNY 7,999 for a model with expanded RAM and storage.
Where this fits in the arms race
Smartphone makers keep chasing camera differentiation: bigger sensors, stacked and periscope modules, and clever software. Xiaomi's mechanical zoom ring is a different approach — it delivers a physical interaction that feels familiar to photographers and that could make zooming feel more precise in practice. Rival flagships continue to push pixel counts and zoom ranges, and other vendors are chasing multi-hundred-megapixel sensors too — for context, some upcoming devices are rumored to ship dual 200MP setups in 2026, so Xiaomi's move is part of a larger optics sprint in the industry. See how other manufacturers are chasing similar camera milestones in the discussion about dual 200MP phones (/news/vivo-x300-ultra-global-two-200mp) and where Samsung's next moves may land among the usual suspects (/news/galaxy-s26-preview).
Small mechanical risks, big ergonomic gains
There are trade-offs. Any moving part on a slim phone invites durability questions: how will the ring hold up to drops, dust, or years of twisting? Will waterproofing remain airtight? On the upside, tactile control can speed up one-handed framing and gives photographers immediate feedback — something no on-screen UI can fully replicate.
Xiaomi's Leica Edition doesn't reinvent optics, but it blends mechanical familiarity with modern sensor tricks. Whether that blend becomes a meaningful advantage will come down to how well the ring is implemented in real-world shooting, how robust the hardware proves to be, and whether the Leica branding translates to tangible imaging benefits beyond aesthetics.
The Leica Edition is the boldest reminder yet that companies are still hunting for fresh ways to make phone cameras feel like cameras again — not just better cameras, but cameras you can interact with. Expect hands-on reviews soon after global rollouts begin, and maybe a few other manufacturers taking notes.