Ultra Phone Battle! | Xiaomi 13 Ultra vs Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra

Comparing the Xiaomi 13 Ultra vs Samsung’s Galaxy S23 Ultra, to see which flagship smartphone is the best for camera smarts, gaming performance, battery life and beyond. I’ve reviewed both the Xiaomi 13 Ultra and Samsung S23 Ultra, testing them as my full-time phone, so here’s my personal verdict on how they stack up.

When it comes to battery life, the Galaxy is more dependable, rarely dipping into that power mode - although the Xiaomi 13 Ultra is faster at charging. Gaming performance is excellent with both, but the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra doesn’t offer the same slick set of game tools as the MiUI phone.

Camera performance is a narrow victory for the Samsung S23 Ultra. It’s better in HDR situations and that zoom is still untouchable. However, the Xiaomi 13 Ultra is a very strong rival, and will please bokeh fans more with its clever dual aperture lens.

So that’s what I think of this pair, two of the best (and most expensive) smartphones of 2023 so far. Which one is your own favourite - the Xiaomi 13 Ultra or Samsung’s Galaxy S23 Ultra? Let us know below!

Xiaomi 13 Ultra vs Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra Chapters:
0:00 - Rambling a bit
0:33 - Design
2:38 - Software & features
4:51 - Display
6:12 - Audio
7:50 - Performance & gaming
9:12 - Battery life
10:16 - Cameras

[forry]

Flagship phones cost a lot of brass these days. The optical zoom is probably the only thing that would make me consider it. Amazing results in both there!

[planetminecraft]

I have had the S23 Ultra since February, and I have been really enjoying this phone! The speakers are certainly loud enough to hear you clearly when the lawn mowers are right below the window!😅

[oussamabouchebak]

Someone needs to step up to IP69 rating

[pokehunter]

I picked the Xiaomi 13 Ultra. You can't go wrong when it's offered at 70-75% of the price of the Samsung. I have had it since the second day of its release and it rocks.

[rocksaidso]

Both have done a brillant job . Both are loaded with pixels, Both are good enough for most of the everyday photography we do, one has more tele photo but the other one has variable aperture . At the end of the day it boils down to which phone is more bang for the money as samsung is expensive but will give you more resale value and updates ...xiaomi being cheaper gives you more value for money and you can side load anything to it if u want with more customisation and you know what they say money saved is money earned . ( previous phone was mi 10t pro now have s23u)

[sadmanadib]

Xioami has done a lot of improvement within a few years. If xiaomi can keep this pace undoubtedly it will be the king in future.

[thindo]

My favourite is the Galaxy Ultra as its the one I've got... Seriously they are all Beasts Samsung just edges it in my opinion in having a well rounded device and better support... Guess thats why it costs extra

[WaneesMeftah]

3:57 the right use of ultrasonic finger print sensor is just touching it not hard pressing

[jakeholland]

I loved the design of xiaomis flagship last year, not a fan of the large circular camera bump/lens.
I've always been a fan of miui though

[ElementalFirePS]

Confirmation bias is a very real phenomenon and everyone wants to believe the device they spent money on is the one that's the best but it's always important to keep in mind you owe no brand your loyalty and at the end of the day they sell a product and you buy it, that's where it begins and that's where it ends, simple as.

Now, I personally own both the S23 Ultra and the Xiaomi 13 Ultra which also has a 1" sensor. I'd go so far as to say it is currently the best as far as main sensors go as it's been coupled with a variable aperture main Leica lens that can stop down to f4.0 which really goes the extra mile as it's a perfect marriage of the sensor size and the optical hardware to pull all the possible detail at both the optical level and the resolution limits, so my experience may be slightly different from the typical 1" sensors but it shouldn't be too far off.

First of all, the Oppo Find X6 Pro+ also mentioned currently is known to produce fake 50mp photos in JPEG, it upscales 12mp photos so if that happens to be anyone's use case scenario, I'd avoid that. RAWs should be okay?

The S23 Ultra does fantastic when you consider it has much smaller pixels at 0.6 microns (up to 2.4 at 16-1 12mp binning and 1.2 at 4:1 50mp binning). Truth be told though, the 12mp photos are extremely poor and no amount of settings, file format options or camera assistant tweaks can change that. They're dreadful, soft, noisy and only good for quick shots. It's very apparent that the 16 to 1 pixel binning is pretty awful for ANY detail scenario or genuine photography. The 12.5mp photos on the Xiaomi 13 Ultra destroy the S23 Ultra to the point where it's genuinely shocking.

I believe Samsung's gone overboard with the compression of the photos to save space and that strange corner-cutting measure really hurts them when the hardware is so capable. A little known fact is even when .heic photos are taken, which should in fact be better quality despite the smaller file sizes as it also supports 16-bit colour, but they often have much worse quality than the jpeg format. This is because Samsung actually saves and processes the photos internally as jpegs before saving the final output in the .heic container. They've done this completely backwards which is bizarre for a company with the know-how Samsung has, and it's a joke. A 12mp JPEG on my Xiaomi 13 Ultra is usually around 12mb whereas on my S23 Ultra it's around 2mb. Whoever is in charge of the software side of that is really sabotaging the efforts of the engineers who designed the sensors.

