Xiaomi 13 Ultra presented: Everything the cooperation with Leica has to offer

Xiaomi has unveiled its next top smartphone, the 13 Ultra. On the data sheet, the four cameras on the back are particularly striking, all of which should benefit from the cooperation with Leica.

A top smartphone even without cameras

A quick look at the other features of the Xiaomi 13 Ultra:

• 6.73-inch AMOLED, 3200 × 1440 pixels, up to 120 hertz, 1300 nits (HBM)
• Snapdragon 8 Gen 2
• 12 or 16 gigabytes of RAM
• 256 gigabytes or 1 terabyte of storage space
• Android 13 (MIUI 14)
• 5000 mAh battery, 90 watts via cable, 50 watts wireless charging
• IP68

Tick "Top smartphone" and now take a closer look at the cameras

Four cameras that should make the difference

All four cameras on the back of the Xiaomi 13 Ultra have a resolution of 50 megapixels. There are differences in the sensor sizes, apertures and focal length.

The main camera has the 1-inch Sony IMX 989 sensor, which was already used in the predecessor Xiaomi 12S Ultra was used. Xiaomi combines it with a variable aperture that lets more light through at f/1.9 and has more depth of field at f/4.9. The Huawei Mate 50 Pro with f/1.4 and f/4.0.

Xiaomi uses the smaller Sony IMX 858 sensor for the other three cameras of the 13 Ultra. The aperture of the ultra-wide-angle camera has only increased slightly to f/1.8 compared to its predecessor. The telephoto and super telephoto cameras, on the other hand, are said to be able to capture almost 50 per cent more light than the corresponding cameras on the 12S Ultra with f/1.8 and f/3.0 respectively.

Converted to 35 mm format, Xiaomi specifies the focal lengths of the four cameras as 12, 23, 75 and 120 millimetres. This means that the super telephoto camera has around five times the optical zoom of the main camera. With the help of an in-sensor zoom, Xiaomi is also talking about a tenfold zoom with a focal length of 240 millimetres. The manufacturer utilises the high resolution and only captures part of the sensor surface. In normal operation, however, the software combines several pixels - probably four each - into one. In other words, the photos usually have a resolution of 12.5 and not 50 megapixels. This process is called "pixel binning".

For the lenses and the large cover over all cameras, Xioami relies on technology and expertise from Leica. This is why the brand name Summicron lens is used here. The co-operation continues with the software. As with the predecessor smartphone and the Xiaomi 13 series, this includes Leica Vibrant and Leica Authentic, two different image profiles for the images.

Leica is also touting a new "Fastshot mode" with the main camera. It is said to be inspired by the "hyperfocal distance" shooting method. This is used a lot in street photography in particular. You set the focus point manually in advance and can take snapshots without further focussing. In this mode, the Xiaomi 13 Ultra only needs 0.8 seconds to switch on and take a photo.

Price and availability

Xiaomi has unveiled the 13 Ultra for the entire world. However, the manufacturer has not yet provided any information on the exact availability and price in Europe. The only thing that is clear so far is that the black and olive green versions will be released worldwide "in the coming months". The white model is reserved for China.