11 months ago
58
When it announced the Xiaomi 13T and 13T Pro the company went to great lengths to hype their Leica-tuned cameras and for good reason as we found out. Except the phones will miss on the Leica branding and tailored camera modes in certain markets. A reader of ours noticed the Chilean and Nigerian markets are among the unlucky ones. Certain regions are yet to get the phones so the list might expand too.
The Leica goodies are not limited to just lenses, there are a handful of software functionalities as well. For instance, the default Camera app offers two main styles of shooting - Leica Vibrant and Leica Authentic, just like the higher-end Xiaomi 13, 13 Pro and 13 Ultra. There are a handful of Portrait mode-related optimizations as well.
One would assume that this would bring down the price of both handsets in the said countries, but this isn't the case. We did a quick market research and found both devices to be selling for about the same price as their Leica-enabled counterparts in Europe. The Xiaomi 13T can be found for a little over €600-equivalent, while the 13T Pro sells for around €800-equivalent in both Chile and Nigeria.
We don't know the reason behind this move - it may be due to some market restrictions or a clause in the Xiaomi-Leica agreement that doesn't allow the smartphone maker to release Leica-branded products in some markets. We are hoping Xiaomi will step in and explain this.
Thanks, Jack for the tip!
English (US)