Leica's first smartphone "Leitz Phone 1".What is "Leica-ness" read from its appearance?

Leica Camera Japan and Softbank announced on June 17 that they will release the Android smartphone "Leitz Phone 1", which is completely supervised by Leica Camera, after July. The terminal selling price at SoftBank Shop is 187,920 yen including tax.

On the same day, I got the opportunity to get the actual Leitz Phone 1, so in this article I will deliver a photo of its appearance. At the moment, the camera function is still under development, so it was not possible to check the UI and image quality of the camera app, which is a Leica-style design. Here, I would like to think about the "Leica-ness" that can be read from the exterior from the actual photo.

Machined aluminum body reminiscent of the latest Leica cameras

The housing of Leitz Phone 1 is machined from aluminum. The structure is such that the front and back are sandwiched between glass. It is a cutting process that is often seen in notebook computers, but it is rarely used in camera bodies. As far as I know, the Leica T, released by Leica in 2014, is the first digital camera to claim a "unibody" machined from aluminum. The current product is inherited by the "Leica TL2".

Reference: "Leica TL2" placed at the Touch & Try venue

For the Leitz Phone 1, how to make such a body and how to scrape off the design elements described later are familiar to the world view of the Leica TL2. Therefore, it may be different from the "Leica-ness" that veteran camera fans imagine (like the Balnack Leica and M-type Leica), but this is also one of the natural "Leica-ness" in the current Leica. Certainly there is.

Knurling on the side of the main body

The simple appearance is characterized by the knurling on both sides. When you pick up the Leitz Phone 1, the delicate feel unique to cutting shows its presence in your hand. The design combines a camera-like motif with the anti-slip function that is the original purpose of knurling.

Reference: Leica interchangeable lens knurling

Mark Shepard, head of the Leica Camera Design Department, who was in charge of designing the Leitz Phone 1, was originally a Volkswagen Group design team, Walter de Silva (in charge of designing VW Golf 6/7, etc.) He is also involved in the design of the "Leica M9 Titanium" (limited model announced in 2010). It is interesting that he was in charge of camera design after working on car design.

Mark Sheppard. From the online presentation on June 17th

The depth of Leica design can be glimpsed in the words Shepherd said in the past. When interviewing the Leica M10, which appeared in 2017, he told the author, "When designing the (iconic and traditional) M-type Leica, it is important not to make it feel like it was designed." A truly talented designer can even leave no trace of his work. The design that Leica describes as "modest" must be supported by the aesthetics that can be described as the designer's "courage to do nothing extra".

It has a fingerprint sensor in the screen. The display has a Felica mark on the back of the 6.6-inch Pro IGZO OLED. Compatible with Osaifu-Keitai. Top and bottom. The main body size is about 74 x 162 x 9.5 mm. Weight is about 212g. It is almost invisible depending on the angle of light, but it bears the name of Summicron. It has a single camera configuration and is equipped with a flash and a ToF sensor around it.

The conflict between design and radio waves

It seems that Sharp, which manufactures the Leitz Phone 1, also struggled to meet Leica's strict demands. The metal part that surrounds the outer circumference of the smartphone has the function of an antenna, which is divided into several parts with resin parts to prevent radio wave interference. Gray resin parts can also be seen in the knurled design on the side of the Leitz Phone 1.

At first glance, it seems that nothing is happening, but in fact, it seems that this resin part was narrowed to match the pitch of the knurling. Considering the stability of communication, I would like to make it a wider part, but it seems that Leica did not loosen the design hand here as well, and Sharp's development team was quite technically "attacked".

"Covered lens cap", a classic work

Another point where you can enjoy camera-like behavior is the included aluminum lens cap. Normally, smartphones think about how to prevent the camera part from protruding, but Leica boldly included the idea of ​​"preparing a lens cap."

The lens cap of the Leitz Phone 1 engraved with "Leica" is shaped to remind you of that of Leica lenses before the 1960s. The difference is that it is fixed with a magnet. By embedding magnets in each of the main body side and the cap side, it is not possible to attach it when the Leica characters are sloppy.

At the time of removal, it seems that the other side is flipped up by pushing the part with the notch of the cap with a finger and grasped with the other hand. When I tried it, when I grabbed the cap itself and rotated it a little to the left or right, I could remove the cap so that it would lift up due to the repulsion of the magnet, so in practice such a method may be an ant.

The back of the lens cap.There is a notch in part When you press the notch, the cap pops up.

Sharp wanted to add a lock mechanism to this cap to prevent it from falling off, but Leica's simplicity did not allow it. It's still unclear if this cap can be purchased separately if it's lost, and how much it costs.

Comes with a Leica badge with a familiar texture that also comes with a soft silicone case

LFI gallery widget

There is a booklet on the theme of Leica and her photo called "LFI", which is closely related to Leica. Leitz Phone 1 comes pre-installed with a widget for the web gallery run by its LFI. A setting screen is also provided, and you can customize it by displaying curated photos and selecting your favorite category. It is a function that Leica does not have in "AQUOS R6", which supervises only the camera, and it can be said that this is also a Leica-like element that is active in photography culture activities.

LFI widget displayed on the home screen LFI widget setting screen You can display the works selected by the curator.

Exploring image quality potential with Anju's work

With this touch and try, I couldn't try the unfinished camera function. Instead, a work taken by photographer Anju will be exhibited at the venue, with a 1-inch sensor with 20.2 million effective pixels, a 19 mm equivalent F1.9 Summicron lens with 7 elements, and a Leitz Phone 1 original Leica style image creation. , I was telling the potential of this machine.

© Anju The gradation of the bright part makes you feel the room of a large 1-inch sensor for a smartphone © Anju shooting mode "Leitz Looks" allows you to enjoy "beautiful black-and-white shooting that embodies Leica" Reference: Center of the above work Part (left) and upper right part (right) There was an icon for the camera app, but when you tap it, the word "COMING SOON" appears. It was taken as an element unique to the prototype.

The Leitz Phone 1 is scheduled to be demoed at Leica stores nationwide (the start date is undecided). The slides shown at the online recital included photos of the Leica Ginza store and the Leica Professional Store Tokyo, Leica GINZA SIX, and Leica Kyoto store on the second floor of the store.

This magazine: Makoto Suzuki