A new smartphone from Xiaomi comes with focused on photography

There is a new leader in Xiaomi’s phone lineup. Recently released in China, the Xiaomi 14 Ultra promises a number of amazing photography features, such as a main camera with a big one-inch-type sensor (the Sony LYT-900 in this case) and a variable aperture with 1,024 stops between f/1.63 and f/4.0. When the phone goes on sale on February 27th, prices will start at ¥6,499 (about $904) for 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage and go up to ¥7,799 (about $1,084) for 16GB of RAM and 1TB of storage. A limited-edition titanium model is also available, priced at ¥8,799 (about $1,224).

Even though Xiaomi only revealed the 14 Ultra’s Chinese release information today, the phone will soon be available internationally. The phone will be shown alongside the Xiaomi 14, which was released in China in October, at the company’s presentation at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain on Sunday, according to Xiaomi CEO Lei Jun. Expect that the phones will be offered in Europe, but not in the US officially.

Xiaomi is reintroducing its photography kit for the 14 Ultra, which gives the phone a shutter release button and a camera grip, to highlight the phone’s photography capabilities. (You can read my colleague Allison Johnson’s evaluation from last year’s post about the 13 Ultra’s photography kit.) According to Android Authority, the grip has a USB-C connector, a 1,500mAh backup battery, and programmable buttons for changing the ISO, shutter speed, and aperture.

However, the phone itself has three more 50-megapixel cameras: an ultrawide with a 122-degree field of view, a periscope with a 5x optical zoom, and a telephoto with a 3.2x optical zoom. These cameras are in addition to the primary 50-megapixel one-inch-type sensor. Instead of the square bump found on the 14 and 14 Pro, these cameras are housed within a big circular camera bump.

The Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor powers the 14 Ultra, much like the 14 and 14 Pro did before it, and its screen specifications are similar to those of the 14 Pro. With a size of 6.73 inches and a resolution of 1440p, it offers a maximum refresh rate of 120Hz and a peak brightness of 3,000 nits. The entire device is water and dust resistant, with an IP68 rating.

The 14 Ultra outperforms the 14 Pro in one area: battery capacity. Although the 14 Ultra’s maximum fast charging speed is indicated at 90W rather than 120W for the 14 Pro, it’s important to note that the Ultra’s capacity is set at 5,300mAh rather than 4,880mAh. However, I expect that in reality, the differences in marginal charging times among such high wattages will be quite little. Additionally, the 14 Ultra can receive up to 80W of fast wireless charging.

When Xiaomi introduces the phone internationally at MWC in a few days, be prepared to see and hear a lot more about it.