Xiaomi 14 Ultra: The Best Smartphone in 2014?

At the product unveiling event on the 22nd, the highly anticipated Xiaomi 14 Ultra was formally introduced to the market. It is noted that the new device will officially go on sale starting February 27th. Preceding the event, details regarding the specifications and aesthetics of the Xiaomi 14 Ultra had already been thoroughly disclosed, yet enthusiasm for the device among consumers remained unabated. Undoubtedly, the question of what heights the Xiaomi 14 Ultra can achieve is of paramount concern to a wide audience.

According to official statements, the Xiaomi 14 Ultra represents Xiaomi’s most potent foray into the realm of imaging, boasting a Leica optical system with a wide aperture across its entire focal range, a second-generation one-inch sensor with a seamlessly adjustable aperture, and the pioneering Xiaomi AISP architecture, the world’s first AI-driven computational photography model. Furthermore, it incorporates a range of cutting-edge Xiaomi technologies, including comprehensive support for bi-directional satellite communication.

How does the Xiaomi 14 Ultra fare in terms of user experience? Is it worthy of the prolonged anticipation among enthusiasts? Ahead of the Spring Festival, I had the opportunity to extensively test the Xiaomi 14 Ultra, yielding valuable insights. Subsequently, we will delve into a detailed exposition of our experience with this new product.

Xiaomi 14 Ultra: Design

Compared to its predecessor, the Xiaomi 14 Ultra’s overall industrial design changes are not significant, including the arrangement inside the camera module, which remains largely consistent with previous generations. Therefore, upon first glance at the actual Xiaomi 14 Ultra device, there weren’t many “surprises.”

However, upon closer inspection, some changes in detail make the Xiaomi 14 Ultra appear more minimalist. For example, there is now a high-gloss Deco metal ring around the module, and at the junction with the lens module, there is a golden border. The outer ring of the lens module cover features delicate grid patterns. In the lens module area, the suede extends upward in a “volcano mouth” shape, making the entire lens module’s Deco ring more visually layered, further reducing the prominence of the lens module.

However, after the suede extends upwards, a ring of “wrinkles” appears around it, which is slightly more noticeable under light. Personally, I feel that this part of the design is somewhat “rough,” but this could also be considered a minor flaw. Another change is the Xiaomi 14 Ultra’s back panel, which has returned to a flat design, with the upper half of the body no longer protruding, giving the body a more streamlined appearance.

In terms of details, the Xiaomi 14 Ultra’s top body is equipped with a separate receiver unit instead of sharing the top speaker, allowing for directional sound output. Moving to the front, the Xiaomi 14 Ultra’s screen design has also undergone some changes, adopting a more traditional flat screen design that is closer to the perception of a flat screen. In particular, the curvature of the curved screens on both sides has noticeably reduced compared to previous generations. The overall appearance of the screen is almost identical to that of the Xiaomi 14 Pro.

In terms of screen specifications, it features a 6.73-inch, 120Hz VRR variable refresh rate screen with a resolution of 3200 x 1440, supporting HDR10+. It has a peak brightness of 3000 nits and uses the latest C8 luminescent material, DC+1920Hz eye protection dimming, and supports Dolby Vision and dynamic display. Xiaomi officially refers to it as the “Master Screen.” The screen is covered with durable Xiaomi Dragon Crystal Glass, and the official claims a 10x increase in drop resistance compared to the previous generation.

The Xiaomi 14 Ultra features the “third-generation Kona skin.” According to the official description, Kona skin is five times more wear-resistant than the 13 Ultra. In terms of feel, the suede texture is very close to genuine leather, being soft, oily, and delicate. It has a strong damping effect, so when using it without a case, there is no need to worry about the phone accidentally slipping off. It supports IP68 dust and water resistance, with dimensions of 161.4 x 75.3 x 9.2mm and weighs 220 grams. Due to the flat back panel, the weight is reduced by 7 grams compared to the previous generation.

It is worth mentioning that the Xiaomi 14 Ultra is equipped with the new “Xiaomi Dragon Armor Architecture,” featuring a high-strength aluminum alloy frame and Xiaomi Dragon Crystal Glass. The body frame is claimed to have an 8% improvement in bending resistance compared to the titanium metal frame of the iPhone and a 10x improvement in glass drop resistance. In other aspects, it still features a Unibody integrated middle frame with a flat design, but the metal frame extends to both sides of the back shell in the back panel area, connecting with the suede, making it highly recognizable.

