If you need a flagship phone with a capable set of cameras, the new Xiaomi 13 Ultra could be the device for you. Here’s how it compares to Apple’s own top-end smartphone, the iPhone 14 Pro Max.
Keep reading to discover the most significant differences between the Xiaomi 13 Ultra and the iPhone 14 Pro Max, along with a few similarities.
The Xiaomi 13 Ultra has four 50-megapixel cameras
Both the Xiaomi 13 Ultra and the iPhone 14 Pro Max boast advanced camera systems.
In fact, the smaller iPhone 14 Pro currently tops our list of the best camera phones as the best for video, while Trusted Reviews editor Max Parker called the Xiaomi 13 Ultra “more camera than phone” and the camera hardware some of the finest he had seen on any phone to date.
On paper, the Xiaomi 13 Ultra is definitely a strong contender here with its four 50-megapixel lenses – one wide, one ultra-wide, one telephoto and one periscope telephoto – with the main camera taking advantage of a huge 1-inch sensor. The Xiaomi 13 Ultra can also record 8K video at 24fps or 4K at 60fps.
The iPhone 14 Pro Max has a 48-megapixel main sensor, a 12-megapixel ultra-wide sensor and a 12-megapixel telephoto sensor. The phone can also be used to shoot 4K video at up to 60fps, with Cinematic Mode now supporting 4K and a new Action Mode that stabilises video when necessary at the expense of low-light performance.
Xiaomi 13 Ultra
Both phones have flagship chipsets
Both the Xiaomi 13 Ultra and the iPhone 14 Pro Max are powered by high-end chipsets. The Xiaomi 13 Ultra runs on Qualcomm’s flagship Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, while the iPhone 14 Pro Max has Apple’s own A16 Bionic SoC.
We found the performance of the iPhone 14 Pro Max to be excellent with its fantastic GPU performance making it ideal for mobile gaming.
We have yet to spend enough time with the Xiaomi 13 Ultra to measure its performance beyond our first impressions, but so far the 13 Ultra seems to be a very fast phone that is on par with the Xiaomi 13 Pro.
The iPhone 14 Pro Max has an innovative notch
One of the standout features of the iPhone 14 Pro Max is the Dynamic Island. The innovative new design takes the highly-derided notch from the phone’s predecessors and transforms it into an interactive feature that displays alerts, notifications and information from apps, such as album art from Apple Music.
While the Dynamic Island is infinitely better than the chunky notch on the iPhone 13 Pro Max, the idea is a little gimmicky in nature. That isn’t to say it isn’t functional however and we enjoyed having easy access to music controls, timer alerts and more in any app.
If you prefer a simpler design, the Xiaomi 13 Ultra sticks with a punch-hole camera on its own 6.73-inch display.
iPhone 14 Pro Max
The iPhone 14 Pro Max has new safety features
Apple announced a couple of new safety features alongside the iPhone 14 Pro Max that aren’t present on the Xiaomi 13 Ultra.
This included an upgrade to Emergency SOS which allows the feature to work via satellite, meaning users in supported locations can now contact emergency services when cellular and Wi-Fi connections are unavailable.
The iPhone also includes a new Car Crash Detection feature, which is capable of detecting if you’ve been in a car crash and automatically contacting emergency services and notifying your emergency contacts.
