Leica is rebranding a smart device from Sharp and launching it in a way that is probably designed to make the rest of the world very jealous – or at least mildly interested
A year and a half ago, the boutique camera manufacturer Leica decided to deepen its involvement in the mobile market (beyond the collaborations in the field of photography with Huawei in the past and with Xiaomi now) when it launched its own complete smartphone in Japan – roughly. It was an advanced Aquos R6 device from Sharp that received a new and prettier outer shell along with adjustments to its visual interface and photography application and was sold at the same time, unfortunately only in the Japanese market. Now, it seems that this unusual collaboration can be crowned as successful – because it returns to us in 2022 with the Leitz Phone 2 device, which is also a Sharp device in a slightly different packaging.
The Leitz Phone 2, named after the company’s founder Ernst Leitz, benefits from one of the most advanced screens in the entire smart device market and one that may make consumers outside the land of the rising sun jealous, regardless of the device’s photographic capabilities and optics – thanks to the OLED panel in IGZO technology with a size 6.6-inch diagonal, 2,730×1,260 pixel resolution with a refresh rate of up to 240 Hz (!) and a maximum brightness of 2,000 nits, combined with the Android 12 system, Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chip and IP6X protection against dust plus IPX5 and IPX8 protections against water (which indicates compliance with several different practical tests at the same time).
Beyond storage and screen, the Leitz Phone 2 also features 512GB of internal UFS 3.1 storage including an expansion slot for microSD cards (rarely) and 12GB of LPDDR5X, a built-in optical fingerprint scanner under the display, dual-channel Wi-Fi 6 connectivity, A built-in 5,000mAh battery and an advanced but also modest photography setup with a large 1-inch main rear sensor from Sony with a resolution of 47 megapixels, optical stabilization and Leica’s own Summicron lens array, alongside a dedicated 1.9 megapixel portrait sensor and a 12.3 megapixel selfie sensor -Pixel on the front. There is no telephoto camera with a large optical zoom and no wide-angle camera, as in most of the leading expensive models today – and it is not certain that everyone will appreciate their lack to the same extent.
The Leica and Sharp smartphone will be available for purchase in Japan starting next week at a price of 225,000 yen, or 1,612 dollars which translates to about 5,500 shekels in direct conversion – which would make it after the three most expensive Android models in Israel, in fact, if it were to make an pilgrimage to the Holy Land. Based on the experience of the Leitz Phone 1, the chance of seeing the new and prestigious model outside of Japan is not high at all, but we choose to maintain a cautious and tiny optimism – if the Leitz Phone 2 is also eventually crowned as a commercial success and gets continuity, it is not impossible that -Leica will get an appetite and consider launching in additional markets.
Until then, we can continue to wonder why screens with an extremely high refresh rate of 240 Hz have remained only in Sharp’s smart devices so far – without other international manufacturers ‘dressing up’ the technology as another focal point for their marketing efforts.
