bourbiza mohamed
Since the iPhone 15 Pro Max took the stage with its new-age 3nm chipset last September, we knew it would be challenging for all of Apple’s rivals to dethrone it. Samsung’s Galaxy S24 Ultra was the first one to take a shot at Apple’s supremacy by infusing its Galaxy AI into the core of its package and now, it’s Xiaomi’s turn to challenge Apple’s supremacy. Unlike the Americans and Koreans, Xiaomi wants to play on its strength of superior imaging prowess courtesy of its partnership with Leica. The result is the Xiaomi 14 Ultra which looks unlike any other camera phone we have seen in a long time.
Featuring the same 4nm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset as the Galaxy S24 Ultra, the Xiaomi 14 Ultra is trying to intimidate the iPhone 15 Pro Max with its overwhelming specifications. These include four 50-megapixel cameras, a 5,300mAh battery, 90W wired and 80W wireless charging solutions and a massive 6.7-inch OLED display (capable of rendering 68 billion colours!) There’s also a Titanium frame thrown in the mix for its top-tier model, although you’ll need to buy this variant from China.
Hence, a Xiaomi 14 Ultra vs Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra vs iPhone 15 Pro Max comparison is needed, especially if you want to figure out which of the exorbitantly priced phones is best suited for your needs. Before we begin, however, keep in mind that Xiaomi will bring this handset to select global markets starting with Europe and as such, the prices won’t be too generous to your wallet.
With that out of the way, let’s deep dive into our in-depth comparison of three of the greatest flagship phones of 2024.
Xiaomi 14 Ultra vs Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra vs iPhone 15 Pro Max: Comparing their specs
Design
In a world where two of the world’s most innovative smartphone brands have stuck to elegant and plain designs, Xiaomi offers a breath of fresh air with the 14 Ultra’s bold design.
Xiaomi’s Mi Fans may recall this design from last year’s Xiaomi 13 Ultra, though the brand is saying that refinements have been made to up its premium quotient. The large circular camera hump with the Leica badging looks imposing while the rest of the phone’s flat surfaces and premium materials make it look exquisite. While non-Chinese markets are missing out on the Titanium variant, Xiaomi promises a strengthened aluminium frame along with a premium vegan leather back on the rest of the models.
In comparison, the iPhone 15 Pro Max looks stale with its long-on-the-tooth ‘Pro’ design. However, with a grade 5 Titanium frame, it does offer the most chassis structural strength and feels great to hold. The Action button offers added convenience for its users.
The Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra, with its traditional note-inspired squared-off body and floating camera lens module, looks premium but with a ‘been there’ flair. Although there’s a Titanium frame, Samsung is using inferior grade 2 Titanium that isn’t (at least technically) as strong as the iPhone’s frame.
For this round, we are giving the win to the Xiaomi 14 Ultra for its irresistibly bold appearance, despite losing out on the fabled Titanium frame.
Winner: Xiaomi 14 Ultra
Display
Being the most recent entrant in the market, the Xiaomi 14 Ultra has the most technologically advanced display panel. It gets a 6.7-inch Quad HD+LTPO AMOLED display with varying refresh rates of up to 120Hz and a peak brightness rating of 3,000 nits. The phone also gets Shield Glass protection that promises 10 times superior drop protection than the Longjing Glass on its predecessor.
The Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra has the largest display of the three (measuring 6.8 inches) which features a Dynamic AMOLED 2X LTPO panel with a 120Hz refresh rate and a peak brightness rating of 2,600 nits. The iPhone 15 Pro Max gets a 6.7-inch LTPO Super Retina XDR OLED display with variable refresh rates of up to 120Hz and a peak brightness rating of 2,000 nits (in high brightness mode).
The winner, once again, is the Xiaomi 14 Ultra. That’s two points for Xiaomi’s latest offering in this comparison.
Winner: Xiaomi 14 Ultra
Performance
Being the cream of the crop of Android smartphones, both the Xiaomi 14 Ultra and the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra feature Qualcomm’s latest 4nm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset and run the latest version of Android 14 under their skins. Xiaomi also offers its new HyperOS interface with iOS 17-like customisation features and UI elements whereas Samsung’s One UI 6.1 adds a dollop of generative AI features into its vast galaxy (pun intended) of smart features. Samsung also promises an industry-leading software support cycle of seven years. If you love tweaking your phone and want all possible options at your disposal, the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra is best suited for your needs.
