Realme Unveils Interchangeable-Lens Concept Phone at MWC 2025

Highlights

• Realme unveiled an interchangeable-lens concept smartphone at MWC 2025.
• It allows users to attach Leica M lenses for DSLR-quality optics.
• The phone features a custom Sony 1-inch sensor, supports different lenses manually and runs on a Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset.
• Xiaomi introduced a similar concept in 2022 with magnetic lens mounts, sensor integration in the lens attachment and wireless data transfer.

Realme has showcased its Interchangeable-Lens Concept Smartphone at MWC 2025. First teased a few days ago, the concept phone was revealed alongside the company’s latest AI imaging technologies. Here’s what we know about the concept phone for now.

Get a closer look at the groundbreaking Interchangeable-lens Concept! 👀✨ Explore the details and see how it’s redefining mobile photography. 📸 #realmeMWC2025 #TechDrivesStyleThrives pic.twitter.com/1pfw2sQB81

— realme Global (@realmeglobal) March 4, 2025

Let’s take a look back at a big moment from realme’s Launch Event at MWC 2025, where the Interchangeable-Lens Concept went head-to-head with the iPhone in a photography showdown. Who came out on top?
#realmeMWC2025 #TechDrivesStyleThrives pic.twitter.com/F2CR1gAnuu

— realme Global (@realmeglobal) March 3, 2025

Sharing an unboxing video for the concept lens, Realme writes, “You’re stuck choosing between a smartphone & a pro camera… so we gave you BOTH. 😏📷 Why pick one when you can have the best of both worlds? At MWC 2025, realme is unveiling our FIRST  interchangeable lens concept smartphone. 📸🔥 Imagine switching lenses like a pro but keeping it all in your pocket. Game-changer? We think so.”

Modular Smartphone Cameras

Chinese brands have been adopting a different approach from Apple and Samsung, and experimenting with larger camera sensors on their flagship phones. While this has improved camera quality, it has also led to bulkier camera modules. Samsung has yet to adopt larger sensors due to this issue. However, Realme and Xiaomi continue to push boundaries.

Now, Realme has introduced a concept phone that supports interchangeable lenses, allowing users to mount Leica M lenses on the back of a smartphone.

How Does The Realme Interchangeable-Lens Concept Phone Work?

The Realme concept phone features a custom Sony 1-inch sensor without a built-in lens. Instead, users can attach different lenses manually. At MWC, Realme showcased two options, which include a 73mm portrait lens and a 234mm telephoto lens.

Caption – Realme Interchangeable-Lens concept phone comes with a 10x telephoto lens. (Image credit – Realme)

For comparison, Samsung’s Galaxy S23 Ultra features a 10x telephoto lens with a 230mm focal length. But unlike Samsung’s built-in zoom, Realme’s concept allows for DSLR-quality optics and natural background blur.

Realme Interchangeable-Lens Concept Phone – Hands On Experience

GSMArena’s hands-on report describes the setup, “The camera island’s frame is a sort of special mount, which can take a Leica M mount screw-on adapter, which allows you to attach Leica M lenses. That means that all of Leica’s considerable lens options are available to you – the Leica M is the oldest actively used camera mount today.”

It also reveals that the concept phone runs on a Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset, which is now two years old. The design resembles Xiaomi’s 15 Ultra with a dual-tone Silver Chrome finish.

The GSMArena hands-on article also mentions, “Realme had a 73mm (around 3x) and a 230mm (10x) equivalent lenses. However, if you’re supplying your own lenses, you’d need to account for the crop factor, which is around 2.47 for a 1-inch type phone sensor. That would make a classic 50mm lens (around a 2x compared to a phone’s main sensor) a 123mm, or around 5.4x.”

Xiaomi’s Similar Concept Phone in 2022

Realme isn’t the first to experiment with interchangeable smartphone lenses. Xiaomi introduced a similar concept with the 12S Ultra in 2022.

However, Xiaomi’s version took things further with a lens mount that included the sensor inside the lens attachment and was attached magnetically similar to MagSafe. It also drew power from the phone and could transfer data wirelessly.

For now, Realme’s interchangeable-lens phone is just a concept. But if companies like Realme and Xiaomi can combine DSLR-like optics with AI-powered smartphone image processing, we might see these modular camera phones become real consumer products in the future.

FAQs

Q1. What did Realme showcase at MWC 2025?

Answer. Realme showcased its Interchangeable-Lens Concept Smartphone at MWC 2025.

Q2. What is unique about Realme’s Interchangeable-Lens concept phone?

Answer. Realme’s concept phone supports interchangeable lenses, allowing users to mount Leica M lenses on the back of a smartphone.

Q3. What custom sensor does the Realme Interchangeable-Lens concept phone feature?

Answer. The Realme concept phone features a custom Sony 1-inch sensor without a built-in lens.

Q4. Which chipset does the Realme Interchangeable-Lens concept phone use?

Answer. The Realme concept lens was showcased mounted on a phone that runs on a Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset.

Q5. Which company introduced a similar interchangeable-lens concept phone in 2022?

Answer. Xiaomi introduced a similar concept with the 12S Ultra in 2022.

Also Read: Realme unveils 3-year strategy, launches 14 Pro Series 5G at MWC 2025

Also Read: Realme 14 Pro Lite 5G launched in India with Snapdragon 7s Gen 2 and HyperImage Camera