With its latest flagship, Xiaomi is increasingly joining the elite of the smartphone industry. But to truly be at the top, the manufacturer must learn to abandon its stubborn principles.

The Xiaomi 14 landed in Europe at the end of February. The Chinese brand is extremely ambitious and dreams of being the biggest smartphone brand one day. Xiaomi asserts itself not only in the lower segments, but also in the premium class. In addition to the basic model, the latest flagship series also has an Ultra version.

Although Xiaomi phones are getting better every year, we have yet to test a device from the brand that has completely convinced us. Among other things, the poor battery life and unwanted bloatware meant that we cannot in good conscience recommend the Xiaomi 13 Pro and its cousins ​​​​as our next (business) phone. Is the Xiaomi 14 the device that will make us change course?

Compact size

The concept of compact smartphones is experiencing a revival. The Samsung Galaxy S24 is a well-known example, but other brands also market devices that fit easily in the palm of your hand. The Xiaomi 14 has a screen diagonal of 6.36 inches. Xiaomi markets this model as a direct competitor to the S24.

Despite the smaller screen size, you don’t have to compromise on image quality because Xiaomi has space for 1,200 x 2,670 pixels. This creates a razor-sharp image. The OLED display also features LTPO technology to scale the refresh rate between 1 and 120 Hz. In our tests, peak brightness is 935 nits lower than the S24 devices, which easily reach a thousand nits, but Xiaomi does better here than the OnePlus 12, for example.

The look of the Xiaomi 14 is very similar to last year’s Xiaomi 13 Pro, including the large (and bulky) square camera plate on the back. If you prefer a less angular camera setup, the Xiaomi 14 Ultra has an (even larger) camera ring.

Powerful interior

There are no surprises when it comes to the choice of processor: Xiaomi relies on a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3. Xiaomi often opts for a processor from MediaTek for its cheaper models, but Qualcomm is and remains the standard in the premium segment. The Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 promises the fastest and most consistent performance and the numbers back it up.

We compare the Xiaomi 14 with competitors from OnePlus, Samsung and Google. The OnePlus 12 has exactly the same processor, the devices from Samsung and Google contain a self-made processor. The Xiaomi 14 is ahead and surprisingly manages to get more out of the processor than the OnePlus 12. With the latter, you have to activate maximum performance using a well-hidden switch in the settings. With Xiaomi you can enjoy full computing power without having to search for long.

When it comes to GPU performance, the roles are reversed and OnePlus does a bit better, although the Xiaomi 14 is more consistent in its test runs.

The Xiaomi 14 can therefore rely on a powerful and reliable internal system. Add another 12 GB of RAM and up to 512 GB of internal storage and you’re good to go. This is also evident in everyday applications such as surfing. In terms of hardware alone, the Xiaomi 14 presents itself as an excellent work phone, although Samsung seems to have a little more business use in its genes.

Battery and charging: the topsy-turvy world

Battery life is traditionally not the biggest advantage of Xiaomi phones. With compact devices like the Xiaomi 14, there is also less space for a large battery: This device has a 4,610 mAh battery. At first glance that doesn’t bode well, but the Xiaomi 14 is a positive surprise.

In the video test, Xiaomi actually emerged as the winner. The device also performs well in the performance test and easily leaves the Samsung Galaxy S24 behind. With this, Xiaomi seems to have finally addressed one of its biggest weaknesses.

The charging technology, on the other hand, has been one of the manufacturer’s showpieces for years. The Xiaomi 13 Pro barely took thirteen minutes to charge from zero to eighty percent. The Xiaomi 14 comes with a 90W charger included, and 50W wireless charging also sounds impressive on paper.

Practice paints a different picture. The Xiaomi 14 had a total failure on our test bench. Refueling to fifty percent took 22 minutes and only after 34 minutes did we reach eighty percent. Even after several attempts with the included charger, we still came to this conclusion. The Xiaomi 14 hardly outperforms the Samsung S24 and Google Pixel 8 devices, which are not known as fast charging freaks.

Towards the end of the testing period, battery percentages seemed to increase significantly more quickly. The initially slow loading times may have been due to a software error that has since been fixed by the manufacturer.

Cameras: Focus on Zoom

There is a lot to say about the cameras of the Xiaomi 14. Xiaomi wants to distinguish itself as a photography specialist by sticking the name of the German lens manufacturer Leica on the camera island. The camera composition of the Xiaomi 14 includes three 50 MP lenses on the back and a 32 MP lens for self-portraits.

Xiaomi will also have to work hard with the help of a professional party like Leica. After all, the bar for contemporary smartphone photography is very high. The manufacturer especially wants to showcase the telephoto lens (50 MP, f/2.0, 75 mm), which is equipped with 3.2x optical zoom and image stabilization so that your camera does not “shake” when taking distant close-ups.

The images the telephoto lens captures look beautiful as long as you stay within the optical zoom range. Even at sunset there is hardly any loss of quality when zooming in. If you switch to digital zoom, you can magnify objects up to 60x, but the sharpness will inevitably be lost. In our opinion, the telephoto camera of the Xiaomi 14 is narrowly beaten by the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra, which can take significantly sharper images beyond the limits of the optical zoom.

In addition to the telephoto lens, you also get an excellent main camera (50MP, f/1.6, 23mm) and a wide-angle lens (50MP, f/2.2, 14mm, 115°), both of which take beautiful photos day and night Night. We’ve never seen a smartphone camera that can image clouds in a dark sky so clearly, although this may exaggerate the effect somewhat.

Software: new name, same errors

Xiaomi is launching a new software shell for its latest flagships under the name HyperOS. This is also based on Android and is largely the former MIUI software under a new name. In the long term, Xiaomi views HyperOS as a connecting layer for its ecosystem of smart devices.

Anyone who had hoped that Xiaomi would say goodbye to old habits with new software will unfortunately be disappointed. Bloatware is a recurring nuisance on Xiaomi cell phones and the manufacturer makes no compromises with this device either. Xiaomi wants to impose its own alternative for almost every Google application and is not ashamed to install apps like AliExpress, Amazon Shopping, Booking.com and TikTok on your phone.

Fortunately, you can delete these apps, but such practices prevent us from considering Xiaomi phones as a serious option for the business market. It’s a shame that Xiaomi is once again shooting a flagship in the foot. The update policy with four years of software updates and five years of security updates is solid, but here too, competing devices perform better.

Verdict

The Xiaomi 14 has many strengths. If you ignore the chunky camera island, the device presents itself as a professional smartphone and meets this requirement with its powerful interior. The performance of the cameras is also at the top level and the device finally has a battery that can last. All the ingredients seem to be there for the Xiaomi 14 to rise to the elite of the smartphone industry.

Unfortunately, this step is not being taken. The software is killing Xiaomi again. The new HyperOS sticks to old, bad habits. The scandalous bloatware is a principle that Xiaomi urgently needs to learn to abandon if it ever wants to be considered a full-fledged winner.

The Xiaomi 14 is available in three colors: black, white and green. Prices start at 999 euros for 12 GB + 256 GB and 1,099 euros for 12 GB + 512 GB, including VAT.

Android Update Policy: Xiaomi promises at least five years of security updates and four years of Android OS updates. This period begins with the launch on October 26, 2023 with Android 14.