Just a day before the Mobile World Congress trade show kicked off in Barcelona, Xiaomi held its own event in the city to debut its latest flagship smartphone line: the Xiaomi 14 series. Despite a trio of new entries for the Chinese market, global audiences should expect a pair of devices to choose between.
The Xiaomi 14 and 14 Pro originally broke officially in October 2023, serving as the first pair of phones anywhere 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 – like Samsung and OnePlus – the chance to be the first to bring the same advanced flagship performance to the other regions. However, with the company’s Lens to Legend event in Barcelona, the playing field appears to be more level; with one small change.
On February 22 this year, Xiaomi strengthened the 14 series in its home market with the introduction of the Xiaomi 14 Ultra, and that same ultra-premium device has now been launched on the international stage alongside the standard Xiaomi 14, but just now the Xiaomi 14, with no sign of the middle entry in the series – the Xiaomi 14 Pro.
Why the 14 Pro’s range doesn’t extend beyond Chinese borders isn’t something Xiaomi has officially said, but based on what each device has to offer and the different scope of competition the international audience has to choose between, it’s not difficult to recognize that the more noticeable differences between the standard Xiaomi 14 and the 14 Ultra make the overall line seem stronger and better defined. Last year’s Xiaomi 13 and 13 Pro offered greater differentiation between each other compared to this year’s 14 and 14 Pro. The most noticeable change between generations is that regardless of whether you choose the Xiaomi 14 or 14 Pro, you get the same impressive trio of 50MP camera sensors on the rear – the Xiaomi 13 had a lesser camera setup than its compatriot with the Pro brand in 2023.
The 14 Ultra has the same screen size and resolution as the Pro, but features a fourth 50 MP rear camera with a longer telephoto reach and an improved dual aperture main sensor that the standard 14 completely ignores. 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 full overview of the specifications and prices of the international variants of the Xiaomi 14 series:
| Xiaomi-14 | Xiaomi 14Ultra | |
|---|---|---|
| Dimensions: | 152.8 x 71.5 x 8.2mm | 161.4 x 75.3 x 9.2mm |
| Weight: | 193 grams | 219.8 grams |
| Display: | 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 |
| Chip set: | Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 | Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 |
| RAM | 12GB (LPDDR5X) | 16GB (LPDDR5X) |
| Storage: | 256GB / 512GB (UFS 4.0) | 512GB (UFS 4.0) |
| Operating system: | Xiaomi HyperOS (Android 14) | HyperOS (Android 14) |
| Primary camera: | 50 MP 23mm 1/1.31-inch Xiaomi Light Fusion 900 sensor, f/1.6, 0.6μm pixels, 7P lens with OIS | 50 MP 23mm 1-inch Sony LYT-900 sensor, f/1.6 to f/4.0 continuously variable aperture, 0.8μm pixels, 8P lens with OIS |
| Ultrawide camera: | 50 MP 14mm, f/2.2, 112º field of view | 50 MP 12mm, Sony IMX585 f/1.8, 122º field of view |
| Telephoto camera: | 50 MP (32 MP effective) 75mm, f/2.0 with OIS | 50 MP 75mm, Sony IMX585 f/1.8 with OIS |
| Secondary telephoto camera: | N/A | 50 MP 120mm, Sony IMX585 f/2.5 with OIS |
| Front camera: | 32 MP f/2.0, 0.7 μm pixels, 5P lens, 89.6° field of view | 32 MP f/2.0, 0.7 μm pixels, 5P lens, 89.6° field of view |
| Battery: | 4,610mAh | 5,000mAh |
| To upload: | 90W wired (charger in box), 50W wireless | 90W wired (charger in box), 80W wireless |
| To colour: | Black, white, jade green | Black and white |
| Prices: | £849 (256GB), £899 (512GB) | £1,299 |
More than just the 14 Series
While we didn’t see a Xiaomi 14 Lite at this year’s international launch (notable considering Xiaomi introduced the 13 Lite at the same event last year), the company also served up 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 3:2 3K display, a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 ship, and cross-device collaboration with other Xiaomi HyperOS devices, such as the Xiaomi 14 series. The 14 Series’ Director mode even lets you use the Pad 6S Pro as a monitor when shooting wirelessly with the phone’s cameras. Xiaomi also offers a keyboard accessory and the Xiaomi Focus Pen, for use with the tab, with 8192 levels of pressure sensitivity and a sampling rate of 240 Hz for low latency.
Other features like a 10,000mAh battery with 120W fast charging make it a world first, while the price (from £599 / €699) means it will rival the likes of the Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 and the current iPad Air (2022 ) undermines.