Ultra or Pro, which Xiaomi flagship should you buy?
Xiaomi launched its latest flagship, Xiaomi 13 Ultra, which sits above Xiaomi 13 Pro, the company’s current flagship.
With Xiaomi 13 Ultra, Xiaomi is currently taking the throne of the best camera smartphone in the market, with its seriously impressive camera hardware and Leica collaboration.
It not just comes with camera prowess but also has the performance of the best of the lot; it also comes with the brightest display ever out on a smartphone and more.
Xiaomi 13 Ultra vs Xiaomi 13 Pro
Xiaomi 13 Ultra is this year’s top flagship from Xiaomi, and it sits above Xiaomi 13 Pro in Xiaomi’s portfolio. Xiaomi 13 Ultra and Xiaomi 13 Pro have many things in common regarding hardware, but it is as different as it gets in terms of design. Let us compare both phones here and check how they fare against each other.
Design & Display
Even though these two phones are current-generation Xiaomi flagships, their design is as different as it gets. Xiaomi 13 Ultra goes for the ultra flashy design with the extra large circular camera array on the back and the luxury leather finish.
Xiaomi 13 Pro goes for a minimal look with its square camera array and clean ceramic back. Xiaomi 13 Pro is also one of the few smartphones you can get in a simple black finish, with most phones now going for flashy designs and colours.
Xiaomi 13 Ultra has a 6.73-inch AMOLED display with a resolution of 3200 x 1400 pixels and a refresh rate of 120Hz. It is currently the brightest display ever on a smartphone with a peak brightness of 2600 nits.
Xiaomi 13 Pro also has a similarly sized display, coming in at 6.73-inches, it is also an AMOLED panel with 3200 x 1400 pixels resolution. It has a refresh rate of 120Hz and can go up to 1900 nits in peak brightness. Both the displays come with HDR10+ and Dolby Vision certifications.
Camera & Quality
Xioami 13 Ultra and Xiaomi 13 Pro has the same 1-inch Sony IMX989 sensor as the primary camera and has Leica branding. Xiaomi 13 Ultra is an improvement over Xiaomi 13 Pro regarding camera hardware.
Xiaomi 13 Ultra comes with a 50 MP 1-inch Sony IMX989 sensor, but it has variable aperture support for the first time, going between two aperture values, f/1.9 and f/4.0. The primary camera is equivalent to a 23mm lens. The variable aperture lets you select if you want to go for lots of shallow depth of field or if you want the image to be as sharp as it gets. Xiaomi 13 Ultra’s three secondary cameras use the same sensor, the 50 MP Sony IMX858 sensor, a top-tier sensor from Sony. The first of the lot is ultrawide, equivalent to a 12mm lens. Then there is the combo of a telephoto and a periscope telephoto. The telephoto sensor has an optical zoom of 3.2x and is equivalent to 75mm, and the periscope lens goes for 5x optical zoom and is equivalent to a 120mm lens. The phone can record up to 8K@24fps on all lenses. The phone has a 32MP selfie camera on the front, which is still limited to 1080p in video recording.
Xiaomi 13 Pro comes with a triple camera instead of a quad camera on the Ultra. The primary camera is the same Sony IMX989 1-inch sensor, but it doesn’t come with variable aperture, and it is set at f/1.9, and it translates to a 23mm wide lens. The secondary cameras also use a 50MP sensor, but it uses a Samsung ISOCELL JN1 sensor, which we usually see in various mid-range phones. The first is an ultra-wide camera equivalent to 14mm and a field of view of 115˚. Then there’s the telephoto lens which can go upto 3.2x optical zoom and is equal to 75mm. On the front, the phone uses a 32MP selfie shooter. The phone can record 8K@24fps with all the lenses on the back.
Xiaomi 13 Ultra and Xiaomi 13 Pro with Leica collaboration bring Leica-style image processing to both phones. You can choose from either Leica Authentic or Leica Vibrant, giving you a distinct look for your photos. You can also choose from various Leica filters from the camera app itself.
Here are some of the official camera samples of Xiaomi 13 Ultra:
Here are some official camera samples from Xiaomi 13 Pro:
Performance & Battery
Both Xiaomi 13 Ultra and Xiaomi 13 Pro are powered by Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 SoC, the highest-end chipset from the Android side. Both phones offer similar performance levels and are among the best-performing phones in the market currently.
Xiaomi 13 Ultra comes with a 5,000mAh battery and supports 90W fast wired charging; it also comes with 50W wireless charging and 10W reverse wireless charging. Xiaomi 13 Pro comes with a 4820mAh battery and supports 90W fast wired charging 50W wireless charging, and 10W reverse wireless charging.
Software & User Experience
Both Xiaomi 13 Ultra and Xiaomi 13 Pro comes with MIUI 14 based on Android 13 out of the box. MIUI is the custom skin of Xiaomi, one of the most customisable custom skins and one of the most feature-rich. It comes with every feature you want, starting with themes, custom icons, app vault, AOD customisation, and much more.
MIUI has always been a heavy skin, but with MIUI 14, Xiaomi has tried to keep it light. With MIUI 14, you can uninstall all of the apps other than the eight core system apps. You also don’t get ads with Xiaomi flagships found in some Xiaomi budget phones.
Price & Value For Money
Xiaomi 13 Ultra is yet to be launched in Europe and is currently available in China. Here are the prices:
- 12GB + 256GB – 5,999 Yuan / $870 / €792 / £699
- 16GB + 512GB – 6,499 Yuan / $943 / €858 / £758
- 16GB + 1TB – 7,299 Yuan / $1059 / €963 / £851
Xiaomi 13 Pro, on the other hand, is available in Europe, and here are the prices:
- 12GB + 256GB – €1,299 / £1,099
Looking at this pricing, you might wonder why the Ultra is priced so low! That’s because the Chinese and European prices vary by a huge margin, and Europe and UK customers usually have to pay a lot of premium over the Chinese pricing with Chinese phones. Xiaomi 13 Pro starts at 4,999 Yuan in China, translating to €655 / £567. It’s almost half of what it costs in Europe; that’s how much the difference is. We can realistically expect Xiaomi 13 Ultra to be priced more than Xiaomi 13 Pro in Europe and the UK. That would be a steep price for a phone, even with everything it offers.
Conclusion
Xiaomi 13 Ultra has undoubtedly improved upon Xioami 13 Pro, and it has arguably one of the best camera hardware ever put on a smartphone. Most of the Leica features are available on Xiaomi 13 Ultra and Xiaomi 13 Pro, but the Ultra brings some unique features, such as the Fast shot mode and variable aperture. But we cannot judge both phones in terms of pricing in Europe, as Xiaomi 13 Ultra is yet to launch here. Xiaomi 13 Pro, on the other hand, is available for a steep price of €1,299 / £1,099, which makes me wonder how much Xiaomi will ask for the Ultra. Suppose it is priced close to €1,500. In that case, the phone will sit dangerously close to Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra, and Xiaomi will find it hard to take many takers for Xiaomi 13 Ultra over Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra. Let’s wait for the Europe launch of the phone to give a final verdict on this comparison!
