Xiaomi 14 First Impressions: A Compact Flagship That’s Quickly Growing on Me

The Xiaomi 14 recently made its global debut head of MWC 2024 alongside the top-end Xiaomi 14 Ultra. However, unlike the 'Ultra' model, the vanilla Xiaomi 14 is making its debut in India on March 7.

Xiaomi is also breaking from tradition, launching the vanilla model of its flagship in India as opposed to the Xiaomi 12 Pro and Xiaomi 13 Pro. On the other hand, the Xiaomi 14 Pro is going to be limited to the Chinese market. The Xiaomi 14 will also be the second smartphone from the brand to feature Lecia cameras in the country.

Xiaomi 14 Price in India (Expected)

Considering the Xiaomi 14 was already unveiled globally, its specifications are already known. Moreover, the company has confirmed that the Xiaomi 14 price in India will start from under Rs 75,000, exclusive of bank offers.

To recall, the Xiaomi 14 price in Europe is set at €999 (roughly Rs 89,900), while Chinese pricing starts from CNY 3,999 (roughly Rs 46,050). We've been testing out the Xiaomi 14 for a few days now and here are our initial impressions of the handset.

Xiaomi 14 Design, Build

Before we dive into our Xiaomi 14 first impressions, I have a bit of a confession. I wasn't pleased to hear that Xiaomi wouldn't be bringing the 'Pro' model of its latest flagship to India, considering both the Xiaomi 12 Pro and 13 Pro were unveiled in the country.

However, my brief experience with the vanilla Xiaomi 14 has been nothing short of delightful. Starting with the fun size, which isn't just compact but feels extremely comfortable for one hand usage thanks to the flat screen, rounded edges, slim body, and relatively light build.

Yes, for a phone with a metal chassis and glass protection on both sides, the Xiaomi 14 comes in under 200 grams and measures just 8.2mm thick, making it slimmer than the iPhone 15 Pro. In India, the Xiaomi 14 will be unveiled in White, Jade Green, and Black color options.

Unfortunately, our green model's glossy finish was resistant to fingerprints and smudges, although it does look elegant. The case in the box does take care of the fingerprints but it does take away from the phone's iconic design. To round things off, the Xiaomi 14 also features an IP68 rating for dust and water resistance.

Xiaomi 14 Specifications

For the display, Xiaomi has opted for a custom 6.36-inch 1.5K (1200 x 2670 pixels) LTPO C8 OLED display with a 20:9 aspect ratio. The panel boasts an adaptive 120Hz refresh rate (1Hz - 120Hz). The panel also supports Dolby Vision and HDR10+ formats.
The screen on the Xiaomi 14 Ultra feels top notch and is visible under all lighting thanks to its peak brightness of 3,00 nits. The screen also features TÜV Rheinland Low Blue Light and TÜV Rheinland Flicker Free certifications.

The phone is powered by the latest Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 SoC paired with up to 16GB of LPDDR5X RAM and up to 512GB of UFS 4.0 storage. It also boasts an innovative cooling system that provides 3 times the thermal efficiency compared to traditional VC cooling solutions. In our brief experience with the handset, it worked smoothly for daily usage and didn't have any hiccups running demanding mobile games.

The Xiaomi 14 also packs a 4,610 mAh battery, which is quite large for a phone this size. It can deliver all-day battery life under heavy usage. Xiaomi also includes a 90W adapter in the box that can deliver a full charge in 31 minutes. The Xiaomi 14 also supports 50W wireless charging, which is faster than the wired charging on most premium smartphones.

The Xiaomi 14 runs Android 14-based HyperOS out of the box. Xiaomi has committed to four years of Android OS updates and five years of regular security updates with the handset. Xiaomi's flagship handset also packs hybrid stereo speakers with Dolby Atmos support. Connectivity options include Wi-Fi 7, NFC, Bluetooth 5.4, 5G, dual-SIM support, and more.

Xiaomi 14 Cameras

For optics, the Xiaomi 14 is equipped with a triple-rear camera setup on the back co-developed with Leica. The setup includes a 50 MP Hunter Light Fusion 900 image sensor with an f/1.62 aperture and OIS support. The 23mm main camera features Leica's Summilux lens.

The Xiaomi 14 also features a 50 MP Lecia 75mm Floating telephoto lens with an f/2.0 aperture, OIS, and 3.2x optical zoom. Lastly, there's a third 50 MP ultrawide shooter with an f/2.2 aperture and a 115-degree FOV. Up front, there's a 32 MP OmniVision OV32B40 selfie camera with an f/2.0 aperture that can record 4K video at up to 60fps. Here's a look at some samples taken on the Xiaomi 14.

In our limited experience with the Xiaomi 14, we felt that the phone performed admirably during the day and at night, delivering a flagship experience. But is it worthy of the price tag, stay tuned for our full Xiaomi 14 review to find out.

Xiaomi 14: Our Initial Impressions

In my brief experience with the Xiaomi 14, it is safe to say that the overall experience was nothing short of premium. I feel the Xiaomi 14 is going to give the Galaxy S24 and iPhone 15 a real run of their money, offering far better hardware for the price.

While the new Leica cameras and Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset are among the key highlights of the Xiaomi 14, I think the new compact design is a very underrated aspect of the phone. Less than a week on and I'm already loving the in-hand feel. It is going to be hard going back to a larger smartphone after this. Stay tuned to Gizbot for my full Xiaomi 14 review.