In this article, we’ll directly compare the photography features of this trio of interesting flagship devices. Namely, it’s the beautiful orange Vivo X70 Pro+, but also the very well-equipped smartphone Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra, and of course the popular Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra won’t be missing either.
If you’re choosing a new smartphone, one of the most important attributes you consider—within your own price/performance ratio—is definitely the camera. The sensors used and the resulting photos differ not only across price segments, but also when choosing from different manufacturers. Today, will it be more affordable China in the form of Xiaomi, innovative Vivo, or even the proven South Korean flagship from Samsung?
With Vivo and Xiaomi, you can often get a slightly better deal
You can order the Vivo X70 Pro+ and Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra directly through our partner Trading Shenzen, which offers duty-free shipping and very favorable prices.
Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra Chinese version (with B20 LTE)
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TIPWith Global Priority shipping, you don’t pay any additional fees.
We recommend choosing Global Priority shipping—where you won’t have to pay anything extra. Customs fees and any VAT will be handled by the seller for you. Shipping can be selected in the cart after you enter the delivery address. Delivery via Global Priority usually takes about 15 days, but it may also take longer.
TIPWith Global Priority shipping, you don’t pay any additional fees.
We recommend choosing Global Priority shipping—where you won’t have to pay anything extra. Customs fees and any VAT will be handled by the seller for you. Shipping can be selected in the cart after you enter the delivery address. Delivery via Global Priority usually takes about 15 days, but it may also take longer.
TIPWith Global Priority shipping, you don’t pay any additional fees.
We recommend choosing Global Priority shipping—where you won’t have to pay anything extra. Customs fees and any VAT will be handled by the seller for you. Shipping can be selected in the cart after you enter the delivery address. Delivery via Global Priority usually takes about 15 days, but it may also take longer.
For the Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra, you can now pay extra for the installation of the global MIUI version, which supports all languages. This is the official global MIUI version—the one that’s also sold with the global version of the smartphone. You can find more information about the order in this article.
Vivo X70 Pro+
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This product will be delivered to you express from a local warehouse in Europe. Delivery from EU warehouses usually takes 2–10 days and is handled by courier. When it arrives, you won’t pay any additional fees — no customs duty and no VAT.
TIPWith Global Priority shipping, you don’t pay any additional fees.
We recommend choosing Global Priority shipping—where you won’t have to pay anything extra. Customs fees and any VAT will be handled by the seller for you. Shipping can be selected in the cart after you enter the delivery address. Delivery via Global Priority usually takes about 15 days, but it may also take longer.
TIPWith Global Priority shipping, you don’t pay any additional fees.
We recommend choosing Global Priority shipping—where you won’t have to pay anything extra. Customs fees and any VAT will be handled by the seller for you. Shipping can be selected in the cart after you enter the delivery address. Delivery via Global Priority usually takes about 15 days, but it may also take longer.
TIPWith Global Priority shipping, you don’t pay any additional fees.
We recommend choosing Global Priority shipping—where you won’t have to pay anything extra. Customs fees and any VAT will be handled by the seller for you. Shipping can be selected in the cart after you enter the delivery address. Delivery via Global Priority usually takes about 15 days, but it may also take longer.
You can find more information about ordering the Vivo in this article.
Vivo X70 Pro+ vs Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra vs Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
To start, let's sum up the technical specs, which, in terms of cameras, these three smartphones have. Vivo X70 Pro+ stands out with a main 50 MPx (f/1.6) sensor, which also offers optical image stabilization, PDAF technology, and laser autofocus.
This sensor is complemented by a 48 MPx ultra-wide camera (114°), which also features unique gimbal stabilization, plus a 12 MPx telephoto lens with optical image stabilization and 2x optical zoom, and an 8 MPx periscope telephoto lens with optical image stabilization and 5x optical zoom. We can’t leave out the Zeiss optics and the special Zeiss T lens coating either. The smartphone supports 8K video at 30 fps.
Next up is last year's most fully equipped Xiaomi smartphone, specifically the Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra, which is officially sold in Slovakia and the Czech market as well. It offers a 50 MPx (f/2.0) main sensor with Dual-Pixel PDAF, optical image stabilization, and laser autofocus. There’s also a 48 MPx periscope telephoto lens with 5x optical zoom and optical image stabilization, plus a 48 MPx ultra-wide sensor (128°). This smartphone also offers 8K video, but at 24 fps.
The third smartphone is the popular flagship Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra, which you can also find in the offer of Slovak carriers. It offers a main 108 MPx (f/1.8) sensor with optical image stabilization and laser autofocus. It also has a 12 MPx ultra-wide sensor equipped with Dual-Pixel PDAF technology, a 10 MPx periscope telephoto lens with up to 10x optical zoom and optical image stabilization, and also a 10 MPx telephoto lens with 3x optical zoom and optical image stabilization. Samsung also supports up to 8K video.
Dominance of one brand or balanced competition?
