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Xiaomi is using MWC<\/a> to launch two of its flagships for a global audience \u2014 though not including the US, as usual. The Xiaomi 14<\/a> and 14 Ultra<\/a> have already been announced in China, and today they\u2019re on center stage with tweaked designs and camera-forward feature sets. They\u2019re available to order starting today; the 14 Ultra will cost \u20ac1,499 (about $1624) and the 14 starts at \u20ac999 (about $1082).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n The Xiaomi 14 covers the flagship basics, with a smaller 6.36-inch screen \u2014 now an LTPO 120Hz panel for smooth scrolling and power efficiency \u2014 and comes with more modest camera specs, at least by comparison to the 14 Ultra\u2019s a 6.73-inch, 120Hz 1440p panel and 1-inch-type main camera. Go big or go all out, I guess.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n The 14 Ultra was officially unveiled in China just a few days ago<\/a>, but at its global launch event we\u2019ve gathered a few more details about what will surely be a contender for the best camera phone of 2024. The main camera uses the new 1-inch-type <\/strong>Sony LYT-900 sensor also seen on the Oppo Find X7 Ultra<\/a>, and includes the variable aperture system introduced on the Xiaomi 14 Pro (which launched alongside the 14 in China back in October, but isn\u2019t part of today\u2019s announcement). <\/p>\n<\/div>\n Rather than the fixed aperture most smartphone cameras use, the 14 Ultra\u2019s can open up or close down with 1,024 stops between f\/1.63 and f\/4.0. We got a demo at a pre-launch event just outside of Barcelona, and sure, you can see the tiny aperture stopping up and down. Use cases for this feature seem to be very slim \u2014 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 witnessed the aperture moving and can confirm it works.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n The Ultra follows Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra\u2019s lead and includes not one but two<\/em> telephoto lenses: a 3.2x and a 5x, both of which are stabilized. And on the video side it takes a cue from the iPhone 15 Pro and incorporates log recording<\/a>. <\/strong>That\u2019s a very useful feature for a tiny percentage of people \u2014<\/strong> it means you can use the phone in a multi-camera filming setup and color grade the results to match all the rest. You can also shoot 10-bit HDR in log for some additional post-processing flexibility. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n I witnessed the aperture moving<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n The Xiaomi 14 Ultra moves away from the curved edges of last year and embracing The Xiaomi 14 comes with a trio of 50-megapixel sensors in its main, wide, and 3.2x telephoto cameras \u2014 upgrading the 10-megapixel chip in last year\u2019s telephoto camera. The square-shaped camera bump looks a little different this time around, losing the lines that divided it into four quadrants on the 13. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n The Leica <\/strong>branding has been rotated 90 degrees so it looks at home in landscape orientation \u2014 the same way it appears on the Ultra. The back panel\u2019s glass features a matte finish that feels sleek without being too slick, or maybe those flat edges make it feel more secure in my hand. Whatever it is, I like it. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n As usual, Xiaomi\u2019s Ultra flagship camera phone looks like an absolute unit, and as usual it\u2019s disappointing that we\u2019ll miss out on it in the US. While Samsung and Google have been leaning into AI camera features for their most recent updates, the most interesting hardware upgrades have come from Chinese phone makers, lead by Oppo and Xiaomi. If these things operate in cycles \u2014 like the return of flat edges \u2014 maybe the smartphones we see in the US are due for some serious hardware innovation in the near future, too.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n2014\u2019s<\/strike> 2024\u2019s hottest trend<\/a>: flat edges. They\u2019re easier to grip and there\u2019s a gentle curve into the straight edge on both the front and back panels that keeps it comfy in your hand. You love to see it. Also in the what\u2019s-old-is-new-again category? Xiaomi\u2019s camera kit for the Ultra<\/a>, which has been updated so the grip can act as an external battery for the phone. I love an accessory that does more than one job.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n