Xiaomi unveils photography-focused 14 Ultra smartphone as it aims to take on Apple and Huawei in high-end segment

Xiaomi has been promoting its camera and photography features as selling points following a partnership with Leica in 2022, after the German camera maker ended its seven-year deal with Huawei.

Xiaomi president Lu Weibing described the Xiaomi 14 Ultra as “a new flagship in mobile imaging” with upgraded photography kits, including a main camera with a large one-inch sensor and a variable aperture.

The new handset is powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset and is equipped with Xiaomi’s proprietary HyperOS operating system.

Other new products launched this week include a new tablet, the 6s Pro 12.4, the laptop Redmi Book Pro 2024 and Remi Monitor G Pro 27.

Lei Jun, the co-founder and CEO of Xiaomi, said in late 2021 that the company aimed to become the world’s biggest smartphone maker in three years by exceeding Apple.

However, Xiaomi has kept its third place globally for smartphone sales for 14 quarters in a row, behind Apple and Samsung. According to IDC data, China’s mobile shipments in 2023 dropped 5 per cent from a year ago to 271 million units, the lowest in over a decade, although a recovery is expected in the coming year.

Lei wrote in a social media post this week that Xiaomi’s smart factory in Beijing has completed construction and is capable of producing over 10 million phones per year.

Xiaomi’s stock price closed 1.34 per cent lower at HK$13.22 in Hong Kong on Friday.