Xiaomi 14 Ultra

 Xiaomi 14 Ultra : Brighter 1-inch main camera with Titanium Special Edition

The Xiaomi 14 Ultra is official, starting its journey in China before taking the global stage on 25 February 2024 in Barcelona. Xiaomi has launched the 14 Ultra, its latest flagship smartphone. It features a 1-inch image sensor, quad camera system co-engineered with Leica, Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, AISP neural chip, Surge T1 communication chip, Dragon Armor design, IP68 rating, satellite connectivity, and a 6.73" AMOLED panel with a 120Hz refresh rate. Xiaomi's new photography flagship promises better pictures with a brighter 1-inch sensor, Leica optics, and four new AI models. The star of the show is, without a doubt, the 14 Ultra's rear quad camera system powered by Leica optics. It may look unchanged from its predecessor, but the Xiaomi 14 Ultra has refined the design. There are three finishes - the black and white model has a faux leather back panel and weighs 224.4g - 3 grams lighter than the 13 Ultra. The blue model has what Xiaomi calls Dragon Crystal on the back and it's heavier at 229.5g. Finally, there's a Titanium Special Edition that's 229.6g. Xiaomi says that one uses grade 5 titanium, just like the iPhone (and higher than the Galaxy S24 Ultra). Gone is the abruptly raised frame around the old camera island - the 14 Ultra's lens-like module on the back gently slopes above its surrounding back panel.

A familiar design, now in Blue

Let's start with the cameras, as they are the highlight of this phone. Xiaomi kept the quad 50MP 0.5x + 1x + 3.2x + 5x formula intact and mostly kept the hardware. The main camera is still a 1-inch type sensor, but it's the latest Sony LYT-900 imager with a better design and faster readout. The lens is still technically a dual-aperture 23mm unit, but it's wider at the bright end - switching between f/1.63 and f/4.0 here, which will let up to 136% more light than the f/1.9 - f/4.0 lens of the 13 Ultra. Xiaomi calls the mechanism a stepless aperture, which hints that it could go anywhere between f/1.63 and f/4.0, though presentation showed only samples at specifically f/1.63 and f/4.0. Xiaomi called the 13 Ultra a Simmicron lens and has dubbed this one a Simmilux - in Leica speak, Simmicron is an f/2 lens, while Summilux is an f/1.4 - so technically, the f/1.63 Xiaomi 14 Ultra doesn't qualify but phone marketing logic applies. Anyway, the main camera can snap Ultra RAW with all the computational magic, backed into a DNG with full image data.

Headlining is a huge 1-inch type Sony LYT-900 sensor paired with an ultra-bright f/1.63 variable aperture lens. Complementing the 50MP primary shooter are three additional 50MP Summilux cameras - a 120mm periscope module with 5x optical zoom, a telephoto with 3.2x optical zoom, and an ultrawide shooter packing a sweeping 122-degree field of view. New to the mix is Xiaomi's custom AISP neural chip, which promises enhanced zoom and image processing through four proprietary AI models. The zoom lenses are a 3.2x 75mm f/1.8 regular and 5x 120mm f/2.5 periscope, sharing the same 1/2.5-inch Sony IMX858 sensor with the 12mm f/1.8 ultrawide. The 120mm periscope got a bump from an f/3.0 lens to an f/2.5 one. Xiaomi shared a light-gathering comparison between the 14 Ultra's telephoto light-gathering abilities and the iPhone 15 Pro series' - the 120mm f/2.5 captures 196% more light than the Pro Max and an outrageous 474% more than the Pro. The Xiaomi 14 Ultra can do AI-powered 30x Ultra Zoom that Xiaomi recons wipes the floor with the competition, showing a number of comparisons at the 14 Ultra's presentation.

What's more impressive is the minimum focusing distance of both zooms - the 75mm can shoot as close as 10cm, while the 120mm focuses from 30cm. The Xiaomi 14 Ultra brings Galaxy S24 Ultra-matching video specs - 4K at both 60fps and 120fps (main camera only), as well a 8K video. The display is the same on paper - a 6.73-inch 1440x3200px LTPO AMOLED panel with 120 Hz max refresh rate, Dolby Vision, and HDR10+ support. The panel is a bit brighter at 3,000 nits (compared to 2,600 nits). Xiaomi calls the glass on top of the display Shield Glass and says it has 10 times higher drop resistance and is also clearer. The corners of the screen are lightly curved on all sides, Xiaomi calls this an All Around Liquid display. Naturally, the Xiaomi 14 Ultra has the newest and most powerful Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset, up to 16 GB of RAM, and up to 1 TB of storage. Cooling is better thanks to a 3x larger vapor cooling chamber. The Xiaomi 14 Ultra runs Android 14 with Xiaomi HyperOS on top.

Power House

Powering the flagship is a sizable 5,300mAh battery featuring Xiaomi's new silicon-carbon technology which allows 17% more capacity in 8% less space compared to last year's model. 90W wired and 80W wireless charging support lightning-quick top-ups - a 50% charge takes just 12.5 minutes plugged in. The battery is around 6% bigger at 5,300mAh. The battery is protected by the G1 and P2 surge battery chips.

Xiaomi's first smartphone with satellite connectivity (two ways)

The Xiaomi 14 Ultra Titanium Special Edition supports two-way satellite communication. All versions of the phone have a T1 signal enhancement chip helping with the cellular, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connections. Under the sleek exterior lies a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 silicon boosted by Xiaomi's new Surge T1 communication chip. The Surge T1 allegedly unlocks up to 37% faster cellular speeds in addition to gains in Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity. Cooling the advanced internals is a dual vapour chamber design which also draws heat away from the quad camera setup. The 14 Ultra introduces satellite connectivity to Xiaomi's lineup, allowing two-way SOS messaging and location sharing even in remote regions outside terrestrial network coverage. Xiaomi claims 60% faster satellite locks and 29% faster connections compared to competing implementations.

The Xiaomi 14 Ultra

The Xiaomi 14 Ultra is available in Blue, Black, and White and has three variants - a 12/256GB, 16/512GB model, and 16GB/1TB. Xiaomi will offer an upgraded Photography Kit camera accessory for the 14 Ultra - it's a two-piece accessory with a case and an attachable camera grip with its own 1,500mAh battery, and Bluetooth-enabled camera controls. The 14 Ultra sports a bold new "Dragon Armor" design centred around an aluminium alloy frame dubbed "6M42" - supposedly 8% stronger than even the iPhone 15 Pro's titanium chassis. The back and front are covered in what Xiaomi calls "Dragon Crystal" glass, which boasts 10x improved drop resistance compared to the 13 Ultra. An IP68 rating protects from dust and liquids. The striking build houses a 6.73" QHD+ AMOLED panel with slim bezels all around. Under this "Dragon Crystal" display lies an ultrasonic fingerprint reader for biometric authentication. The screen also supports a dynamic 120Hz refresh rate for smoother visuals when gaming or scrolling. The first sale is scheduled for 27 Feb 2024 in China. Global availability, including Europe, is set to be announced within few days.