The past week or so has been pretty frenetic, in a good way. You'll find out this week, as our more concise conversations than usual revolve around these themes. This year's Mobile World Congress in Barcelona introduced some pretty interesting new technology trends (and, contrary to what the event's name might suggest, isn't limited to phones). This is followed by a diagram showing how the German camera company Leica is trying to give Xiaomi's smartphones that extra element to maintain their position in the competitive field. A lot has to do with their history and approach.
future
Automobiles are this year's main attraction at this year's show, which takes its name from the fascination with mobile phones. You couldn't imagine it, could you? Now imagine who is creating this glow. Xiaomi. Well, you wouldn't have guessed that either! As I said, it's “an undeniably bold leap of faith.” The amount of investment, including human resources and technology, is staggering. In fact, Xiaomi repeatedly emphasized in our conversation that the entire investment pool was created by carving out some of the profits that other divisions have made over the years. There is no external funding for the SU7 electric vehicle. Another key element of this puzzle – Xiaomi is building as much technology as possible in-house to reduce dependence on component manufacturers and thereby reduce the vagaries of the supply chain that occur from time to time. Masu.
read: Xiaomi SU7's in-house technology ingenuity signals a change in philosophy
What began as a showcase for cutting-edge smartphone technology for many years has changed things significantly. Things might have been very different if Xiaomi hadn't announced its new flagships, the Xiaomi 14 Ultra and Xiaomi 14. The price for India will only concern Xiaomi 14. That's because larger and probably more expensive cell phones don't.It won't arrive on our shores for now – there's no official announcement yet, but the hints I can pick up seem to suggest that the price could be a bit lower than it is now. INR75,000 marks. Whether that's the box price or the balance with the bonuses remains to be seen. There are still many similarities between the two phones, including Qualcomm's latest and greatest Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip, new HyperOS software, and a camera optimized by Leica.
There were others too. Samsung doesn't have a new phone, and its AI touts are something we've already heard since the launch of his Galaxy S24 phone last month, but it's a health-tracking Galaxy phone that was kept safe in a large glass case. Several Rings have appeared. . Needless to say, there are no details regarding specifications, pricing, or availability. Not much has been said about HMD Global's attempt to attract attention with the Barbie phone. There are also a few flying cars on display (though none of them actually fly), reminding us that this space is bubbling beneath the surface.
Perhaps it was Lenovo (when they recently decided to be innovative) that showed something quite interesting (I have to say, just because I left the building doesn't mean the party was over ) perhaps showed something quite interesting (no, not the eternal concept of a bendable Moto phone) – a laptop with a transparent display. Calling this a transparent laptop is a stretch (though the components underneath are still housed within a typical black chassis). It's a 17.3-inch microLED display, but the resolution is still limited to 720p, at least on this concept. It's perfectly fine for most home and work use cases, but it can't be written into a spec sheet. There's also no physical keyboard. It is also made of glass and is touch sensitive. I'm not really sure if this keyboard approach is right for me. It's fine on mobile phones, but it doesn't necessarily work on computers either.
Read: Mobile World Congress 2024: Xiaomi SU7, AI advances, Android evolution
past
I always love conversations about the past. A human perspective not found in history books. Especially if it's a native's awareness of how things from the past shape the present and suggest the future. Leica Her Gallery Wetzler and Her Ernst In a short conversation at the Leitz Museum, a man (I'll call him Uli) who I've come to respect so much has learned not only about Leica's history, but also about our It gave me a window. But some of the most iconic photos in our history (and you've probably never wondered who took these photos or how) were created using Leica cameras. We have explained in detail what people clicked on. That's when Leica's history and heritage become clearer. We live in a time when it is common to try to look into the past as far as it is convenient. Uli details how Leica as a brand (and the Leitz family, the people who created it) survived an incredibly difficult time when a man called Hitler was in charge. did.
read: From 1914 to the present, Leica's definitive history is Xiaomi's photography trump card
This history is also what made possible the production of the world's first compact digital cameras, which we have taken for granted for the past several decades. The streets of New York are the first photographs to come from the UR-Leica, the undisputed origin of portable photography equipment. By dotting the timeline, you can see everything that your phone's camera is currently up to. Leica had not dabbled in smartphones before, but in a sense, this may have been the perfect timing for the partnership with Xiaomi. This will not only benefit Xiaomi, but also consumers, and will also increase competition.
There are a few things that Leica and Xiaomi have made clear. Improving your photography basics will truly improve the photos you take. Artificial intelligence can't do that. “Good photography requires the best lenses and optics. We collaborate on the photo output from the device and it's up to her Xiaomi to choose the components that best suit our approach,” Leica said. approach is summarized. In fact, during this time I was also using her Xiaomi 14 smartphone (even on vacation she never clicked more than 700 photos). From these basic facts, the optical system seems to be optimized for handling light (no blown out exposures even when light hits it). in the frame), view details (you rarely need to switch to 50 megapixel mode), and zoom in on distant subjects (floating telephoto lens).
One thing Xiaomi has made clear is that it will minimize the use of AI in its smartphone cameras, if not completely ignore it. It's a reliable, old-fashioned method that extracts maximum detail and realism from your photos as close to the real scene as possible. Nothing beats good hardware as a foundation. However, this is a more difficult path to walk and often requires painstaking efforts to make everything work optimally. Intuition and experience are important. Both brands don't want to skimp on their efforts.
The final choice is the consumer's. Do you want your photos to undergo advanced AI processing, or do you prefer a bit of realism? My personal preference is clear. But for most people, it is better to compare and then choose.
The following article appeared in this week's issue of Wired Wisdom. You can subscribe here.
