If you thought you had seen the best cameras Xiaomi had to offer, think again. Introducing their new flagship, the Xiaomi 13 Ultra – a true game-changer. With the recent surge in impressive camera phones, what exactly does the Xiaomi 13 Ultra bring to the table?
Hightlight
Xiaomi 13 Ultra specs
- Body: 163.2×74.6×9.1mm, 227g; Glass front (Gorilla Glass Victus), eco-leather back, aluminum frame; IP68 dust/water resistant (up to 1.5m for 30 min).
- Display: 6.73″ LTPO AMOLED, 1B colors, 120Hz, Dolby Vision, HDR10+, 1300 nits (HBM), 2600 nits (peak), 1440x3200px resolution, 20:9 aspect ratio, 522ppi.
- Chipset: Qualcomm SM8550-AB Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 (4 nm): Octa-core (1×3.2 GHz Cortex-X3 & 2×2.8 GHz Cortex-A715 & 2×2.8 GHz Cortex-A710 & 3×2.0 GHz Cortex-A510); Adreno 740.
- Memory: 256GB 12GB RAM, 512GB 16GB RAM, 1TB 16GB RAM; UFS 4.0.
- OS/Software: Android 13, MIUI 14.
- Rear camera: Wide (main): 50 MP, f/1.9 or f/4.0, 23mm, 1.0″-type, 1.6µm, multi-directional PDAF, Laser AF, OIS; Ultra wide angle: 50 MP, f/1.8, 12mm, 122˚, 1/2.51″, Dual-Pixel PDAF; Telephoto: 50 MP, f/1.8, 75mm, 1/2.51″, Dual-Pixel PDAF, OIS, 3.2x optical zoom; Telephoto: 50 MP, f/3.0, 120mm, 1/2.51″, Dual-Pixel PDAF, OIS, 5x optical zoom; Wide (main): 50 MP, f/1.9 or f/4.0, 23mm, 1.0″-type, 1.6µm, multi-directional PDAF, Laser AF, OIS.
- Front camera: 32 MP, f/2.0, 22mm (wide), 0.7µm.
- Video capture: Rear camera: 8K@24fps, 4K@24/30/60fps, 1080p@30/60/120/240/480/960/1920fps, gyro-EIS, Dolby Vision HDR 10-bit rec. (4K@60fps, 1080p); Front camera: 1080p@30/60fps.
- Battery: 5000mAh; 90W wired, PD3.0, QC4, 100% in 35 min (advertised), 50W wireless, 100% in 49 min (advertised), 10W reverse wireless.
- Connectivity: 5G; Dual SIM; Wi-Fi 6e; BT 5.3, aptX HD, aptX Adaptive; NFC; Infrared port.
- Misc: Fingerprint reader (under display, optical); stereo speakers.
Design and build
Many of this year’s most powerful camera phones share a common feature – a main camera with Sony’s one-inch type IMX 989 sensor, the largest sensor currently available on a phone. Cameras equipped with this sensor are renowned for their excellent rendition of fine details and the ability to produce a natural bokeh effect.
The Xiaomi 13 Ultra, equipped with the IMX 989, takes it a step further by pairing it with a variable aperture lens. Moreover, its camera setup is exceptionally versatile, boasting 2 telephoto zooms and an ultra-wide cam. Beyond its remarkable camera features, the Xiaomi 13 Ultra offers a plethora of other advanced capabilities, solidifying its position as Xiaomi’s flagship device.
When you see the phone, what catches the eye first is the huge round camera bump. However, the textured Eco leather backing also provides a premium look and feel. Instead of meeting the aluminum frame, the leather seems to end abruptly, allowing the metal to take over around the edges. Overall, the phone feels comfortable and grippy in hand, and the Xiaomi 13 Ultra boasts full IP68-rated ingress protection against water and dust.
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Display on Xiaomi 13 Ultra
The display mirrors that of the Xiaomi 13 Pro – a curved 6.73-inch LTPO OLED with QHD resolution, a 120Hz refresh rate, and Victus protection. It boasts impressive brightness, reaching a maximum of around 500 nits with a manual slider, and surges up to 1200 nits in auto mode under bright sunlight. Utilizing LTPO technology, the display offers an exceptionally adaptive refresh rate, smoothly transitioning between 120Hz for swiping and scrolling and as low as 1Hz to conserve energy based on screen content. Power-saving options include manually reducing resolution to 1080p, and there’s even an Adaptive resolution setting that adjusts automatically depending on on-screen content.
