Prior to its anticipated appearance at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona next week, Xiaomi’s most recent flagship device has been released in China. The main camera on the 14 Ultra is a Leica equipped with a brand-new 1-inch Sony sensor.
Here, the Ultra’s camera technology really shines. Its 50-megapixel main camera is built around Sony’s LYT-900 1-inch-type image sensor and features optical image stabilization, a fast F1.63 aperture, and a focal length equivalent to 23 mm.
The phone’s telephoto, periscope, and ultra-wide lenses, which round out the Leica camera quad in the back circular bump, all feed light to a 50-MP Sony IMX858 sensor. With the company’s new Artificial Intelligence Signal Processor chip, four large models can be used for computational photography with an imaging setup that supports 8K/30fps video shooting, 1080p slow-mo at 1,920 frames per second, and 4K time-lapse photography.
The Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset, the newest flagship SoC from Qualcomm, is designed to process thoughts and is kept cool through the use of a dual-path vapor chamber. 16 GB of fast RAM and 1 TB of UFS 4.0 storage are available as options for the smartphone.
The display up front is a Dolby Vision OLED panel with a resolution of 3,200 x 1,440 pixels, measuring 6.73 inches from corner to corner. It has a variable refresh rate of 120 Hz, a peak brightness of 3,000 nits, and it supports the wide DCI-P3 color gamut.
A titanium option is on the way, and a high-strength aluminum alloy mid frame is said to significantly increase bending resistance. It also offers improved drop resistance and meets IP68 standards for sealing against dust and water ingress.
In addition to built-in Wi-Fi 7 and 5G connectivity, there’s a USB-C port with theoretical data transfer speeds of up to 10 Gbps and Bluetooth 5.4 with support for aptX HD, aptX adaptive, and LDAC audio decoding. The phone has a sizable 5,300-mAh silicon-carbon battery that can be charged wirelessly at 80 W or 90 W via a cable, reaching 100% capacity in just 35 minutes.
While Chinese pricing begins at 6,499 yuan, international availability is anticipated to be revealed at MWC 2024. It’s unlikely that there will be official US sales. Leica Pro grips are also available, offering tactile controls in addition to additional juice.
