\n| Xiaomi 17 Ultra<\/th>\n | N.A.<\/td>\n | S$1,799<\/td>\n | S$2,299 (Leica Leitzphone powered by Xiaomi)<\/td>\n | N.A.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n Note:<\/i><\/b> N.A. means \u201cnot applicable\u201d, and that\u2019s because that variant isn\u2019t officially sold in Singapore, or doesn\u2019t exist. Also, these are launch prices, so there\u2019s a chance you can find these phones<\/i> below RRP <\/i><\/b>after factoring in promotions and platform discounts.<\/i><\/p>\n![\"Xiaomi](\"https:\/\/cassette.sphdigital.com.sg\/image\/hardwarezone\/19e95c610870e45cfeada9ea8468ccdb96e6e87f7586a1446db25ee8bb466798?w=1000&q=85\") \nXiaomi 17 Ultra<\/p>\n Photo: HWZ<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n Our pick<\/b>: Xiaomi 17 Ultra<\/b> (S$1,799 for 512GB<\/b>). It\u2019s a no-brainer if you\u2019re all about getting the most bang for your buck (including modest offline storage), since the Xiaomi phone practically packs equal (or greater) components at a much lower price across the board.<\/p>\n You\u2019re not short on anything with the same processor (base version), and other specs befitting of an Ultra\u2019s display, battery life, camera work, and even software optimisations.<\/p>\n Your next-lowest-priced choice is the\u00a0Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra<\/b>\u00a0at S$1,828<\/b>, but note that it comes with 256GB of storage<\/b>. For heavy users, this could mean having a disciplined approach to having apps and media files on-device.<\/p>\n Also, while the Leica Leitzphone powered by Xiaomi (a Leica-branded Xiaomi 17 Ultra) is the most affordable 1TB variant, it\u2019s been out of stock on both Xiaomi and Leica platforms for ages. Realistically, that leaves the Vivo X300 Ultra<\/b> (S$2,499 for 1TB) as your next port of call, especially if you don\u2019t want to pay above S$2,500 for a 1TB phone.<\/p>\n(Subjective) camera comparison<\/h2>\n While we haven\u2019t done a side-by-side camera shootout, we do have some photography tours with these devices that help to showcase the strengths and shortfalls of each Ultra mobile:<\/p>\n These, together with the Vivo X300 Ultra review, makes it clear that producing great photos is mostly a non-issue for their top-tier devices. Choosing a favourite comes down to personal preference, like the onslaught of optional teleconverter kits that Chinese Android phones are happy to offer (at an extra cost).<\/p>\n Of particular note, these are some ways each phone brand tries to go the next mile in imaging prowess:<\/p>\n \n- OPPO<\/b>: While it prides itself on accuracy, there\u2019s also plenty of computational photography chops included to make it a versatile shooter for portraits and street photography, letting you get very natural-looking results. Has an optional teleconverter kit if you want to shoot far.<\/li>\n
- Samsung<\/b>: Generally, the all-rounded choice for casual shooters, but it comes with a wealth of expert-level first-party apps hidden away in its own app store, the Galaxy store. It\u2019s still very capable at most optical zoom ranges, with greater emphasis on night-time photography (Nightography).<\/li>\n
- Vivo<\/b>: Also known for its accuracy, while relying on its partnered lenses to convince you it\u2019s the best choice for minimal interference in your images. Also has aggressive computational photography tuning to deliver on photos with bokeh (the focusing blur effect achieved at lower apertures). Also has optical zoom extension through optional teleconverter kits.<\/li>\n
- Xiaomi<\/b>: While it has large sensors for more data capture, its crowning achievement is its use of both the colour and lens tuning seen in proper Leica cameras, which appeal to a crowd that loves dramatised contrast handling, though it\u2019s nowhere near what the real eye sees. Can also support ND filters if you are willing to get a special phone case for them.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
