Weekly poll: Is the Xiaomi 13 Ultra hot or not?

22 April 2023

This week, Xiaomi announced the highly-anticipated Xiaomi 13 Ultra so now that you've had some time to settle your thoughts on it, we want to ask you if it ticks the right boxes.

It may be somewhat of a rhetorical question, given the 13 Ultra's currently the most popular phone in our database. You guys obviously can't get enough of it.

Like every Ultra before it, the 13 Ultra is a standout smartphone and a camera-centric device. Xiaomi ensured that it would stand above any other phone in the market, and be head and shoulders over its own Xiaomi 13 Pro.

Looking at the Xiaomi 13 Ultra next to the 13 Pro side-by-side, there are a lot of similarities - the display and chipset are the same, the primary camera uses the same sensor, and the Xiaomi 13 Pro even has an edge in charging - 120W vs 90W.

But the Xiaomi 13 Ultra has a bigger battery, a nicer build with flat matte sides, and a back panel clad in antibacterial nanotech silicon leather. And when it comes to cameras, the 13 Ultra goes way past its sibling.

That sentiment is also true for most other phones on the market. The Xiaomi 13 Ultra can make a good case as the best phone for photo and video in the world right now. The only other device that has similarly impressive camera hardware is the Oppo Find X6 Pro, and it's limited to China. Even ignoring that, we're not sure the Oppo beats the Xiaomi. This may need to be resolved via a good old-fashioned shootout.

For years now we've been asking for a phone with two telephoto cameras and Xiaomi has delivered. The 13 Ultra added a much-needed 3.2x 75mm midrange zoom to the must-have 5x 120mm camera. Even better, the two have brighter lenses, and we expect better image quality.

But beyond the hardware improvements Xiaomi made a few breakthroughs in software as well. The Xiaomi 13 Ultra can capture UltraRAW DNGs with built-in multi-frame processing and HDR even at the full 50MP resolution. Those files will give budding photographers invaluable control in Lightroom, and Adobe will release a camera profile just for the 13 Ultra soon.

Then there are the Leica color modes, the Leica Portrait mode, and an intuitive new Fast Shot mode for street photographers that will let you set a focus distance and then capture images in just 0.8s.

The Xiaomi 13 Ultra is a true photographer's dream phone and that's before you consider it has the best chipset around, the fastest storage, the most advanced display, exquisite build quality, and IP68 water and dust proofing.

The final cherry on the cake is that Xiaomi will release the 13 Ultra around the world, unlike it did with its predecessor. It makes the discussion of wanting one actually meaningful.

So let's have it - is the Xiaomi 13 Ultra going to be your next phone? Cast your votes.