5 cameras, main one being 50 MP: Xiaomi 13 Ultra flagship camera-smartphone introduced

China's Xiaomi has unveiled the Xiaomi 13 Ultra flagship smartphone, which promises to set a new benchmark in mobile photography. It is equipped with four camera modules, including the main one with a 1-inch sensor. Unlike last year's Xiaomi 12S Ultra, the new 13 Ultra will also enter the international market, Gsmarena.com reports.

The new Xiaomi 13 Ultra smartphone became a bestseller immediately after the official presentation; all versions of this smartphone, as well as its photo accessories, are sold out.

There are four cameras on the back panel of Xiaomi 13 Ultra. They were developed in collaboration with Leica and are placed under a single glass block; the company has called it the Leica Vario-Summicron 1. 1.8-3.0/ 12-120 ASPH. The main camera has a 50 MP 1-inch Sony IMX989 sensor with a 23mm lens. The camera has optical stabilization and a physical two-stop aperture. The f/1.9 mode offers the shallowest depth of field, while the f/4.0 mode enables for a completely clear image. In the 1.6μm sensor, the pixels are combined four-in-one, resulting in a 12.5MP image, or 3.2μm per pixel.

The other three cameras are based on a 50MP 1/2.51-inch Sony IMX858 sensor.

• Camera with 75mm equivalent focal length, f/1.8 aperture, and 3.2x zoom.
• Camera with 120mm equivalent focal length, f/3.0 aperture, and 5x zoom.
• 12mm f/1.8 ultra-wide-angle lens with 5cm macro support.

The smartphone also has a 32MP f/2.0 front-facing camera, where the pixels are also grouped into four, giving an 8-megapixel image.

The camera app offers two color modes: Leica Vibrant and Leica Authentic. There's also a 50MP UltraRAW mode for the main camera, which enables to shoot in 14-bit DNG format with noise reduction and the ability to adjust dynamic range. Beginner street photographers will love the Fast Shot feature, which has a fast focus capability of just 0.8 seconds.

The back panel of this smartphone evokes clear associations with the camera; it has a large round block that looks like a large lens and a faux leather cover—in black and green. Xiaomi explained that it is a piece of leather made of antibacterial silicone, which destroys up to 99% of microorganisms.

Xiaomi 13 Ultra is equipped with a 6.73-inch AMOLED screen with a resolution of 3200×1440 pixels, a refresh rate of 120 Hz, and a maximum brightness of 2600 qd/m². The smartphone runs on the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 platform and is offered in the following configurations of operational (LPDDR5X) and built-in (UFS 4.0) memory: 12/256 GB, 16/512 GB, and 16 GB/1 TB.

The processor is cooled by the Xiaomi Loo LiquidCool system with a vapor chamber. The smartphone has a 5,000mAh battery that supports wired charging at 90W and wireless charging at 50W. The autonomous battery operation and charging process are controlled by special Xiaomi Surge P2 and Surge G1 chips.

The Xiaomi 13 Ultra will be available in black, green, and white colors.

Its prices are as follows:

• 12/256GB version: $871,
• 16/512 GB version: $944,
• 16/1024 GB version: $1,060.

The Chinese manufacturer has promised to release an international version of this smartphone, but the respective timeframes have not been specified yet.