Verdict
The Xiaomi 14 is a compact flagship that does n’t compromise on functioning and features . It ’s passing knock-down , takes great photos and television and charges in a flash . The Samsung Galaxy S24 has some tangible rivalry on its handwriting .
Pros
Cons
Key Features
Introduction
TheXiaomi 13was one of my preferred compact phones last year , so I could n’t wait to see what Xiaomi had in fund with the 2024 update . The young model joint to a similar pattern , but upgrades the cameras , the functioning and the OS , so there ’s plenty to explore here .
Flagship earphone just keep getting bigger , but the Xiaomi 14 break against the grain , favouring heavyset portability over screen size . If you favour a small phone , there are n’t too many pick to choose between at the second ; even the latestAsus Zenfonehas been super - sized .
With the Xiaomi 14 , you get a properflagship experience , but in a slightly smaller software . Its obvious contender is theSamsung Galaxy S24 , which has similar dimensions and boasts top - of - the - wrinkle specifications .
In the UK , the Xiaomi 14 retails for £ 899 , which makes it a mess more expensive than Samsung ’s petite flagship . Does it do enough to be deserving the extra disbursement ? I was activated to find out , and after populate with it for over a week , here are my thought .
Design
The Xiaomi 14 variation a exchangeable design to last year ’s Xiaomi 13 , only the television camera module has significantly increased in size , hinting at its heighten capableness . It ’s veryiPhone - inspired , with its plane Al edges and flat show , but that ’s no spoiled thing . It look premium and it feel great in the hand .
I was sent the Black translation for testing , which has a matte conclusion on the rearward panel . The clean model also has a matte seat , whereas the Jade Green version has a in high spirits - gloss , almost mirror stopping point on the back . As someone who ca n’t stand fingermark daub , I much prefer the Black and White alternative .
The aluminium incline are still milled to a mirror finish , and I ’d love to see these get the matte treatment , too . On the other deal , it does serve to make the Xiaomi 14 stand out against the competition , as both theS24 seriesandiPhone 15models have acquire less shiny border .
The square meth photographic camera trapping has a new bezel around its perimeter , apparently urge by the pattern of in high spirits - end watches . It ’s quite pernicious , but it does look nice , and it adds a little extra flare compare to last year ’s speech sound .
The Xiaomi 14 isIP68 rated , which means it ’s protect from junk and is to the full water resistant at depths of up to 1.5 beat in fresh water supply . So , no matter how adventuresome your holiday plans are , the Xiaomi 14 should be up to the task .
Screen
Most current flagship earpiece have displays measuring around 6.7 inches , while the Xiaomi 14 measuring in at 6.39 - inches . It ’s not tiny , it ’s still a mo self-aggrandizing than the iPhone 15 or Galaxy S24 , but it definitely feel small-scale compared to theVivo X100 Pro , which has been my mainstay for the preceding few months .
I think this size of it is a nice mediate ground ; it ’s small enough to make the phone feel thickset , but there ’s plenty of screen space for your apps and video substance . It was only while play that I feel the smaller display start to cramp my style . It ’s not probable to be the choice for aspiring pro gamers , but for everyone else , it ’s very wanton to adjust .
Thankfully , Xiaomi has n’t skimped on the spec of this smaller display . It has an sizeable WQHD+ resolve , a variable refresh rate from 1Hz to 120Hz and supports bothDolby VisionandHDR10 + . It ’s also extremely shining , purportedly able to crank out 3000 nits at peak brightness . It was n’t reaching these point during my examination , but it was always able to contend with the sun , and HDR content look as punchy and dramatic as you ’d trust .
To my eyes , the Xiaomi 14 display depend spot - on straight out of the box , but if you ’d favour to fine-tune the colour facts of life , you have a wealth of selection at your disposal . In fact , there are probably more options to tweak here than on any competing stigma . As well as the normal profile , you’re able to also switch colouration gamut , adjust the impregnation , contrast , chromaticity , colour balance and more .
Cameras
The scaled - up tv camera array and proud Leica branding lead that we ’re in for a treat with these snappers , and indeed , there is some substance behind the styling . On the backside , you now get a triple 50MP regalia , replacing the faint appurtenant lenses we saw last year . Meanwhile , the main tv camera uses a brand new OmniVision OVX900 sensing element , that Xiaomi has post as the Light Fusion 900 .
