I saw the Xiaomi launch event last week, which was hosted by Lei Jun. Obviously, the K70 Ultra is not the top performer. However, I believe many people are more interested in this model than the other two foldable smartphones. Of course, we will look at those two foldable phones later. For the time being, let us look at this high-performance machine that costs less than $360.
In the future, the K70 Ultra’s cameras may be upgraded and marketed globally as the Xiaomi 14T Pro. If you want to get your hands on this phone early or do not want to spend more money on the camera, go to Geekwills.com. The K70 Ultra is selling well.
Unboxing
The phone still comes with the most basic components, like the SIM card pin and instructions. The phone case is still made from frosted silicone. The charger is 120W and still features a USB-A connector. The cable is also USB A to C, which makes sense.
The charging protocol is as shown in the picture and is unchanged compared to previous Redmi phones.
Design
The design of the K70 Ultra still carries the gene of the K70 series, with the four cameras placed in the upper left corner. The lenses have gone from round to round rectangles. The power button has a non-slip finish. And the weight has slightly increased, presumably due to the larger battery capacity.
Other than that, it’s pretty much unchanged, with the same metal frame and glass back. There are no other features missing, but of course, the drawbacks are the same. Oh, I almost forgot, the K70 Ultra is probably the only phone in this price range that has IP68 dust and water resistance. That’s why it’s called Ultra, I guess.
Display
The K70 Ultra’s screen has an OLED panel from TCL. There are downgrades and upgrades compared to the K70 Pro. The Ultra’s resolution has been downgraded from 1440p to 1200p, the K60 Ultra did the same thing last year so I wasn’t too surprised.
The upgrades are in the brightness, which can be adjusted manually to 700nit and up to 1600nit in sunlight. The conditions for switching dimming modes have changed, with a switch to high-frequency PWM dimming only when it’s below 60nit. Moreover, the lower bezel has been further narrowed and is almost as narrow as many curved-screen phones. From a distance, you might think it’s a very expensive phone.
Some of you may complain that it doesn’t support LTPO, so check out the Realme GT6 China Edition that we reviewed a few days ago, that phone might be better for you.
Performance & Gaming
One of the key reasons for the K70 Ultra’s low price is that MediaTek’s CPUs are less expensive than Qualcomm’s. The Dimensity 9300+ is not the most expensive option, but it delivers some of the best performance in the phone’s SOC. There is little doubt that the score is somewhat higher than the eight Gen 3 phones. I have to say, even though I knew this CPU was fantastic, the K70 Ultra still surprised me.
I haven’t seen a frame rate graph that straight in a long time. And the best part is that it’s still very low in temperature and power consumption. I don’t know if it’s Redmi that’s awesome or MediaTek that’s insane, but anyway, it’s the best gaming experience I’ve had with a phone lately. And it’s also cheaper. So there is no reason for gamers not to pick this one.
It’s worth noting that the K70 Ultra also comes with the display chip D1 this time around, which boosts the resolution, and the latency of frame interpolation. I also didn’t find any images being torn down due to frame insertion, so turning on these features does improve the gaming experience significantly. Of course, that depends on whether the game you’re playing supports these features.
For example, Zenless Zero does not have the option of interpolation and resolution enhancement. However, with the excellent performance of Dimensity 9300+, it can provide an excellent gaming experience even without these features. As long as it conquers these two games from HoYoverse, other games will be a piece of cake.
Camera
The three cameras on the K70 Ultra are a 50 MP main camera, an 8 MP ultra-wide camera, and a 2 MP macro camera. Compared to other phones in the same price range, there isn’t much difference in image quality.
Most of the photographs captured with the main camera are outstanding. The dynamic range and saturation are perfectly balanced, and the clarity is excellent. Personally, I believe that the K70 Ultra’s main camera is on par with Xiaomi’s sub-flagship. Compared to other mid-range phones, the 8 MP ultra-wide camera performs poorly at night. Especially the image quality around the edges. I assumed I had not wiped the lens clean.
The 2 MP macro camera is mostly useless. The resolution is so low, that the photos cropped with the main camera are better than those taken with the macro camera. The main camera also has a slight purple-fringing issue. The video stabilization is also average, and only the main camera can record 4K video.
The rest is nothing to complain about; after all, the processor accounts for the majority of the budget.
Battery & Charging
I expected the K70 Ultra’s 5500mAh battery to not surprise us much, given that the OnePlus Ace 3 Pro has 6100mAh. However, the battery life is actually rather good, comparable to the GT6 China edition, and somewhat exceeds our expectations. It also has 120W wired charging, which takes roughly half an hour to fully charge the battery. Overall, I would rate the K70 Ultra an eight out of 10 for its charging and battery life performance.
Verdict
We’ve recently reviewed a lot of phones in the same price range, which one do you guys prefer?
Is it the OnePlus Ace 3 Pro with a 6100mAh battery? Is it the Realme GT6 China Edition, which is a more versatile performer? Maybe the cheaper K70 Ultra is more appealing to you? Anyway, they all have their own unique features, and they’re all pretty much worth buying for.
If you’d like to watch a battle between them, don’t forget to subscribe to our YouTube channel. The K70 Ultra is also currently available on Geekwills, which you can check out by clicking the link below.
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