iPhone 16 Pro Camera Takes on Xiaomi 14 Ultra: Let the Fun Begin

The Xiaomi 14 Ultra has seriously impressed us with its camera quality, both as an everyday carry street photography camera phone and in its ability to capture pro-standard shots of Taylor Swift during her Eras tour. But the iPhones have always offered top quality photography skills and the new iPhone 16 Pro is no exception.

I was extremely keen to see how these two camera powerhouses compare, so I charged them up, laced up my boots and headed out into the beautiful city of Edinburgh to take them on a photography tour that may or may not include multiple stops at various pubs. 

All images shown were taken in either JPEG or HEIC unless otherwise stated. All were taken using each phone's default camera apps. 

We start with this view overlooking a set of allotments. It was pretty cloudy on my walk, so you'd expect cooler colors in the scene generally. But even so, I was a bit surprised by how cold the iPhone's shot looked here. The Xiaomi's image isn't much warmer, but it's enough to make it look more true-to-life. 

At 5X optical zoom, the Xiaomi 14 Ultra has produced a shot that, while darker, has better contrast and deeper colors that make it the better-looking image to my eye. 

Cropping into the 5x zoom images, it's also evident that the Xiaomi 14 Ultra has produced a sharper, more detailed photo here.

The Xiaomi 14 Ultra's colors are clearly bolder here, too, with richer-looking greens on the ivy leaves, which look surprisingly washed out in the iPhone's shot. 

On the surface, I prefer the deeper tones and richer shadows seen in the Xiaomi's shot. It gives a definite mood here, that might not be to everyone's tastes. But that's not the whole story...

Zooming in on the details, it becomes clear that the iPhone has delivered a much sharper image, with the fine details on the barrel's woodwork looking downright blurry in the Xiaomi's shot. 

I'm slightly torn here. On the one hand, the iPhone's image is brighter and retains more detail in some areas (like the marble flooring) where the Xiaomi's aggressive noise reduction has smoothed them out. On the other, the Xiaomi's shot does have more clarity in areas like the railings. As a more personal preference, I like the brighter highlights in the ceiling on the Xiaomi's image, which almost have a bloom effect as though I were using a cinebloom filter (which, of course, I wasn't). 

While the shots are certainly different from one another, I can't really decide on which one is better.

This one is easier to call. While the Xiaomi's shot is marginally sharper than the iPhone's, the iPhone's image is brighter and more colorful, making it the better-looking shot overall.

The pint picture taken by the Xiaomi might be marginally brighter, but otherwise there's nothing to choose between the two phones here. The beer was delicious, thanks for asking.

I'm not sure whether the Xiaomi simply missed focus here, but its shot taken inside another old pub is extremely blurry compared to the iPhone 16 Pro's image. A clear win for the iPhone. 

The iPhone takes an easy victory with this indoor shot taken at 5x zoom. Its shot is brighter and sharper than the Xiaomi 14 Ultra's.

Again, the iPhone sweeps an easy win here. The Xiaomi's image is surprisingly dark and it's wrestled the highlights on the neon sign so hard that it looks plain weird in the scene. The iPhone's image has maintained that vibrant glow coming from the sign and the neons hanging in the window on the left. 

I also prefer the iPhone's image here, as it's maintained much more natural-looking shadows, while the Xiaomi has lifted the shadows to a quite unrealistic extent. As a result, I love the mood the iPhone has captured here, along with the warmer tones seen on the buildings. 

The iPhone's image in this nighttime scene is slightly sharper than the Xiaomi's. However, I generally prefer the warmer tones the Xiaomi has captured, especially in the red banner, which has a more magenta shift in the iPhone's version that I'm less keen on.

At 5x zoom, the iPhone has clearly produced a brighter image here, with much more shadow detail overall. But it's not a clear win just yet...

Zooming in on the details, it becomes clear that the Xiaomi's 5x zoom has captured a much sharper image. It's even possible to read the word "certificate," which is an incomprehensible blur on the iPhone's image. 

iPhone 16 Pro vs. Xiaomi 14 Ultra: Which takes better photos?

It's been an incredibly close call in all of my tests, with the iPhone coming out ahead in some scenes and the Xiaomi delivering better images in others. The reality is that both phones pack exceptionally good cameras, and choosing between the two phones will certainly come down to your preference in iOS or Android rather than which takes better images. 

But overall, I have to give the slight edge to the Xiaomi in these tests. Its outdoor shots -- especially the allotment and ivy-covered candle graffiti examples -- look much better on the Xiaomi, and I generally found its 5x zoom lens offered better detail. But it's a narrow win, and some of my decisions will come down to my personal preference in what I'm looking for in an image. As a result, you can have another scroll through the test shots here and see if you come up with your own conclusion.