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

This week, Xiaomi announced the highly anticipated Xiaomi 13 Ultra. Now that you’ve had some time to think, we want to ask you if it ticks the right boxes.

This is perhaps a rhetorical question, given that the 13 Ultra is currently the most popular phone in our database. You obviously can’t get enough.

Like every Ultra before it, the 13 Ultra is a standout smartphone and camera-centric device. Xiaomi made sure that it would stand above any other phone on the market and be above its own Xiaomi 13 Pro.

Looking at the Xiaomi 13 Ultra side-by-side next to the 13 Pro, there are a lot of similarities – the screen and chipset are the same, the main camera uses the same sensor, and the Xiaomi 13 Pro even has an edge in load – 120W versus 90W.

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

The Xiaomi 13 Ultra looks just like its predecessor

This sentiment is also true for most other phones on the market. The Xiaomi 13 Ultra can make a good case as the best photo and video phone in the world right now. The only other device with such 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 gunfight.

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

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

Then there’s Leica Color Modes, 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 it’s before you know it has the best chipset, fastest storage, most advanced display, exquisite build quality and IP68 water and dust resistance.

The icing on the cake is that Xiaomi will launch the 13 Ultra worldwide, unlike its predecessor. It makes the discussion about wanting one really meaningful.

So let’s go – will the Xiaomi 13 Ultra be your next phone? Vote.