Quad cameras, 1-inch sensor size, dual zoom shooters, Leica colors and all of that in a stunning camera-inspired design. The Xiaomi 13 Ultra wants to change our perception of camera phones.
When it comes to the best camera phones, three names come to mind instantly: Apple’s iPhones, the Samsung Galaxy Ultra series and the Google Pixels, but this phone aims to one-up all of them.
This is the Xiaomi 13 Ultra, just unveiled as the company’s 2023 premium flagship, and it’s a camera phone down to its bones.
It all starts with a design that is reminiscent of a real camera with the leather like finish, round camera system, and impressive quad-camera setup unlike any other.
The biggest change from the iPhones and Galaxies of the world, however, is that the Xiaomi 13 Ultra aims to capture images with a genuine “camera look” instead of the typical over-processed “smartphone look” photos. And Xiaomi has iconic camera maker Leica on its side to do just that.
Before you ask: yes, Xiaomi has said the phone is launching globally, but no, it will not be available in the United States. Today’s launch event focused on the launch in China, but we expect the company to tell us more about the global version in the near future as well. Good news is that the Xiaomi 13 Ultra has about the same price as last year’s 12S Utlra model. We have the prices below, just remember that these Chinese prices are not indicative of the global price, which will likely be considerably higher.
Xiaomi 13 Ultra prices:
You will also be able to buy the Xiaomi 13 Ultra professional accessory kit including a protective case, a camera grip, a 67mm adapter ring and a lens cap for a price 999 yuan, or roughly $145.
So… what’s the big deal about this Xiaomi 13 Ultra that makes it so special?
It’s all about the combination of stellar hardware and innovative software processing of images.
Starting with the main camera, it uses the largest sensor available in the industry, a 1-inch type Sony IMX989, and this sensor beats the sensors on iPhones and Galaxies in size by a good margin. But Xiaomi is equally proud of the nanometer precision manufacturing for the lens on top of this camera. It’s a Summicron type lens, which is key to achieving the natural look of photos that Xiaomi is gunning for.
Then, the ultra-wide and the two telephoto cameras all use the same Sony IMX858 sensor, so Xiaomi really makes sure you get consistent colors across all these cameras.
The ultra-wide camera is the widest we have ever seen on a smartphone at 12mm, compared to the previous widest at 13mm on the iPhone 14 Pro series. This might not seem like a big difference, but in the world of ultra-wide cameras it is indeed quite noticeable.