![\"OPPO](\"https:\/\/cassette.sphdigital.com.sg\/image\/hardwarezone\/2d986810df3a30c4076f47d0030021e00c57bd538d2325ea2626282ca4367ce6?w=1000&q=85\") \nOPPO Find X9 Ultra<\/p>\n Photo: HWZ<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n Our pick<\/b>: It\u2019s a toss-up between OPPO Find X9 Ultra<\/b> and Vivo X300 Ultra<\/b>, owing to their zoom versatility, general consistency across different rear cameras (even ultrawide), and that\u2019s even before we factor in our personal preferences like coloursiation, detail, noise management, and artificial bokeh mastery through computational photography.<\/p>\n![\"Vivo](\"https:\/\/cassette.sphdigital.com.sg\/image\/hardwarezone\/8b4f36305c8799ed3efa9962d4f2ee115162b5be48ef1215cd5b47ede7bdf2fa?w=1000&q=85\") \nVivo X300 Ultra<\/p>\n Photo: HWZ<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n Xiaomi\u2019s choice of Leica colourisation can feel restrictive for users, and Samsung lacks optional kits or the added counsel from time-honoured optics brands to help maximise its cameras’ performance. That said, the latter makes up for it with amazing, free-of-charge first-party add-ons that you can only find in the Galaxy Store for apps.<\/p>\n Software and user experience comparison<\/h2>\nGenerally speaking, Android phones have to work with whatever Google provides to the Android ecosystem, and each brand ends up with its own take on extra features. The current state of Android offers more powerful customisation options than a decade ago, and phone brands are working to integrate them into their layouts and platforms.<\/p>\n Among them would be the inclusion of Apple AirDrop compatibility for Google\u2019s Quick Share, which means your Android phone can share amazing photos and videos (see above) to your Apple-loving friends, a taste of good computational photography and social media-ready content at a moment\u2019s notice.<\/p>\n Phones are also increasingly the main gateway to many digital-adjacent aspects of a connected life. Beyond security and privacy, the operating system also needs to play nicely with a smart appliance ecosystem, while maintaining a phone layout that doesn\u2019t frustrate users and controls that are easy to find and tweak. Long gone are the days when pretty icons, bars, and minimal bloatware or ads were enough for a phone to stand tall among the rest.<\/p>\n![\"Samsung](\"https:\/\/cassette.sphdigital.com.sg\/image\/hardwarezone\/688da36f28259458c999c4f2ee8d375e55ecb59ff43c9db74cc26489a01794b5?w=1000&q=85\") \nSamsung Galaxy S26 Ultra<\/p>\n Photo: HWZ<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n Our pick: Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra<\/b>\u2019s One UI<\/b> is at the frontier of Ultra-type phones. Not only is it easy to use with smart appliances (like the rest), but its interface has also gotten cleverer over the years.<\/p>\n An understated perk of One UI is Samsung Knox<\/b>, which provides on-board, hardware-based protection for both security and privacy needs. That said, it\u2019s still contingent on users not giving away sensitive data willy-nilly, and even Samsung has provided for that with Auto Blocker, among other tools.<\/p>\n Another up-and-coming faucet that informs the user experience is mobile AI<\/b>. How brands choose to balance generative, agentic, and machine-learnt AI in the right places affects the final user experience.<\/p>\n As phone reviewers, we tend to get frustrated when we encounter AI features that don\u2019t work as advertised or are forced upon users with no real benefit. The disappointment compounds when AI is paraded about as if the attempts matter more than the outcomes<\/b>. In our experience, most mobile AI tools that are truly appreciated are rarely in-your-face, too.<\/p>\n In that regard, we find One UI\u2019s Galaxy AI<\/b> quickly becoming a star pick. What first started out as co-opting Gemini tools into Samsung-branded features has slowly grown into a true background warrior. Galaxy AI-powered Call Screening is a great example as how AI can actually help you achieve more with less in a daily setting, and Galaxy AI also plays nicely with other AI tools of your choice, such as Perplexity.