Trusted Reviews is supported by its audience. If you purchase through links on our site, we may earn a commission. Learn more.

Xiaomi 13 Pro camera samples showcase 1-inch sensor and Leica colours

Xiaomi has released a bunch of camera samples taken from the forthcoming Xiaomi 13 Pro, highlighting its large 1-inch image sensor and Leica-tuned colours.

The Chinese brand will be announcing the Xiaomi 13 line in China tomorrow, December 1. Of particular interest will be the Xiaomi 13 Pro and its enhanced camera system, which will bear the fruits of a new(ish) partnership with camera specialist Leica.

We saw the first official results of that partnership in the Xiaomi 12S line, but the Xiaomi 13 will be the first big global outing for the team-up.

Over on Xiaomi’s Weibo page, the company has posted a series of images captured by the Xiaomi 13 Pro. While it’s worth noting that they’ve almost certainly been captured by professionals, and that there’s no information on whether they’ve been edited, it’s already clear to see that this is a high-tier smartphone camera.

Image: Xiaomi/Weibo

The images are particularly notable for their dynamic range, the richness of the colours, and for their clarity even in low light.

A large part of this performance has to come down to what Xiaomi claims is a 1-inch image sensor, which is extremely large (though not unprecedented) for a smartphone camera. Previous reports have suggested that the identity of this image sensor will be the new 50MP Sony IMX989.

Xiaomi also claims that this “extraordinary image strength” comes down to the Xiaomi 13 Pro’s “original Leica flavor”. This is likely to amount to some custom colour science tuning from the German specialist.

All in all, the iPhone 14 Pro, Google Pixel 7 Pro, and Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra could be facing some serious competition in the camera phone stakes. We’ll know for sure once we’ve had a chance to review the phone. Judging from last year’s Xiaomi 12 series, we might not get our hands on a global model until the spring.

Why trust our journalism?

Founded in 2003, Trusted Reviews exists to give our readers thorough, unbiased and independent advice on what to buy.

Today, we have millions of users a month from around the world, and assess more than 1,000 products a year.

author icon

Editorial independence

Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.

author icon

Professional conduct

We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.

Trusted Reviews Logo

Sign up to our newsletter

Get the best of Trusted Reviews delivered right to your inbox.

This is a test error message with some extra words