Leica, the famous German camera and lens manufacturer best known for producing iconic photographic equipment has officially entered the laser TV business.
The legendary brand behind such cameras as the Leica M6, Leica M11, Leica Q2 and other high-range bodies has teamed up with Hisense to bring the laser TV industry to new heights.
That might sound like one of those WTF moments, but yes it's true – Leica is throwing its name in the ring and taking aim at the premium laser TV market
"Hisense and Leica Camera will continue to consolidate their technology collaboration in the laser TV segment by launching new products, all in premium segment and all oriented to the next level of image quality," said Stephan Albrecht, managing director of Leica Smart Projection.
This isn't the first time that Leica has collaborated with brands to offer alleged best-in-quality products, such as mobile phone launches. However, since the Leica Cine 1 projector was revealed at the IFA show in late 2022, it seems that Leica wants a bigger slice of the TV and imaging pie.
"Leica has been interested to enter the strongly growing Laser TV market, but this would not have been possible without Hisense since it has become a global pioneer in the field of Laser TV with 1,700 related patents," said Matthias Harsch, CEO of Leica Camera.
If you look at it from an outside perspective, this partnership might seem a little strange – not only for the Leica purists, but also for the wider TV industry as a whole who might not know what the Leica brand stands for.
However, those that know Leica and are heavily involved within the film and production industry might be interested to see the brand extend in this way. It does make some sense, as Leica has its cinematography company Leitz that specializes in the making of cine lenses for filmmaking.
Of course, if this partnership was done under the Leitz name we could understand it a little better. While the Leica brand might know better globally, it's known for cameras and lenses rather than cinema equipment.
Still, with Leica branching out into phones, projectors and TVs, the question remains where we might see the big red dot appearing next…
