Xiaomi Launches 13 Ultra Smartphone With Four Leica Cameras For ‘Real’ Photos

Last year, Xiaomi unveiled a clip-on Leica lens concept that could turn its smartphones into high-end cameras. Now, the manufacturer has successfully integrated the photography brand’s prestigious sensors into the device.

Fans who loved the 12S Ultra’s one-inch mobile sensor can now opt for the latest launch, the Xiaomi 13 Ultra, which boasts four rear Leica cameras, of which the main 23 mm optical image stabilization (OIS) lens makes use of the same 50-megapixel Sony IMX989 sensor.

One key difference is that photography junkies will now be able to toggle the aperture between f/1.9 and f/4.0, allowing more creative shots in different artistic expressions. The other three cameras lend themselves to ultra-wide, periscopic 5x zoom, and 3.2x zoom shots.

According to PhoneArena, the ultra-wide 12mm lens is the widest ever seen on a smartphone, just beating the previous record holder at 13 mm on the iPhone 14 Pro. This means the camera will be able to focus at a distance of just 5 cm (2 inches) for super close-up macro pictures.

As per Engadget, all the rear cameras feature the 50-megapixel 1/2.51-inch IMX858 sensor, which is said to have the same noise-reduction abilities, all-pixel focus, and DOL-HDR performance as the one-inch version.

This would make for greater image consistency across the whole range of lenses, a factor that’s long been a challenge for smartphone makers incorporating more than one camera into the devices.

On the reverse side of the mobile device, the front punch-hole camera remains the same at 32 megapixels. Overall, Xiaomi said it wants to address the “digital look” of the photographs captured by smartphones and wants to give users a natural, “real camera” feel instead.

Within the device, the Xiaomi 13 Ultra is powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor, offering up to 16GB RAM and up to 1TB or UFS 4.0 storage. Its transfer speed—up to a whopping 6Gbsp—is ten times faster than its predecessor.

Head here for more details on the Xiaomi 13 Ultra.

[via Engadget and PhoneArena, images via Leica]