Xiaomi invited us to China to meet its most important flagship to date, the 13 Ultra. For the presenter, it was difficult to understand the space this device will occupy in the 13 family: the Xiaomi 13 and 13 Pro are already top-notch and there doesn’t seem to be much room for improvement.

I was wrong. Xiaomi 13 Ultra is the maximum expression in the hardware level. This is proof that a premium high-end can be even higher quality and one of the most impressive tracks I’ve tried in the high range. I’ll tell you everything in my first impressions, without testing it extensively and squeezing what may be the most versatile camera of 2023.

Technical page of Xiaomi 13 Ultra

A design like we haven’t seen

It is difficult, very difficult to convey what it feels like to touch a Xiaomi 13 Ultra for the first time. it’s a phone aluminum trim, but has leather trim on the back. This is not new, you might think. It’s not the classic leather trim we see on some of its direct competitors. The back of the device is aluminum, but this leather sheet is superimposed.

This starts out completely flat for the first bottom half of the device, but thickens as you get closer to the camera module, creating a slight curve. On the one hand, this design solution allows us to feel the fantastic cold that only best-in-class aluminum transmits on our fingers. On the other hand, it allows fantastic gripbecause this leather does not slip and does not get dirty.

Although Xiaomi has included a hard plastic case (top quality) in the box, it casts a shadow over how it will look over time. I must admit, although I am an advocate of maintaining the integrity of devices, covering the back of this device is an unforgivable sin.

in a terminal thick and heavy, but feels solid like any other. The edges are perfectly straight, although there is a slight curvature at the back and at the four corners. Adding this to the textured green color, it has become my favorite device so far this year in terms of design.

Its screen is another of its strengths.: It reaches 2,600 nits and is above what we saw on the Xiaomi 13 Ultra. This peak brightness has some trickery, as the actual maximum brightness is 1,300 nits in high brightness mode. 2,600 nits are reserved for small areas of the screen when playing HDR content. We were able to test this panel in full sunlight and the results are exceedingly accurate.

For Xiaomi, curves are still synonymous with premium and this phone cannot be an exception. However, there are some frameworks that cover them and help minimize ghosting. The panel resolution is Quad HD+, refresh rate is 120 Hz, AMOLED with third generation LTPO technology and covered with 6.73 inch Gorilla Glass Victus 2. You cannot ask for more.

Potentially hitting the ceiling, opening doors on the camera

There wasn’t much room for improvement in power level. Although our unit is accompanied by a massive 16GB of RAM and 512GB of internal memory, the processor is still Snapdragon 8 Gen 2. Storage, UFS 4.2 with USB 3.2. We haven’t been able to test the terminal’s performance extensively, but it goes without saying that this combination will make it fly: No top combination on Android.

The battery is 4,900mAh with 90W fast charging, 50W wireless and 10W reverse wireless charging. Here we find a small step up from the Xiaomi 13 Pro, which with 120W became the top-end Xiaomi to charge the fastest in the first half of the year. Speaking of hardware, if you have any questions about it, this phone has a physical proximity sensor so we don’t have any issues with calls or audio playback. The sound is signed by Harman Kardon and the vibration motor leads the way.

But let’s move on to what we’re going to do: the cameras are the key here. One of the Xiaomi 13 Ultra brutal setup.

• One inch, 50 megapixel Sony IMX 989 main sensor.
• 50 megapixel periscopic telephoto sensor. 5 optical magnification
• 50 megapixel telephoto sensor, 3.2 optical magnification.
• 50 megapixel ultra wide angle sensor.

Except for the main camera sensor, the other three sensors are Sony IMX 858, so the hardware combination is brutal. But the sensor is not everything: without a good lens covering the device, this combination is useless.

The Xiaomi 13 Ultra worked with Leica in this department to avoid as much as possible the reflections and all the problems that a poor quality lens can cause. In addition, a Variable aperture system ranging from f/1.9 to f/4.0.

We will talk about the results in the in-depth analysis. We guess we are already in China and the scenarios to test this camera will leave you speechless. The camera promises to be the most complete we’ve ever seen at the hardware level.and it will fall into the hands of the defendant, who may or may not be the best representative of the moment.

Xiaomi 13 Ultra has everything to be the best of the year

There is a lot of fabric left to cut with the Xiaomi 13 Ultra. At the design level, it’s simply gorgeous. The photos don’t do it justice, and everything goes according to the senses here: It’s hard to convey the brutal feel of this phone. The photography section is a return to what we’ve seen before with the Xiaomi 13 Pro. Here’s more ambitionMore gear, better lenses.

While it’s not easy to convince us that the panel is superior to that of its big brother and has more room to spend compared to the Xiaomi 13 Pro, those who want the best possible Xiaomi are now even better off. a more ambitious option.

on Xataka | BQ to Xiaomi 13: We interviewed Pablo Acevedo, head of mobile development and engineering at Leica