<\/p>\n Also, OPPO\u2019s ColorOS (with OPPO AI<\/b>) gets a special mention for being quite clever at picking out practical outcomes for users. Our favourite example is AI Bill Manager, which can drastically cut down the work needed to file paper receipts into digital claims for your workplace, all from your phone. This brand, along with Samsung, also actively tries to integrate AI features into their cheaper midrange handsets, and that bodes well for seeing how AI is used to uplift underserved or underresourced parts of our SEA community.<\/p>\n All of these can change quite quickly, since mobile AI is largely at the mercy of its development, and current sentiments around AI aren\u2019t exactly sterling, given that the technology itself faces ethical hurdles while also becoming a scapegoat for other social ills.<\/p>\n Battery life comparison<\/h2>\nThe numbers are the result of multiple benchmarking attempts. They are also recorded in our reviews. Below is another table if you prefer reading it this way:<\/p>\n \n \n\n\n| Model<\/th>\n | Uptime in minutes<\/th>\n | Uptime in hours (h) and minutes (m)<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n | \n\n| OPPO Find X9 Ultra (7,550mAh)<\/th>\n | 1449 minutes<\/td>\n | 24 hours 9 minutes<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | \n| Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra (5,000mAh)<\/th>\n | 1021 minutes<\/td>\n | 17 hours 1 minute<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | \n| Vivo X300 Ultra (6,600mAh)<\/th>\n | 1065 minutes<\/td>\n | 17 hours 45 minutes<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | \n| Xiaomi 17 Ultra (6,800mAh)<\/th>\n | 1293 minutes<\/td>\n | 21 hours 33 minutes<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n We generally don\u2019t take milliamp-hour (mAh) capacity numbers at face value, and newer chemical blends don\u2019t always translate to longer uptime. Despite all four Ultra-class phones having mostly the same chipset model from the same manufacturer, other factors like software optimisation, display brightness, usage intensity, app type and coding efficiency, the time spent on a phone, and even mobile\/Wi-Fi network health can greatly affect how much time you get out of them before the \u201clow battery\u201d warning pops up.<\/p>\n![\"OPPO](\"https:\/\/cassette.sphdigital.com.sg\/image\/hardwarezone\/34783b0b0ebe50d8982a6a3eaf954807dd2c284c9dd56a7866cf6411b77f201d?w=1000&q=85\") \nOPPO Find X9 Ultra<\/p>\n Photo: HWZ<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n Our pick<\/b>:\u00a0Based on our standardised battery-life testing and repeated attempts across all models, the\u00a0OPPO Find X9 Ultra <\/b>is our pick. That\u2019s just splitting hairs, since every model here can achieve at least 17 hours of uptime (and we stop our tests at 20% remaining capacity). The Xiaomi 17 Ultra<\/b> is also a viable pick seeing that it lasted over 20 hours.<\/p>\nHWZ Editorial\u2019s review scoring comparison<\/h2>\n Since the HWZ Editorial team has reviewed all four Ultra flagship-class phones previously, we\u2019ve also given them detailed and overall scores based on how they generally perform during our time with the devices.<\/p>\n \n \n\n\n| Model<\/th>\n | Overall<\/th>\n | Design<\/th>\n | User Friendliness<\/th>\n | Features<\/th>\n | Performance<\/th>\n | Value<\/th>\n | Other notes<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n | \n\n| OPPO Find X9 Ultra<\/th>\n | 9.0<\/td>\n | 9.0<\/td>\n | 8.0<\/td>\n | 9.0<\/td>\n | 9.5<\/td>\n | 8.0<\/td>\n | HWZ Editors’ Choice award<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | \n| Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra<\/th>\n | 9.0<\/td>\n | 8.0<\/td>\n | 9.0<\/td>\n | 9.5<\/td>\n | 9.0<\/td>\n | 8.0<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | \n| Vivo X300 Ultra<\/th>\n | 8.0<\/td>\n | 8.0<\/td>\n | 6.5<\/td>\n | 9.0<\/td>\n | 8.0<\/td>\n | 7.5<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | \n| Xiaomi 17 Ultra<\/th>\n | 8.5<\/td>\n | 8.5<\/td>\n | 8.5<\/td>\n | 8.0<\/td>\n | 9.0<\/td>\n | 8.0<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n Our pick<\/b>: It\u2019s quite obvious that we\u2019d lean towards phones that already received our Editors\u2019 Choice award. For now, that\u2019s the OPPO Find X9 Ultra<\/b>. To get an in-depth perspective, be sure to read all our Ultra-grade Android phone reviews (or their Pros and Cons if you\u2019re short on time):<\/p>\n | | |