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Xiaomi is using MWC to launch its two flagships to a global audience – although, as usual, this doesn’t include the US. Xiaomi 14 And 14 ultra They’ve already been announced in China, and today they take center stage with a revised design and camera-forward feature set. They are available to order from today; The 14 Ultra will cost €1,499 (about $1624) and the 14K will start at €999 (about $1082).
The Xiaomi 14 covers the flagship basics, with a smaller 6.36-inch screen – now an LTPO 120Hz panel for smoother scrolling and power efficiency – and comes with more modest camera specs, at least compared to the 14 Ultra’s 6.73-inch, Compared to the 120Hz 1440p panel and the 1-inch-type main camera. I guess, grow up or go all out.
14 Ultra Was Officially Unveiled in China just a few days agoBut at its global launch event we’ve gathered a few more details on what will surely be a contender for the best camera phone of 2024. The main camera uses the new 1-inch-type Sony LYT-900 sensor Also seen on Oppo Find X7 UltraAnd this includes the variable aperture system introduced on the Xiaomi 14 Pro (which launched alongside the 14 in China in October, but is not part of today’s announcement).
Instead of the fixed aperture that most smartphone cameras use, the 14 Ultra can open or close with 1,024 stops between f/1.63 and f/4.0. We got a demo at a pre-launch event just outside Barcelona, and sure enough, you can see the tiny aperture stopping down at the top and bottom. The use cases for this feature seem to be pretty slim – even at its widest setting, the lens behaves more like an f/4.0 on a full-frame camera in terms of depth of field. Stopping it down even further seems like a pointless exercise, but I’ve seen the aperture moved and can confirm that it works.
The Ultra follows the lead of the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra and doesn’t include a Two Telephoto lenses: a 3.2x and a 5x, both fixed. And on the video side it is inspired by the iPhone 15 Pro Log recording included, This is a very useful feature for some percentage of people , This means you can use the phone in a multi-camera filming setup and color grade the results to match everyone else. You can even shoot 10-bit HDR in Log for some added post-processing flexibility.
I saw the aperture moving
The Xiaomi 14 Ultra moves away from last year’s curved edges and hugs of 2014 Hottest trend of 2024:flat edge. They’re easy to hold and have a slight curve to the straight edge on both the front and back panels that keeps it comfortable in your hand. You like watching it. Also in the what-old-is-new-again category? Xiaomi’s camera kit for Ultra, which has been updated so that the Grip can act as an external battery for the phone. I love an accessory that does more than one thing.
The Xiaomi 14 comes with a trio of 50-megapixel sensors across its main, wide, and 3.2x telephoto cameras – an upgrade over the 10-megapixel chip in last year’s telephoto camera. The square-shaped camera bump looks a little different this time, at 13. The lines that divide it into four quadrants have been lost.
leica The branding has been rotated 90 degrees so it looks more at home in landscape orientation – the same way it appears on the Ultra. The glass on the back panel has a matte finish that feels smooth without being too slick, or perhaps those flat edges make it feel more secure in my hand. Whatever, I like it.
As always, Xiaomi’s ultra flagship camera phone looks like a complete unit, and as always it’s disappointing that we won’t be seeing it in the US. While Samsung and Google have been leaning towards AI camera features for their recent updates, the most interesting hardware upgrades have come from Chinese phone makers led by Oppo and Xiaomi. If these things work in cycles – like the return of flat edges – then maybe the smartphones we see in the US may also be due for some serious hardware innovation in the near future.
Photography by Alison Johnson/The Verge
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