There are a lot of concept devices on show at MWC 2025 , but Xiaomi has one of the most interesting.
The Xiaomi Modular Optical System is a wordy way of saying you can snap a proper camera onto the back of the phone when you want something more beefy. For this concept, it’s the Xiaomi 15 showing how it works.
For now there’s just one snap-on lens and it snaps into place with strong magnets akin to an iPhone MagSafe charger. Two small metal pegs locate into small holes on the phone to ensure everything is lined up perfectly.
Check out our Best in Show MWC 2025 awards .
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It’s a plug-and-play type experience so once the lens is in place a button in the camera app lets you switch between this and the built-in cameras. An endlessly rotating dial on the attachment can be used for manual focus, though it’s a shame you can’t use it to adjust the aperture.
As you would expect, the lens also has a sensor inside and the raw data is transmitted to the phone via what Xiaomi calls LaserLink, which uses near-infrared technology.
“This enables the transition of the purest form of raw data for precise processing by Xiaomi AISP computational photography platform,” said the firm.
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In terms of specs, Xiaomi hasn’t said all that much other than it has a Fusion X Sensor, all-6G spherical lens assembly and a variable aperture which ranges from f/1.4 to f/11. All this comes in a package around half the height of a comparable traditional lens.
It’s manufactured in-house and apart from some expected software glitches for an early production unit, worked really well. It feels super premium and the magnets are strong enough that I didn’t worry about the lens falling off.
The rotating dial has a silky smooth, satisfying action and sample photos viewed on the phone look very good at a glance.
It’s certainly not the only product with this kind of idea we’ve seen. Xiaomi has made something similar in the past and Realme was showing off a similar concept at MWC 2025 .
Chris Martin / Foundry
Rewind the clock many years and the Sony QX10 is a very close idea and Samsung’s Galaxy Camera and Galaxy K Zoom aren’t too far off either.
For whatever reason, those ideas didn’t stick around for long, but maybe Xiaomi has cracked it with this concept – pending how much one will cost, of course.
I certainly like the idea and it will be interesting to see if Xiaomi brings it to market in the future, though it would likely be China–only to start with.
Find out everything Xiaomi announced at MWC 2025 .
Author: Chris Martin, Managing Editor, Tech Advisor
Tech Advisor Managing Editor Chris got his break as a reporter at infamous site The Inquirer and has been with us for more than 12 years. With a BA degree in Music Technology, audio is his specialism, but over the years he has reviewed all kinds of gadgets, from smartwatches to mesh Wi-Fi to coffee machines.
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