iPhone 15 Pro Max vs Xiaomi 14 Ultra camera shootout: Hardware matters

Key Takeaways

• Xiaomi Ultra series is gaining popularity in the smartphone camera scene with advanced hardware and variable aperture feature, appealing to enthusiasts.
• Pricing and availability of the iPhone 15 Pro Max and Xiaomi 14 Ultra vary, with the Xiaomi model offering more advanced camera hardware and better zoom capabilities.
• While the iPhone excels in consistency and selfies, the Xiaomi shines in zoom lenses, offering superior performance for those who value photography capabilities over brand power.

We all know the iPhone is the most popular phone in the world, and for most people, it is the best overall phone. But in the niche corners of the mobile enthusiast scene, there is a growing fandom for Xiaomi’s Ultra series, which has earned a reputation for pushing the possibilities of smartphone camera hardware year after year. But does flashy camera hardware with big numers actually matter in the smartphone scene when it’s increasingly about computational photography? Let’s find out in this camera shootout.

Pricing and availability

The iPhone 15 Pro Max is sold almost literally around the world. You should be able to find this in every consumer electronics store or carrier just about anywhere. This largest model starts at $1,200 with 256GB of storage and 8GB of RAM (the latter not officially specified by Apple, but revealed in teardowns).

The Xiaomi 14 Ultra has far more limited availability. It’s not selling officially in North America. In Europe, it’s in about a half dozen countries like the UK, Germany, and France. Asia is where this phone has the widest reach, selling in China, Hong Kong, Singapore, India, and Thailand. Due to the scattered nature of the releases, the phone prices vary wildly. In China and Hong Kong, with 512GB of storage and 16GB of RAM, is priced at about an equivalent of $950. In Europe, however, it’s priced at 1,499 euro, which is nearly $1,600. Xiaomi chalks the markup to taxes and distribution fees.

Hardware overview

The iPhone 15 Pro Max has a pretty capable set of camera hardware, with a 48MP main camera with a 1/1.3-inch sensor, a 12MP ultra-wide, and a new 5X (120mm) telephoto zoom lens using “Prism” technology (that’s similar to the Periscope technology used in Android flagships).

But speaking purely of hardware, it’s no match for the Xiaomi 14 Ultra, which has four 50MP cameras, all using newer and larger sensors than Apple’s handset. The 14 Ultra’s main camera is a 1-inch Sony LYT-900 sensor with a variable aperture. So not only is the sensor size larger, there’s a physical shutter that can switch the F-stop from f/1.6 to f/4 (the iPhone 15 Pro Max is fixed at f/1.7). The 14 Ultra also has two zoom lenses, covering a 3.2X (75mm) and 5X (120mm) focal lengths. So while both phones have the same maximum optical zoom range of 120mm, the Xiaomi phone has a secondary optical zoom length that the iPhone lacks.

But Apple has made a noticeable improvement to its camera software with the 15 Pro series: the ability to output a 24MP photo that’s a mix of a full resolution 48MP shot and a binned 12MP shot. I was a big fan of this processing when I reviewed the iPhone six months ago, as it found the happy medium between pixel-binned shots and full-res. Xiaomi, meanwhile, has software supposedly fine-tuned by Leica, with shots that are contrasty by nature with more shadows and depth.

Main camera

Consistency vs high ceiling, low floor

The first thing I noticed when shooting with both of these cameras is that Xiaomi’s shots are almost always brighter at the default setting, which is not surprising considering the larger sensor and faster aperture, both of which help with light intake. (All side-by-side samples feature the iPhone image on the left and Xiaomi image on the right).

But a brighter shot isn’t always better, and more often than not, I find the 14 Ultra’s shots too bright. Like the first shot of the set above, of my friend’s ginger cat. Xiaomi’s shot is so “bright” that his fur appears a lighter shade than usual. However, the iPhone shot is far from perfect. Starting with the iPhone 14 series, I’ve found Apple shots to dial up the contrast dramatically (almost like Samsung images from a few years ago). While Xiaomi’s shot made cat fur appear too light, the iPhone shot is too orange. The real color is somewhere in between.

In low light shots with the main camera, shot in auto mode without any adjustment, I actually prefer the iPhone’s images over Xiaomi’s, as, again, the 14 Ultra just produced images too bright, like the shot of my father standing looking at the camera. Xiaomi’s main camera is also prone to the occasional blowing out of highlights, like the shot below.

But if you care about pixel peeping, then usually, the Xiaomi image is slightly more detailed with less noise, due to having larger sensors.