In QHD, the panel delivers exceptional sharpness and contrast. Supporting 10-bit color depth, HDR 10 plus, and Dolby Vision, the display produces accurate colors based on your selected color mode in settings.
Audio
For audio, the Xiaomi 13 Ultra features a stereo speaker setup with Dolby Atmos support, delivering excellent loudness and overall sound quality. Vocals and treble are crisp, and there’s a noticeable presence of bass.
Smart fingerprint reader on Xiaomi 13 Ultra
In terms of biometrics, the Xiaomi 13 Ultra incorporates an under-display optical fingerprint reader. Holding down your finger allows quick access to launch an app or function. The device is available with storage options of 256GB, 512GB, or even a whole terabyte, although it is not expandable through MicroSD.
Android 13 and UI
Running on top of Android 13, the phone’s interface is Xiaomi’s MIUI 14. While the UI hasn’t undergone significant changes from previous versions, it brings behind-the-scenes optimizations to enhance overall performance. It’s important to note that our Chinese review unit uses the Chinese version of the UI, but global users will receive the international version of the software.
Chipset
You can’t have a top-tier flagship without the latest chipset, and that’s precisely what the Xiaomi 13 Ultra offers. Its Snapdragon HN2 surpasses the previous generation found in last year’s flagships, providing enhanced power efficiency and supporting advanced memory technologies like UFS 4.0 and LPDDR5X RAM. The Xiaomi 13 Ultra achieves top-tier benchmark scores, delivering some of the best performance available in today’s smartphones. Additionally, it features an advanced passive cooling system and demonstrates impressive thermal management during our prolonged stress tests.
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Battery endurance and Charging test
The Xiaomi 13 Ultra is equipped with a 5,000 milliamp-hour battery, slightly larger than that of the Xiaomi 13 Pro. Interestingly, both models share the same chipset and screen; however, the Ultra exhibits a slightly shorter battery life compared to the Pro. Nevertheless, it still performs well, boasting an overall endurance rating of 108 hours. Another distinction is the smaller charger on the Ultra model – 90 watts compared to the Pro’s 120 watts. While the charging capability is impressive, it’s slightly slower here. We managed to charge from 0 to 91 percent in half an hour, whereas the Pro could reach a full charge in just 22 minutes.
Camera specs
The main camera boasts a 50-megapixel IMX 989 sensor, OIS, and a variable aperture lens. The other three cameras utilize a 50-megapixel Sony IMX 858 sensor, all equipped with autofocus. This includes a 3.2x telephoto, a 5x telephoto (both with OIS), and an ultra-wide camera. Leica, known for its color science, offers two color modes – Leica Vibrant and Leica Authentic. Leica Vibrant, the default mode, captures photos with wonderful colors that aren’t oversaturated but rather expressive. The dynamic range is excellent, presenting plenty of detail with a natural look. Enabling Leica Authentic mode provides a moodier look with subdued colors and darker shadows, accompanied by an ever-present vignetting effect.
The main camera offers 2 aperture choices – the default F 1.9 and stopping down to 4.0. This provides control over the depth of field, with F 1.9 delivering a more shallow depth of field for a stronger bokeh effect. Switching to F 4.0 brings more focus to close-up subjects, with a less intense bokeh effect. Larger cameras benefit from topping down the lens, producing a sharper rendition of the subject in focus, although we didn’t observe any noticeable improvement.
Photo quality
For those seeking more than natural bokeh, portrait mode offers a variety of options. Photos taken with the main camera showcase solid separation and likable background blur. Default portraits, captured with a 3.2 times telephoto cam, are equally impressive, providing excellent image quality and a comfortable shooting distance. Normal photos from the 3.2x zoom are outstanding, displaying great sharpness and finely captured details. While colors and contrast align well with the main camera, there’s a slight presence of visible noise, unlike the main camera.
Conclusion
The Xiaomi 13 Ultra is one of the best flagships out there with top-tier features all around. However, where it truly excels is in the cameras. You get a cutting-edge main cam, along with the extra versatility of two zoom cameras and an ultra-wide. Our only major nitpick for camera files is the selfie cam. It’s not the best around, and 1080p video recording is probably not enough for vloggers. But besides that, the Xiaomi 13 Ultra is the real deal and is definitely worth recommending.
