Apple iPhone 14 Pro Max vs Xiaomi 12S Ultra: For the past few years, Xiaomi has gradually but steadily become a major player in the smartphone industry. It has been making premium phones that compete with Apple iPhones and Samsung Galaxy phones. The Xiaomi 12S Ultra is one of those phones and today we’ll be comparing its specs to that of the iPhone 14 Pro Max.
The question is, between the iPhone 14 Pro Max from Apple and the Xiaomi 12S Ultra from Xiaomi, which is better? The fact that both phones are priced around the $1000 mark, which should you buy if you have the money to spend? In this Apple iPhone 14 Pro Max vs Xiaomi 12S Ultra Ultra specs comparison, we’ll be sharing with you the best features of both phones and at the end, you should have an idea which is better and offers good value for the money.
- See Also: Xiaomi 12S Ultra Review: Is this the best 2022 Ultra phone?
- See Also: Apple iPhone 14 Pro Max Review: Its new feature is also its only weakness
Apple iPhone 14 Pro Max vs Xiaomi 12S Ultra
Quick Note: The only difference between iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max is size. So, this post is also a comparison between the Apple iPhone 14 Pro and Xiaomi 12S Ultra.
Apple iPhone 14 Pro Max vs Xiaomi 12S Ultra: Display, Design, and Durability
The differences between the iPhone 14 Pro Max and Xiaomi 12S Ultra start from the designs and displays of these phones. Apple iPhone 14 Pro Max has a 6.7-inches display with an LTPO Super Retina XDR OLED panel that supports a 120Hz refresh rate, HDR10, and Dolby Vision. In contrast, Xiaomi 12S Ultra has a 6.73-inches display with an LTPO2 AMOLED panel that supports a 120Hz refresh rate, Dolby Vision, and HDR10+. The display of the iPhone 14 Pro Max is brighter because its peak brightness is 2000 nits (Xiaomi 12S Ultra 1500 nits).
The front screen and back panel of the iPhone 14 Pro Max are flat while the front screen and back panel of the Xiaomi 12S Ultra are curved. The front screen of the iPhone has a big punch hole which Apple calls Dynamic Island while the front screen of the Xiaomi 12S Ultra has a simple punch hole. The bezels around the screen of the iPhone 14 Pro Max are thin (88.3% screen-to-body ratio) but that of the Xiaomi 12S Ultra is thinner (89.0% screen-to-body ratio).
Apple iPhone 14 Pro Max is made of a Glass front (Gorilla Glass), glass back (Gorilla Glass), and stainless steel frame. It is IP68 dust/water resistant (up to 6m for 30 mins) and has Scratch-resistant ceramic glass and oleophobic coating. On the other hand, the Xiaomi 12S Ultra is made of a Glass front (Gorilla Glass Victus), eco-leather back, and aluminum frame. It’s also IP68 dust/water resistant (up to 1.5m for 30 mins) and is protected by Gorilla Glass Victus.
The design, display, and durability features available on both smartphones are top quality. The display on both smartphones is fast and smooth and can auto-refresh between 1Hz and 120Hz. The iPhone 14 Pro Max feels like a box with its sharp and flat edges while the Xiaomi 12S Ultra curved right into your hand with its eco-leather back panel and this makes it more comfortable to hold. However, the iPhone 14 Pro Max is a more durable device here.
See Also: Apple iPhone 14 Pro vs Sony Xperia 5 IV: Which is better
Apple iPhone 14 Pro Max vs Xiaomi 12S Ultra: Camera
Xiaomi Phones and Apple iPhones are among the best camera phones of every year and there are good reasons for that. For example, the main camera of the Xiaomi 12S Ultra has a 1-inch sensor which is the biggest in a smartphone. So, between these two phones, which is better for taking photos and recording videos?
| Camera | iPhone 14 Pro Max | Xiaomi 12S Ultra |
| Main | 48MP | 50.3MP |
| Telephoto | 12MP | 48MP |
| Ultra-wide | 12MP | 48MP |
| Depth | TOF 3D LiDAR scanner | TOF 3D |
| Front | 12MP + SL 3D | 32MP |
The camera setup of the iPhone 14 Pro Max 48MP + 12MP + 12MP + TOF 3D LiDAR scanner and 12MP + SL 3D front cameras while that of the Xiaomi 12S Ultra is 50.3MP + 48MP + 48MP + TOF 3D and 32MP front camera. Both phones have different setups, camera sensors, and camera features.
