It’s been almost a decade since Xiaomi forayed into the country. And the brand has gone through several ups and downs. While there was a time when it seemed that no other phone brand could challenge its numero uno position, it seems its downfall was its own doing. But the brand has rejigged its strategy, and that seems to be bearing fruits too. It reclaimed the first spot in Q4 2023 as per Counterpoint. Armed with confidence, the brand is now setting its sights on the premium territory which is the Apple-Samsung duopoly. The Xiaomi 14 – showcased today at day zero at MWC Barcelona – will be making its way to India on March 7th. We have been using the handset for the past couple of days and while our review is still underway, let’s take a gander at what Xiaomi’s latest and greatest brings to the table.
They say the third time’s the charm, and that’s what the Xiaomi 14 promises with its camera setup. The brand started its partnership with Leica with the Xiaomi 12, launched in 2022. It promises to be the ultimate click-it-and-forget-it device, and that’s evident from the specs as well as several tweaks that you notice when you start using the smartphone. There’s a trio of 50MP sensors to capture different scenarios – ultra-wide to extreme close-ups. The primary shooter also features OIS and you can capture up to 8K videos. Portrait lovers would enjoy playing around with the various modes with different focal lengths – from 35mm to 90mm. The company has taken care of selfie lovers too by offering a high-res 32MP snapper at the front.
Considering that the camera module is the highlight, it’s evident from the design as well. The square camera island protrudes significantly but does not look gaudy. And even when it’s kept on the flat surface, the phone does not wobble. The Xiaomi 14 also carries IP67 certification. Speaking of durability, the display also gets Gorilla Glass Victus protection. The handset is available in classic black or white hues, as well as the Jade Green colorway, which is our personal favourite.
The button and port placement are also standard, but one interesting difference from the previous Xiaomi offerings is that the top edge is clean. So, where’s the IR emitter you may ask? Well, it’s now intelligently placed beside the camera module.
The Xiaomi 14 follows the standard flagship recipe – Qualcomm’s top-notch Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset paired with capacious RAM (up to 16GB) and ample storage. So, it’s not a surprise that the Xiaomi 14 flies through anything thrown at it. Even gaming would be a delight thanks to the powerful GPU. Worth appreciating the fact that Xiaomi has opted for a single storage variant of 512GB, though there’s no microSD card slot.
Where the Xiaomi 14 deviates from typical flagships is its screen size. Instead of a panel measuring 6.7-inches or higher, the handset features a 6.36-inch LTPO OLED display. Add to it the bezel-less fascia, and you get a form factor that’s perfect for single-hand use. It was a welcome departure to not requiring the second hand or doing finger gymnastics to reach the corner of the display. We also liked the fact that the smaller screen does not mean non-flagship display specifications… as you get a resolution of 1200 x 2670 pixels, 120Hz refresh rate, Dolby Vision, HDR10+ support, and more.
Xiaomi’s 14 is also the first smartphone from the brand (not counting its sub-brand POCO) that ships with Hyper OS running atop Android 14. On the battery front, the 4,610mAh capacity should ensure a day’s worth of usage. While Xiaomi was pretty late to the fast-charging party, it’s now ahead of many rivals, for it comes bundled with a 120W HyperCharger. Not only that, but you also get fast wireless charging capabilities at 50W.
To sum up, the Xiaomi 14 is heating up the flagship space in India. Of course, apart from the top-notch offerings from Apple and Samsung, there’s iQOO 12, a gaming-focused flagship and vivo X100 series, which is also banking high on the camera capabilities with the ZEISS partnership.
But if you ask us, the Xiaomi 14 is an all-rounder and hence goes directly against the OnePlus 12. And one important factor that would help determine the winner would be the pricing. While the exact pricing will be revealed during the Xiaomi 14 India launch, we can get the reference from the European MRP, which translates to around Rs 75k.