The photo comparison was published on his YouTube channel by Indian photographer Saurav Anuraj. In his comparison, he took the same photos with the trio of devices mounted on a tripod.
To start, we can take a look at outdoor portrait photos in natural light, where we can also verify Samsung's strong position with 10x optical zoom or the 2x zoom of all three smartphones. There’s also a comparison of ultra-wide sensors in practically ideal conditions during daylight.
The comparison also included 4K video recording (at 30 fps), and the video also contains the original audio track, which was recorded together with the video itself. The creator then continued with an indoor portrait photo, i.e. under external or artificial lighting. Here, ambient background lighting and the rendering of individual colors also played a role.
It’s also important to mention that the Indian photographer tried different modes on these smartphones in his video, and besides zoom and wide-angle shots, he also used a face recognition mode, which is important for portrait photography.
Final verdict of the camera showdown
If we sum up this photo comparison, first of all we have to realize that these are premium flagship devices pushing the limits of sale prices around the 1000 € mark. With such an expensive device, you really won’t make a mistake, and the individual differences, including those in the camera department, are mainly in the details.
When we look at the photographic results in general, the best conditions were handled by the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra. This smartphone delivered true-to-life colors, plenty of sharpness, and—unique among the devices—also 10x optical zoom. The biggest advantage of this device, however, is consistently reliable results. In addition, Samsung also leads in video recording.
Despite that, right behind it, still close in the lineup, comes the newest of the trio: the flagship device Vivo X70 Pro+. It stood out mainly with its 50 MPx main sensor, but also thanks to the gimbal-based stabilization used. Vivo offered very sharp photos, but with less true-to-life colors.
Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra Chinese version (with B20 LTE)
TIPWith Global Priority shipping, you don’t pay any additional fees.
We recommend choosing Global Priority shipping—where you won’t have to pay anything extra. Customs fees and any VAT will be handled by the seller for you. Shipping can be selected in the cart after you enter the delivery address. Delivery via Global Priority usually takes about 15 days, but it may also take longer.
TIPWith Global Priority shipping, you don’t pay any additional fees.
We recommend choosing Global Priority shipping—where you won’t have to pay anything extra. Customs fees and any VAT will be handled by the seller for you. Shipping can be selected in the cart after you enter the delivery address. Delivery via Global Priority usually takes about 15 days, but it may also take longer.
TIPWith Global Priority shipping, you don’t pay any additional fees.
We recommend choosing Global Priority shipping—where you won’t have to pay anything extra. Customs fees and any VAT will be handled by the seller for you. Shipping can be selected in the cart after you enter the delivery address. Delivery via Global Priority usually takes about 15 days, but it may also take longer.
TIPWith Global Priority shipping, you don’t pay any additional fees.
We recommend choosing Global Priority shipping—where you won’t have to pay anything extra. Customs fees and any VAT will be handled by the seller for you. Shipping can be selected in the cart after you enter the delivery address. Delivery via Global Priority usually takes about 15 days, but it may also take longer.
Vivo X70 Pro+
TIPExpress delivery from a European warehouse without customs duty and VAT.
This product will be delivered to you express from a local warehouse in Europe. Delivery from EU warehouses usually takes 2–10 days and is handled by courier. When it arrives, you won’t pay any additional fees — no customs duty and no VAT.
TIPWith Global Priority shipping, you don’t pay any additional fees.
We recommend choosing Global Priority shipping—where you won’t have to pay anything extra. Customs fees and any VAT will be handled by the seller for you. Shipping can be selected in the cart after you enter the delivery address. Delivery via Global Priority usually takes about 15 days, but it may also take longer.
TIPWith Global Priority shipping, you don’t pay any additional fees.
We recommend choosing Global Priority shipping—where you won’t have to pay anything extra. Customs fees and any VAT will be handled by the seller for you. Shipping can be selected in the cart after you enter the delivery address. Delivery via Global Priority usually takes about 15 days, but it may also take longer.
TIPWith Global Priority shipping, you don’t pay any additional fees.
We recommend choosing Global Priority shipping—where you won’t have to pay anything extra. Customs fees and any VAT will be handled by the seller for you. Shipping can be selected in the cart after you enter the delivery address. Delivery via Global Priority usually takes about 15 days, but it may also take longer.
The imagined third place went to the smartphone Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra, with its triple-sensor setup. In this case, slightly worse video stabilization and, in some places, missing sharpness in photos were the deciding factors. The photo results in the test were also not as consistent as Samsung’s.
How do you like the photo comparison of the trio of flagship smartphones? Did the Xiaomi model catch your attention more, or was it the Vivo newcomer—or the Samsung Ultra? If you have any questions about mobile photography or the photo results of these smartphones, feel free to write them to us below in the discussion under the article. Also follow our China Planet website, subscribe for news, and join us on Facebook and on our YouTube channels, where we’re preparing more interesting video reviews for you.
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