The Xiaomi 13 Ultra went official earlier today, and we have an excellent smartphone on our hands. We also reported that the phone comes with the first AMOLED panel that can go as high as 2,600 nits, but that is not all that is excellent about the smartphone. During the live stream, Xiaom proudly showed off the camera, and the most interesting thing is that in every single comparison shot, iPhone 14 Pro Max was also included. While the official camera samples are still not out, we have some interesting details to share with you.

The Xiaomi 13 Ultra camera shows natural colors without a lot of oversaturation and oversharpening, an issue prominent in iPhone 14 Pro Max and Galaxy S23 Ultra

The iPhone 14 Pro Max is hands down one of the best phones in terms of camera, and the Galaxy S23 Ultra shares the stage with it. However, the Xiaomi 13 Ultra is here firing on all fours and is ready to take the crown from both Apple and Samsung, and rightfully so.

So, what is so special about the Xiaomi 13 Ultra that neither the iPhone nor the Galaxy has to offer? Well, for starters, this is the only premium smartphone from the three that offers a 1-inch sensor and second, the sensor offers a variable aperture, allowing the user to choose from either f/1.9 or f/4.0 - the former will bring an excellent and shallow depth of field while the former will bring excellent detail and sharpness in the picture. We will talk more about the camera, but look at these comparison shots that Xiaomi shared during the live stream.

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Sadly, Xiaomi didn't share more comparison shots, but judging by the looks of it and the live stream itself, the Xiaomi 13 Ultra is much, much better at capturing pictures in their truest self, and that too, without excessive processing. The one thing that you see common in all pictures aside from increased detail in pictures taken by the 13 Ultra is that colors are way more natural than they look in pictures taken by iPhone 14 Pro.

Don't get me wrong, the iPhone 14 Pro and, by extension, the Galaxy S23 Ultra are both excellent camera phones, perhaps among the best in business, but they both have a tendency to either oversharpen or oversaturate the phone. Whereas, the Xiaomi 13 Ultra, at least based on these images, does not do much in the first place.

Now, if you know how cameras work, you would be right to guess that the processing happens to pictures taken by the Xiaomi 13 Ultra as well, but the resulting picture that we do see looks a lot closer to reality than it actually is, making the phone ultimately better at taking true to life pictures.

If anything, Xiaomi 13 Ultra is living proof that smartphone manufacturers, especially Apple and Samsung, can no longer shelter themselves behind their names, and they really need to step up their game.