Xiaomi he had already anticipated it and now here we are: the 13 Ultra – the super top of the range of the Chinese giant – arrives today in Italy.
However, we are not sure that “super top of the range” is the right term.
“It’s an affordable Leica camera, not an expensive smartphone,” he explains David LunardelliHead of Marketing of Xiaomi Italy.
Confused?
Let’s try to clarify.
A smartphone or a camera?
Xiaomi 13 Ultra is the result of the partnership with Leica. And this partnership does not materialize only in a few tweaks here and there to the software and in the Leica writing that appears on the back.
The design, with the black leather, or safari green, on the back and the metallic edge, is designed to recall Leica cameras. And then we have the lenses, with Xiaomi and Leica starting from those of a fullframe and then redesigning them and adapting them to the smartphone. So we end up with groups of lenses paired with four different sensors and made from a special polymer that has undergone special treatments to reduce lens flare and chromatic aberration.
The sensors? Well those are still Sony but the color science is that of Leica. This means that the colors are designed to be the same regardless of the camera you decide to use. And there’s plenty of choice here: the main 1-inch sensor is a 50 MP Sony IMX989 with HyperOIS and variable aperture, so you can decide to switch from F/1.9 to F/4.0, while the telephoto, super- telephoto and ultra-wide angle are supported by a 50 MP Sony IMX858.
Four rear cameras therefore which offer great versatility also because we have:
- support for macros at a distance of 5 cm;
- two possible styles, Leica Authentic Look e Leica Vibrant Lookto which are added the Leica filters;
- The Ultra-RAW a 14 bit, which arise from the combination of about 10 different RAW files and which you can then work peacefully on Photoshop or Illustrator (complete with an official partnership with Adobe);
- the ability to register video in 8K fino a 24 fps;
- a new Director Mode;
- 10-bit LOG recording;
- importing LUTs to see what the end result would look like.
In short, we are dealing with a product that borrows a lot from the world of photography and which, in the right hands, it could really turn into a professional tool and for professionals.
“Could” because for now we’ve had the opportunity to try it for a few minutes but the feeling is that it’s really ready for anything.
Xiaomi 13 Series – your masterpiece!
“The target is certainly those who want to approach the world of photography, or professional photographers – says Lunardelli – […] Leica has this profound mission of making people passionate about photography and this is a product that goes exactly in that direction.”
And the rest?
The photographic sector is the distinctive element of Xiaomi 13 Ultra but this does not mean that it has nothing else to offer.
The newcomer comes with un display AMOLED WQHD+ da 6,73″ with excellent color accuracy and peak brightness up to 2600 nits, calibrated according to the new CIE 2015 colorimetry, and also able to support the end-to-end experience guaranteed by Dolby Visioncapturing in vivid color, amazing contrast and brightness.
We find on board the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor with 12 or 16 GB of RAM and 512 GB of internal memory. And yes, finally the output is USB 3.2 Gen 1 and supports DisplayPort up to 4K 60Hz.
Great attention also to cooling with the Loop LiquidCool technology developed by Xiaomi, the first aerospace-grade toroidal system on a smartphone, which ensures an equivalent thermal conductivity more than three times that of traditional VCs and a heat dissipation capacity of more than 10Wm making 8K 24fps video recording possible on all lenses, stable and without frame rate drops due to temperature.
Xiaomi 13 Ultra: price
Xiaomi 13 Ultra is available from today in limited quantities on mi.com and at the Xiaomi Store Italy in double colouring Black e Olive Green in the only configuration from 12GB+512GB.
The suggested retail price is 1499,99€but for a limited period it will be possible to take advantage of advantageous offers by visiting the product page on mi.com and all the Xiaomi Store Italia present throughout the national territory.
Furthermore, by purchasing Xiaomi 13 Ultra on mi.com by 12 July 2023 you will be able to access some exclusive advantages such as the exchange of an old device, also safeguarding the planet, an out-of-warranty repair with free labor costs and take advantage of the service ‘Airport Exclusive Lounge’ at select airports.
“The consumer technology market is declining so you can’t think of arriving with a product in a certain price range and making everyone a photographer or satisfying everyone’s need to be a photographer. This is a product for a few. At the moment we want to create value to then arrive at volumes in a certain way. It’s not a mass product, it’s not for the price, even if we can see it as an accessible Leica, it’s not for the quantities available. It is a pure quality producthas no other ambitions”, concludes Davide Lunardelli.