The US is not going to be the only country where the 14 and 14 Ultra are being sold

The Xiaomi 14 Ultra: A Spectacular All-Rounder in 2024 and a First Look at the Pre-launch Event

While Xiaomi reserves the truly cutting-edge stuff for its Ultra model (coming soon), the Xiaomi 14 is no slouch. This is an elegant all-rounder with a new and improved HyperOS, and more pocket-friendly in both senses. At first glance, it looks like the same thing as last year’sXiaomi 13 but it’s improvements across the board make it more tempting.

The 14 Ultra was officially unveiled in China just a few days ago, but at its global launch event we’ve gathered a few more details about what will surely be a contender for the best camera phone of 2024. The main camera uses the new 1-inch-type Sony LYT-900 sensor also seen on the Oppo Find X7 Ultra, and includes the variable aperture system introduced on the Xiaomi 14 Pro (which launched alongside the 14 in China back in October, but isn’t part of today’s announcement).

The 14 Ultra’s can open up or close down with 1,008 stops between f/1.63 and f/4.0, which is less than what most smartphone cameras use. At the pre-launch event located outside of Barcelona, we showed you a demo of what it would look like. Use cases for this feature seem to be very slim — even at its widest setting, the lens behaves more like an f/4.0 on a full-frame camera in terms of depth of field. It seems pointless to stop it even further since I can confirm that it works.

The Ultra, like the S24) Ultra, has two stabilization lenses: a 5x and a 3.2x. The video features log recording, which is similar to what was found on the Apple iPhone 15 Pro. That’s a very useful feature for a tiny percentage of people — it means you can use the phone in a multi-camera filming setup and color grade the results to match all the rest. There is some flexibility to shoot 10-bit HDR in log.

Flat edges are the hottest trend of the last few years, and this is what theXiaomi 14 Ultra is embracing. They’re easier to grip and there’s a gentle curve into the straight edge on both the front and back panels that keeps it comfy in your hand. You love to see it. Also in the old-is-new-again category? The camera kit has been updated so the grip can be used as an external battery for the phone. I think an accessory is good for more than one job.

The Xiaomi 14 comes with a trio of 50-megapixel sensors in its main, wide, and 3.2x telephoto cameras — upgrading the 10-megapixel chip in last year’s telephoto camera. The square-shaped camera bump looks a little different this time around, losing the lines that divided it into four quadrants on the 13.

The Xiaomi 14 Solid but Uninspiring: A Superbbly Compact AMOLED Device for Outdoor Screening and Video Streaming

The Leica branding has been rotated 90 degrees so it looks at home in landscape orientation — the same way it appears on the Ultra. The back panel’s glass features a matte finish that feels sleek without being too slick, or maybe those flat edges make it feel more secure in my hand. Whatever it is, I like it.

The water resistance rating of the Xiaomi 14 makes it feel durable. Gorilla Glass Victus protects the flat screen. The power button is above the right spine, and the port and tray are on the bottom. It is a classy design that is quite conservative.

The 6.36-inch AMOLED display has a camera cutout at the top and a fingerprint sensor under the screen at the bottom. I found the fingerprint sensor very responsive. The screen is one of the best. It has a 2, 670 x 1,200-dpi resolution, making it comparable to the iPhone 15 Pro. It has a dynamic refresh rate capable of going from 1 Hz up to 120 Hz for smooth animations and scrolling, and to save on battery life where possible.

The display was bright enough for me to read outdoors in direct light and can reach 3,000 nits peak brightness for highlights. The Dolby Vision and HDR10+ support make this a solid phone for movie watching. The stereo speakers have a wonderful sound quality. I watched a few scenes from Dune and Blade Runner 2049 to put it through its paces, and it looked and sounded good enough on the Xiaomi 14 that I was quickly sucked in.

Source: Xiaomi 14 Review: Solid but Uninspiring

The performance of the Xiaomi 14: a top-rated mobile phone with high connectivity and 5G coverage across the UK and US

Playing 20 minutes of Asphalt 9: Legends used 4 percent of the battery. Rated at 4,610 mAh, you can expect the Xiaomi 14 to get through all but the busiest days, but you’ll want to charge every night. The 90-watt charger and USB-C cable in the box can fully charge the Xiaomi 14 in just over half an hour. This phone also supports up to 50-watt wireless charging, but you need Xiaomi’s wireless charger (£60) to get that rate.

Connectivity is top-notch. TheXiaomi 14 has some compatibility with the internet. It also supports a good spread of bands across 5G and 4G. Although it is fine in the UK, it is not as good in the US, and folks in the US should check with their carrier, as it does lack 5G bands.