Xiaomi 14 Pro vs iPhone 15 Pro Max: Titanium for everyone!

By Mariyan Slavov

Updated: Mar 06, 2024, 2:42 AM

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Apple Xiaomi

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.

Today we're going to do a preliminary comparison between the iPhone 15 Pro Max and the Xiaomi 14 Pro. Even though the latter was officially unveiled in China, we don't have the device, and all the tests we usually do will be carried out at a later time. According to the latest news and market trends, the Xiaomi 14 series might be launched globally early 2024, probably in time for MWC in Barcelona.

Nevertheless, we know all the specs, and we can paint the general picture. Will the Xiaomi 14 Pro be able to challenge the iPhone 15 Pro Max? Read on to find out!

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:

Design and Size
Display Differences
Performance
Camera
Battery and Charging
Specs
Summary

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.

The Xiaomi 14 Pro, just like most Chinese flagships, has a curved screen. The iPhone 15 Pro Max, on the other hand, comes with a flat display. Both are protected by tempered glass; the iPhone has Apple's proprietary Ceramic Shield, while the Xiaomi relies on Longjing Glass, another in-house developed material.

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.

As far as biometrics go, the Xiaomi 14 Pro comes with an under-display fingerprint reader, while the iPhone relies on FaceID. We know how good and reliable the latter is, but we have to test Xiaomi's solution before jumping into conclusions.

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.

The Xiaomi comes with a 50MP ultrawide camera and another 50MP telephoto (3.2x optical zoom), while the iPhone 15 Pro Max does the same with two 12MP cameras. Pixel count is not a guarantee for better quality photos, so we'll need to snap a few once the Xiaomi 14 Pro arrives to get a better picture of this particular comparison.

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.

View Full Bio

Mariyan, a tech enthusiast with a background in Nuclear Physics and Journalism, brings a unique perspective to PhoneArena. His childhood curiosity for gadgets evolved into a professional passion for technology, leading him to the role of Editor-in-Chief at PCWorld Bulgaria before joining PhoneArena. Mariyan's interests range from mainstream Android and iPhone debates to fringe technologies like graphene batteries and nanotechnology. Off-duty, he enjoys playing his electric guitar, practicing Japanese, and revisiting his love for video games and Haruki Murakami's works.