What you need to know
- The new Xiaomi 13 Ultra has officially launched in China.
- It comes with four 50MP Leica-powered rear cameras, including a 1-inch-type primary sensor.
- The device is powered by the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 and starts at CNY 5999.
After countless leaks and speculation, Xiaomi 13 Ultra, one of the most hyped flagship phones, finally went official in China, with global availability coming later.
The Xiaomi 13 Ultra is the successor to the Xiaomi 12S Ultra, which unfortunately did not receive a global launch. It also completes the Xiaomi 13 lineup that already comprises the Xiaomi 13, 13 Lite, and the Xiaomi 13 Pro.
The Xiaomi 13 Ultra emphasizes the cameras primarily as it comes with an impressive four 50MP sensors within a giant circular camera housing at the rear. The camera system was developed with Leica to provide improved custom tuning features from the predecessor. Of the four, Sony's IMX989 sensor acts as the primary lens, a one-inch sensor featuring variable aperture ranging from f/1.9 to f/4.0.
The other three 50MP cameras are Sony's IMX858 lenses that act as ultra-wide lenses with f/1.8 aperture, a telephoto sensor with f/1.8 aperture, and a "super-telephoto" sensor with f/3.0 aperture. For video, the rear cameras support up to 8K recording capabilities. And for selfies, the device relies on a 32MP selfie shooter.
To further boost photography, Xiaomi has a photography kit that essentially transforms your phone into a digital camera. It includes a phone case that doubles as a camera grip with a two-stage shutter button, a zoom lever, and a filter adapter ring. It also comes with a lens cap and a lanyard to complete the look.
On the front, there is a massive 6.73-inch WQHD+ display with variable refresh rates ranging from 1Hz~120Hz. It features up to 2600 peak brightness, promises excellent color accuracy, and has Corning Gorilla Glass Victus protection on top.
Under the hood, the Xiaomi 13 Ultra is powered by Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 and faster LPDDR 5X RAM and UFS 4.0 storage. In addition, it's equipped with vapor-liquid cooling tech that promises 3x more cooling improvement than conventional vapor cooling chambers.
The flagship draws power from a 5000mAh battery capacity that supports Xiaomi's 90W turbocharging (wired) and 50W wireless charging, along with reverse wireless charging.
The other specs comprise dual 5GHz Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.3, USB 3.2 Gen, stereo speakers, NFC, and IR remote control. The device ships with Android 13-based MIUI 14 out of the box. The Xiaomi 13 Ultra also has an IP68 water and dust resistance rating.
The device comes in three colorways, black, white, and Olive Green.
For the Chinese market, the Xiaomi 13 Ultra will be available to purchase on April 21 and comes in three storage variants, starting with the 12GB+256GB model priced at CNY 5999 (~$873). The next configuration jumps to 16GB+512GB, priced at CNY 6499 (~$945), and the larger 16GB+1TB storage costs CNY 7299 (~$1062).
Specific dates for the international launch have not been revealed, but Xiaomi says it will be available "in the next few months." With its impressive camera system, the Xiaomi 13 Ultra will no doubt provide some serious competition for the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra, which has so far been our favorite flagship phone of 2023.
