Xiaomi delivers 13T series sans the Leica cameras in some markets

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!

Source 1 | Source 2

Reader comments

  • jphkdhkd

The following video may be helpful: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1d_WR2UvzIs The Japanese version (sans Leica) is always shown on the right. The author compares it to Leica's Authentic and Vibrant modes (in his experience, the Jp versi...

  • Mmo

After further investigation it seem that both devices leica and non-leica are using the same sensor Sony IMX-707. I have the feeling they are both the same, just missing the label and some software features for the not-leica version. https://w...

  • Mmo

Hey guys, So I know that they cannot sell leica on some markets due patent issues. But just maybe, this is the same hardware for all the markets, just missing the "Leica Label"? I checked pictures for both version Leica labeled and n...