The 48MP main camera of the iPhone 14 Pro Max has an f/1.8 aperture, 1.22µm quad pixel PDAF, and 24mm focal length while the 50.3MP main camera of the Xiaomi 12S Ultra is a 1-inch sensor that has an f/1.9 aperture, 1.6µm PDAF, and 23mm focal length. The aperture and focal length of the main cameras on both phones are similar. However, the main camera of the Xiaomi 12S Ultra lets in more light because of its bigger sensor and this makes it take more balance photos with better color accuracy.
The iPhone 14 Pro Max has a 12MP telephoto lens that can do 3x optical zoom and 20x digital zoom while the Xiaomi 12S Ultra has a 48MP periscope telephoto lens that can do 5x optical zoom and 120x digital zoom. The focal length of the periscope lens of the Xiaomi phone is 120mm and this offer a longer shooting range compared to the telephoto lens of the iPhone which is 77mm.
The 12MP and 48MP ultra-wide lenses on both phones have the same aperture (f/2.2), and the same focal length (13mm), but the 48MP lens has a wider 128˚ angle ( the 12MP of the iPhone is 120˚ angle). Both smartphones have a TOF 3D scanner (depth sensor). The 32MP front camera of the Xiaomi 12S Ultra can capture a wider area with its 25mm focal length (the 12MP of the iPhone is 23mm) but the 12MP of the iPhone 14 Pro Max has a faster aperture (f/1.9 compared to the f/2.4 of the Xiaomi 12S Ultra).
The camera features available on the iPhone 14 Pro Max are 10-bit HDR, Dolby Vision HDR (up to 60fps), ProRes, Cinematic mode (4K@30fps), stereo sound rec., action mode, 4K recording @24/25/30/60fps, sensor-shift OIS, Dual-LED dual-tone flash, and HDR (photo/panorama). In contrast, the camera features available in the Xiaomi 12S Ultra are Laser AF, OIS, Leica lenses, Dual-LED flash, HDR, panorama, gyro-EIS, Dolby Vision HDR 10-bit rec. (4K, 1080p), and MultiCam Mode.
The camera features on both smartphones are very good for taking photos and recording videos. Although the iPhone 14 Pro Max has more camera features that lean towards recording better videos, the Xiaomi 12S Ultra allows you to use all cameras of the phone to record videos simultaneously in its MultiCam Mode. Both phones are great camera phones.
See Also: Apple iPhone 14 Plus vs Samsung Galaxy S22 Plus: Which is better
Apple iPhone 14 Pro Max vs Xiaomi 12S Ultra: Chipset, RAM & Storage
The chipset in the iPhone 14 Pro Max is the Apple A16 Bionic chip while that of the Xiaomi 12S Ultra is the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 chip. Both chipsets are 5G capable and both are built on a 4nm process technology. The A16 Bionic chipset has a Hexa-core CPU (6-core processor) while the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 chipset has an Octa-core CPU (8-core processor).
The CPU cores of the A16 Bionic chipset are two Avalanche high-performance cores with a clocked speed of 3.46GHz and four Blizzard power-efficiency cores with a clock speed of 1.82GHz. In comparison, The CPU cores of the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 chipset are one Cortex-X2 high-performance core with a speed clocked at 3.20GHz, three Cortex-A710 performance and efficiency cores with a speed clocked at 2.75GHz, and four Cortex-A510 small-efficiency cores with a speed clocked at 1.80GHz. The iPhone 14 Pro Max features the Apple GPU (5-core graphics) while the Xiaomi 12S Ultra features the Adreno 730.
The iPhone 14 Pro Max has 6GB of RAM while the Xiaomi 12S Ultra has up to 12GB of RAM (the base model has 8GB RAM). The internal storage options available on the iPhone 14 Pro Max start at 128GB and go up to 1TB while that of the Xiaomi 12S Ultra has 256GB and 512GB of internal storage. There is no space for storage expansion via a microSD card slot available on both phones.
See Also: Apple A16 Bionic vs Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1: Which is better
Apple iPhone 14 Pro Max vs Xiaomi 12S Ultra: Software
Apple iPhone 14 Pro Max boots iOS 16 out of the box while the Xiaomi 12S Ultra boots the MIUI 13 based on Android 12 out of the box. The iPhone 14 Pro Max will get up to five years of major software updates while the Xiaomi 12S Ultra will get up to three years of major software updates. Users can download apps and games from respective stores (Apple App Store for the iPhone and Google Play Store for the Xiaomi phone).
