Xiaomi 13 Ultra vs. Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max: Photography titans duking it out

Note: This feature was first published on 8 January 2024.

The beast of Android photography, the Xiaomi 13 Ultra

I (and HardwareZone itself) have reviewed countless Xiaomi handsets over the years, so I won't be talking about the Xiaomi 13 Ultra's hardware or from a hard specs-to-features review perspective. 

With Xiaomi 13 Ultra's Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 power, more RAM and storage than you could probably want, a 5,000mAh battery, and a whopping four rear cameras, I found the 13 Ultra to behave as expected of any Android flagship in 2023. It provided blazing performance, complete stability, great ergonomics (excepting the top-heavy placement of the large lens), impressive build quality, and all-day battery life. 

But then, this isn't just "any other Android flagship," given the camera arsenal found here. The Xiaomi 13 Ultra packs:-

• A 1-inch type 50MP Sony IMX989 with f/1.9-4.0 variable aperture
• A 50MP ultra-wide camera with a 122° field of view
• Two 50MP telephoto lenses with OIS - one of which goes up to 10x zoom.

The 13 Ultra continues the "Ultra" lineage of excellent cameras with a phone attached. 

In Singapore, you could even get a pre-order bonus during its launch, such as a free charging stand and the Xiaomi 13 Ultra Professional Photography Kit (worth S$249) if you bought the phone at its recommended retail price of S$1,899.

The kit and camera specs make clear that the Xiaomi 13 Ultra's photography capabilities are to be taken seriously.

I was pretty eager to try the Xiaomi 13 Ultra the moment it was sent to me, because I've been a fan of the Ultra variant ever since I had a Mi 10 Ultra (also a long-term review). My Apple-preferring colleague Kenny has given you insight into the sublime camera performance of the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max. I'm interested in seeing how the Xiaomi 13 Ultra holds up. This is a titanic display of two premium pocket devices, so expectations are high.

MIUI vs iOS: Still a clone war

I need to get this out of the way first: Anyone familiar with Xiaomi's ways will know that its leaders are unabashed admirers of Apple. Nowhere is this more obvious than how MIUI (soon to be HyperOS) "draws inspiration" from iOS. 

As a longtime MIUI user, the similarities were undeniable from the moment I first fired up both phones:

It's easy to point out what to love about iOS, given its better user design sensibilities across its interfaces, barring a few hiccups. What I don't like about iOS (which Xiaomi 13 Ultra was able to handle), is the weird difficulty iOS puts up when selecting large blocks of text. iOS also has a surprisingly inconvenient placement of the back button (that also varies depending on apps), and there is a lack of a proper split-screen option for viewing multiple apps at once. 

The Xiaomi 13 Ultra also made me realise that I miss fast in-display fingerprint sensors in Android phones. Face ID is just not as user-friendly when viewing the phone off-angle, such as when it's on a bedside table.

Comparing Xiaomi 13 Ultra photos to shots on iPhone 15 Pro Max

Xiaomi 13 Ultra is one of the phones that comes with Leica-tuned photography. It’s important to note that the Leica flavour is not optional and cannot be turned off, and you have to choose between Leica Authentic or Leica Vibrant like the other Leica-tuned Xiaomi phones. 

Since the iPhone doesn’t have such restrictions, I left the Xiaomi 13 Ultra in the mode closest to the iPhone’s output — Leica Authentic for all shots. 

Main Camera

I would like to leave the final judgement to you. Personally, I liked the output from my iPhone better, as I’m used to the more natural output from my previous daily driver, Google Pixel 7 Pro. The Leica processing found in Xiaomi phones felt too heavy-handed. 

For example, the Leica embellishments would see highlights handled unrefinedly at times, either blown or with low tonality. The iPhone also delivers warmer, more pleasing colours, although it also has weaknesses. 

Those who have been used to Androids of Chinese origin will likely enjoy the Xiaomi 13 Ultra’s shots, whose contrasty nature will likely appeal to more eyeballs on social media.

The photo comparisons are laid out such that the Xiaomi photos are shown first, followed by the equivalent shot on iPhone. Feel free to head on over to the forums and tell us what you think.

Ultrawide

The ultrawide battle between both shooters in daylight turned out to be a case of trading blows. Where clouds were involved, the iPhone 15 Pro Max delivered a decisive edge in terms of contrast and emotion. But, iPhone 15 Pro Max dropped the ball against Xiaomi 13 Ultra when faced with a broader palette of colour:

Portraits and selfies

For a fairer comparison, I decided to only shoot portraits at 1x (no zoom). It’s worth noting that Xiaomi has a dedicated 3.2x telephoto camera, which should make for some nice street photography shots. 

