The Xiaomi 12S Ultra flagship phone was released in July 2022. This is the first high-end flagship since the cooperation between Xiaomi and Leica. It took half a year to design this handset. The handset has gained a lot of popularity. So it’s logical that many users are waiting for a follow-up model, the Xiaomi 13 Ultra.
Ishtar – Babylonian goddess
Last month, Xiaomi launched the brand new Mi 13 and Mi 13 Pro. Later, we learned that the company would uncover the Xiaomi 13 Ultra in the first half of this year, along with the new Mi Pad.
Today, a famous Weibo tipster said that Xiaomi’s new video flagship is code-named “Ishtar” and has a registered model number 2304FPN6DC.
“Ishtar” is the Babylonian goddess of nature and harvest. She is also the goddess of love, fertility, and war and is sometimes a symbol of Venus.
Xiaomi 13 Ultra camera
The main highlight of the Mi 13 Ultra (or Mi 13S Ultra) will be the Leica optics. Just like other Mi 13 models, this new machine may also use a 1-inch IMX989 outsole sensor. However, compared with the Mi 12S Ultra, there will be some improvements.
The actual size of the Sony IMX989 is 1.02 inches, using a 4:3 ratio instead of the conventional 3:2 ratio. Also, the IMX989 adopts an advanced manufacturing process, has a faster readout speed, a Quad-Bayer color array that takes into account the light input and resolution, the single pixel area is 1.6μm, and the fusion pixel area of four pixels in one can reach 3.2um. This means that a single frame capture can have sufficient dynamic range. Thus, the phone can greatly reduce the trigger rate of HDR, which will bring a great increase in shooting speed.
Moreover, the Sony IMX989 sensor supports the Octa-PD phase-detection focusing system that allows each sub-pixel to have focusing capabilities. They can appropriately increase the shutter speed and adjust the trigger strategy of the night scene mode in a targeted manner. With the Sony IMX989, the low-light capture capability of the Mi 13 Ultra will be greatly improved.
There will also be three top-end lenses, IMX858, covering ultra-wide-angle, 3x portrait telephoto, and 5x telephoto, respectively. However, the Sony IMX858 has not yet been released, and the specific parameters have yet to be confirmed. What is certain is that it has a 50MP resolution.
Other specs
At present, we don’t know much about this handset. But we guess the phone will use the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 and 2K screen. The most important thing is that the Xiaomi 13 Ultra will eventually abandon USB 2.0 and use a higher-standard transmission interface. This is also the most reasonable upgrade for a video flagship, and it is also what everyone expects.
According to xiaomiui.net, the alleged Mi 13 Ultra has appeared in the IMEI database. There are two models of this phone, 2304FPN6DG, and 2304FPN6DC. The Xiaomi 13 Ultra is going to be launched globally. So we guess the 2304FPN6DG will be the international version, while the 2304FPN6DC will be the Chinese version.
Xiaomi Mi Pad 6 tablets
As for the tablet, the latter will use a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ chip, code-named Liuqin. We think the latter refers to the Mi Pad 6 Pro. Prior to this, we have heard that the standard version of the tablet is codenamed “pipa.” Unlike the model above, this one will come with the Snapdragon 870 chip.
The Mi Pad 6 Pro may also come with a 120Hz AMOLED display with a resolution of 1880 × 2880 pixels and four speakers. It will be pre-installed with a deeply customized MIUI 14 system based on Android 13.
