Most likely, you wont see it on a Leica M camera: Leica hints that generative AI tools like Gemini Omni are at odds with its photography heritage, but says they make perfect sense for phones like the Xiaomi 17T Pro

Date:
Sat, 30 May 2026 16:00:00 +0000

Description:
At a roundtable attended by TechRadar, Leica shared its thoughts on the relationship between photography and generative AI.

FULL STORY ======================================================================Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Reddit Pinterest Flipboard Threads Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google Newsletter Subscribe to our newsletter These days, its not uncommon
for phones to share two big selling points: a partnership with a trusted photography brand and flashy AI features. The Xiaomi 17T Pro , launched this week in Vienna, is no different, boasting Leica-tuned cameras and fresh new
AI skills from Google 's text-to-video tool, Gemini Omni . Of course, Leica
is a storied brand with 157 years of history so how does Omni's presence on the Xiaomi 17T Pro sit with this photography heritage?

At a post-launch roundtable attended by TechRadar, the German camera giant which has been collaborating with Xiaomi since 2022 shared its take on the utility of generative AI, and its remarks were decidedly diplomatic. Google's Erin Pettigrew demonstrating Gemini Omni at Xiaomi's Vienna launch event (Image credit: Future) For context, at the launch itself, Google made a cameo appearance to reintroduce Gemini Omni, which debuted at Google I/O 2026 earlier this month and is available on compatible Android phones , including the Xiaomi 17T series. Latest Videos From You may like Leica Leitzphone vs a $3,000 mirrorless camera can you tell which photo is which? I took over 500 photos on the telephoto master Xiaomi 17T Pro here are my favorite zoom
shots Goodbye Sony? Leicas bold new move to control its own sensor
development On stage in Vienna, Erin Pettigrew, Director of Product
Experience at Gemini, generated a postcard-style video of herself enjoying
the citys cafe culture to send back to [her] friends and family, presumably because doing so was easier than filming an actual video of herself enjoying Vienna's cafe culture.

Here's what Leica had to say about generative AI tools like Omni:

The philosophy of Leica is always to create authentic images; real images
that really replicate reality, said Marius Eschweiler, VP of Business Unit Mobile at Leica. I think there is a little difference between customers who are choosing [to use] a smartphone for taking images [and traditional photographers], and I think we are offering smartphone users a good Leica experience with different Leica modes that are focused on authenticity.

But there are also use cases [for generative AI], like this cute video postcard Erin [Pettigrew] presented. This is just a different use case. Whether you want to take a serious image or create something with generative AI I think thats a different use case. Most likely, you won't see it on a Leica M camera, but I think on a Xiaomi 17T series, it makes perfect sense. Get daily insight, inspiration and deals in your inbox Sign up for breaking news, reviews, opinion, top tech deals, and more. Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from us on behalf of our
trusted partners or sponsors By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

Leicas Head of Development and Engineering for Mobile, Pablo Acevedo Noda,
was also keen to point out that Leica offers a Content Credentials feature, which embeds a digital signature into photos taken with Leica hardware including the best Xiaomi phones to verify their authenticity. A photo taken on the Leica-tuned Xiaomi 17T Pro (Image credit: Future) Adding Content Credentials to photos taken with the phone prevents somebody from tampering with the photo afterwards [or at least] youll know that it has been tampered with, Noda explained.

Sometimes, it will be obvious if you add something special with Nano Banana, for example but sometimes, it will not be obvious. The metadata will have that information there. That's the important part. What to read next Gemini Omni pushes AI creativity With SynthID, Google is cleaning up the AI mess it helped make, but Omni power makes it clear we'll never get ahead of
generative AI fiction Xiaomi 17 Ultra hands-on: 3 upgrades I love and 2
things it's missing

In a similar vein, Google announced a major upgrade for its Verify AI tool at I/O 2026 to show that it too is concerned about preserving authenticity and combating misinformation (though that feels a little bit like an arms dealer preaching to the masses about gun safety).

The sticky relationship between photography and generative AI has been a
topic of conversation for several years now. Ive asked the likes of Samsung , Qualcomm , and Honor for their thoughts on the subject in the past, and while some of those companies have been looser with their definition of photography than others (in the early days of Galaxy AI, Samsung told me theres no such thing as a real picture), most seem to agree that there is a place for generative AI tools in photography, as long as theyre presented to users as a choice.

Of course, theres a big difference between AI-enhanced photo tweaks and a full-blown text-to-image machine like Gemini Omni, but its clear that tech companies are aware of (and in many cases, reacting to) consumer concerns surrounding AI.

My hunch is that Leica a 157-year-old camera maker has its own private thoughts about tools like Gemini Omni, but diplomacy prevails when multiple companies are involved in producing a single smartphone such as the Xiaomi
17T Pro. At least we know that Leicas traditional M cameras are safe from generative AI for now

For more on Xiaomis latest handsets, check out our full Xiaomi 17T Pro review and our dedicated feature on the Xiaomi 17T Pros excellent 5x telephoto
camera . Today's best Xiaomi 17T Pro deals 799 View 799 View 849 View Show more We check over 250 million products every day for the best prices Follow TechRadar on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our expert news, reviews, and opinion in your feeds. Make sure to click the Follow button!

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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/phones/leica-hints-that-generative-ai-tools-like-gem ini-omni-are-at-odds-with-its-photography-heritage-but-says-they-make-perfect- sense-for-phones-like-the-xiaomi-17t-pro


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