Phone or Camera? A Closer Look at the Xiaomi 14 Ultra

The Xiaomi 14 Ultra is the best camera phone I've ever used thanks to its massive image sensor, wide, variable aperture and Leica-engineered optics. It can take glorious images that I've been super impressed with. 

But it's still a top flagship elsewhere, packing a potent Qualcomm chip and glorious display. 

It's not cheap, though, costing £1,299 in the UK. Add on the £179 photography kit and that comes to the princely sum of £1,478. Xiaomi doesn't officially sell its phones in the US, but that base UK price converts to $1,640.

Still, if you're really into your photography, it's the phone to go for. Click through to see more of this phone. 

The heart of the camera system is a 1-inch type sensor, which is physically larger than the sensors you'll find in either the iPhone 15 Pro Max or Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra. 

Couple that big sensor with a wide aperture and the high-quality Leica-engineered optics and it's no surprise this phone is a photography powerhouse.

The main camera's aperture is variable, going from f/1.6 at its widest point down to f/4.

The Photography Kit comes with a case, filter mount and a grip (pictured here) that features physical controls including a shutter button.

The shutter button allows you to half-press to focus and fully press to take the image, just like you would on a real camera.

Using the grip makes the phone feel just like a regular compact camera.

Camera or phone? Why not both!

The 14 Ultra has stiff competition in the mobile world, but it's arguably the champ in imaging. 

The phone runs Android 14.

It's packing a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor which gives blistering performance on benchmark tests.

I don't like the amount of pre-installed apps from both Xiaomi and third parties like AliExpress.

The filter mount allows you to use 67mm screw-in professional photo filters.

The 14 Ultra wearing its camera grip.

I loved using the phone with the grip as it made me feel more like I was using a proper camera, which seemed to allow me to engage more with my photography. 

Playing demanding games is no problem for this phone.

The Xiaomi 14 Ultra, S24 Ultra and iPhone 15 Pro Max.

The 6.73-inch display makes it a big phone to hold.

A collection of some of the best camera phones money can buy.

It's a great phone for photographers.

It's a shame it won't be available to buy in the US.

Beast.