Xiaomi 14 Ultra: Camera

In terms of lens specifications, the Xiaomi 14 Ultra features a 50-megapixel Sony LYT900 main camera (23mm), a 50-megapixel 3.2x telephoto lens (75mm), a 50-megapixel 5x telephoto lens (120mm), and a 50-megapixel ultra-wide-angle lens (12mm).

In the hardware department, the Xiaomi 14 Ultra has upgraded its main camera to the LYT900, which is Sony’s latest generation one-inch sensor built using 22nm technology, resulting in a 56% reduction in power consumption. It features a new 16:1 Dual Native ISO Fusion Max and achieves a single-frame dynamic range of 14EV. The main camera also incorporates ALD ultra-low reflective coating for enhanced optical performance.

Furthermore, Xiaomi has equipped this one-inch main camera with an f/1.63 ultra-large aperture, which, compared to the two-step variable aperture of the previous generation, has been upgraded to a continuous aperture ranging from f/1.63 to f/4.0, covering more than three stops of exposure range.

The ultra-wide-angle and 3.2x telephoto lenses also feature ALD ultra-low reflective coating. The 120mm periscope lens boasts an f/2.5 ultra-large aperture, currently the industry’s largest light input periscope lens, claimed to be twice that of the iPhone. It supports 10x lossless zoom via Remosaic mode and has a minimum focusing distance of 30cm.

Moreover, during the testing experience, the Xiaomi 14 Ultra’s exceptional capture capability left a profound impression, especially with its new one-inch large sensor main camera, which performs admirably in various lighting conditions. Even in dimly lit environments with complex lighting, the capture effect is excellent, almost instantaneously producing high-quality images with a high success rate. This advantage also extends to portrait photography with the Xiaomi 14 Ultra, particularly in terms of capturing portraits quickly. The system responds rapidly, with minimal shutter lag or loading.

In “Movie Mode,” the addition of “Master Start” allows for dynamic exposure adjustment with continuous aperture control, providing a cinematic frame rate of 24fps and background blur effects for capturing cinematic scenes. Additionally, in the professional shooting mode, Xiaomi has added a “Parameter Preset” function, enabling users to customize their photographic style. Default options include Master Ink Painting, Classical Film, High Contrast Classic, and Dark Film. Users can even manually input their desired photographic style, offering a high level of professionalism and customization.

After this period of experience, the Xiaomi 14 Ultra’s imaging system has left many profound impressions. In essence, the Xiaomi 14 Ultra offers extremely high imaging capabilities with a remarkably low threshold and meticulous attention to detail. It can greatly assist professional photographers in their creative work while also bringing joy to photography enthusiasts.

Xiaomi 14 Ultra: Hardware

Display	6.73-inch 120Hz LTPO AMOLED (3200×1440), Dolby Vision, 3000 nits max, Xiaomi Shield Glass
OS	HyperOS 1.0.5.0, Android 14
Chipset	Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, Adreno 750, 4nm
RAM	16GB LPDDR5X
Storage	512GB UFS 4.0
Rear camera 1	50MP f/1.63 – f/4.0 Sony LYT-900, 1-inch module, OIS
Rear camera 2	50MP f/1.8 Sony IMX858, 1/2.51-inch module, 122-degree FoV
Rear camera 3	50MP f/1.8 telephoto, 3.2x optical zoom, OIS
Rear camera 4	50MP f/2.5 telephoto, 5x optical zoom, OIS
Front camera	32MP f/2.0, autofocus
Ingress protection	IP68 dust and water resistance
Connectivity	Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.4, global 5G bands, NFC, dual-band GPS
Security	Optical in-screen sensor
Audio	USB-C, stereo sound, 24-bit/192kHz, Snapdragon Sound, AptX HD, AptX Adaptive
Battery	5000mAh battery, 90W HyperCharge charging, 80W wireless charging
Dimensions	161.4 x 75.3 x 9.2mm, 224.4g
Color	Black

The Xiaomi 14 Ultra is equipped with the third-generation Snapdragon 8 mobile platform + LPDDR5X (8533Mbps) + UFS 4.0 flagship performance combination, comprising the standard flagship trio.

The CPU architecture employs a 1+5+2 setup, consisting of a 3.3GHz Cortex-X4 super-large core, five Cortex-A720 performance cores, including three cores clocked at 3.2GHz and two cores clocked at 3.0GHz, along with two 2.3GHz efficiency cores Cortex-A520. The overall CPU performance has increased by 30%, and efficiency has improved by 20%.

As for the GPU, it features the Adreno 750, with official claims of a 25% performance improvement and a 25% efficiency improvement.

In terms of other specifications, the Xiaomi 14 Ultra offers three combinations: 12GB + 256GB, 16GB + 512GB, and 16GB + 1TB. It has a USB 3.2 Gen 2 interface and supports up to 4K 60Hz DisplayPort video output.

The Xiaomi 14 Ultra houses a 5300mAh Jinsha River battery, supporting 90W wired fast charging (charging to 100% in 34 minutes) and 80W wireless fast charging (charging to 100% in 49 minutes). It also comes with the PangPai P2 intelligent fast charging chip + PangPai G1 battery management chip, featuring an extreme endurance mode.

Reportedly, the Xiaomi Jinsha River battery achieves a 6% high silicon content in the silicon-carbon negative electrode battery for the first time, with an energy density of up to 779Wh/L, resulting in a 300mAh increase in capacity compared to the previous generation while reducing the volume by 8%. According to official statements, even after 1600 cycles, it still maintains 80% of its lifespan.

In terms of heat dissipation, it adopts the “dual-loop ring cooling pump” with an area of up to 4000m^2, providing the entire machine with a heat dissipation capacity of 68mA/℃, and an additional dedicated heat dissipation loop for the camera.

Xiaomi 14 Ultra: Performance

AnTuTu (v10.2.1): Under normal temperature conditions (around 19°C), the Xiaomi 14 Ultra scored 2,173,298 points in the test, with the CPU scoring over 480,000 points and the GPU over 910,000 points.

In the AnTuTu storage test, the Xiaomi 14 Ultra achieved a sequential read speed of 3526.3MB/s, sequential write speed of 3111.7MB/s, random read speed of 1849.0MB/s, and random write speed of 850.0MB/s.

GeekBench 5, 6 Benchmark Results: In GeekBench 5, the Xiaomi 14 Ultra scored 1717 in single-core and 6616 in multi-core tests. For GeekBench 6, the scores were 2123 in single-core and 6792 in multi-core tests.

3D Mark: In a single round of Wild Life test, the Xiaomi 14 Ultra scored 18,202, and during 20 consecutive rounds of intense Wild Life testing, stability remained at 67.1%, with the lowest cycle score being 12,220. In multi-round testing, the lowest score always remained above ten thousand.

During a 30-minute test of “Genshin Impact” at the highest graphics settings and 60 frames per second, with the performance mode enabled on the phone, The Xiaomi 14 Ultra achieved an average frame rate performance of 60.09fps, with fluctuations of around 10fps during gameplay being relatively infrequent.

Around 15 minutes into the game, during the Liyue Harbor exploration, there was a situation where the map environment was loading, resulting in increased load and frame drops. At this time, the device warmed up slightly, and the CPU activity became more active. However, the frame rate remained mostly within a fluctuation of 5fps, which didn’t significantly affect the gaming experience.

In terms of power consumption, the Xiaomi 14 Ultra consumed around 4.4W during “Genshin Impact,” which is within the normal range for Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processors.

Regarding heat dissipation, after 30 minutes of “Genshin Impact” testing, the thermal performance was as expected: the maximum temperature reached on the device was only 41°C, located at the upper left corner of the back of the device near the camera, with a slight warm touch. Overall, the thermal performance of the Xiaomi 14 Ultra is quite satisfactory.

Xiaomi 14 Ultra sets a new benchmark for flagship smartphones, combining cutting-edge technology, premium design, and exceptional performance into a single, compelling package. Whether you’re a power user, mobile photographer, or gaming enthusiast, the Xiaomi 14 Ultra offers a complete and immersive experience that exceeds expectations. With its competitive pricing and uncompromising quality, the Xiaomi 14 Ultra stands out as a top contender in the highly competitive smartphone market.