Just a day before the Mobile World Congress trade show in Barcelona began, Xiaomi held its own event in the city to unveil its latest flagship line of smartphones: the Xiaomi 14 series. Despite a trio of new entries for Chinese market, global audiences should expect a duo of devices to decide between them.
The Xiaomi 14 and 14 Pro originally officially came out in October 2023, serving as the first pair of phones to feature Qualcomm's latest and greatest Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 silicon (the same chipset that powers Samsung's Galaxy S24 series in select markets), but the launch was exclusive to Xiaomi's home market of China, giving other phone makers, such as Samsung and OnePlus, the opportunity to be the first to bring the same cutting-edge flagship performance to other regions. However, with the company's Lens to Legend event in Barcelona, the playing field appears to have leveled; with a slight alteration.
On February 22 this year, Xiaomi beefed up the Series 14 in its home market with the introduction of the Xiaomi 14 Ultra, and that same ultra-premium device has now launched alongside the standard Xiaomi 14 on the international stage, but fair the Xiaomi 14, with no sign of the series' intermediate entry: the Xiaomi 14 Pro.
As for why the 14 Pro's reach isn't expanding beyond Chinese borders, Xiaomi hasn't officially said so, but depending on what each device offers and the different scope of competition among international audiences they have to choose, It is not difficult to recognize that the more noticeable differences between the Xiaomi 14 standard and the 14 Ultra make the overall line appear stronger and better defined. Last year's Xiaomi 13 and 13 Pro offered greater differentiation from each other compared to this year's 14 and 14 Pro. The most notable change between generations is that regardless of whether you opt for the Xiaomi 14 or 14 Pro, you get the same impressive trio of 50MP rear camera sensors – the Xiaomi 13 had a smaller camera setup than its Pro-branded compatriot in 2023.
The 14 Ultra has the same screen size and resolution as the Pro, but features a fourth 50MP rear camera with longer telephoto reach and an improved dual-aperture main sensor that the standard 14 misses entirely. While the same chipset and RAM offerings between the 14 and 14 Ultra suggest similar performance, the Ultra also ups the ante with a significantly larger battery and faster wireless charging to boot.
Here is a complete breakdown of the specifications and prices of the international variants of the Xiaomi 14 series:
| Xiaomi 14 | Xiaomi 14 Ultra | |
|---|---|---|
| Dimensions: | 152.8 x 71.5 x 8.2mm | 161.4 x 75.3 x 9.2mm |
| Weight: | 193 grams | 219.8 grams |
| Show: | 6.36 inches, 20:9, 2670 x 1200, 120 Hz Xiaomi C8 LTPO AMOLED | 6.73 inches, 20:9, 3200 x 1440, 120 Hz Xiaomi C8 LTPO AMOLED |
| Chipset: | Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Generation 3 | Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Generation 3 |
| RAM | 12GB (LPDDR5X) | 16GB (LPDDR5X) |
| Storage: | 256GB/512GB (UFS 4.0) | 512GB (UFS 4.0) |
| SW: | Xiaomi HyperOS (Android 14) | HyperOS (Android 14) |
| Main chamber: | Xiaomi Light Fusion 900 Sensor 50MP, 23mm, 1/1.31 inch, f/1.6, 0.6μm pixels, 7P lens with OIS | 50MP 23mm 1-inch Sony LYT-900 Sensor, f/1.6 to f/4.0 Continuously Variable Aperture, 0.8μm Pixels, 8P Lens with OIS |
| Ultra wide angle camera: | 50MP 14mm, f/2.2, 112º FoV | 50MP 12mm, Sony IMX585 f/1.8, 122º FoV |
| Telephoto camera: | 50MP (32MP effective) 75mm, f/2.0 with OIS | 50MP 75mm, Sony IMX585 f/1.8 with OIS |
| Secondary telephoto camera: | N/A | 50MP 120mm, Sony IMX585 f/2.5 with OIS |
| Frontal camera: | 32MP f/2.0, 0.7μm pixels, 5P lens, 89.6º FoV | 32MP f/2.0, 0.7μm pixels, 5P lens, 89.6º FoV |
| Battery: | 4,610 mAh | 5,000 mAh |
| Charging: | 90W wired (charger included), 50W wireless | 90W wired (charger included), 80W wireless |
| Colors: | Black, white, jade green | Black White |
| Prices: | £849 (256GB), £899 (512GB) | £1,299 |
More than just Series 14
While we didn't see a Xiaomi 14 Lite at this year's international launch (it's notable that Xiaomi unveiled the 13 Lite at the same event last year), the company also offered some additional products; including the Xiaomi Pad 6S Pro 12.4, the Xiaomi Smart Band 8 Pro and the Xiaomi Watch S3 and the Xiaomi Watch 2.
The Xiaomi Pad 6S Pro looks like a competent iPad competitor, with a 12.4-inch 144Hz 3K display, a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor, and cross-device collaboration with other HyperOS-powered Xiaomi devices, such as the Xiaomi 14 series. The Series 14's Director Mode even lets you use the Pad 6S Pro as a monitor when shooting with your phone's cameras, wirelessly. Xiaomi also offers a keyboard accessory and the Xiaomi Focus Pen, for use with the Tab, which features 8,192 levels of pressure sensitivity and a 240Hz sampling rate for low latency.
Other features, such as a 10,000mAh battery with 120W fast charging, make it a world first, while the price (starting at £599/€699) means it beats out rivals such as the Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 and the current iPad Air (2022).
