Xiaomi 14 Pro vs iPhone 15 Pro Max: Titanium for everyone!
Intro
UPDATE: During the annual MWC event in Barcelona Xiaomi announced the Xiaomi 14 and Xiaomi 14 Ultra globally. It seems that Xiaomi won't bring the 14 Pro outside China, at least for now, so we will have to pit the Xiaomi 14 Ultra against the iPhone 15 Pro Max. Stay tuned for that!
When Apple released the iPhone 15 series back in September, the world stood still in awe of the new titanium frame of the Pro models. It was something almost unheard of on a mainstream smartphone. Well, the days of exclusivity are now over because Xiaomi announced its latest flagship lineup in China, and boy, oh boy, there's a titanium version available.
Xiaomi 14 Pro vs iPhone 15 Pro Max at a glance:
- Very similar dimensions, weights, and build materials
- Both have 6.7-inch displays and a 120Hz refresh rate; the Xiaomi 14 Pro is crisper and brighter (552ppi vs 460ppi, 3000nits peak brightness vs 2000 nits on the iPhone)
- Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 vs Apple A17 Pro
- Android 14 with HyperOS vs iOS 17
- Same storage options, but the Xiaomi 14 Pro has more RAM
- 50MP main camera with variable aperture on the Xiaomi vs 48MP with fixed aperture on the iPhone
- 50MP ultrawide + 50MP telephoto on the Xiaomi vs 12MP ultrawide + 12MP telephoto on the iPhone
- Under-display fingerprint vs FaceID
- 4880mAh battery on the Xiaomi vs 4441mAh on the iPhone
- The Xiaomi 14 Pro has faster charging (120W wired, 50W wireless)
Table of Contents:
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Design and Size
A close call
These two are more similar than one would've imagined. The overall dimensions, weight, thickness, and materials are all very similar. Even the camera bump position and overall shape is similar. There are, however, some design differences worth mentioning.
When it comes to the front-facing cameras, the iPhone 15 Pro Max has a pill-shaped cutout, while the Xiaomi uses a hole-punch design. Another difference is the retail box; the Xiaomi is expected to ship with a fast charger in the box, while the iPhone 15 Pro Max comes with a USB-C cable only.
Here are the available colors:
Xiaomi 14 Pro colors:
- Black
- Silver
- Titanium
- Green
iPhone 15 Pro Max colors:
- Black Titanium
- White Titanium
- Blue Titanium
- Natural Titanium
Display Differences
Shine like a star!
Another very similar area is the display. Both phones feature 6.7-inch OLED panels with variable refresh rates and very high brightness figures. The Xiaomi 14 Pro has a tiny advantage, at least on paper, with its 1440 x 3200 pixel resolution, resulting in a pixel density of 522 ppi. The iPhone, on the other hand, comes with a resolution of 1290 x 2796 pixels and 460 ppi.
The peak brightness is another area where the Xiaomi 14 Pro potentially outshines (pun intended) the iPhone 15 Pro Max. The Chinese company boasts a peak brightness of 3000 nits, which is quite a lot more than the 2000 nits cited by Apple for the iPhone. Of course, we'll find the missing parts of the puzzle when we run some tests, so stay tuned for that.
Performance and Software
Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 catching up!
Unsurprisingly, the Xiaomi 14 Pro comes with the latest silicon from Qualcomm, namely the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3. We have some idea about the performance of this chip. It was officially unveiled not long ago, and there are some Geekbench scores (actually including a Xiaomi device) popping up. We need to run the tests ourselves, but it looks like it will be neck-and-tie between these two.
When it comes to storage and RAM, the situation is similar, with the exception of the amount of RAM on the Xiaomi. But as we all know, iOS and iPhones in general are better optimized and need less RAM to run smoothly, so the overall performance should be very similar.
The Xiaomi 14 Pro will ship with Android 14 out of the box, while the iPhone comes with iOS 17. We're not sure how many years of major OS updates Xiaomi is going to offer, so we have to once again wait and see.
Camera
Variable aperture comes to the Xiaomi
This year, Apple decided to join the zoom wars with a novel tetra prism lens inside the iPhone 15 Pro Max. Xiaomi, on the other hand, has been using periscope zoom lens for quite some time now, and the Xiaomi 14 Pro is no exception. What's new, though, is the variable aperture on the main camera - something we saw first on the Huawei Mate 50 Pro.
The 50MP sensor is positioned under a diaphragm that can go from f/1.42 to f/4.0 on demand. You can find the full specs of the three cameras in the table down below, but the main cameras look very similar when it comes to sensor size and focal length.
Battery Life and Charging
Fast and furious
The Xiaomi 14 Pro comes with a 4880mAh battery and supports 120W fast wired charging and 50W fast wireless charging. The company advertises charging 0–100% in about 18 minutes wired and 40 minutes wireless. We'll have to test this, and even though the global version of the Xiaomi 14 Pro might be capped at 67 ot 80W, we think in this category the Xiaomi wins hands down.
The iPhone 15 Pro Max retains the same charging speeds as its predecessor; despite getting the new USB-C charging port, we're talking about 50% in 30 minutes wired and a meager 15W wireless.
Specs Comparison
Xiaomi 14 Pro | Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max | |
---|---|---|
Size, weight | 161.4 x 75.3 x 8.5 mm 223 g | 159.9 x 76.7 x 8.25 mm 221 g |
Display | 6.7" OLED 120Hz dynamic 3,000 nits peak | 6.7" OLED 120Hz dynamic 2,000 nits peak |
Processor | Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 for Galaxy | Apple A17 Pro |
RAM, Storage | 12/256GB 16/512GB 16/1TB LPDDR5X | 8/256GB 8/512GB 8/1TB LPDDR5 |
Cameras | 50MP main (f/1.42-4.0) 50MP ultra-wide f/2.2 50MP 3X telephoto f/2.0 32MP front | 48MP main, f/1.8 12MP ultra-wide, f/2.2 12MP 5X telephoto, f/2.8 - 12MP front |
Battery | 4880 mAh | 4422 mAh |
Charging | 120W wired 50W wireless | 20W wired 15W MagSafe wireless |
Summary
This one is really tough! The Xiaomi 14 Pro is shaping out to be a very competitive device and a premium one as well. With its super-bright and crisp screen, potent camera system, fast chipset, and amazing charging capabilities, this phone is the true Android flagship incarnate. Let's not forget the titanium option too/.
On the other hand, the iPhone 15 Pro Max is no doubt the phone to beat. It might be lagging behind on paper in some areas, but one thing we've learned throughout the years is that we shouldn't rely on spec sheets that heavily. We need to run all the tests on the Xiaomi 14 Pro to give you a final verdict.
Things that are NOT allowed: