15 Cons of Xiaomi 14 Ultra (Review 2024)

I’ve seen a lot of positive talk about the Xiaomi 14 Ultra—on forums, in YouTube videos, and in many reviews. From what I heard, it seemed like a perfect phone, with amazing cameras, super-fast hardware, and a fancy “ultra” label. But after spending a good amount of time with it, I came across many problems that reviewers often skip over. Let’s look at what makes this phone less impressive once you really start using it every day.

I’m not here to give gentle criticism or polite praise. Instead, I’m listing the issues I noticed—the flaws, the annoyances, and the questionable decisions. If you’re tired of hearing only the good parts and want to know what’s wrong with this phone, then read on. Here’s my first-person account of how the Xiaomi 14 Ultra fails to live up to its “Ultra” name.

Lackluster Selfies

In 2024, even budget handsets can muster halfway decent selfies, so I found myself particularly disappointed that the Xiaomi 14 Ultra’s front-facing camera seems stuck in a middling time warp. Sure, the rear array can serve up majestic landscapes and nuanced portraits, but flip it around and the narrative sours. Here, the Xiaomi 14 Ultra churns out images that feel soft, slightly off in color reproduction, and occasionally riddled with low-light graininess that evokes a past era.

What’s the point of a flagship if it can’t handle the casual snapshots I take to keep friends updated on my daily adventures or the impromptu video calls with family? When facial textures start looking like someone smeared petroleum jelly over the lens, I have to wonder if Xiaomi just phoned it in, expecting users not to care. But I care, and if you value crisp, vibrant self-portraits, prepare for a sour aftertaste.

Expensive Price Point

Let’s confront the elephant in the room: the cost. The Xiaomi 14 Ultra doesn’t just tiptoe into premium pricing; it cannonballs right into the deep end, demanding a wallet hit comparable to Apple’s or Samsung’s top-tier offerings. Yet, unlike those legacy juggernauts, Xiaomi’s global reputation—while improving—isn’t exactly entrenched in consumer consciousness. Coughing up that kind of cash, I need to feel unequivocally gratified.

Instead, every shortfall, every letdown, becomes magnified. At a lower price, I might forgive a half-baked selfie camera or dodgy battery life, but at sky-high premiums, those flaws sting like salt in an open wound. Sure, it’s cutting-edge hardware, but that doesn’t excuse the glaring mismatches between promise and performance. If the bill is colossal, I want a near-perfect experience. That’s not what I got.

Inferior Software Support

Long-term software support can separate fleeting flings from enduring commitments. Here, Xiaomi offers four years of OS updates and five years of security patches—numbers that would’ve sounded generous back in the day. But the landscape has shifted, with competitors now doling out seven-year windows. When I realized my expensive Xiaomi 14 Ultra had a shorter future of official backing, I felt like someone who bought a fancy sports car, only to find out the manufacturer plans to stop servicing it sooner than the competition.

For those who savor value over time, knowing that my phone’s software roadmap is truncated dampens the pride of ownership. The day I hand over a hefty sum, I start counting the years I can rely on timely updates. With this device, that clock runs out far sooner than I’d hoped. The mismatch between investment and support lingers like a nagging headache.

Grainy Low-Brightness Screen

At this price point, displays should border on perfection: inky blacks, crisp whites, and no visual contaminants. Yet when I dimmed the Xiaomi 14 Ultra’s screen to ultra-low brightness for late-night reading sessions, I noticed an odd, grain-like texture. It’s subtle but unmistakable—like viewing content through a faint digital veil. Once you see it, you can’t unsee it, and it chipped away at my confidence in the device’s all-around polish.

Small quibbles matter when you’re spending a fortune. A premium flagship’s screen should excel in any lighting condition. This granular distraction felt like an uninvited guest, forcing me to question how thoroughly this phone’s display tuning was vetted. For bedtime browsing or watching videos in the dark, I’d expect a pristine experience, not one marred by puzzling visual artifacts.

