Xiaomi 13 Ultra review

MIUI 14 on Android 13

The Xiaomi 13 Ultra runs MIUI 14 based on an Android 13 core. That's the latest you can get on a Xiaomi phone, so the Ultra is receiving the flagship treatment as expected. It's a software package we already experienced on the 13 Pro, so there are not a whole lot of surprises either.

Our review unit is the Chinese version, so it's running the software that's specific to that locale, and that means some features differ from what the global branch is getting. Normally, if it's a China-only release, we'd go over the phone's software as is - that's what we did on the 12S Ultra last year.

In this particular case, however, we're in somewhat of a predicament since we know the 13 Ultra will be getting a global release with global software - eventually. So instead of going over the user interface of our review unit, we'd direct your attention to the 13 Pro's review to get a better taste of what to expect.

On top of that, there's also a dedicated detailed MIUI 14 on Android 13 walkthrough we just put together. In addition to showcasing Xiaomi's latest software, it outlines some of the differences between the Chinese and global versions, so it's going to be more informative than looking at our 13 Ultra in isolation.

Performance and benchmarks

Surprising no one, the Xiaomi 13 Ultra is powered by the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 - Qualcomm's high-end chipset for 2023. It's the SoC we saw in the 13 Pro, as well as the Galaxy S23 Ultra, Find X6 Pro, OnePlus 11, and many others.

You've probably already read this before - in the above reviews, no less, but the SD 8 Gen 2 has an octa-core processor with one prime core, four performance ones (further subdivided into 2+2), and three cores for less demanding applications, so it's a 1+2+2+3 setup. Or for completeness' sake - 1x3.2GHz Cortex-X3 + 2x2.8 GHz Cortex-A715 & 2x2.8GHz Cortex-A710 & 3x2.0GHz Cortex-A510 CPU cores.

The Gen 2 chipset offers 35% higher performance and 40% improved efficiency in the CPU department over the previous Gen and 25% and 45% performance and efficiency bumps on the GPU side of things (which goes by Adreno 740). It also has support for new, faster memory technologies (LPDDR5X and UFS 4.0). That's nice and all, but since you're likely comparing the latest phones to their equally latest rivals, those differences aren't all that important since most current top-tier devices have the same chip inside.

The Xiaomi 13 Ultra exists in three memory configurations - 12GB/256GB, 16GB/512GB (our review unit), and 16GB/1TB.

Starting our usual benchmarking routine with GeekBench, we're seeing that the 13 Ultra is a top performer under both single-core and multi-core loads. The differences aren't huge, but it's nice to see your phone towards the top of the charts.

GeekBench 6 (single-core)

Higher is better

• Xiaomi 13 Ultra
  2000
• Motorola Edge 40 Pro
  1996
• Xiaomi 13 Pro
  1987
• Honor Magic5 Pro
  1943
• Galaxy S23 Ultra
  1913
• ROG Phone 7
  1857
• ROG Phone 7 Ultimate
  1756
• Oppo Find X6 Pro
  1532
• OnePlus 11
  1527

GeekBench 6 (multi-core)

Higher is better

• Xiaomi 13 Ultra
  5556
• Motorola Edge 40 Pro
  5352
• Xiaomi 13 Pro
  5323
• ROG Phone 7
  5254
• Honor Magic5 Pro
  5096
• ROG Phone 7 Ultimate
  5085
• Oppo Find X6 Pro
  5082
• Galaxy S23 Ultra
  5077
• OnePlus 11
  5043

GeekBench 5 (single-core)

Higher is better

• Galaxy S23 Ultra
  1537
• Xiaomi 13 Pro
  1490
• Motorola Edge 40 Pro
  1482
• iQOO 11
  1479
• Xiaomi 13 Ultra
  1477
• ROG Phone 7
  1397
• vivo X90 Pro
  1387
• ROG Phone 7 Ultimate
  1359
• Xiaomi 12S Ultra
  1324
• Oppo Find X6 Pro
  1166
• OnePlus 11
  1150
• Honor Magic5 Pro
  1130

GeekBench 5 (multi-core)

