I spent a day using the Xiaomi 17T Pro, and the Leica cameras made each shot enticing.

      The partnership between phone cameras and brands had a challenging beginning. These collaborations, while featuring prominent names, often felt ambiguous. Simply adding a logo to the camera module and making minor color adjustments may leave you questioning how significantly it impacts the photos, especially with rising phone prices.

      However, such collaborations have started yielding impressive results in recent years, and the Xiaomi 17T Pro clearly exemplifies this.

      I spent a day photographing various subjects, from outdoor portraits and café displays to product arrangements and dimly lit bar corners. What captivated me was not just the realistic colors or technical specifications; it was the character of the images. Each photograph held a distinct texture, a mood in the shadows, and a sense of purpose that drove me to look for the next shot.

      I have always appreciated Xiaomi's collaboration with Leica. While partnerships with Zeiss, Pantone, and Hasselblad have their own unique qualities across different brands, the Leica tuning from Xiaomi feels more like a distinctive shooting journey. The Xiaomi 17T Pro boasts a triple camera system, including a 50MP main camera, a 50MP 5x periscope telephoto, and a 12MP ultra-wide-angle lens.

      Leica establishes the mood.

      I primarily worked with the Leica Authentic mode, which instantly infuses the phone with its distinct character. This mode emphasizes deeper contrast, darker shadows, and a more dramatic portrayal of the scene. As a result, the colors may not always be true to life, but accuracy is not the only intriguing aspect a phone camera can pursue.

      The distinction between Leica Authentic and Leica Vibrant is easily noticeable in the bread rack images. Authentic portrays the scene with a warmer, more subdued, and slightly moody aesthetic. The colors are more controlled, and indoor lighting appears less vibrant, yet the image brims with atmosphere. In contrast, Vibrant enhances the colors, making packaging stand out, which is advantageous for creating bright, visually appealing social-media-ready photos.

      I appreciated having both options, as they feel more like meaningful styles rather than mere filters. They significantly alter the image's character even before editing begins.

      The portrait taken under the yellow flowers demonstrates the camera's capabilities when the scene boasts natural layers. It effectively compresses the background, separates elements, and harmonizes the greenery with the flowers and the street behind, resulting in a shot that feels less like a typical phone photo.

      This image also highlights Xiaomi’s new feature in the 17T series: the Leica Live Moments. This functions similarly to Live Photos or Motion Pictures, capturing a brief video alongside the still image. This allows for selecting the moment's highlight and even setting it as the cover, which proved useful in many instances, enabling selection among different shots of the same scene.

      Some of my favorite captures weren’t the most obvious. For instance, a bag resting on a chair and a plant against a dusty window are just a couple of examples. From cat paintings to a chandelier in a dimly lit room, every scene appeared to transcend the expectations of smartphone photography. There was a surprising restraint in the Xiaomi 17T Pro, avoiding unnecessary brightening.

      For instance, the bag shot captures the fabric texture, rope detail, and the light cascading over the chair. The images of the plant and window exhibit a hazy, almost film-like quality because the camera refrains from overly cleaning up the atmosphere. Even low-light shots of the chandelier and bar possess a warm, imperfect glow that works well, creating a clear visual ambiance.

      I understand why some might have reservations. Shadows can appear quite pronounced, and the processing may come off as stylized. If you're looking for consistent, social-media-ready images, there are other options like iPhones and Galaxies. Nonetheless, I found myself repeatedly drawn to it because the photos felt meaningful.

      Leica enhances the distinctiveness of the Xiaomi 17T Pro’s camera.

      The Xiaomi 17T Pro doesn’t aim to be like the Xiaomi 17 Ultra, and I approached it as such. I focused on the standard Leica experience, primarily alternating between Leica Authentic and Leica Vibrant. While the best current phone cameras exhibit impressive technical performance, including quick focusing, effective HDR handling, sharp image capture, and improved noise reduction compared to older models, finding a camera with true personality is more challenging.

      That’s the experience the Xiaomi 17T Pro offered me during this brief outing. The images were not always flawless, nor did they always faithfully represent the scene. However, they possessed a certain intensity that kept urging me to take one more shot.