However, none of these phones match the sheer magnificence of the iPhone 15 Pro Max’s 3nm A17 Pro chipset, which is currently the most technologically advanced mobile chip in the industry. Along with the highly optimised iOS 17, the iPhone 15 Pro Max can not only outperform any other smartphone in terms of synthetic benchmarks but also scores highly on the efficient quotient. The A17 Pro chip also allows it to run console games like Death Stranding and Resident Evil 4 directly on the device.
As such, this round goes to the iPhone 15 Pro Max and it’s not even close.
Winner: Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max
Cameras
On paper, the Xiaomi 14 Ultra, with its quad 50-megapixel camera setup, seems superior to every other camera phone on the planet. Along with Leica’s tuning, Xiaomi promises excellent photos and videos from its combination of a 50-megapixel Sony LYT 900 image sensor (with variable aperture lens), a 50-megapixel ultrawide camera, a 50-megapixel portrait camera (with 3.2X optical zoom) and another 50-megapixel telephoto camera (with 5x optical zoom).
The Galaxy S24 Ultra comes close with its 200-megapixel primary camera, a 12-megapixel ultrawide camera, a 10-megapixel portrait camera (with 3x zoom) and a 50-megapixel telephoto camera with (5x optical zoom). The iPhone 15 Pro Max makes do with just three cameras on its back, featuring a 48-megapixel primary lens with sensor-shift stabilisation, a 12-megapixel telephoto lens with 5x optical zoom and sensor-shift stabilisation and a 12-megapixel ultrawide lens that also doubles up as a macro lens.
Winner: Xiaomi 14 Ultra
Battery
The Xiaomi 14 Ultra has one of the largest capacity batteries on paper out of the three flagship phones. Its 5,000mAh cell (for the global variant) should deliver over a day’s battery life with ease. When the need to recharge arises, the phone relies on Xiaomi’s 90W wired charger to fill up the battery in 35 minutes. You can also opt for the 80W proprietary wireless charger, although this will take longer to fill up the battery.
As a bonus, the Xiaomi 14 Ultra can also share its power with other accessories and smartphones via the 10W reverse wireless charging solution.
The Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra comes in second place with a 5,000mAh battery and relies on the Korean brand’s 45W wired charger to fill itself in less than an hour. You also get support for 15W wireless charging and 4.5W reverse wireless charging.
The iPhone 15 Pro Max relies on a 4,441mAh battery and, while it may look timid, keep in mind that Apple’s optimisation with iOS easily delivers up to two days of battery life. However, you do get Apple’s slow 20W wired charger to fill up the battery and this can take up to two hours. Alternatively, you get support for 15W MagSafe and 15W Qi2 wireless charging standards. While there’s no reverse wireless charging, the iPhone 15 Pro Max can do reverse wired charging at a maximum output of 4.5W.
Winner: Xiaomi 14 Ultra
Price
The iPhone 15 Pro Max starts at INR 1,59,900 for its base variant with 256GB storage and is, therefore, the most expensive of the lot.
The most affordable of the three is the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra which comes with a price of INR 1,29,999 for its base variant with 256GB storage.
Lastly, the Xiaomi 14 Ultra comes with a price tag of EUR 1,499 (approximately INR 1,34,000) for the sole variant with 16GB RAM and 512GB storage. While it costs slightly more than Samsung’s S24 Ultra and misses out on a Titanium frame, it still offers a lot of bang for your buck.
Winner: Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra
Xiaomi 14 Ultra vs Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra vs iPhone 15 Pro Max: Our verdict
Our winner: Xiaomi 14 Ultra
With powerful top-tier specifications and an ambitious camera setup made available at a reasonable price, the Xiaomi 14 Ultra wins this three-way comparison by a comfortable margin. The Leica-tuned quad camera system is one of the key selling points of this handset which, along with the large battery and lightning-fast charging, gives the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra some tough competition.
However, the iPhone 15 Pro Max is no slouch either, courtesy of its advanced 3nm chip that grants it superiority in performance over every other smartphone in the world. That along with unmatched hardware-software optimisation, a vastly polished user experience, exceptionally well-tuned cameras and Apple’s brand identity still makes the iPhone a compelling choice for many users.
(Hero and Featured Image Credits: Courtesy Apple, Xiaomi and Samsung)
