Xiaomi 14 Ultra review: large sensor means excellent photos

The Xiaomi 14 Ultra is a top smartphone that stands out from the competition with its huge image sensor. 1-inch sensors are still a rarity in smartphones. Even in compact cameras, you’ll only find them in expensive models. That’s why I focus on the camera when testing. I discover that you need special accessories to achieve that comprehensive, high-end compact camera feeling.

When it comes to the sensor, bigger is still better

The main camera is the showpiece of the Xiaomi 14 Ultra. At 50 megapixels, the resolution isn’t excessively high. And above all, the LYT-900 sensor is one inch in size. As a result, it offers around four times the surface area of the Sony IMX858 – 1/2.51 inches with a resolution of 50 megapixels. Xiaomi uses this for the other three cameras on the back. In comparison, the LYT-900 can capture more light, which is designed for better image quality.

The equivalent focal lengths to the 35 mm format are: 12 mm for the ultra-wide-angle camera, 23 mm for the main camera, 75 mm for the telephoto and 120 mm for the periscope camera. Xiaomi is working with Leica on the lenses and image processing software.

The aperture of the main camera is infinitely adjustable from f/1.63 to f/4.0, allowing manual control over the depth of field. However, I missed having this on the other three cameras. I used the Xiaomi 14 Ultra to take photos for my reviews of the Fairbuds, The Nothing Ear and Nothing Ear (a) and the Honor Magic6 Pro. To zoom in on the small headphones and details, I used the telephoto rather than the main camera – and had to rely on the automatic aperture.

If you’d like to see the following photos in their original size, you can download them here.

Extremely high level of detail for a smartphone

Xiaomi also uses pixel binning for the main camera. This means that four adjacent pixels are merged into one, which promises better image quality. As a result, the photos only have a resolution of 12 megapixels. There’s an extra mode if you want the full 50 megapixels, but I don’t see any need for it. At 12 megapixels, the level of detail is already extremely high for a smartphone.

Colour rendering is bold but also looks natural. The intensity of my typical colourful wall comes across very well without appearing exaggerated.

There’s potential for improvement with strong contrasts. Despite active HDR, the Xiaomi 14 Ultra tends not to overexpose bright areas, but still brightens them too much. Fortunately, this doesn’t happen with every image. What’s more, the camera is easily irritated by backlighting. Other smartphones have a better handle on this.

The main camera makes a good impression in the dark

Image quality remains high even in the dark. There’s little difference between automatic and night mode. The main distinction is that night mode makes large beams of light disappear.

The quality of the other cameras drops slightly in the dark, but they deliver usable photos even in low light, especially in night mode.

Ultra-wide-angle camera without distortions

When I compare the ultra-wide-angle with the main camera, I notice the level of detail is slightly lower. However, the colour rendering is very similar and the Xiaomi 14 Ultra also compensates well for the distorted corners typical of wide-angle shots.

Telephoto camera that’s definitely usable

I don’t notice any loss of quality with the telephoto camera compared to the main one. Thanks to a maximum of 10× magnification, which is already digital, the images are easy to use, with a slight loss of detail in some instances. Digital magnification goes up to a factor of 100. The loss of quality is then clearly visible, but the subject is recognisable.

Home video or cinema film

Of course, you can also record videos with the Xiaomi 14 Ultra. The camera app provides two options for this: classic video recording and a film mode with wide images and colours reminiscent of cinema films. In movie mode, however, you only have one focal length available. The following sample videos are edited, but not processed in terms of colour.

Beautiful imagery with the photography kit

The compact camera feeling is even better if you get the photography kit for the Xiaomi 14 Ultra. Unfortunately, the set, which costs around 200 euros/francs, is currently only available directly from the manufacturer and smaller (resale) portals.

The photography kit is comprised of a case and battery handle that you slide the smartphone into. This gives you a more comfortable grip on the phone as well as extending the battery life a little. It also means you don’t tap the touchscreen to press the shutter button. Instead, there’s an individual button for photos and videos. In terms of the photo capture button, it boasts two stages. The first to activate the autofocus, then you press all the way down to take the picture.

You can also adjust exposure levels with a rotary dial and continuously adjust the focal length with a zoom rocker. Alternatively, you can choose to switch between focal lengths in the settings.

The cover also has a thread so you can attach a 67 mm adapter ring for off-the-shelf filters. If you’re not using it, you can attach one of the enclosed decorative rings.

The display is a good viewfinder

The 6.73-inch AMOLED display on the Xiaomi 14 Ultra can meet the challenges of any smartphone or camera with its 3200 × 1440 pixel resolution and 522 pixels per inch density. The refresh rate can be automatically adjusted from 1 to 120 Hz. If colour accuracy is important to you during recording, it supports the DCI-P3 colour space. At 1000-3000 nits at its peak, the screen may not be as bright as some of today’s top smartphones, but it’s certainly suitable as a camera viewfinder in sunshine.

Average battery with option to upgrade

The 5000-mAh-capacity battery easily lasts me a typical day, which is standard for smartphones at the moment. PCMark’s Work 3.0 battery test shows a runtime of 8.58 hours at maximum screen brightness. This is only an average value in comparison. To put this into perspective, I managed over 11 hours on the Galaxy S24 Ultra. It’s still enough for a lot of photos, and in reality, you’ll hardly ever use the smartphone with maximum display brightness.

With the photography kit, it adds 1500 mAh to the battery capacity. Xiaomi claims this extends the battery life by 23%. In my example, that would be over two hours extra, allowing even more photos.

The Xiaomi 14 Ultra accepts up to 90 W via the USB-C port if the power adapter supports HyperCharge fast charging technology. Without this, it gets less, and the smartphone won’t be fully charged within 33 minutes. With the right charging station, however, it can handle up to 80 W wirelessly.

Lots of power for photo and video editing

With the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 and 16 GB of RAM, the Xiaomi 14 Ultra is very well equipped in terms of computing power. Its benchmark values are within the usual range for Qualcomm’s current top chipset. In practice, you can expect fast image processing and enough buffer to be able to take lots of photos quickly, even in RAW format. Exporting one minute of 4K video from the VN editor takes just over 30 seconds.

Meanwhile, the Xiaomi 14 Ultra’s internal storage space boasts a capacity of 512 GB. Although this is sufficient for a lot of photos and videos, it’s still finite – especially if you take photos in RAW format or record 4K videos. Unfortunately, you can’t insert a microSD card. So, sooner or later, you’ll get to the stage where you can no longer keep all your data on your smartphone. However, backups in the cloud or on your computer are straightforward via USB-C cable or Quickshare.

Customised Android with ad apps

Even though Xiaomi calls the software on its new smartphones HyperOS, it’s still Android – Android 14, to be precise. HyperOS appears to be primarily the user interface with some visual and functional adjustments. However, HyperOS is also the software that Xiaomi uses for devices other than smartphones and tablets. The goal is to be able to better connect various classes of devices, including cars.

However, the Xiaomi 14 Ultra is first and foremost an Android smartphone with access to all Google services. The visual and functional adjustments don’t strike me as particularly positive or negative. But what are bothersome are the preinstalled advertising apps from third parties – especially on a device with a four-figure price tag. While they’re easy to uninstall, they still annoy me more than Xiaomi’s numerous own apps.