Xiaomi 14 Ultra arrives with 1-inch camera and Summilux lens

After numerous leaks and rumors, Xiaomi finally revealed its Xiaomi 14 Ultra in China today. The new flagship tops the Xiaomi 14 series as the new camera king of the range. The device carries all the flagship specs you’d expect such as a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 and a high-quality OLED display. However, its unique feature is its impressive camera setup with a 1-inch camera and Summilux lens. We will dive into the specifications of this almighty species in this article.

Xiaomi 14 Ultra – Specifications and Key Features

At first glance, the Xiaomi 14 Ultra may appear unchanged from its predecessor. The design is the same with some minor improvements. The device is available in three finishes. The black and white model has a faux leather back panel and weighs 224.4g, which is 3g lighter than the Xiaomi 14 Ultra. The blue model comes with what Xiaomi calls Dragon Crystal on the back and is heavier at 229.5 grams. Finally, there’s the Titanium Special Edition, which is 229.5 grams. According to Xiaomi, it uses grade 5 titanium, just like the iPhone.

Camera specifications

The new Xiaomi 14 Ultra leaves behind the sharply raised camera island bezel of the 13 Ultra. The new model has a delicate design that fits better. Since we’re talking about the camera, let’s detail this impressive camera setup. Xiaomi has kept the Quad 50 MP camera setup with a zoom formula of 0.5x + 1x + 3.2x + 5X. The main camera is a 1-inch sensor, but now uses Sony’s latest LYT-900 imager with a better design and faster reading. Technically, the lens is still a 23mm dual-aperture unit. However, it is wider at the bright end. It switches between f/1.63 and f/4.0 aperture and lets in up to 136% more light than the Xiaomi 13 Ultra’s f/1.9 – f/4.0 lens. The brand calls the mechanism stepless aperture, which suggests it can reach anywhere between f/1.63 and f/4.0.

For the Xiaomi 13 Ultra, Xiaomi adopted the lens alias Simmicron. Now Xiaomi 14 Ultra comes with Summilux. Considering how Leica describes its lens, the Simmicron is an f/2 lens, while the Summilux is f/1.4. The main camera can also shoot Ultra RAW in impressive quality and output it in DNG with full image data. This is a powerful camera that will not disappoint photographers and professionals in the field.

The zoom lenses are 3.2x 75mm f/1.8 normal and 5x 120mm f/2.5 periscope. Both use the same 1/2.5-inch Sony IMX858 sensor with a 12mm f/1.8 ultrawide. The 120mm periscope went from an f/3.0 lens to an f/2.5. Xiaomi has shared a light-gathering comparison between the Xiaomi 14 Ultra’s telephoto light-gathering capabilities and the iPhone 15 Pro series. The 120mm f/2.5 captures 196% more light than the Apple iPhone Pro Max and 474% more than the iPhone 15 Pro Max. Xiaomi 14 Ultra can do 30x Ultra Zoom powered by AI. Xiaomi claims this wipes the floor with the competition. Another impressive aspect is the minimum focusing distance of both zoom lenses – the 75mm can shoot from as far as 10cm, while the 120mm focuses from 30cm.

Display

Xiaomi 14 Ultra comes with a 6.73-inch LTPO AMOLED screen with 120Hz refresh rate and 3200 x 1440 pixels resolution. The phone supports Dolby Vision and HDR10+. The panel is slightly brighter at 3000 nits.

Xiaomi calls the glass at the top of the display Shield Glass and says it has 10 times more drop resistance and is also clearer. The corners of the screen are slightly curved on all sides. Xiaomi calls this All Around Liquid Display. The phone has a centered hole for the selfie camera

productivity

Xiaomi 14 Ultra comes with Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 and has up to 16 GB of RAM and up to 1 TB of internal storage. To ensure the best possible performance, the device comes with a 3x larger vapor cooling chamber to control thermal parameters. You can run everything from apps to games on this powerful machine, and the cooling system will keep everything running smoothly. In terms of software, the Xiaomi 14 Ultra comes with Android 14 and HyperOS on top.

The device draws power from a massive 5300mAh battery that comes with 90W wired charging. It also supports wireless charging at 80W. This is a very small difference between wired and wireless charging solutions. The battery is protected by Xiaomi G1 and P2 battery chips.

Satellite communication

As we said before, there is a special Xiaomi 14 Ultra Titanium Edition. This particular variant comes with two-way satellite communication. It allows users to send emergency alerts even in areas without cellular service. The device has a T1 signal enhancement chip that helps with cellular, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connections.

Pricing

The Xiaomi 14 Ultra is available in Blue, Black and White color options. It comes in three variants, there is a 12GB/256GB model priced at CNY 6,499 (€830), a CNY 6,999 (€900) 16GB/512GB model and a 1TB 16GB variant that costs CNY 7,799 (€1,000). The special Titanium Edition costs CNY 8,799 (€1,130). The Xiaomi 14 Ultra will hit international shelves on February 24 during MWC 2024. However, the global price may be different from the price in China. Also, we don’t have high hopes for the Titanium Edition to be sold outside the domestic market.

Xiaomi offers a Photography Kit camera accessory for the 14 Ultra. It’s a two-piece accessory with a case and an attachable camera grip with a 1500mAh battery and Bluetooth-enabled camera controls. It costs CNY 699 (€90). There is also a special 80W wireless charger for CNY 499 (€64).

Xiaomi also unveiled the Xiaomi Pad 6S Pro and you can find more details about it here.