Xiaomi's Modular Optical System: A New Era for Mobile Imaging with Magnetic External Lenses?

Xiaomi's Modular Optical System: A New Era for Mobile Imaging with Magnetic External Lenses?I. Revolutionary Imaging Experience: The Perfect Fusion of Phone and CameraThe Xiaomi Modular Optical System achieves such a smooth shooting experience thanks to its unique LaserLink technology

Xiaomi's Modular Optical System: A New Era for Mobile Imaging with Magnetic External Lenses?

On the evening of March 2nd, Lei Jun showcased a remarkable product during his livestream Xiaomi's magnetically attachable external camera for the Xiaomi 15 series. This lens, featuring an M43 sensor, magnetically attaches to the back of the phone and utilizes the phone's processing power for image capture, generating significant interest. On March 3rd, Xiaomi officially unveiled the product as the "Xiaomi Modular Optical System (Xiaomi MOS)" and provided further details. This article delves into the technical specifics, market potential, and potential impact of this detachable magnetic lens on the mobile imaging landscape.

I. Revolutionary Imaging Experience: The Perfect Fusion of Phone and Camera

At MWC2025 Barcelona, Xiaomi first publicly demonstrated this concept product the Xiaomi Modular Optical System. The system consists of a modified Xiaomi 15 phone and a detachable lens, mirroring the form factor of a traditional DSLR. Official information reveals that the lens boasts a 100-megapixel M4/3 sensor, a 35mm large-aperture all-aspherical glass lens group, and utilizes near-light-speed laser transmission technology (LaserLink) for seamless connection with the phone. The magnetic hot-swappable design is convenient and allows users to easily attach the lens to the back of the phone via magnets. Crucially, it seamlessly utilizes Xiaomi's AISP (Xiaomi Artificial Intelligence Image Signal Processor) for efficient image processing and AI computational photography.

Wired magazine also reported on this detachable lens, providing additional technical details. The lens features an F1.4 aperture, a 35mm focal length, supports variable aperture and RAW format shooting. The attachment method is similar to MagSafe, ensuring ease and speed of use. Within the camera app, users simply click an icon to switch to the detachable lens mode, and photos are saved directly to the phone's album. The lens incorporates an autofocus motor and a physical focus ring, supporting touch focus and manual fine-tuning. In Pro mode, the lens's response speed is almost identical to the built-in phone camera, enabling natural and precise bokeh effects.

The Xiaomi Modular Optical System achieves such a smooth shooting experience thanks to its unique LaserLink technology. This technology uses near-infrared laser data transmission, achieving speeds up to 10Gbps, significantly faster than Bluetooth and Wi-Fi. This ensures stable and high-speed data transfer, eliminating the latency and instability issues common with traditional external lenses. Furthermore, LaserLink technology works synergistically with AI computational photography to further optimize image quality and enhance shooting results. This detachable lens design offers photography enthusiasts the possibility of expanding their professional lens options, instantly giving their phone DSLR-like capabilities.

II. The M43 Revolution in Mobile Devices: Technological Breakthroughs and Real-World Challenges

As early as May 2023, rumors circulated about mobile phone manufacturers exploring M43 sensor solutions. Due to its larger size, the M43 sensor theoretically provides superior optical quality and imaging performance compared to existing mobile phone sensors. However, the 1.33-inch M43 sensor is too large for direct integration into a phone. Teardowns of the Xiaomi 15 Ultra reveal that even a 1-inch main camera is quite substantial; an M43 sensor is considerably larger. This means that directly integrating an M43 sensor into a phone would require sacrificing other hardware components to create space, presenting significant challenges in practical applications.

The Xiaomi Modular Optical System cleverly solves this problem. By integrating the M43 sensor into a detachable lens and using a magnetic connection, Xiaomi has effectively brought the M43 format to mobile phones. This not only avoids the hardware limitations imposed by the large size of the M43 sensor but also provides mobile phone manufacturers with new design possibilities for their imaging systems.

III. Sony's Unfinished Business: Can Xiaomi Break Through?

Detachable external lenses are not a new concept. Sony launched the QX series of external lenses in 2013, but due to issues such as unstable communication, slow transfer speeds, and latency, they ultimately failed to achieve success. These problems stemmed primarily from limitations in wireless communication technology at the time, resulting in image quality that, in some situations, was inferior to the phone's built-in camera.

Xiaomi's Modular Optical System effectively mitigates these issues. Its LaserLink technology ensures high-speed and stable data transmission, and AI computational photography optimizes image quality, compensating for the shortcomings of traditional external lenses in image quality and response speed. Xiaomi's recently released sample photos demonstrate improvements in image quality, claiming to achieve "unprecedented optical texture on a mobile phone." This suggests that Xiaomi may be able to overcome the bottleneck faced by Sony and other manufacturers in the detachable lens field, ushering in a new era for mobile imaging.

IV. The Future of Ultra Flagships: Imaging Innovation and Market Strategy

Currently, the Xiaomi Modular Optical System is still in the research and development phase, and its mass production timeline remains uncertain. However, some Weibo bloggers predict that this technology may be launched as an enhanced accessory, serving as a key selling point for Ultra flagship phones. In recent years, competition in mobile phone imaging has intensified, with main camera sensor sizes continually increasing and telephoto lenses striving for larger sizes. However, this has led to oversized and excessively protruding camera modules, creating a difficult balance between imaging specifications, overall configuration, and grip feel.

The Xiaomi Modular Optical System offers a new approach for mobile phone manufacturers, allowing them to enhance imaging capabilities through external lenses, avoiding the constraints of internal space limitations. For Ultra flagship phones aiming for the ultimate imaging experience, this external lens solution could become a significant competitive advantage and open a new chapter in the mobile imaging field. This approach not only satisfies consumers' demand for high image quality but also mitigates issues related to phone size and weight, improving user experience.

In conclusion, Xiaomi's Modular Optical System represents an innovative attempt in mobile imaging technology. While its mass production prospects remain to be seen, its technological innovation and market potential cannot be ignored. If Xiaomi successfully overcomes technical challenges and brings it to market, it will have a profound impact on the mobile imaging field and provide consumers with a completely new shooting experience. In the future, it is likely that more mobile phone manufacturers will follow Xiaomi's model, exploring more diverse mobile imaging solutions.