Xiaomi’s recent flagship phones have packed stellar cameras. Last year’s Xiaomi 12S Ultra impressed us with its massive 1-inch type 50MP primary shooter. That phone never launched outside of China, which greatly limited its reach. For 2023, the Chinese smartphone maker announced theXiaomi 13 Profor global markets with an even better camera setup and Leica lenses. Less than two months after the phone’s international debut, Xiaomi startedteasing a new camera phone monster, the Xiaomi 13 Ultra. That phone has gone official today with an impressive camera array and specs sheet.
The Xiaomi 13 Ultra is a cameraphone first and a smartphone later. It packs four Leica-branded lenses at the rear, including a 1-inch type 50MP Sony IMX989 shooter with a dual f/1.9-f/4.0 aperture. While not exactly variable, this dual aperture will provide greater control over the bokeh and the amount of light entering the sensor, depending on the situation.
Xiaomi has paired the impressive primary camera with a 12mm f/1.8 ultrawide, an f/1.8 (3.2x) 75mm telephoto camera with OIS, and a 120mm 5x periscope shooter with f/3.0 and OIS. Using the four camera sensors, Xiaomi claims the 13 Ultra covers a focal length ranging from 12mm to 240mm. Unlike theSamsung Galaxy S23 Ultra, the Xiaomi 13 Ultra does not feature a dedicated 10x telephoto shooter. However, it uses the 5x camera to offer a cropped 10x shot. For selfies, you get a 32MP camera at the front.
Xiaomi has focused on the 13 Ultra’s video recording capabilities as well. you may record 8K videos from any of the rear cameras, including in 10-bit LOG. For RAW photos, the built-in Camera app supports capturing 14-bit Ultra RAW in up to 50MP resolution from the primary camera. A new Fast Shot mode in the phone’s camera app allows you to take a shot in 0.8s.
Other aspects of the Xiaomi 13 Ultra are equally impressive. The phone features a unibody metal chassis with a “nanotech” silicone leather back that resists fingerprints and smudges. The 227g heavy phone features Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chip, up to 16GB LPDDR5x RAM, and up to 1TB of storage. Thanks to USB 3.2 support, transferring photos and videos from the phone will be a breeze. At the front, you get a 6.73-inch AMOLED display with QHD+ resolution, 120Hz adaptive refresh rate, and a peak brightness of 2,600 nits.
Powered by a 5,000mAh battery, the Xiaomi 13 Ultra supports 90W wired fast and 50W wireless charging. It also comes with a Hibernation mode that provides up to 60 minutes of standby time with just 1% of battery consumption. Other specs include dual speakers, NFC, IR blaster, Bluetooth 5.3, and IP68 dust and water resistance. Out of the box, the phone runs onAndroid 13-based MIUI 14.
The Xiaomi 13 Ultra is making its debut in China for now. It will also launch internationally in the coming months. In China, pricing for the phone starts from 5,999 yuan (~870) and goes up to 7,299 yuan ($1060). If the Chinese pricing is anything to go by, the European pricing of the Xiaomi 13 Ultra will be equally ultra.