Limited Storage Options

The Xiaomi 14 Ultra’s global variant serves up only a single 512GB storage configuration. That might sound generous, but what if I wanted less storage at a lower cost, or even more space because I’m a digital pack rat? The absence of multiple tiers and microSD expansion leaves you stuck with one size—like it or lump it.

Flagship devices should celebrate choice, letting you tailor your purchase to your specific needs. Instead, I got a one-size-fits-all approach that chafed against the idea of personalization. Storage flexibility might not top everyone’s priority list, but at this echelon, not having options feels like a needless constraint. This rigid limitation is just another subtle way the Xiaomi 14 Ultra denies me the perfect fit.

Additional Cost for Accessories

It’s bad enough that the phone itself costs a mint, but discovering that certain photography-enhancing gadgets would run me an extra $200 had me grinding my teeth. It’s like buying a luxury car that requires a separate, expensive add-on to unlock full horsepower. I want my top-dollar investment to feel complete out of the box, not like a piecemeal puzzle requiring more outlays.

This tactic sours the experience. I’m not opposed to optional extras, but when essential aspects of a touted feature—like making the most of the camera—are paywalled behind a triple-digit accessory, I feel strung along. Instead of feeling excited to enhance my gear, I feel manipulated, nickel-and-dimed at every turn.

Ergonomics and Usability Issues

Design matters, and here the Xiaomi 14 Ultra’s camera module is so monumental it skews the entire device’s balance. Holding this phone for extended stretches felt akin to delicately supporting a seesaw. I worried about dropping it anytime I took a photo with one hand. That top-heavy sensation eroded my confidence and comfort.

And then there’s wireless charging. The camera hump raises the phone too high, complicating the charging pad’s ability to establish a stable connection. For a device that’s supposed to epitomize forward-thinking engineering, these lapses in ergonomics feel borderline amateurish. I shouldn’t have to contort and reposition just to wirelessly charge my pricy flagship.

Unintuitive Hyper OS Design

Hyper OS promised a conceptual leap, but what I got felt more like a timid hop forward. The UI still plays host to ads—intrusive, irritating ads that pop up like unwanted guests at a dinner party. Menus sometimes feel labyrinthine, forcing me to dig through layers of toggles and settings just to find basic functionalities.

It reminded me that software polish isn’t just a bonus; it’s a core element of how we live with our devices every day. Hyper OS could’ve been a game-changer, but it ended up feeling like a re-skin of past Xiaomi interfaces with a few fresh tricks—none of which compensated for the persistent intrusions and lack of refinement. I yearned for a cleaner, more cohesive environment and was left dealing with messy UI clutter.

Subpar Thermal Management

Pushing the Xiaomi 14 Ultra through heavy gaming or high-res video recording sessions often transformed it into a mini space heater. It got hot—uncomfortably so. I’m used to a bit of warmth, but this went beyond a mild tingle, edging into territory that made me wonder about throttling, battery longevity, and long-term health of internal components.

A flagship should effortlessly handle demanding tasks without making me worry that I’ll end up frying an egg on its surface. Other competitors have nailed thermal management, so it’s baffling that Xiaomi struggles here. It raises the question: were corners cut, or did the engineering team misjudge real-world conditions?

Shorter Battery Life Despite Lightning-Fast Charging

The Xiaomi 14 Ultra can gulp down power at a dizzying pace, recharging phenomenally fast. Great, right? Not when you must rely on those rapid pit stops more often than you’d like. It’s akin to a sports car that races ahead but guzzles fuel so aggressively that frequent pit stops become the norm.

While swift charging is a neat party trick, I’d prefer not needing it so frequently. It felt like the phone was compensating for its inability to sustain a full day. Instead of boasting about how quickly it can recharge, I’d rather brag about hardly needing to charge it at all.