It ’s a pretty respectable principal sensor , at 1/1.3 column inch , and it ’s larger than the independent sensor of its basal competitors , the iPhone 15 and Galaxy S24 . This means it ’ll have curt picture times in the dark , as well as being able to capture some natural bokeh without using portrait mode . Interestingly , this new sensor hike up to higher ISO levels than the contest , and this should also assist in humiliated - sparkle shooting .
Despite all the rear cameras cavort a 50MP resolve , the main sensing element is the most impressive . It provide the sharpest images with the most detail and is more immune to motion blur when the light gets low . The relatively large sensor creates some skillful authentic bokeh on close - ups , but if you want a blurrier background , Xiaomi ’s excellent portrait mode birth the goodness .
I also found the 3x telephoto very useful ; it ’s great for close - up shot and portraiture , and it just gives a bit of a tighter bod on far - away matter . It gets a little indulgent at night , but it ’s excellent during the day .
The ultrawide is enough and has an imposingly across-the-board field of prospect , but I was very disappointed to receive out that it miss autofocusing capabilities . It ’s still useful for radical shots and entrance architecture , but it feels throttle not being able to trance snug - ups with this lens .
The selfie camera can enamor some really nice shot , and the mellow reliability of the portrait mode cutouts makes for some nice effects , too . There ’s no autofocus on the front - face tv camera , which is n’t unusual , but put it a gradation behind the Galaxy S24 andPixel 8 Pro .
For video shooting , you may capture up to 4 K at 60 Federal Protective Service on all the rearward lenses , or up to 8 K at 24 fps . However , in 8 special K you ’re special to the master tv camera only , and you could only record for 6 minute of arc at a meter . video recording recording options are very comprehensive , there ’s a full retinue of manual controls , and you may even shoot in LOG if you fancy attempt some color marking .
Performance
The Xiaomi 14 is powered by Qualcomm ’s top - of - the - line nomadic mainframe , theSnapdragon 8 Gen 3 , so of course , it ’s an excellent performing artist . It ’s paired with 12 GB of speedy RAM and either 256 gigabyte or 512 GB of ultra - quick UFS 4.0 storage .
Even if you have tonne of apps open at the same fourth dimension , the phone always feels nimble and antiphonal . Apps open up speedily and living are smooth . It ’s also a bit of a beast when it comes to gaming , and it ’ll unravel fundamentally any game you could retrieve in the Play Store at max graphic preferences with consistent underframe rates .
I put a few hours into Genshin Impact on the high graphical preset at 60fps , and the Xiaomi 14 handled it like a champion . It start to ignite up a trivial after 15 minutes or so , but it never became uncomfortable to arrest . The cooling system is quite impressive for such a compact handset .
HyperOS has a progress - in gambling menu that can be accessed by pinch from the left - hand side of the presentation while a game is pass . This bill of fare offer a good number of options , include the power to prioritise game performance , clear cache , block call , record gameplay , and more . It ’s not as in - depth as the menu on a consecrated gaming handset , but there are more choice here than you ’ll find on most mainstream phone .
The Xiaomi 14 has dual stereo speakers , one positioned on the base next to the USB - deoxycytidine monophosphate port wine , and the other at the top of the video display , above the selfie camera . They have a decent output , and while they ’re not the loudest I ’ve come across , there ’s plenty of volume for most situations .
The freshwater bass response is above intermediate , but it ’s not going to pink your socks off . Meanwhile , there ’s tons of clarity in the midrange and highs . They sound great for gaming and watching TV shows , and there ’s a becoming amount of stereophony separation that adds to the effect .
Software
The Xiaomi 14 runs HyperOS , Xiaomi ’s a la mode operating system , built on top of Android 14 . I first tested this on thePoco X6 Pro , and plant that it ’s functionally very similar to Xiaomi ’s older MIUI software , with the primary changes being aesthetic ones . The same is true on the flagship Xiaomi 14 .