The software and user experience on both smartphones are good. The navigation experience, animation, and opening of apps are fast, smooth, and fluid on both smartphones. Apple however built a new software and user experience around the Dynamic Island punch hole of the iPhone 14 Pro Max. App minimization, notification, and quick response experience with the Dynamic Island on the iPhone 14 Pro Max is fun but the punch hole of the Xiaomi 12S Ultra looks really neat and clean.
See Also: Xiaomi 12S Ultra vs Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra: Which is better
Apple iPhone 14 Pro Max vs Xiaomi 12S Ultra: Battery Charging & Sensors
A 4860mAh battery powers the Xiaomi 12S Ultra while a 4,323mAh battery powers the iPhone 14 Pro Max. The charging features available on the iPhone 14 Pro Max include 15W MagSafe wireless charging, 27W wired fast charging, USB Power Delivery 2.0, and 7.5W Qi magnetic fast wireless charging. In comparison, the charging features available in the Xiaomi 12S Ultra are 50W Fast wireless charging, 67W wired fast charging, 10W Reverse wireless charging, Quick Charge 4, and USB Power Delivery 3.0.
The sensors available in iPhone 14 Pro Max are Face ID, NFC, Apple Pay (Visa, MasterCard, AMEX certified), Emergency SOS via satellite (SMS sending/receiving), Crash Detection, eSIM support only for users in the United States, and Ultra Wideband (UWB) support. The sensors available in the Xiaomi 12S Ultra are Fingerprint (under display, ultrasonic), Virtual proximity sensing, A-GPS Up to tri-band, NFC, Audio Tuned by Harman Kardon, NavIC, etc.
See Also: Realme GT2 Master Explorer vs Xiaomi 12S Ultra: which is better
Apple iPhone 14 Pro Max vs Xiaomi 12S Ultra: Price
The starting price of the iPhone 14 Pro Max is $1,099 while that of the Xiaomi 12S Ultra is $1,199 (but currently selling for $989). The discounted price on the Xiaomi 12S Ultra means the iPhone 14 Pro Max is about $100 more expensive than the Xiaomi 12S Ultra.
| Xiaomi 12S Ultra | Price |
| Buy on Giztop | $989 |
| iPhone 14 Pro Max | Price |
| Buy on Amazon(UK) | $1099 |
| Buy on Amazon(EUR) | €1,499 |
Apple iPhone 14 Pro Max vs Xiaomi 12S Ultra: Summary
| Specs | iPhone 14 Pro Max | Xiaomi 12S Ultra |
| Display | 6.7-inches, OLED, 120Hz | 6.73-inches, AMOLED, 120Hz |
| RAM | 6GB | up to 12GB |
| Storage | up to 1TB | up to 512GB |
| Back Camera | 48MP + 12MP + 12MP + TOF 3D LiDAR | 50.3MP + 48MP + 48MP + TOF 3D |
| Front Camera | 12MP + SL 3D | 32MP |
| Chipset | Apple A16 Bionic | Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 |
| Software | Apple iOS 16 | Android 12 |
| Battery | 4,323mAh | 4,860(67W) |
| IP Rating | IP68 | IP68 |
The iPhone 14 Pro Max and Xiaomi 12S Ultra are two different phones that offer different types of user experience, software, performance, and camera features. So, what have we learned from this Apple iPhone 14 Pro Max vs Xiaomi 12S Ultra specs comparison?
One, the iPhone 14 Pro Max has better durability features but the build and design of the Xiaomi 12S Ultra are preferred by most users. Two, the Apple iPhone 14 Pro Max has better performance and longer battery life because its chipset is also very power efficient. Three, the iPhone 14 Pro Max has camera features that are best for recording videos but the Xiaomi 12S Ultra strikes the perfect balance between taking photos and recording videos.
Four, the iPhone 14 Pro Max has crash detection and emergency SOS satellite features that are not available in the Xiaomi 12S Ultra. Lastly, the Dynamic Island punch hole on the iPhone 14 Pro Max is not as neat, clean, and pretty as the simple punch hole on the Xiaomi 12S Ultra. The Apple iPhone 14 Pro Max and Xiaomi 12S Ultra are great phones but given the fact that the Xiaomi 12S Ultra is currently cheaper, it offers better value for money.