The iPhone’s output ended up more pleasing in this department, but Xiaomi has better subject separation. 

Look at the edge of the boy’s clothes:

The iPhone also did better at self-portraitures, A.K.A. selfies. As a Xiaomi fan, that 32MP selfie sensor did not live up to my expectations on the 13 Ultra. It was let down by processing that produced a strange greenish cast - a recurring theme throughout indoor shots:

Telephoto and zoom

What’s a flagship phone without a long zoom for photos? Both phones have a 5x lens (the Xiaomi sweetens the deal with an additional 3.2x lens for portraits). 

However, they differ in implementation. The iPhone 15 Pro Max has a “Tetraprism” lens, which folds the light internally along the lens block in a zig-zag pattern. Xiaomi 13 Ultra adopted a more conventional periscope arrangement. 

Interestingly, the lens-sensor pairing on the Xiaomi is f/3.0 and 1/2.51”, while the iPhone has a smaller 1/3.06” sensor but an f/2.8 aperture, the biggest on a 5x telephoto phone camera. By way of comparison, the 10x tele camera on the Samsung Galaxy S23 is f/4.9 and a minuscule 1/3.52”.

The iPhone’s digital zoom tops out at 25x versus the “120x” on the Xiaomi, but we all know that figures like those aren’t practical if you want social media-ready photos free of visible grain and noise. Expect to see a significant quality dropoff past 10x - and that in all but the best light.

Night mode

We repeat the main-ultrawide-telephoto gauntlet, this time in night mode with true nighttime.

One could argue for the iPhone’s night mode shots being closer to reality and “stock” camera performance here, while in the tradition of modern Chinese Androids, night mode is always bright or highly saturated. Personally, the Xiaomi 13 Ultra was a little more appealing because of its extra vibrancy.

Surprisingly, the gap narrows when the ultra-wide is used for night shots. Apple proves that you don’t need a high-resolution, pixel-binning ultrawide sensor to extract good night-time photos. If only it had done the same sort of processing with the main camera…

(If you’re wondering why the sides of the building are visible in the 13 Ultra’s image, that’s because it has a slightly wider ultrawide - 12mm vs 13mm.)

Something interesting happened when I tried both telephoto cameras in night mode, at 5x. No matter how many times I tried, the iPhone produced “ghosting” artefacts in the image (look at the NCCS characters). This one is a clear win for Xiaomi and the 13 Ultra. Only the most dyed-in-the-wool iPhone fans would defend the 15 Pro Max’s output, which simply can’t match up to the Xiaomi 13 Ultra for details in the shadows.

A tough choice between Xiaomi and Apple

Choosing between the Xiaomi 13 Ultra and the Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max has proven difficult. Both phones have impressive imaging capabilities in key areas, like their daytime performance across all lenses. Personal preferences separate the winner from the loser, and that's a personal choice. To sum up what we found, here's our recommendation:-

• Purists and Naturalists: You would be better served by the iPhone 15 Pro with its more authentic representation and tones, since you are likely to prioritise accuracy.
  
   
• Ripe for social media use: Xiaomi's more dynamic treatment of your shots are ideal for immediately sharing to your followers with more pleasing appearances through boosted brightness, contrast and saturation - all without the need for touch-up or filters to amp it up.

At the same time, their weaknesses, like iPhone’s night mode telephoto shots and Xiaomi’s green cast front camera, are situational pain points at best. 

The Xiaomi 13 Ultra has all you can expect from Xiaomi flagships - competent hardware fundamentals, love-hate MIUI OS - and as a phone that trades on its camera, it doesn’t disappoint. It’s basically the Xiaomi 13 Pro (review here) on steroids, and understandably so because you’re paying more for the Ultra.

For me, it’s also not strong enough to conclusively breeze past the iPhone 15 Pro Max in all areas, like portrait shooting. However, Xiaomi 13 Ultra is still worthy of taking its place in the hallowed halls of camera-first phones we call “flagship-grade”. 

A few phone generations ago, this achievement alone would have been enough even to entice iPhone users to switch. But Android flagships are inching ever closer to Apple’s kind of pricing, which is bad for value but great for iPhone or Android users who aren’t necessarily loyal to the brand or device. 

Does the Xiaomi 13 Ultra make me want to switch my daily driver phone again? My head says no (since the daily driver still works fine), but my heart says yes. Xiaomi has boldly stepped away from its long history of offering competent phones at value-for-money prices, culminating in today’s devices like the Xiaomi 13 Ultra.

Being able to offer such a premium in a crowded Android market and hold its own against the iPhone 15 Pro Max’s cameras may well be its strongest suit.