Five things the Xiaomi 14 Ultra's Photography Kit needs to truly elevate smartphone photography
The Xiaomi 14 Ultra is unapologetic in offering the best of the company's current mobile technology in a single device. The Leica-tuned camera experience is a huge part of the phone's appeal and for those keen to get the absolute most out of it, Xiaomi has also launched the Xiaomi 14 Ultra Photography Kit, which adds physical controls, better ergonomics and an additional battery. Even so, I think it could have gone further.
As you'll see in the unboxing below, the Xiaomi 14 Ultra Photography Kit (sold separately for ￡179 / €199.99 – approximately $225 / AU$345) consists of a dedicated case with a grippy woven leather-like finish, two interchangeable decorative metals rings that surround the phone's camera, a 67mm camera filter adapter ring, a lanyard and the all-important Photography Grip – which includes an integrated 1,500mAh battery, a USB-C port for charging, a dual-detent shutter button, zoom lever, exposure dial and a video record button.
So what could Xiaomi have possibly added to make the Xiaomi 14 Ultra's Photography Kit even more potent? Here's a shortlist of five killer features that would have rendered it best there is.
Tripod thread
The 14 Ultra already includes dedicated shooting modes for a variety of long-exposure scenarios; from moving crowds and light painting, to modes like Starry Sky and Star Trails. But in order to pull of these latter two shooting modes effectively, photographers will already know that such scenes require an incredibly still camera in order to achieve the best results. Attaching a tripod seems like the most logical way to do that.
The underside of the Photography Grip already plays host to the lanyard loop, USB-C port and a power indicator LED for the internal battery, but with a little shuffling around, there's little reason why Xiaomi couldn't have squeezed a conventional 1/4-inch 20mm female tripod thread on there too; likely having to extend or better secure the grip around the phone, so too much force isn't placed on the USB-C connection on the base of the phone.
USB passthrough
The Photography Grip connects to the phone via an inset USB, so naturally, there's an additional USB-C port on its underside to let users recharge the grip's internal 1,500mAh battery (said to extend the Xiaomi 14 Ultra's longevity by up to 23%) and in turn charge the phone's main 5,000mAh battery (90W fast charging is also supported).
While the boon of the grip's additional power cell is great to extend shooting sessions – as well as general usage, it would be incredibly useful if – akin to some of the best gaming phones – users could also change modes and connect power to this port to keep the phone alive without charging the battery.
From a photography standpoint, this could allow for even longer exposure times in low light or astrophotography scenarios, as well as when capturing time-lapse video footage – for which the Xiaomi 14 Ultra already has a dedicated mode for. Doing so would have reduced strain on the batteries (both the phone's and the grip's), while making the Ultra an even more versatile camera phone.
As in the case of gaming phones, USB passthrough would also allow for extended gaming sessions with excessive strain on the phone's battery too.
Focus ring
The Xiaomi 13 Ultra's Photography Kit included a dual-detent shutter button and a zoom lever, which the company has expanded upon on the 14 Ultra's equivalent Kit, also adding an exposure dial and a dedicated video record button. However, there's one more physical control that would have elevated the shooting experience even further: a focus ring.
While the case that comes as part of the 14 Ultra's Photography Kit already allows for interchangeable decorative rings and that excellent 67mm lens adapter, considering the bulk the kit as a whole already adds there'd be little issue in also implementing a physical focus ring, letting you pull focus while maintaining a steady grip on the 14 Ultra during shooting.
Like the rest of the physical controls, the real sweetener would be the ring's ability to be reprogrammed, so that it could be made responsible for zoom – or even perhaps exposure.
Xenon flash
Xenon flashes used to be the go-to flash on point-and-shoot cameras, as well as digital cameras. With the age of the smartphone, however, while many a camera phone has dabbled with these more intense means of illumination (the Nokia Lumia 1020 springs to mind), xenon flashes have fallen foul of the convenience the comparatively underwhelming dual LED flash offers. It helps that the dual LED also leads a double life as your phone's flashlight.
Extending the top edge of the camera grip along the phone's body in order to integrate a proper xenon flash seems like a worthwhile upgrade.
Hot shoe
If the xenon flash doesn't float your boat, or you like the idea of even more versatility from the camera kit, then a full-fledged hot shoe would be the greatest addition.
Its existence as a camera standard ensures compatibility with a range of photographic accessories; from flashguns to shotgun mics, opening up potential for the Xiaomi 14 Ultra as a next-level vlogging phone, as well.
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