Xiaomi has taken the wraps off the global edition of the Xiaomi 14 series in Barcelona. And we have got our hands on perhaps the most fascinating one of the three. It is the most compact, most affordable one and is the one that is confirmed to be arriving in India on 7 March. We do hope the Xiaomi folks get the Pro and Ultra to these shores, too, but the Xiaomi 14 is definitely coming. We have had the phone for a few days, and while its price in India remains shrouded in mystery, here is what we think of it.
Xiaomi 14 design: Such a handy, handsome fella
The first thing that struck us about the Xiaomi 14 was, well, just how compact it was. At 152 mm, it is still taller than the iPhone 15 (147.6 mm), the Galaxy S24 (147 mm), and the Pixel 8 (150.5 mm), but when you consider the likes of the OnePlus 12 at a massive 164.3 mm and the Vivo X100 Pro at 164.1 mm, or even the 161.4 mm of Xiaomi’s own mid-segment Redmi Note 13 Pro+, you realize that this is actually a David in a world of Goliaths. And a David who is not just hand-friendly but handsome as well.
We got the black variant of the phone, and the slightly curved glass back with a matte finish and slightly subtle shine looked very classy. We actually like the black shade the most as it blends right into the large, square camera unit with Leica branding on the back – the black camera unit stands out more prominently on the white and green units, clashing with those colors instead of complementing them. It is a large camera unit, and it does jut out, but it does not make the phone feel top-heavy, a complaint we have had with some of these huge camera unit-bearing devices. At 193 grams, it is a little on the heavy side for its size but feels reassuringly solid.
The front is a flat display with tiny, symmetric bezels and Gorilla Glass Victus (the back is Gorilla Glass, too), and between the front and the back is a jet-black metal frame. At 8.2 mm, it is very slim, and although the sides are straight, they curve a little as they join the back, making it very comfortable to hold. The sides are very clean and minimalistic, with the left and the top being totally bare. The right side has the volume rocker and the power/display buttons, while the base has the Type-C port, a speaker grille, and the SIM card tray.
It is compact and smart, and while it is not light, its weight hints at muscle rather than flab. It is a tough one, all right – an IP68 rating means it can survive in water for a while!
Xiaomi 14 cameras: Smaller sensor, but lotsa Lecia even then
One of the biggest attractions of Xiaomi’s flagships since mid-2022 has been the presence of Leica’s camera technology and lenses on them. The Xiaomi 14, too, comes with dollops of Leica in it, so much so that we reckon it could be a contender for being one of the best camera phones money could buy. That large camera unit on the back houses three 50-megapixel cameras laden with Leica.
The main sensor is a Light Fusion 900 image sensor with a Leica Vario Summilux lens. It is NOT a one-inch sensor as seen on the Xiaomi 13 Pro but is still large by phone stands and comes with a 23mm focal length, a large f/1.6 aperture, and OIS. Impressive though that is, we bet that the star of the show will be the 50-megapixel floating telephoto Leica Summilux lens, which not only delivers 3.2x optical zoom but also allows Leica-style portrait photography at different focal lengths. The third 50-megapixel sensor is an ultrawide for a wider perspective.
But those are just the specs. There is a truckload of Leica expertise in the Xiaomi 14, ranging from special filters to frames to two color tones (Leica Authentic for those who want images that look realistic, and Leica Vivid for those who love colors that pop and rock) and a whole Master Lens system that lets you take photos with a uniquely Lecia touch to them. There is a 32-megapixel front camera too, and from what we have seen, it is very capable, but take our word for it, you will be doing most of your photography with the back sensors, especially the telephoto one, which shows every sign of delivering the street photography magic that Leica is legendary for. The other specs of the Xiaomi 14 might be matched by other brands but that camera setup is going to be impossible to clone and, in our book, is the USP of the phone.
Xiaomi 14 specs: Not Ultra Pro, but still super good
Its camera system might be the USP, but the Xiaomi 14 also packs in most of the specs that you expect in a high-end flagship. The display is what Xiaomi calls a CrystalRes LTPO AMOLED display with a 120 Hz refresh rate and the ability to switch all the way between 1-120 Hz, depending on the content being shown on it. It is a Pro HDR display with support for Dolby Vision and HDR10+, is bright (3000 nits maximum brightness), and delivers excellent colors without seeming over-saturated.
Powering the phone is the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip, which is the flagship darling of 2024 and is also the beating heart of the mighty Galaxy S24 Ultra. This is allied with LPDDR5X RAM and UFS 4.0 storage. You also get stereo speakers with support for Dolby Atmos, and the phone is the first phone with Xiaomi branding to come with the much-hyped HyperOS out of the box on top of Android 14. From what we have seen so far, the new OS is smooth, swift, and uncluttered. There are some third-party apps (such as Netflix and PhonePe), but those can be uninstalled.
There are a few hints that while the Xiaomi 14 is every inch a flagship, it is the kid brother of its Pro and Ultra siblings. The display’s resolution is 2670 x 1200px, which is very good, especially on that compact display, but it is not the quad-HD/ 2K that the Pro and Ultra have and is flat rather than curved. We prefer flat displays, but many folks consider curved displays to be more premium, even though Samsung has abandoned them, too. Similarly, the phone comes with support for very fast wired and wireless charging. Still, the wired charging speed is 90W, unlike 120W on the Pro and Ultra, although the phone charges wirelessly as fast as those two – a stunning 50W – and comes with a 120W charger anyway. The battery is also a trifle smaller, though we suspect that has more to do with the more compact form factor of the phone – the Xiaomi 14 has a 4610 mAh battery, which is the smallest in the 14 series.
All in all, we think the Xiaomi 14 boasts an excellent spec sheet. While it might be dwarfed (pun intended) by its Ultra Pro bros, it is hands down the best-specced ‘compact flagship’ we have seen on paper (we repeat ‘on paper’), with better numbers than even the iPhone 15, Pixel 8 and the Galaxy S24. Likely to be one of the best-specced devices in its segment. Which, of course, brings us to the matter of price…
Xiaomi 14 Price: Sub-Rs 75,000…the more sub-Rs 75,000, the better!
While we do know that the Xiaomi 14 will be arriving in the Indian market on 7 March, we do not know its price tag. Our sources claim that the phone might come to India in a single high RAM and storage option with a price that could be “around Rs 75K, excluding offers,” although some are expecting it to be closer to Rs 65,000. That makes it significantly more affordable than the Rs 79,999 the Xiaomi 13 Pro was launched at in 2023.
A sub-Rs 75,000 price (and the more sub-Rs 75,000, the better) would also make the Xiaomi 14 one of the most pocket-friendly flagships in terms of both size and price. It would also enable Xiaomi to revive an old flagship rivalry with OnePlus in the Indian market, even while laying siege to the likes of the Galaxy S24 and the Pixel 8 and perhaps even the iPhone 15…but we will know for sure only when the final price of the Xiaomi 14 is revealed come 7 March.
As of now, what we can safely say is that Xiaomi has unleashed a handy, handsome David, armed with a Leica slingshot, at the Android Goliaths in the market. A lot is going to depend on the final pricing and just how like-able those Leica snappers are. Stay tuned for our final review on 7 March!