Higher is better

• Xiaomi 13 Pro
  5087
• Xiaomi 13 Ultra
  5049
• ROG Phone 7
  4935
• Galaxy S23 Ultra
  4927
• OnePlus 11
  4899
• Motorola Edge 40 Pro
  4896
• ROG Phone 7 Ultimate
  4832
• iQOO 11
  4803
• Oppo Find X6 Pro
  4759
• Honor Magic5 Pro
  4378
• Xiaomi 12S Ultra
  4300
• vivo X90 Pro
  4273

In an even more tightly spaced Antutu chart, the Xiaomi 13 Ultra does yield to the Find, but still manages to stay ahead of the Galaxy and the vivo.

AnTuTu 9

Higher is better

• Oppo Find X6 Pro
  1294797
• Xiaomi 13 Pro
  1281666
• iQOO 11
  1281665
• ROG Phone 7
  1279196
• Motorola Edge 40 Pro
  1273764
• iQOO 11 (1080p)
  1272973
• Xiaomi 13 Ultra
  1268538
• Galaxy S23 Ultra
  1241531
• vivo X90 Pro
  1228735
• ROG Phone 7 Ultimate
  1218533
• OnePlus 11
  1140661
• Xiaomi 12S Ultra
  1039412

Going into the graphics benchmarks, nothing really changes - even in such a tough crowd, the Xiaomi 13 Ultra manages to either be on top, or right up there with the best.

GFX Aztek ES 3.1 High (offscreen 1440p)

Higher is better

• Xiaomi 13 Ultra
  62
• iQOO 11
  62
• Xiaomi 13 Pro
  61
• Oppo Find X6 Pro
  61
• OnePlus 11
  61
• Motorola Edge 40 Pro
  60
• Galaxy S23 Ultra
  59
• ROG Phone 7 Ultimate
  56
• vivo X90 Pro
  55
• ROG Phone 7
  52
• Xiaomi 12S Ultra
  46

GFX Aztek Vulkan High (offscreen 1440p)

Higher is better

• Xiaomi 13 Ultra
  69
• Galaxy S23 Ultra
  69
• iQOO 11
  69
• Oppo Find X6 Pro
  68
• OnePlus 11
  68
• Motorola Edge 40 Pro
  68
• Xiaomi 13 Pro
  67
• ROG Phone 7 Ultimate
  58
• ROG Phone 7
  55
• vivo X90 Pro
  54
• Xiaomi 12S Ultra
  51

GFX Car Chase ES 3.1 (offscreen 1080p)

Higher is better

• Xiaomi 13 Ultra
  129
• iQOO 11
  128
• Xiaomi 13 Pro
  127
• Motorola Edge 40 Pro
  127
• ROG Phone 7 Ultimate
  127
• Galaxy S23 Ultra
  126
• Oppo Find X6 Pro
  126
• OnePlus 11
  126
• ROG Phone 7
  125
• vivo X90 Pro
  105
• Xiaomi 12S Ultra
  104

GFX Manhattan ES 3.1 (offscreen 1080p)

Higher is better

• Xiaomi 13 Ultra
  224
• Xiaomi 13 Pro
  222
• iQOO 11
  222
• Oppo Find X6 Pro
  220
• OnePlus 11
  220
• Motorola Edge 40 Pro
  220
• ROG Phone 7 Ultimate
  214
• Galaxy S23 Ultra
  212
• vivo X90 Pro
  200
• ROG Phone 7
  194
• Xiaomi 12S Ultra
  182

GFX Aztek ES 3.1 High (onscreen)

Higher is better

• Galaxy S23 Ultra (1080p)
  89
• iQOO 11 (1080p)
  89
• Motorola Edge 40 Pro
  86
• Xiaomi 13 Ultra (1080p)
  85
• vivo X90 Pro (1080p)
  83
• ROG Phone 7 Ultimate
  83
• ROG Phone 7
  81
• vivo X90 Pro
  65
• Galaxy S23 Ultra
  54
• iQOO 11
  54
• Xiaomi 13 Ultra
  51
• Oppo Find X6 Pro
  51
• Xiaomi 13 Pro
  49
• OnePlus 11
  49
• Xiaomi 12S Ultra
  38

