Xiaomi 14 Ultra: 14 things to know about Xiaomi 14 series photography powerhouse

Xiaomi 14 Ultra has officially arrived and as expected, it’s a photography powerhouse and a mobile photographer’s delight. You may think that it’s a Xiaomi 13 Ultra with a few tweaks, but not really.

Xiaomi’s answer to the Vivo X100 Pro and Oppo’s Find X7 Ultra, the Xiaomi 14 Ultra brings top-tier camera hardware accentuated by Leica optics. It gets a new primary sensor paired to a brighter lens (Xiaomi upgraded the periscope’s light-gathering ability as well, while at it). Videos, too, get an upgrade with Xiaomi matching Samsung giving you up to 4K@120fps recording (plus 8K).

At its heart lies Xiaomi’s brand-new HyperOS software and Qualcomm’s fastest chip on the block, aka, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3. The screen can get brighter in this generation and there is speedier wireless charging. Additionally, you can get the Xiaomi 14 Ultra with a Titanium frame, similar to the iPhone 15 Pro Max. Per usual, Xiaomi has a custom camera accessory for the phone that you can buy separately, if you don’t want to leave any stone unturned to unleash the phone’s photography potential.

Xiaomi 14 Ultra rundown: Top 14 things to know

1. The Xiaomi 14 Ultra comes in a choice of “dragon crystal” glass (in blue) and faux leather (in white and black). There is also a special Titanium Xiaomi 14 Ultra edition that uses grade 5 titanium (like the iPhone 15 Pro Max). The phone is IP68 rated for dust and water resistance.
2. The Xiaomi 14 Ultra has a 6.73-inch 1440p or 2K resolution LTPO AMOLED display with up to 120Hz refresh rate. The panel can peak 3,000 nits and supports Dolby Vision playback.
3. Xiaomi says it is using “Shield Glass” protection claiming it has 10 times higher drop resistance than the glass used in the Xiaomi 13 Ultra.
4. For biometrics, the Xiaomi 14 Ultra has an ultrasonic fingerprint scanner below the screen.
5. Powering the Xiaomi 14 Ultra is the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3. Xiaomi says it is using up to three times larger vapour cooling chamber than the one on the Xiaomi 13 Ultra.
6. Memory configurations for the Xiaomi 14 Ultra are as follows: 12GB/256GB, 16GB/512GB, and 16GB/1TB (LPDDR5X, UFS4.0).
7. The Xiaomi 14 Ultra runs HyperOS software based on Android 14.
8. Running the show is a 5,300mAh battery with 90W fast wired, 80W wireless, and 10W reverse wireless charging.
9. For photography, the Xiaomi 14 Ultra has a 50-megapixel 1-inch-type Sony Lyt-900 sensor behind a 23mm equivalent “stepless” variable aperture lens (f/1.63 and f/4.0) with optical image stabilisation. Xiaomi calls it a “Summilux” lens, a erm that is mostly associated with f/1.4 Leica lenses.
10. There are three more cameras in this phone including two zoom options: a 50-megapixel Sony IMX898 behind a 75mm f/1.8 telephoto for 3.2x and another 50-megapixel Sony IMX898 behind a 120mm f/2.5 periscope for 5x. The former can focus from as close as 10cm, while the latter from 30cm.