That enjoin , HyperOS certainly see a small more polished than older MIUI instance , so it ’s mostly a change for the better . The fresh quick preferences shade is a bit of a love - hate relationship for me , though . Xiaomi has removed the text in HyperOS , which creates a very clean and minimum tone , but it can be very difficult to remember what all the symbols imply .
If you have n’t tried a Xiaomi phone before , the main matter you need to know is that the package is very iOS - inspired . This means the agile stage setting and apprisal shades are break up , and you have to swipe from a dissimilar side of the screen to access each one . Otherwise , it can be configure to knead like most other Android installs .
There ’s a lot more bloatware here than I ’d like to see on such a premium equipment . It ’s mostly Xiaomi ’s own apps , but there are also thing like Facebook , Amazon , Opera and the ever - present Booking.com . It ’s easy to pick up , and there are wad of worse offenders , but it ’s still not something you require to see on such an expensive French telephone .
Xiaomi promises four years of OS upgrades and five years of security patch for the Xiaomi 14 . It ’s above average , but it ca n’t quite rival the lengthy seven - class support that Google and Samsung offer for their flagship smartphones .
Battery life
The Xiaomi 14 has a 4610mAh barrage fire , which is slightly blue capability than most flagships , which incline to sit down around 5000mAh . In purpose , though , it did not disappoint . The phone always saw me through the day , often with 30 % or more remaining content , even on daytime with lots of screen - on clock time and plenty of camera utilisation .
Of course , your results may alter . If you ’re hammering away at games for minute on remainder and navigating with Google Maps , the battery will run out faster , but most user will easy make it to bedtime without needing a top - up .
If you do need to top it up , then the good tidings is that it ’ll be done in a flashbulb . The Xiaomi 14 descend with a powerful 90W paries arranger in the box , and this is enough to get you from flat to full in just over half an hour . If you only need a 50 % charge , that can be achieve in under 15 minutes .
It also supports 50W wireless charging , but you ’ll want a very specific wireless charger to reach such amphetamine . My 50W Oppo AirVOOC battery charger only charges it at 15W , for deterrent example .
There ’s also 10W repeal wireless charging support . This can come in very ready to hand if a booster needs an emergency top - up , or if you have earbuds that can point wirelessly .
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Should you buy it?
Despite its small anatomy , the Xiaomi 14 present a true flagship experience with tonnes of big businessman , dandy camera and speedy charging .
HyperOS has some coolheaded features , but it ’s quite different from line of descent Android . If you are n’t used to MIUI , it ’ll take some metre to accommodate .
Final Thoughts
The Xiaomi 14 is a joy to apply . It ’s sinewy , has a great display , packs an excellent camera array and offers speedy wire and wireless charging . The fact that it manages to do all of this while remaining relatively little make it an first-class selection for anyone who prefer a more summary French telephone .
That enunciate , the Xiaomi 14 is up against some stiff competition , with the main competitor being theSamsung Galaxy S24 . Samsung ’s equipment is slightly smaller and slightly cheaper , but still offers good deal of big businessman and great camera .
The Xiaomi emphatically has its advantages , particularly with low-toned - light photography , charging speed and gaming performance ( compared to the Exynos - powered S24 ) . However , many hoi polloi will prefer Samsung ’s software and the added welfare its AI tool bring in to the board .
All in all , the Xiaomi 14 is a neat compact flagship and it ’s easy to urge . If you need all the later features and top - close hardware , with a small less bulk in your pocket , this is doubtlessly one of the finer options .
Trusted Score
How we test
We prove every mobile headphone we review thoroughly . We apply industry - standard trial run to liken feature decent and we use the earpiece as our primary twist over the reexamination period . We ’ll always tell you what we find and we never , ever , accept money to go over a product .
Find out more about how we screen in ourethics insurance policy .
FAQs
Yes , the Xiaomi 14 is IP68 rated , which have in mind it can be submerged in fresh H2O at depths up to 1.5 meter without price .
No , only the Xiaomi 14 Pro and Xiaomi 14 Ultra have an adjustable aperture on their principal television camera .
Xiaomi promises four years of OS updates and five years of surety bandage for the flagship Xiaomi 14 series .
Test Data
Full Specs
