Emir BardakçıOne of Xiaomi’s top executives from the application software department has provided lengthy explanation regarding the Ultra HDR support on the Xiaomi 14 series, including the reasons why the feature remains exclusive to certain models despite the fact that the phones are flagships.
Technical Limitations Explained
According to the official statement, while the Xiaomi 14 and 14 Pro offer normal HDR photo functionality with local brightening (a feature since the 13 series), they cannot support true Ultra HDR functionality due to two significant hardware limitations:
- No HWC hardware dimming support
- Gainmap is not able to capture images using camera hardware
Understanding HDR Implementation
The executive outlined the range of HDR capabilities across Xiaomi’s lineup:
- Xiaomi 13 Series: Standard HDR with GPU-based local area dimming
- Xiaomi 14 Ultra: Full Ultra HDR support with HWC hardware dimming and Gainmap photo support
- Xiaomi 14/14 Pro: Only standard HDR, even with Snapdragon 8 Gen3
Context: Ultra HDR in Android 14
Google introduced Ultra HDR as an Android 14 feature, supporting 10-bit high dynamic range photography. While Qualcomm confirmed that Snapdragon 8 Gen2 and subsequent processors support Ultra HDR format photography, the need for other hardware components means that not every flagship device can offer the feature.
Xiaomi 14 Series Specifications
While they don’t have Ultra HDR support, the Xiaomi 14 and 14 Pro still have impressive specs:
- Snapdragon 8 Gen3 processor
- LPDDR5+ and UFS 4.0 storage with FBO
- 1.5K straight screen (standard) / 2K micro-curved screen (Pro)
- Leica Summilux optical lenses – Light Hunter 900 custom image sensors
- IP68 dust and water resistance
- Digital car keys support
Source: ITHome
