The Xiaomi 13 Ultra is here to once again set the photography benchmark in the smartphone industry. The flagship brings a number of imaging innovations and the current best possible hardware. Better yet, unlike the 12S Ultra, the 13 Ultra will launch globally. Let's start with the cameras, which are the focus of this phone. Four cameras are on the back, done in collaboration with Leica and sitting under a unified glass dome that Xiaomi calls the Leica Vario-Summicron 1:1.8-3.0/12-120 ASPH lens.
The primary camera has a 50MP 1-inch
IMX989 sensor and a 23mm optically-stabilized lens with a physical, two-step
aperture that allows for f/1.9 opening for the shallowest depth of field (read
blur or bokeh), and f/4.0 for a sharper image. The sensor bins 1.6µm pixels
4-to-1 resulting in 12.5MP images with huge 3.2µm individual pixels.
The other three cameras all use the new
50MP IMX858 sensor, which measures a respectable 1/2.51". They are a 75mm
f/1.8 OIS 3.2x mid-range zoom, a 5x 120mm camera with a new brighter f/3.0
lens, and a 12mm f/1.8 autofocusing ultrawide with 5cm macro focusing
capabilities. Using in-sensor-zoom technology, the 13 Ultra also offers a 2x
46mm and 10x 240mm mode option. The 32MP f/2.0 front camera has fixed focus and
will bin pixels 4-to-1 for 8MP final shots.
The innovation doesn't end on the physical
side. Xiaomi and Leica have brought a number of impressive features to the 13
Ultra. First off, as with other Leica-branded Xiaomi cameras, there are two
camera color science modes - Leica Vibrant and Leica Authentic. Then there's a
new 50MP UltraRAW mode for the main camera, which provides 14-bit DNG files
with built-in multi-frame sharpening, noise reduction, and dynamic range
adjustment for additional tweaking. Adobe will provide a custom camera profile
for Lightroom.
There's one neat feature tailor-made for
aspiring street photographers, called Fast Shot mode. It allows you to take the
focusing time out of taking a shot by setting a predetermined focusing
distance. Fast Shot will then snap a photo in just 0.8s. Like its predecessor,
the Xiaomi 13 Ultra comes with a camera-inspired design with a circular
lens-like camera module, a metal frame, and a back panel clad in leather (on
the Black and Green model). Specifically, antibacterial nanotech silicon
leather that Xiaomi says will reach a 99% bacterial inhibition rate. The upper
portion of the rear panel is slightly elevated to accentuate the camera module.
Upfront, the Xiaomi 13 Ultra packs a
6.73-inch 3200x1440px AMOLED screen with 120Hz adaptive refresh rate, and an up
to 240Hz touch sampling rate. Xiaomi says the panel can reach as high as 2600
nits of brightness. The phone uses the latest Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chip with up
to 16GB of LPDDR5X RAM. You'll be able to get it in 12/256GB, 16/512GB, and
16GB/1TB - that's UFS 4.0 storage, naturally. The Snapdragon chip is cooled by
Xiaomi's self-developer Loo LiquidCool tech, using an aerospace-grade toroidal
cooling and a vapor chamber.
Inside, the Xiaomi 13 Ultra packs a
5,000mAh battery with 90W wired and 50W wireless charging support. Battery life
and charging will be monitored by Xiaomi's Surge P2 and Surge G1 custom chips.
The 13 Ultra will be available in Black, Olive Green, and White, starting in
China from April 21. Prices are CNY 5,999 for the
12/256GB (€ 795), CNY 6,499 for a 16/512GB (€ 860), and CNY 7,299 for the 16GB/1TB (€ 970). Xiaomi says the phone is coming to various international markets in
the next few months.
