Xiaomi, unlike Google and Samsung, thinks camera hardware comes first

Source: The Verge

Photo: Dominic Preston / The Verge

Launch and Focus on Hardware

When it launched the 17 and 17 Ultra in Europe on Saturday, Xiaomi bucked an industry trend: it didn’t really talk about AI at all. The company also kept the conversation away from AI when it showcased the two phones’ cameras, including a special‑edition 17 Ultra co‑created with Leica.

According to Angus Ng, the company’s director of communications and public relations, that was intentional.

“We’re still currently focusing on what is the limitation of hardware,” Ng told me at MWC 2026, when I asked why its photography approach seemed so different from Google’s and Samsung’s recent Pixel 10A and Galaxy S26 launches. “If it really comes to a point where we …”

Read the full story at The Verge.