So for over a week now, I’ve had my Sims stuffed inside this ultimate chunder, the Xiaomi 14 Ultra, and let me tell you— even though it shares most of its name with the regular Xiaomi 14, which I reviewed only last month, the Xiaomi 14 Ultra is an entirely different beast. Comparing the two is kind of like comparing a relaxing foot massage. The Xiaomi 14 Ultra certainly sports an Ultra size price tag as well— £1,299— but is it actually worth it? Well, here’s my full Xiaomi 14 Ultra review.
Design and Build: Big, Chunky, and Comfortable
Now, first up, how can I put this politely? The Xiaomi 14 Ultra is a proper big fat B. The regular Xiaomi 14 was a reasonably dinky, compact smartphone, but the Xiaomi 14 Ultra is your typical 6.7-inch tight and wears a not inconsiderable 220g. Even without the huge camera bump around the back, it couldn’t exactly be described as Slimline. But add in those optics and this thing is a full-on slab— in fact, it’s not a camera bump, it’s more of a camera mountain range. This is actually quite handy if you’re working on your laptop at a desk or a table, as the camera bump props the phone up towards you, making it easier to use.
You’ve got Xiaomi on-shield glass up front, rather than Gorilla Glass, plus it’s covered with a screen protector. So it’s kind of like a tank dipped in concrete— no bugger is scratching that screen. As for the rest of the Xiaomi 14 Ultra, you’ve got a metal frame and a back covered in Nanotech vegan leather. It feels all nice and soft and adds much-needed grip, especially considering the phone’s size. The color options are a bit dull though— black or white. The white model looks sleek, but it attracts pocket lint and other bits of grime that you’ll need to scrape off with your fingernails. Overall, it’s surprisingly comfortable to use despite its size, though, if you wear skinny jeans, maybe don’t try to squeeze this into your pocket!
Durability: Water and Dust Resistance
As with most premium smartphones that cost over a grand, the Xiaomi 14 Ultra is IP68 water and dust resistant. You can submerge it in water for a short period, give it a towel-off, and it should be fine.
Software: Hyper OS Experience
Xiaomi fans will know what to expect from the software side. It’s Android 14 although restyled with new Hyper OS shenanigans by Xiaomi. If you have used MIUI before, you will realize that Hyper OS has more smoothness and a streamlined nature, still quite like the earlier version. You have so many options for customizations, though most are not very easily found in the wallpaper section. This may not be so clear though. The always-on display is fairly good, while privacy and security are also up to par-an in-display optical fingerprint sensor that works excellently even with wet hands, with face recognition as backup.
It’s not all smooth, though. There is still some occasional lag, while some of the preinstalled apps in the system, such as Facebook and LinkedIn, cannot be uninstalled. However, you have to enjoy 512GB of storage..
Display: Stunning and Sharper
One of the most delicious pieces of tech to use as a movie projector or photo editor is the Xiaomi 14 Ultra 6.73 inches IPS display, which is heftily defined with 3200×1440 pixels and has more than 500 pixels per inch. The display supports HDR10 plus and Dolby vision, translating the best experience from Netflix and other streaming services. The screen is designed bright enough for everything, even during the day, while at night it will easily scale down to eye-comfort brightness settings. it ’ s also LTPO, so refresh rates range between 1Hz and 120Hz as per the activity performed.
Audio: Stereo Speakers and Dolby Atmos
Well, the Xiaomi 14 Ultra has got some really amazing stereo speakers and as a treat, they also support Dolby Atmos to give fantastic, deafening sound.
Performance: Snapdragon 8 Gen 3
The Xiaomi 14 Ultra has incorporated the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset within and backed this with 16GB RAM. Performance throttle was absent even when executing gaming and intensive tasks like Genshin Impact. Xiaomi’s Ice Loop cooling system keeps the phone cool, and connectivity is excellent with no buffering issues during mobile or Wi-Fi use.
Battery Life: Solid with Fast Charging
There is a 5,000mAh battery included with the Xiaomi 14 Ultra. On most days, I managed to make it to bed with about 40% remaining, after 5-6 hours of screen-on time. However, heavy use—like photography and video shooting—did drain the battery faster. If you’re a heavy user, consider purchasing the Xiaomi 14 Ultra photography kit, which includes a grip with a secondary battery for added life. For recharging, you’ve got 90W wired and 80W wireless charging. It’s incredibly fast, fully recharging in about half an hour, though the camera bump makes wireless charging a bit tricky.
Camera: Pro-Level Photography
The Xiaomi 14 Ultra features a quad camera setup using four Sony sensors, including a 50MP primary shooter with an enormous 1-inch LT900 sensor. The camera excels in HDR, low-light photography, and dynamic range, with realistic colors and minimal saturation, even in tricky lighting. The camera comes with a variable aperture through which one can choose to automatically adapt or manually control it to have creative shots.
Apart from the primary camera, you will also get an ultra-wide 50MP lens, a telephoto lens of 75mm, and a 12mm periscopic lens. The shots taken by the telephoto lenses are bright and clean even at long distances, and the ultra-wide lens gives a much sharper and more accurate colors.
Video Capabilities: Master Cinema Mode and Director Mode
When it comes to video, the Xiaomi 14 Ultra offers 8K recording at 30fps, though if you want to use the Master Cinema mode, you’ll need to dial it down to 4K resolution. Master Cinema mode enhances HDR for a more cinematic look, and you’ve got various tools for greater control over focus and aperture. The video also features smooth stabilization and great audio pickup.
For those who want to dive into video editing, the Director Mode provides manual controls for white balance, focus, and more, allowing you to shoot log footage for post-processing. Xiaomi also includes built-in video editing tools for quick editing on the go.
Selfie Camera: Sharp and Detailed
The 32MP front camera, with autofocus, gives the user an amazing HDR ability. It is rather solid when it comes to selfies; only in low-light conditions, the photos turn out to be a little less sharp. You can also shoot 4K videos at 30 or 60 frames per second, which makes it really great for vlogging.
Conclusion
Definitely the Xiaomi 14 Ultra is very expensive but is also a feature-rich smartphone and moreover if it’s for camera purposes, it can be rated as one of the best available. If you’re looking for a straight-up flagship that is great for gaming or streaming, there are less expensive models available for purchase. But if you want a phone that is pure ultimate in point-and-shoot simplicity as well as pro-level controls for photography and video, then make the Xiaomi 14 Ultra number one in your list. Follow to get more updates on Tech Education.
