The New Camera Phone king is the Xiaomi 14

Even if the Xiaomi Mi 14’s exterior is among the least significant upgrades this year, there are a few standout features that are important to mention. Let’s start by quickly discussing the color scheme. This time, we were given two variations of the Rock in Cyan and White; the Cyan version has a rounded texture, while the White version’s middle frame was made using the physical vapor deposition (PVD) technique, which can produce more noticeable highlights.

Fortunately, the Xiaomi 14 is more than just a refresh or a minor enhancement to its predecessor. Quite the reverse. The Xiaomi 14 now has a better display (LTPO), a quicker SoC, double the storage, and fully overhauled camera hardware.

The latter may be the most appealing feature, as you now get a camera experience and adaptability comparable to the Xiaomi 13 Pro in a tiny size factor. This is a major deal for fans of tiny flagships since they will no longer have to sacrifice camera quality for size.

Price when reviewed: €855.00 | Check price at Amazon

KEY FEATURES

The Xiaomi 14 is undoubtedly the best smartphone I have ever used. I wish I could elaborate on that statement, but after three weeks with Mi’s current flagship, I don’t want to let go. It has a Leica-engineered camera that has advanced from incredibly amazing last year to the world’s best phone camera this year. The chipset outperforms the current iPhone and Samsung flagship, and it’s all housed in a breathtakingly elegant design with an industry-leading display. Your turn, everyone else.

XIAOMI 14 UNBOXING

The Xiaomi 14’s design isn’t much different from that of the Xiaomi 13, and it’s virtually identical. The only visible difference is the camera bump. It is now larger and protrudes further from the back, which is expected considering the beefier camera hardware.

We still don’t like the mix of curved back and flat sides. The phone’s back appears to be an afterthought, with a bizarre ridge formed by the side frame. However, it helps the phone feel more comfortable in your hand because there are no harsh edges or corners that burrow into your palm when you hold it.

This brings us to our second complaint: the Xiaomi 14 is exceedingly slippery due to its glossy appearance, and it accumulates fingerprint smudges quite easily.

Interestingly, Xiaomi was able to keep the top side of the frame clean by placing all of the hardware for the loudspeaker behind the earphone aperture and the IR blaster behind the camera island’s glass. Notably, the aluminum frame itself is coated with PVD, which gives it that particular shiny sheen while also strengthening the material to some level.

Even though the Chinese version has two options: a glass back or vegan leather, only the former is accessible in Europe. This implies that only the black, white, and jade green versions are available. We have the latter at our office, and fingerprints and smudges are evident. The picture below also displays the pink vegan leather variation.

The front is business as usual, with an exceptionally thin bezel (1.71mm, including the chin), a fully flat design (as opposed to the curved back glass), and Gorilla Glass Victus.

The Xiaomi 14 is compact and easy to use, but its design isn’t particularly functional. The handset’s glossy aluminum side frame, slick back, and uncomfortable positioning of the fingerprint reader prevent us from giving it an exceptional rating in this category.

SCREEN AND SOUND

The Xiaomi 14 features a hybrid stereo speaker arrangement, with one bottom-facing speaker and one that functions as an earpiece. The frequent difficulty with this solution is that the main speaker at the bottom is always much louder. However, this is not the case here. Both speakers are very powerful and nearly perfectly balanced.

Quality-wise, the speakers are excellent. At the highest volume level, there is some barely audible ringing and distortion, but the bass is always well-pronounced without drowning out the excellent voices.

Xiaomi’s tiny flagship is likewise sufficiently loud, receiving a “Very Good” loudness rating with -25.3 LUFS. This is as loud as the Galaxy S24 and somewhat louder than the iPhone 15.

When it comes to tuning, the Xiaomi 14 sounds a little more bass-heavy than its competitors, while the Galaxy S24 has more prominent vocals and the iPhone 15 offers the best of both worlds, delivering the most balanced sound overall.

CAMERA

The Xiaomi 14 is arguably one of the most well-equipped small flagships in terms of photography. It provides a significant upgrade over its predecessor by replacing all three cameras with superior models.

We get our first look at the new OmniVision OVX9000 sensor for the main camera. It’s very huge, and Xiaomi calls it the Light Fusion 900 (which you might have heard translated as Light Hunter 900 in leaks). Unlike the Xiaomi 14 Pro, this model does not include a variable aperture lens. According to some sources, the OmniVision OVX9000 is a customized version of the OmniVision OV50H sensor, which we’ve seen on the IQOO 12 and, more recently, the Honor Magic 6 Pro.

Xiaomi promises that the Xiaomi Imaging Engine maintains a uniform tone across all cameras since white balance and exposure settings are determined by the always-on main camera.

During the day, the main camera produces image quality comparable to flagship cameras. It has everything: clarity, fine detail, a wide dynamic range, accurate color reproduction, and consistent performance both indoors and outdoors.

In stark contrast to the Xiaomi 14’s photographic prowess, the selfie camera is completely unremarkable. The selfies taken with the 32MP camera have the distinct appearance we’ve seen on previous Xiaomi phones. They appear natural, with brightened skin, and the dynamic range is spot on. However, they are somewhat delicate and have faint hues.

SOFTWARE EXPERIENCE

Xiaomi launched HyperOS, a new Android skin overlay, alongside the debut of the Xiaomi 14 series in China. The new operating system has found its way onto several of Xiaomi’s earlier and more modern devices, and the Xiaomi 14 comes pre-installed with HyperOS 1.0 + Android 14.

Visually, the system is quite similar to MIUI, except for a flatter look with softened edges. Furthermore, you cannot return to the original notification shade look, so you are stuck with the so-called Control Centre, whether you like it or not. Still, the system feels as fluid and responsive as ever.

You should expect at least four major software updates and five years of security fixes. That’s based on Xiaomi’s latest 13T family announcement, which promises the same, and we can’t picture the flagship number series receiving less attention.

PERFORMANCE AND BATTERY LIFE

No matter what I threw at the Xiaomi 14, it handled it effortlessly. Whether I was playing a visually demanding game, using photography or video apps, a music maker, or running a dozen apps at the same time, the phone never caused me any problems, and only when I was playing the most demanding games did I notice it get very hot. It did get hot during fast charging (see more below), but it cooled down quickly each time.

The Game Mode also kicks in when needed, delivering a fluid visual experience and an almost seamless shift from normal vanilla mode to 120Hz gaming mode. There’s a second or two when it’s switching over where the game isn’t responsive, but that’s nothing to be concerned about.

This is the one area where Xiaomi still trails the iPhone. The battery is a little smaller here than in many recent models (including the iPhone, Samsung, and the ASUS ROG Phone 8, for example), and while it is efficient enough to easily get through a full day’s work and play, I couldn’t get the near-20 hours of the iPhone or the 20-plus hours of the S24 or ROG Phone here.

What it does offer that the iPhone does not, however, is speedy charging (dubbed hyper charging by Xiaomi), with a wired charging capacity of 90W, and I was able to charge it from nearly empty to full in 35 minutes. Furthermore, the wireless charging is faster (50W) than I’ve ever seen on a phone. So, even if you run out of juice, the battery may be recharged quickly.

Buy it if...

• Upgraded LTPO OLED panel with variable refresh rate.
• One of the few small flagship phones.
• Excellent battery life.
• Very quick charging.
• The camera experience is versatile and dependable, with excellent video quality.
• The new HyperOS appears more sleek and efficient.

Don't buy it if...

• Slippery by design.
• Throttles work under severe loads.
• A touch on the expensive side.

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