GFX Aztek Vulkan High (onscreen)

Higher is better

• Motorola Edge 40 Pro
  98
• Galaxy S23 Ultra (1080p)
  97
• Xiaomi 13 Ultra (1080p)
  95
• iQOO 11 (1080p)
  91
• vivo X90 Pro (1080p)
  82
• ROG Phone 7 Ultimate
  78
• ROG Phone 7
  74
• vivo X90 Pro
  68
• Galaxy S23 Ultra
  60
• Oppo Find X6 Pro
  56
• Xiaomi 13 Ultra
  55
• iQOO 11
  55
• OnePlus 11
  53
• Xiaomi 13 Pro
  52
• Xiaomi 12S Ultra
  39

GFX Car Chase ES 3.1 (onscreen)

Higher is better

• Motorola Edge 40 Pro
  112
• Xiaomi 13 Ultra (1080p)
  110
• Galaxy S23 Ultra (1080p)
  110
• iQOO 11 (1080p)
  110
• ROG Phone 7
  107
• ROG Phone 7 Ultimate
  107
• vivo X90 Pro (1080p)
  93
• vivo X90 Pro
  74
• Galaxy S23 Ultra
  67
• iQOO 11
  67
• Xiaomi 13 Pro
  64
• Xiaomi 13 Ultra
  63
• Oppo Find X6 Pro
  60
• OnePlus 11
  57
• Xiaomi 12S Ultra
  51

GFX Manhattan ES 3.1 (onscreen)

Higher is better

• Motorola Edge 40 Pro
  164
• ROG Phone 7 Ultimate
  162
• ROG Phone 7
  157
• Xiaomi 13 Ultra (1080p)
  120
• Galaxy S23 Ultra (1080p)
  120
• iQOO 11 (1080p)
  120
• vivo X90 Pro (1080p)
  120
• vivo X90 Pro
  118
• Galaxy S23 Ultra
  112
• iQOO 11
  112
• Xiaomi 13 Ultra
  108
• Xiaomi 13 Pro
  103
• Xiaomi 12S Ultra
  91
• Oppo Find X6 Pro
  60
• OnePlus 11
  60

3DMark Wild Life Vulkan 1.1 (offscreen 1440p)

Higher is better

• Oppo Find X6 Pro
  13360
• vivo X90 Pro
  13265
• Xiaomi 13 Ultra
  13106
• iQOO 11
  12738
• Galaxy S23 Ultra
  12241
• Motorola Edge 40 Pro
  12230
• Xiaomi 12S Ultra
  10533
• Xiaomi 13 Pro
  10289

3DMark Wild Life Extreme (offscreen 1440p)

Higher is better

• Galaxy S23 Ultra
  3790
• Xiaomi 13 Ultra
  3750
• ROG Phone 7
  3745
• vivo X90 Pro
  3698
• Oppo Find X6 Pro
  3696
• Honor Magic5 Pro
  3684
• Motorola Edge 40 Pro
  3660
• ROG Phone 7 Ultimate
  3656
• OnePlus 11
  3594
• iQOO 11
  3514
• Xiaomi 13 Pro
  2939

With those high marks in all the benchmarks, you'd think that the 13 Ultra is good for a fast run or two, but it wouldn't be too fond of prolonged loads. In fact, it exhibited impressive stability in both the one-hour CPU throttling test and the 20-minute Wild Life stress tests in 3D Mark.

CPU throttling test • 3DMark Wild life stress test

Xiaomi has employed what they call a Loop LiquidCool technology (also dubbed Mi IceLoop) - the 'first landing of an aerospace-grade large toroidal cooling system on a smartphone'. It has a slit in the middle, which separates the channel with the hot vapor escaping from the SoC from the return channel with the condensed liquid going back, thus optimizing heat evacuation. Their data shows it to be 3x more effective than traditional vapor chambers.

What we'll say is that the phone does tend to heat up significantly on the outside when doing these torture tests. Realistically, that means that heat is being moved away from the components generating it - ultimately that's the point. It doesn't become hot enough that you can't hold it, so there's that.