The company even made a photography kit (again) that advances the concept further. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the 14 Ultra is more camera than phone. After shooting with it for weeks, it’s hard to argue its merits, save for one particular aspect.

Design and Build

I went over a lot of the design details in a previous hands-on. Still, the gist is that there’s a familiar large camera module in the rear housing a LYT-900 Type 1.0 image sensor for the main camera and Leica Summilux lenses for the entire array. Not to mention the f/1.63 and f/4.0 variable aperture.

The phone itself is premium in its overall design, sporting a beautifully vibrant 6.7-inch AMOLED (3,200 by 1,440) display that is tantalizingly close to going fully flat, plus a nice textured faux leather back.

Xiaomi picked an excellent time to bring this to the world beyond China, showcasing that it knows how to make a phone that looks good. It’s also evident that point-and-shoot cameras influence the general look, at least in how its frame accommodates the separately sold Photography Kit that gives it a grip and tactile camera controls.

It’s also a premium phone in its own right by the sheer presence of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset, better graphics performance, and large battery inside. IP68 protection is back to help keep it safe from the elements as much as possible. As with the previous Xiaomi 13 Ultra, the base model starts at 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage, though you can also choose to go higher with 16GB and 512GB. A 1TB variant is a Chinese exclusive.

Note that the global version differs from the Chinese variant in a few ways, but one thing that aligns them both is neither supports eSIMs. You get a dual-SIM tray in the global variant, so you need physical cards to connect to a carrier.

Camera Features

This is the first of Xiaomi’s Ultra phones to use Sony’s LYT-900 Type 1.0 sensor for the main 50-megapixel camera (23mm equivalent). There are two telephoto lenses, a 50-megapixel with 3.2x optical zoom (75mm equivalent) at f/1.8 and a 50-megapixel periscope lens with 5x optical zoom (120mm equivalent) or 10x hybrid zoom (240mm equivalent), and you can shoot in macro with both as well. That also goes for the 50-megapixel ultra-wide camera (12mm equivalent) with 122-degree field of view, which doubles as a macro shooter down to five centimeters distance. These secondary cameras use Sony IMX858 1/2.51-inch sensors, continuing Xiaomi’s design choice from the previous model. Xiaomi also returns the 32-megapixel (22mm equivalent) front camera with f/2.0 aperture.

All the rear cameras have Summilux lenses, a notable change for the whole array because they are generally faster than Leica’s other Summicron lenses. This fits in well with the variable aperture at work with the main lens. The main lens is also made with an eight-piece element and better image stabilization, which, in theory, should help capture moving subjects.

The $225 Photography Kit also gets its own upgrades with an exposure dial and dedicated video recording button to add to the shutter button and zoom lever. Plus, the interchangeable lens ring has different attachments, including one that lets you screw in a 67mm filter. I tested out the Kit with a 67mm Moment ND filter (2-5 stops) to understand how far the 14 Ultra can go when equipped this way.

The Kit has its own setting in the phone once you attach it, letting you choose to shoot in burst, change the zoom lever to adjust aperture instead, or have the dial change a range of settings, like shutter, ISO, white balance, focus, bokeh — basically all the settings you’d associate with Pro mode. Even the video button can do other things that aren’t entirely focused on video. The grip has its own battery to top up your phone, though I would be wary of leaving it there when you’re not shooting because it will drain itself charging the phone.

Software Features

As always, Xiaomi’s partnership with Leica is the foundation of the whole camera experience. Leica Authentic and Vibrant return as the two main shooting profiles, both available in various modes, like Photo, Pro, Portrait, Night, and Fastshot. Leica’s filters also figure prominently in the interface for almost every mode the phone offers, along with a long train of film simulations and other presets available.

Xiaomi is also quietly expanding its editing suite, but my favorite feature is the ability to apply any of Leica’s filters to images after you’ve shot them. The AI-assisted editing features aren’t quite where Google’s are yet, though the gap is closing with how granular many of the controls are. On the AI side, removing people and objects is very hit-or-miss, and lighting conditions appear to be a big reason why. They work better for images in brighter light, whereas they struggle to remove people at all in low-light settings.

Should You Buy It?

Yes, it's definitely worth it for the photos alone. It's expensive, starting at around €905 for 12GB, and you can buy it from online retailers, with shipping all over Europe. You can buy it on Resios.co.