Xiaomi M’sia debuts 14 Series flagship phones featuring Leica cameras, here’s what to know

Touting itself as “the pinnacle of mobile optics” is the Xiaomi 14 Ultra, which was just launched in Malaysia this morning at Hilton Hotel, PJ. 

Alongside that, the brand also released the Xiaomi 14 and a new line of wearables, including the Xiaomi Smart Band 8 Pro (RM339), Xiaomi Watch S3 (RM699), and Xiaomi Watch 2 (RM769).

The main core features of the watches are their upgraded customisability and performance, such as having more straps and bezels to choose from and getting more comprehensive functionality. 

But it’s clear that the main highlights are the two new phones, so let’s dive a little deeper into those.

Xiaomi 14 Series

Co-engineered with Leica, the global manufacturer of high-end cameras, this flagship smartphone lineup seems to be a strong competitor in the mobile photography market. 

It incorporates Leica Summilux optics which indicates a maximum lens aperture of f/1.4. In layman terms, this means that the camera has enhanced light-gathering abilities. So even in low-light conditions, you’ll still be able to take good photos.

Internally, both phones are powered by the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 Mobile Platform. They’re equipped with a chipset of Qualcomm Fast Connect 7,000 that supports Wi-Fi 7. Though, the latter doesn’t really affect usability in Malaysia as we don’t have Wi-Fi 7 yet. 

In terms of operating system, they both use the Xiaomi HyperOS. A culmination of seven years of dedicated development by the brand, this system is designed for the “Human X Car X Home” smart ecosystem.

Essentially, this means that users will get more seamless connectivity between devices and comprehensive security and privacy features.

Apart from those, it’s easier to break down the differences by model.

Xiaomi 14

The Xiaomi 14 is marketed as being of a compact size with uncompromising features. 

It’s designed as a daily companion and weighs 193g. For comparison, the Galaxy S24 Ultra is 233g. The back panel is gently curved which makes it comfortable to grip for long periods.

In terms of display, its screen is 6.36” CrystalRes AMOLED with slim bezels of 1.71mm (length) and 1.1mm (height). The phone has a peak brightness of 3,000 nits, which means visuals remain clear even under direct sunlight. 

So when you’re watching a movie, even while out in broad daylight, it’s a more immersive experience. 

It also helps that the power efficiency has increased by 17% when compared to its past models. So better power efficiency means better phone performance and battery life.

In fact, Xiaomi stated that you can get the phone fully charged within 31 minutes, and 46 minutes using wireless HyperCharge.

These systems are complemented by the Xiaomi IceLoop cooling system, which helps the phones perform during demanding tasks like real-time AI processing and intensive gaming. 

Xiaomi 14 Ultra

Visually, the Xiaomi 14 Ultra draws inspiration from traditional camera aesthetics and has a distinctive circular camera module. This makes it similar to some of its predecessors like the 13 Ultra and 12 Ultra.

Unlike the previous models, though, it comes with a streamlined flat back design instead of the traditional curved display. Which is a change that some may or may not like.

As you can tell from the phone itself, the Xiaomi 14 Ultra’s main pride is its camera’s capabilities.

This latest model comes with a professional quad-camera configuration that has a good range of focal lengths:

Spanning from 12mm to 120mm, the camera is integrated with an ultra-large one-inch LYT-900 image sensor. Essentially, this preserves richer details in light and dark settings. 

For the videographers out there, the Xiaomi 14 Ultra comes with its MasterCinema feature. So you can shoot videos in cinematic style with just your mobile phone.

With such heavy-processing tech, the brand introduced its new Dual-Channel IceLoop system to ensure users get a smoother photography and videography experience. According to Xiaomi, it provides 3x improved cooling performance.

You also don’t have to worry about the battery running out fast, as the phone can be fully charged within 33 minutes using HyperCharge.

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Introduced alongside all of these is the Xiaomi 14 Ultra Photography Kit. It offers extended features in a dedicated grip and case that makes it look more like an old-school camera.

It includes a two-stage shutter button, a zoom lever, a customisable video recording button, and an additional custom dial. It also functions as an external charging battery bank, providing 1,500mAh of battery life. 

At the moment, many online reviews are comparing the Xiaomi 14 Ultra to Samsung’s Galaxy Ultra S24. Much of this has to do with both cameras’ specifications being quite similar to each other’s.

When it comes to pricing, Xiaomi seems to beat Samsung with the Xiaomi 14’s starting price at RM3,499 (12GB + 256GB) and the Xiaomi 14 Ultra’s starting price at RM5,199 (16GB + 512GB). 

But performance? Well, we haven’t tried it out for ourselves yet so we can’t share our verdict.

Regardless, though, both the Xiaomi 14 and Xiaomi 14 Ultra seem like good options on paper. Especially if you’re a photography enthusiast who wants to explore the field without committing to a full-on professional camera. 

Sales for all its new products start tomorrow (March 8, 2024). Customers can purchase them at Xiaomi’s stores or at their retail partners, such as DirectD, Lazada, Senheng, Shopee, and Urban Republic.

Featured Image Credit: Vulcan Post