Following the longtime collaboration with Huawei and the more recent Sharp, Leica is finally launching its own smartphone. Announced at a Tokyo press conference last week, the Leitz Phone 1 is Leica’s first self-branded mobile phone.

The camera maker isn’t afraid to admit that the Leitz Phone 1 is actually a rebadged Sharp Aquos R6, with the former emphasizing a “true Leica experience” down to the level of industrial design and user interface.

The Leitz Phone 1, named after Leica’s original brand, shares a similar design language with its iconic cameras, and it comes with a Leica Red Dot plus a magnetic circular lens cap. But instead of leather back, the device sports a matt black glass cover to go with the “Leica silver” metallic body and this comes in at 9.5mm thick and 212g heavy.

Just like the Aquos R6, the Leitz Phone 1 packs a 1-inch 20-megapixel sensor for its f/1.9 main camera, along with a 12.6-megapixel selfie camera on the other side. Its 6.6-inch IGZO OLED display offers a sharp 2,730 x 1,260 resolution, as well as a 240Hz variable refresh rate by way of black frame insertion. There’s also a “3D ultrasonic” fingerprint sensor under the display, and this can read up to two fingerprints simultaneously for extra security.

While you’ll also find the same Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 flagship processor and 12GB of RAM here. The Leitz Phone 1 runs on Android 11 which features a “largely monochrome” UI customized by Leica. Unsurprisingly, the camera app offers a “Leitz Looks” mode for capturing black-and-white photos, which should keep Leica fans happy.

For now, the Leitz Phone 1 is a Softbank exclusive in Japan, and it’s asking for US$1,700. There’s no word on international availability just yet.(SD-Agencies)