We first noticed a variable aperture in a cellphone with Samsung’s Galaxy S9. It felt gimmicky then, however with bigger sensors just like the one within the 13 Ultra, altering the focal size has extra affect. It is without doubt one of the causes that the Xiaomi 13 Ultra can seize panorama photographs that look crisp of their entirety with out blurred areas, after which additionally seize shut topics with that beautiful blurred background bokeh impact. There’s no need for the devoted portrait mode right here.

The 13 Ultra captures richly detailed photographs. Using the default Leica Authentic fashion, colours are extra pure than on different Xiaomi telephones, such because the Poco F5 Pro I examined not too long ago. (There’s a vibrant possibility if you happen to favor colours to pop.) What impressed me most was the depth of discipline, which provides drama and curiosity to out of doors pictures. I additionally like that the automated macro mode kicks in and does an amazing job with excessive close-ups, and Xiaomi’s night time mode makes essentially the most of low-light scenes. It’s nearly unattainable to dislike the pictures that come out of this quad-camera system.

The solely weak spot is the 32-megapixel front-facing digital camera, which tends to over-brighten selfies. The portrait mode struggles with the standard stray hairs, and I discovered that selfies typically look higher in the usual digital camera mode.

The Xiaomi 13 Ultra can file 8K video at 24 frames per second (fps) and 4K at as much as 60 fps. I don’t suppose individuals have to be recording in 8K proper now, particularly because it means massive video recordsdata, and it doesn’t appear to supply an enormous soar in high quality except you zoom in, however the 4K footage is great. The stabilization does an amazing job of eliminating shakes or strolling motion, and you may monitor topics easily.

The Catch

The Xiaomi 13 Ultra runs Android 13 with a topping of Xiaomi’s MIUI 14 software program interface. This is simply concerning the worst a part of the cellphone for me. It’s slightly too busy and brash for my tastes. It takes time to get used to if you happen to’re coming from a Google Pixel or a Samsung cellphone. Because my overview unit is the Chinese model, it had tons of Chinese apps put in, pop-ups in Chinese, and Xiaomi apps because the defaults. I needed to dig into the settings to toggle on Google apps, and I used to be in a position to set up the Google Play Store and the remainder of Google’s extra intuitive software program. This should not be a difficulty if you buy the European model.

Speaking of, the European mannequin of the Xiaomi 13 Ultra prices 1,499 Euros (round $1,613), although reductions are probably not far off. At that worth, it rubs shoulders with Samsung’s S23 Ultra and Apple’s iPhone 14 Pro Max. The S23 Ultra retains tempo, and also you may favor the extra useful software program smarts discovered within the Google Pixel 7 Pro, nevertheless it’s robust to search out the rest to match the Xiaomi 13 Ultra. Xiaomi says the machine will get three Android model updates and 5 years of safety patches, which places it on par with Google, however Xiaomi tends to be slower to roll them out.

I used to be prepared to miss software program points that bugged me with the Poco F5 Pro as a result of the whole lot else concerning the Xiaomi 13 Ultra is so good. The display is close to excellent, the efficiency is flawless, and the digital camera is excellent. Naturally, this is the half the place I remind you that you just completely needn’t spend this a lot for a superb cellphone, however if you happen to’re after the perfect in each sense of the phrase, the Xiaomi 13 Ultra is an actual contender.