The key to its success is Xiaomi’s laserlink technology. It is its own optical communication module, visible as a small point at the back of the phone and the lens where data is transferred as light (near-infrared laser) at a speed of up to 10 GBPS. It is fast enough to work with Xiaomi’s AI and calculation photography on the phone in a way that traditional external lenses cannot do.

The lens has two pins that connect to the back to pull power from the phone, and Xiaomi says the power draw of the lens is comparable to a built -in camera system. It is portable enough to slip into a bag or bag and the simple plug-and-play nature makes it easy to use. This system can cater for a whole range of specialist lenses for photographers, although you must remember to take it, which denies one of the great benefits of ordinary phone cameras.

Photo: Simon Hill

Considering the laserlink technology and power transfer, this system seems to allow a whole range of other magnetic accessories outside photography. I think of chargers, power banks and mobile game controllers (the low latency is ideal for game). It can also one day enable you to seamlessly link to other devices in the broader ecosystem of Xiaomi, which includes speakers, all kinds of smart house devices and even cars. There is no QI2 support in the Xiaomi 15 series, but this new own system may be the reason why it was transferred.

Before getting too excited, it’s still just a concept with no firm release schedule or prices. We have seen modular phones have previously failed and disappointed, including efforts by Google, LG, Motorola and recently HMD. But the prototype of Xiaomi was amazingly polished, and the potential of a system like this is obvious. More balanced designs without large camera modules, but the option to compete a dedicated camera if I have to? Sign me up.