Despite Leica cooperation: Huawei triumphs over Xiaomi

• DxOMark rated the Xiaomi 12S Ultra’s camera.
• It is the Chinese manufacturer’s first cell phone with a Leica camera.
• Nevertheless, it is not enough for the camera throne.

Which cell phone has the best camera? DxOMark, which many manufacturers like to quote for advertising purposes, provides an answer to this question. The website tests cameras, lenses and, for the last few years, cell phone cameras. In the past few years, Huawei and Xiaomi have always fought each other for the top position. But after Xiaomi Huawei was able to alienate long-term camera partner Leica, many fans seemed to have decided on it.

Xiaomi 12S Ultra only ranks 5th

But things often turn out differently than expected. Because the Xiaomi 12S Ultra, the manufacturer’s first cell phone with a Leica camera, misses the top position in the DxOMark, and quite clearly. With 138 points, it only lands in 5th place behind the Huawei Mate 40 Pro+ (139 points), the predecessor Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra (143 points), the Huawei P50 Pro (144 points) and the Honor Magic4 Ultimate (146 points) of the former Huawei subsidiary Honor.

Also interesting…

Although DxoMark generally attributes excellent image quality to the cell phone, there are weaknesses compared to other top smartphones. The image preview does not correspond to the final image. In some cases, the testers noticed a lack of image consistency in consecutive recordings and the other devices were also ahead in high-contrast scenes in poor lighting conditions.

What should comfort Xiaomi is that Huawei and Leica also needed a few years before their jointly developed camera conquered the top position. The Huawei P9 was the manufacturer’s first cell phone with a Leica camera in 2016, but the big breakthrough came with the Huawei P20, which was introduced in 2018.