Xiaomi has a new flagship smartphone. Announced in China, the Xiaomi 14 Ultra has a number of interesting photographic features, including a main camera with a large inch sensor (specifically, Sony LYT-900) and a variable aperture of 1024 stops ranging from f/1.63 to f/4.0. Prices start at 6,499 yen (about $904) for 12 GB of RAM and 256 GB of storage, and go up to 7,799 yen (about $1,084) for 16 GB of RAM and 1 TB of storage when the phone goes on sale on February 27. There is also a special titanium model that will cost 8,799 yen (about $1,224).
The international launch of the phone is not long away. Xiaomi CEO Lei Jun said that the phone will appear at the company’s presentation at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona, where it will be presented alongside Xiaomi 14 and 14 Pro, which was launched in China in October last year, transmits The Verge.
Emphasizing the phone’s photographic capabilities, Xiaomi is bringing back a special photography kit for the 14 Ultra that adds a pen and shutter button to the phone. The pen connects via USB-C and contains an additional 1500 mAh battery and customizable controls that can be used to adjust aperture, shutter speed, or ISO.
But the accessory is not as important as what happens inside the phone, where, in addition to the main 50-megapixel sensor, there are three additional 50-megapixel cameras: a telephoto with 3.2x optical zoom, a periscope with 5x optical zoom, and an ultra-wide-angle camera with a field of view of 122 degrees. These cameras are housed in a large round protrusion, rather than a square one like the 14 and 14 Pro.
Like the 14 and 14 Pro, the 14 Ultra is also powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3and its screen has the same specifications as the 14 Pro: 6.73-inch diagonal, 1440p resolution, maximum refresh rate, and peak brightness of 120 Hz and 3,000 nits, respectively. The device is protected against dust and water to the IP68 standard.
Where the 14 Ultra really has an advantage over the 14 Pro is in battery capacity. It is 5300 mAh, not 4880 mAh, although surprisingly, the maximum fast charging power — is 90 watts, not 120 watts, as in the 14 Pro. The 14 Ultra can also be charged wirelessly at up to 80W.