Do you remember the Xiaomi 13 Ultra? It was launched in April last year, and the USP of this phone was its cameras. The phone had a quad camera setup on the rear, with all four cameras featuring 50MP sensors. The phone had a 1-inch Sony IMX989 sensor for the primary camera and a variable aperture lens. There were two periscope cameras, one with a 3.2x optical zoom, and the other with a 5x optical zoom. And on top of all that, there was all the extra LEICA stuff in the software.
Today, the Xiaomi 14 Ultra was launched in China, and this is the company’s camera-centric premium flagship for 2024 that is going to compete with the likes of the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra, Vivo X100 Pro, and more. The phone is set to launch globally on February 25.
Design-wise, the Xiaomi 14 Ultra looks almost the same as the Xiaomi 13 Ultra. The only noticeable change is on the rear where the camera module has a ring around it, making it look larger than the one on Xiaomi 13 Ultra. The phone has a quad camera setup on the rear and a premium vegan leather material for Black & White color options.
The phone is IP68 water and dust-resistant, has stereo speakers with Dolby Atmos support, wireless charging, an IR blaster, an X-axis linear motor, NFC, Wi-Fi 7, and Bluetooth 5.4 support.
On the front, the Xiaomi 14 Ultra has a micro-curved OLED display. The advantage of this display over regular curved displays is that it offers the experience of a flat display and the aesthetics of a curved display. In other words, the display itself is flat, but the glass on top is curved on all four sides.
This is a 6.73-inch Quad-HD+ LTPO OLED display with up to 120Hz refresh rate, 3000 nits peak brightness, 12-bit color depth, Dolby Vision, HDR10+, and Xiaomi’s Dragon Crystal glass protection.
Let’s talk about the main USP of this phone – the cameras. Xiaomi 14 Ultra has a quad camera setup on the rear. The primary camera has a 1-inch 50MP Sony LYT-900 sensor with a variable aperture lens (f/1.63-f/4.0). For comparison, the Xiaomi 13 Ultra featured a 1-inch Sony IMX989 sensor with a variable aperture lens (f/1.9-f/4.0).
The second camera takes ultrawide/macro photos and has a 50MP Sony IMX858 sensor with an f/1.8 lens offering a 122-degree FOV.
The third camera is a telephoto with a 50MP Sony IMX858 sensor, 3.2x optical zoom, OIS, and an f/1.8 aperture.
The fourth camera has a periscope lens with a 50MP Sony IMX858 sensor, 5x optical zoom, OIS, and an f/2.5 aperture.
The two zoom cameras can also be used for macro shots. The 3.2x telephoto & the 5x periscope cameras can shoot from as close as 10cm and 30cm, respectively.
The phone supports 4K video recording at up to 120fps and 8K video recording at up to 30fps.
For selfies, there is a 32MP camera with video recording limited to 1080p 60fps.
Xiaomi 14 Ultra has a 5,300mAh battery with 90W wired charging and an incredible 80W wireless charging.
The regular version has an aluminum frame, but there is also a special version with a Titanium Frame. The Titanium version also offers two-way satellite communication.
Xiaomi 14 Ultra comes in three colors – Black, White, and Blue. Here is the pricing for China –
- 12GB + 256GB – ¥6499 (~$903)
- 16GB + 512GB – ¥6999 (~$973)
- 16GB + 1TB – ¥7799 (~$1084)