Thomas Dietrich
Xiaomi has been able to keep the 13 Ultra under wraps for the most part so far. A few modest leaks have revealed some basic specs over the past few months. It is already known that the upcoming Xiaomi smartphone will have four cameras on the back this year. Like the predecessor Xiaomi 12S Ultra, the 1-inch, 50-megapixel Sony IMX989 sensor sits under the main camera. Today, the Chinese have now personally unveiled the other three sensors.
In an official Weibo post, the company announced that the Xiaomi 13 Ultra will have three more 50-megapixel sensors on board in addition to the 50-megapixel Sony IMX989 sensor. These are each Sony IMX858 chips. Today’s teaser, seen top left, also details some advanced noise reduction features and better HDR capabilities.
The Sony IMX858 sensor also works in the Honor Magic5 Pro, among others, in combination with a 3.5x telephoto lens. In the Xiaomi 13 Ultra, on the other hand, the IMX858 will sit under the ultrawide camera (with PDAF, of course), under the 3x telephoto lens and under the 5x periscope. The chip has a physical size of 1/1.7 inch. While that’s less than the IMX989, it’s a lot for a ultrawide or telephoto lens. The image quality and light-gathering capabilities for night shots should be correspondingly good for all three cameras.
Overall, the Xiaomi 13 Ultra will not only have better camera hardware, but will also offer an even more versatile photo and video setup. It is very exciting to see what the combination on the Xiaomi cell phone will do in practice. Luckily, the April 18 reveal is practically just around the corner.
