Xiaomi couldn’t wait for MWC to unveil its newest Leica-endorsed flagship phone. followed by 12S Ultra and 13 Ultra, Xiaomi has finally stood up to the competition by picking up Sony’s second-generation 1-inch mobile camera sensor LYT-900 for its new 14 Ultra flagship phone. It’s the second device to make this crème de la crème of imaging silicon, after Oppo’s takeover by Hasselblad. Find the X7 Ultra since the beginning of January. However, the Xiaomi 14 Ultra has a slight edge with a faster primary variable aperture of up to f/1.63, and beats the Find X7 Ultra’s f/1.8 – at least on paper.
With the exception of a faster f/2.5 aperture on the new 120mm periscope shooter, the remaining three Summilux rear cameras are pretty much the same as the previous set, each still powered by a Sony IMX858 sensor. The biggest change in this area is the new Xiaomi AISP neural chip, which claims to be the world’s first AI large model computing platform for photography. It uses four large models – “FusionLM”, “ToneLM”, “ColorLM” and “PortraitLM” – to fine-tune results, especially with 30x or more digital zoom.
The 14 Ultra also offers some surprises in the battery, durability and connectivity categories. Super thin as it looks Stir 3 and Honor Magic V2, the 14 Ultra is Xiaomi’s first candy bar to switch to a silicon carbon cell to pack 5,300 mAh of juice into an 8 percent smaller space. Xiaomi claims that you get 17 percent more endurance with this battery upgrade compared to the previous model. To top up the battery, you get both 90W wired fast charging and 80W wireless fast charging – which take 12.5 minutes and 20 minutes to reach 50 percent respectively.
Along with the “Year of the Dragon” theme, Xiaomi claims that the 14 Ultra’s “Dragon Armor” structure has double the bending resistance thanks to its special “6M42″ aluminum alloy mid-frame (also designed with better grip). ). The Chinese brand even claims that this part is 8 percent stronger than the iPhone 15 Pro’s titanium frame.” aluminum alloy middle frame (also designed with better grip). The Chinese brand even claims that this part is 8 percent stronger. The iPhone 15 Pro stronger than the titanium frame, but it has decided to offer a more premium titanium version as well.
This metal frame is complemented by “Dragon Crystal” glass that protects the 6.73-inch AMOLED screen (3,200 x 1,440 120Hz; made by TCL CSOT) – with possibly 10 times more drop resistance. Xiaomi also introduces a new vegan leather material certified by SGS to be six times more wear-resistant, more dirt-resistant and less likely to yellow due to UV rays – an important improvement, especially for the white version. But if you prefer something shiny, the 14 Ultra is also available in a blue “Dragon Crystal” ceramic flavor, similar to ceramic but not quite as heavy – it weighs only 5 grams more than its vegan leather counterpart. Regardless of the cover material, this device has an IP68 rating for dust and water resistance.
Like a lot 14 and 14 Pro from October (and SU7 electric sedan in-car entertainment system), the 14 Ultra runs on Xiaomi’s Android base HyperOS, and it is powered by Qualcomm’s latest Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor. It is cooled by a dual-circuit vapor chamber, which absorbs heat from the chamber modules. The processor is supported by Xiaomi’s new proprietary chip Surge T1, which increases cellular communication by up to 37 percent, as well as Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connections by up to 16 percent.
This device also supports two-way satellite calling and messaging, now with 60 percent faster satellite lock and 29 percent faster satellite connection. As a bonus, when you’re lost, you can send your location data along with your vital signs from your wearable — perhaps exclusive to one of the latest Xiaomi watches or smart bands. Unfortunately, these satellite features are limited to China for now.
We’ll likely hear about the Xiaomi 14 Ultra’s global launch at MWC next week, but for now we can refer to China’s pre-order prices. The vegan leather and ceramic variants all start at 6,499 yuan (about $900) for the 12GB RAM and 256GB storage configuration and go up to 7,799 yuan ($1,080) with 16GB RAM and 1TB storage. These will be available at retail from February 27th. The titanium version with dark gray vegan leather is based on the top configuration, but costs an extra 1,000 yuan ($140) and won’t be available until March 12.
Like its predecessor, the 14 Ultra has an optional photography kit with a shutter button that adds an extra 1,500mAh of power. The upgrade this time around is a new video record button along with a customizable escape button. You can get this accessory together with the phone for 699 yuan ($100).