Mixed Software Experience

Hyper OS tries to offer both efficiency and customization, but the end result is a hodgepodge that doesn’t truly master either domain. Sure, I could tweak a few things here and there, but I found features like lock screen widgets or seamless animations lagging behind what other platforms deliver effortlessly.

Sometimes it’s the subtleties that define a premium software environment. Here, I often felt I was caught between two worlds—one foot in a more refined future, the other stuck in legacy Xiaomi quirks. For a device of this caliber, I craved a more harmonious software story, not an uneven narrative of half-realized ambitions.

Hefty and Bulky Design

Weighing about 220g, the Xiaomi 14 Ultra feels substantial. But let’s call it what it is: hefty. Slide it into slim jeans, and it protrudes like a rogue brick. Try prolonged one-handed use, and your wrist might protest. Heavy devices can sometimes feel premium, but this one pushed the boundary from reassuring solidity into unwieldy mass.

At some point, added heft ceases to feel luxurious and instead becomes burdensome. The Xiaomi 14 Ultra crossed that line for me. Instead of marveling at its craftsmanship, I ended up wrestling with its physicality. Portability shouldn’t feel like a chore.

Limited Color Options

Let’s talk aesthetics. The Xiaomi 14 Ultra’s color palette is restricted to black and white. Yawn. In a market where competitors flaunt a spectrum of stylish hues, restricting buyers to two conservative tones feels like a missed opportunity. And the white variant? It’s a lint magnet, requiring constant wiping and fussing to maintain a pristine look.

I’d hoped for a bit of flair, a reflection of personal taste. Instead, I got the equivalent of a menu with only two entrée choices—neither particularly exciting. It’s a small detail, but these small details accumulate, dragging down my overall enthusiasm.

Wireless Charging Challenges

Wireless charging should be the epitome of convenience: drop the phone onto a pad and walk away. With the Xiaomi 14 Ultra’s monstrous camera bump, it’s more like a balancing act. I had to gingerly adjust the placement to ensure the coil aligned. Miss by a hair’s breadth, and you get no juice.

A flagship that complicates a previously simple task feels downright counterintuitive. I’d grown accustomed to effortless wireless charging. Here, the phone’s physical design hinders a major selling point, leaving me muttering under my breath as I nudge it around to find that sweet spot.

Pre-installed App Clutter

It’s not just a few extra apps. The Xiaomi 14 Ultra arrives with an army of pre-installed nonsense from Xiaomi and random third parties. The result? A cluttered interface that feels more like a rummage sale than a curated ecosystem. I spent part of my initial setup spree just purging unwanted icons.

A flagship device should treat my attention as precious, not squander it on useless software I never asked for. At these prices, I’m paying for convenience and luxury, not a chore list of app deletions. It’s like having to clean your mansion after the movers leave junk everywhere.

Conclusion

In the end, the Xiaomi 14 Ultra has some great features, but too many problems hold it back. It costs a lot, yet the battery life isn’t great, the software is cluttered, and some key features require extra purchases. “Ultra” in this case seems like a label that doesn’t match reality.

If you’re looking for honesty over hype, you now know that the Xiaomi 14 Ultra isn’t as flawless as some reviews suggest. It’s a mix of good ideas and poor choices, leaving it far from the ideal flagship experience that the name promises.

Nevertheless, if you’ve weighed all these drawbacks. Still wish to go with the purchase, congratulations! You’re making a considered decision that you won’t regret.

Reference:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JqKjTUBYuSU&pp=ygUQWGlhb21pIDE0IFVsdHJhIA%3D%3D
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ld6SIvGEPug&pp=ygUQWGlhb21pIDE0IFVsdHJhIA%3D%3D
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4QJq2h8tCv8&pp=ygUQWGlhb21pIDE0IFVsdHJhIA%3D%3D
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KHWfQ_lOqMo&pp=ygUQWGlhb21pIDE0IFVsdHJhIA%3D%3D
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cpvbn9xx2tI&pp=ygUQWGlhb21pIDE0IFVsdHJhIA%3D%3D