But the Xiaomi 14 Ultra has a trick up its sleeve: the variable aperture, which allows the main camera to stop down to f/4 to limit lighting or produce shots with a deeper depth-of-field. I find the lighting part to be mostly moot, as the sensors will take in plenty of light even at f/4. But the depth-of-field manipulation is real. In the below shots, both snapped with the 14 Ultra, notice the shot on the left has stronger bokeh, with the left side of the shot further in the background out of focus. The right image has the entire frame in focus. This is because the image on the left was shot at f/1.6, while the image on the right was snapped at f/4. The iPhone 15 Pro Max can’t do this: its focus depth-of-field remains the same no matter what.

In dim situations, I can also adjust the aperture to control how much light is let in. In the below set you can see the significant difference in light intake between f/1.6 and f/4.0. Both shots were snapped back to back.

Is the variable aperture a very important feature that make or break a smartphone camera? Not really. I think most casual users won’t know when or even care to switch apertures. But for those who like to take more control with their photography, the variable aperture does provide a bit more range.

So while the Xiaomi’s main camera is definitely superior hardware, and has a higher ceiling for those who know what they’re doing and want to play with settings, the iPhone’s main camera is more reliable in basic point-and-shoot scenarios.

Zoom lenses

A one-sided affair

For zoom lenses, the iPhone only has a single 120mm zoom lens compared to Xiaomi having a 75mm and 120mm. Let’s start with the head-to-head 120mm showdown. In daylight, the iPhone holds up quite well. In the below samples, we can see the iPhone’s 5X is clearly more “processed,” with signs of noise and sharpening, but it’s not too bad.

But if we move to low light situations, the larger sensor and faster aperture is just too big a hurdle for the iPhone to overcome. In the below shot of my friend, taken at night, we can see the Xiaomi 14 Ultra 5X shot has significantly less noise and more depth that separates his head from the chair and table behind him.

Here’s another low light 5X zoom. The differences in image quality is clear.

One problem with Apple moving the largest and best iPhone to a 5X zoom is that 120mm is considered a bit too long a lens for normal everyday use, and that a 75-85mm is more ideal. That focal length, which is around the 3-4X range in phones, is covered by the standard iPhone 15 Pro or last year’s Pro iPhones with a dedicated 3X telephoto lens.

So for portraits snapped around the 75mm focal length, the iPhone resorts to digital zoom of the main camera, while Xiaomi has a dedicated camera to handle the task. And digital zoom just can’t keep up with having dedicated optics for the job.

So when it comes to zoom photography, the Xiaomi 14 Ultra takes this one pretty easily.

A brighter shot isn’t always better

Ultra-wide

For ultra-wide, I’m tempted to call it a tie. On one side, Xiaomi’s ultra-wide sensor is clearly better, producing sharper images, but Xiaomi’s ultra-wide is prone to blow out highlights very easily, while Apple’s ultra-wide is consistent. So it really depends what you want, if you want details and sharpness, the 14 Ultra is better, if you care about consistency in exposure, then the iPhone.

Videos and selfies

The iPhone has held the title of smartphone video king for a while, but the gap is close enough that it may be debatable now. While I still think the iPhone’s footage is slightly ahead in terms of exposure, the Xiaomi 14 Ultra is keeping up very close, with faster focusing and better audio in my opinion.

I really dislike taking selfies, but I think the iPhone takes this one, as its front-facing camera produces more natural looking selfies. Look at the second set, Xiaomi has clearly applied some beautifying effects to the selfie which I did not ask for.

The best iPhone camera in a while, but Xiaomi’s Ultra is the camera king

For those keeping score at home, I have the iPhone winning the main camera slightly (the Xiaomi main camera is still more capable with a higher ceiling, but the iPhone main camera is more consistent), the Xiaomi 14 Ultra winning the zoom lenses by a landslide, tie in ultra-wide, and iPhone winning the selfies. Video performance is very, very close too. I think the gap with which the Xiaomi wins the zoom category gives it the overall win.

For those who may scoff at me valuing zoom cameras, know that the main camera of phones are actually unusually wide at 23mm. Most photographers prefer to shoot in 50mm or 75mm, and the Xiaomi’s 75mm is just significantly better than Apple’s.

Of course, there’s more to a phone than camera performance, and between Apple’s stronger brand power, superior app ecosystem, and wider availability, the iPhone 15 Pro Max is still going to outsell the Xiaomi 14 Ultra something like 300:1, if not more. But for those of us who really want the best camera phone, the Xiaomi 14 Ultra is the current champion.