Technologies

Xiaomi’s 17 Ultra Is a Sparkling Photography Powerhouse

With many of its key specs being the same as the Leica Leitzphone, the Xiaomi 17 Ultra has a lot going for it.

Xiaomi and Leica’s Leitzphone wowed me with its incredible photography skills and fancy physical settings wheel, but it’s not the only exciting phone the company launched at this year’s MWC. The base Xiaomi 17 Ultra has many of the Leitzphone’s impressive specs but strips back some of the Leica stuff to be, well, more like a regular phone.

It has the same potent Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 processor, 6.9-inch display and 6,000-mAh battery. The camera hardware is identical too, with the main camera using the same large LOFIC image sensor and the telephoto zoom using moving lens elements for continuous optical zoom. It’s an extremely potent camera setup — I absolutely love the images I’ve taken with it.

So what’s different between this and the Leitzphone? It lacks the physical control wheel around the camera unit for one thing. Though I did enjoy using the dial, especially when I set it to control the exposure compensation, it’s absolutely not a dealbreaker that the 17 Ultra lacks it. There are no Leica color profiles in the camera app that let you mimic the tones you get from Leica’s regular standalone cameras. This is a shame as I adore the look of many of these profiles — especially Leica Chrome — but that’s just one man’s opinion. You may very well never miss them.

The base Ultra doesn’t have the custom black-and-white Leica Android interface either, but I don’t really like it anyway, as I struggle to tell which app is which without proper color cues.

The Photos I’ve Taken on Xiaomi’s Leica Phone Are Some of My Best Ever

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Physically, the Xiaomi 17 Ultra forgoes the Leica red dot logo on the back and the «Leica Camera Germany» etching on the side, which is no big deal if you’re not a Leica fan. Instead of being minimalist black and silver, the 17 Ultra comes in a sparkly, deep green tone that I really like. It reminds me of a fancy kitchen work surface. I honestly mean that as high praise.

The 17 Ultra is ostensibly the same phone as the Leitzphone; it’s just less in-your-face about its Leica credentials. It also comes at a lower price: £1,299 in the UK instead of the £1,699 you’ll need to shell out for the Leica model. Neither phone will be officially offered in the US, but for reference, those prices convert roughly to $1,750 and $2,290.

Is that extra £400 worth it? Well, if you’re a real photo nerd like me and love the idea of having a Leica product in your pocket, then sure. The control wheel and Leica color profiles do make for a superb photography experience. But the base model is still an incredible camera, and that sparkly green design really is lovely.

Technologies

Ziff Davis Sells DownDetector, Speedtest and More to Accenture for $1.2B

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections: Sports Edition Hints and Answers for March 4, #527

Here are hints and the answers for the NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle for March 4, No. 527.

Looking for the most recent regular Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle and Strands puzzles.

Today’s Connections: Sports Edition is a tough one unless you’re really familiar with a certain sports romance show and book series. If you are, you should have no problems with the blue category. If you’re struggling with today’s puzzle but still want to solve it, read on for hints and the answers.

Connections: Sports Edition is published by The Athletic, the subscription-based sports journalism site owned by The Times. It doesn’t appear in the NYT Games app, but it does in The Athletic’s own app. Or you can play it for free online.

Read more: NYT Connections: Sports Edition Puzzle Comes Out of Beta

Hints for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: Lone Star State.

Green group hint: Support the team.

Blue group hint: Hockey love story.

Purple group hint: Not short.

Answers for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Yellow group: Texas teams.

Green group: Sportswear brands.

Blue group: Associated with «Heated Rivalry.»

Purple group: Long ____.

Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words

What are today’s Connections: Sports Edition answers?

The yellow words in today’s Connections

The theme is Texas teams. The four answers are Astros, Mavericks, Stars and Texans.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is sportswear brands. The four answers are Adidas, Champion, Fila and Starter.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is associated with «Heated Rivalry.» The four answers are Hollander, Metros, Raiders and Rozanov.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is long ____. The four answers are Beach State, jump, relief and snapper.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Wednesday, March 4

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for March 4.

Looking for the most recent Mini Crossword answer? Click here for today’s Mini Crossword hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Wordle, Strands, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Need some help with today’s Mini Crossword? It will help if you’re a basketball fan, at least for the answer to 1-Down. Read on for all the answers. And if you could use some hints and guidance for daily solving, check out our Mini Crossword tips.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: Tips and Tricks for Solving The New York Times Mini Crossword

Let’s get to those Mini Crossword clues and answers.