A day before the Mobile World Congress 2024 began in Barcelona, Xiaomi 14 was officially launched on the global stage. The latest flagship phone from the Chinese brand is the only compact Android smartphone other than the Samsung Galaxy S24. It has better specifications than Samsung’s phone and is also priced higher.
The design of Xiaomi 14 is similar to its predecessor, Xiaomi 13. Its bigger camera island has a triple Leica camera system with Summilux lens. The two have the same width and height, but the Xiaomi 14 is a bit thicker (8.2mm) and heavier (193 grams). There is still the same glass-on-glass body with a Corning Gorilla Glass Victus at the front and a 3D curved glass coating at the back. The enhanced all-glass exterior made it very prone to smudges and fingerprints. Asahi Glass was used exclusively in the color black variant.
The latest flagship from the Chinese brand has the same 6.36-inch display as the Xiaomi 13, and it consists of LTPO AMOLED with 1,200×2,670 pixel resolution and 460ppi pixel density. The adaptive refresh rates range from 1Hz to 120Hz. This device is powered by Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 SoC, combined with 12GB of LPDDR5x RAM and 512GB of UFS 4.0 storage. The specifications mentioned are widespread among flagship phones and we anticipate a top-notch performance in all aspects of this device.
Xiaomi 14 has an IP68 rating for dust and water resistance that can last up to 30 minutes in up to 1.5 meters of clear water. You can’t dip it into the pool or the beach because there is no assurance that your device will still work if you drop it in chlorinated or salt water. There are no ports on the top or left side since Xiaomi is aiming for a more polished profile. The power and volume buttons are on the right side, while other ports like the SIM card slot, USB Type-C port, mic, and the speaker grills can be found on the bottom end.
The triple Leica camera system consists of a 50MP Light Fusion 900 image sensor, a 50MP telephoto camera, which features Leica’s floating lens technology, and a 50MP ultra-wide angle camera. It also comes with a 32MP front selfie camera and can shoot up to 8K at 24fps or record videos up to 4K at 60fps through Dolby Vision. This clearly shows significant improvements in the camera quality. The Xiaomi 14 supports 90W wired charging and 50W wireless charging, packed with 4,610mAh battery.
This is the first flagship phone to run Xiaomi’s latest HyperOS system, which is not that different from MIUI 14. Even if you are an avid Xiaomi user, you won’t be able to notice the aesthetic difference unless you inspect closer. Also, HyperOS does not have any pre-installed third-party games or apps like we used to see in MIUI. There are also sensors included in Xiaomi’s latest phone, including an accelerometer, e-compass, IR blaster, ambient light sensor, flicker sensor, and more. Xiaomi claims that some AI enhancements have come into the device, but the noticeable one is the AI Image Engine under the Display settings.
With all the enhancements and specifications mentioned above, Xiaomi focuses more on performance and camera quality. Like other flagships released in the past, others may find the updates more incremental. Nevertheless, it’s still a beast of a phone and has everything you will look for in a flagship smartphone: impressive cameras, top-notch performance, enhanced display, and an improved battery life.
Xiaomi is also launching other flagship devices like the Xiaomi 14 Ultra, Xiaomi Pad 6S Pro 12.4, Xiaomi Smart Band 8 Pro, Xiaomi Watch 2, and Xiaomi Watch S3, which are all something to look forward to!