The S23 Ultra can take phenomenal photos at 200mp in Natural mode aka without all the shitty sharpening and frame-merging applied on top, and results in filmic-looking photos. They really are something to marvel at especially when you consider its main sensor is 80% smaller than the 1" sensors used by its rivals. However, in natural mode any lens flaws are highlighted by the lack of post processing, and it's no word of a lie that I had to exchange my S23 Ultra 9 times to settle on one that did not have a defective lens. This is nothing short of the most atrocious quality control I've ever seen in my life, and unfortunately it's something a lot of consumers don't know. You're all being duped and you don't even know it. Even the biggest YouTubers like MKBHD, Linus etc, I challenge you to bring me your S23 Ultra and you'll be shocked at what I'll help you discover. Now, this is in NO way malicious on their parts, they genuinely don't know the lengths Samsung has gone to hide this issue on their latest flagships. I'd be surprised if they were aware as it's not something you would expect of a company this big and established. I'm not even sure if it's maliciousness on Samsung's part or just bad internal communication and fumbling. Long story short, the S23 Ultra can take far superior, natural quality photos than most are aware but it's just hidden and for good reason. Even in 200mp mode, these, too, are hampered by the archaic compression and it's a massive injustice as a 200mp photo is often the same size as a 12mp photo from the Xiaomi 13 Ultra. 50mp RAWs are gorgeous from the S23 Ultra, simply sublime. It can actually go down to ISO 10 even in Manual mode if you adjust it correctly and don't set THAT part manually. That's when the RAW photos are at their best and make you marvel. The Xiaomi 13 Ultra does take far superior low light photos and the size difference of the sensor can't be overcome by software trickery. The RAWs are close but the Xiaomi can recover much more highlights and consequently when ETTR you can pull image quality that results in the same low noise floor as the ISO 10 mode in the S23 Ultra but with slightly sharper results at f4.0. Overall? They're both fantastic devices in their own way and have their strengths and weaknesses. I kept both as they're the respective bests in their field as far as I'm concerned and the Xiaomi 13 Ultra is more camera than just phone, although the phone hardware also matches the S23 Ultra and in some cases beats it, while in other fields the S23 Ultra beats it. Nothing speaks elegance like the square bulky uncut gorgeous screen and shape of the S23 Ultra. It means business. But the comfort and look of the Xiaomi 13 Ultra and its camera prowess and video playback and screen tuning options are the only pair I've seen that do an OLED mobile display with their marvelous technology justice as it's essentially unlocked and lets you bring out its strengths. The Samsung, by comparison, is more locked down and Apple-esque which I'm not so fond of.

I've taken photos with my Xiaomi 13 Ultra portrait wise that the Samsung S23 Ultra failed miserably at. It's no slur towards the S23 Ultra, as it's a fantastic device and using it as my portable gaming streaming outlet strapped to a Gamesir X2 streaming from my 13900K at 6.1ghz paired with a 3090 and 8000mhz CL32 RAM PC makes for a gorgeous experience that destroys the Nintendo Switch and which I enjoy just as much as sitting down in front of my Alienware AW3423DW overclocked to 190hz). Even IF the Xiaomi 13 Ultra's HDR capabilities at said streaming outshines the image quality of the S23 Ultra. The boxy uncut squarish screen of the S23 Ultra has its own unique experience and pleasure seldom matched by any other device. Not to mention that S-pen does wonders for navigating around Windows (and for my ADHD scribbling and jotting life-saving notes)

[evilkratos]

Rocking that Oshi No Ko wallpaper I see. Super GOATed

[bethrussell]

Thanks for this! Great review again!! Made my decision! While the S23U has a slightly better picture contrast, the look, price and other features of the X13U have sold it to me! I've previously owned the X11Pro and even then, it was the best phone I'd ever had so the 13U will undoubtedly be amazing! 😍

[spykegodbv]

Great video as usual. Please test more Android controllers, like the Gamesir X2 Pro, for example.

[rangojango]

Looking to potentially upgrade to one of these in December but atm I'm still very satisfied with my Sony Xperia 5 ii, good to be able to enjoy your current phone whilst watching top uncle spurt content 👍

[btrueday]

Disappointed that no one has review the XM13U with the camera pack and some polarizer / ND filters installed.

[hadenkriztenzen]

As a long-time Galaxy Note user I can say that its design is really good but not comfortable in the hands. That rectangular edges may look great but no way comfortable to hold.

[graylingboysalisbury]

Both great, but neither will tempt me away from my mi11 ultra. I quite like the idea of an s pen though.

[KH-cssj]

No one seems to point out the biggest downside of S23 Ultra: its ultra low PWM frequency at 240 HZ, compared to Xiaomi's 1920Hz at low brightness and DC dimming at high brightness. This makes a big difference with someone who uses their phone for a prolonged period, as low PWM frequency can cause eye strains and harm eyes in long term.

[animenakano]

As always the highlight of the video is the Ruby wallpaper

[montadar]

One thing that pisses me of with Samsung Galaxy S23 lineup is how they removed the Qualcomm APTx feature that they had in their older generations. Like for what reason??
Kinda happy that Xiaomi has it still.