Xiaomi presented its new flagship smartphone lineup at the recent Mobile World Congress, and the Xiaomi 14 is the base model of the series, which is already available in Greek stores. I traveled to Barcelona, saw the new smartphones and their presentation up close, and for the past two weeks I have had the Xiaomi 14 in my possession, along with the Xiaomi Watch S23. 

So how did the new Android smartphone perform, and how did it help me in my daily life? I have been testing almost all the new phones released for nearly a decade now, both Android and iOS, and the truth is that Xiaomi's new offering is quite distinctive.

Where has the smartphone improved?

The Xiaomi series has been in the market for several years and it is logical that it has gained its own fans. However, the company seems to constantly work on improving its mobile phones. So what has changed? Firstly, the screen is much brighter, specifically 50% better than the Xiaomi 13. What does this mean in my everyday life? It means that even in the center of Athens in the middle of summer, I will be able to see my phone's screen! Another important aspect is the refresh rate in Hz on the screen. The Xiaomi 13 had a refresh rate that changed from 60 to 120Hz, while the Xiaomi 14 has increased the range from 1Hz to 120Hz. Practically, this means that the screen refresh rate changes depending on what is being displayed. In a video game, it is important for the image to constantly change and for the action to have a smooth flow, while when reading a webpage on the internet, there are no such requirements. One might ask, "why does this matter to me?" The answer is simple: the lower the refresh rate in Hz, the lower the battery consumption. Therefore, the phone adjusts to what is being displayed and accordingly reduces its battery consumption. The second improvement is in the cameras, which offer better photos and videos, while the change in charging is also significant, as it now supports wired charging at 90W, which fills it up in no time.

How did I evaluate it? 

The main criteria for a smartphone for me are its performance, its cameras, and its battery in combination with its charging. In terms of performance, Xiaomi's choices are correct at all levels. The Xiaomi 14 manages to perform excellently in "difficult" games like Genshin Impact, as well as in several emulators that I have seen struggle with modern games in various cases. The Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, which is at the "heart" of the phone, ensures that everything runs smoothly, always in combination with the 12GB of memory and the 512GB of storage space. As for the cameras, there is no need for much analysis. Xiaomi's collaboration with Leica has already brought exceptional results, and the two companies have created a result that helped me take excellent photos and videos without requiring me to have extensive specialized knowledge. This is one of the aspects that I always look at in high-end phones: how good image and video quality a phone captures in automatic settings, the ones that the average user will utilize. The more advanced features obviously boost performance, but this certainly happens in the majority of phones for someone who knows. The truth is that whether we are talking about an exhibition and a closed space with lights and many booths, or a walk in the countryside with open landscapes, the Xiaomi 14 helped me capture some unique moments.

Finally, regarding the battery and charging, since I use the smartphone for recording videos and taking photos for my reports, it is easy to understand that I want something that is durable, but also - if needed - will charge quickly. The Xiaomi 14 charges (with the charger included in the purchase package) in about half an hour, and it can even charge other devices through reverse charging at 10W, which saved me in a situation at the Mobile World Congress, where I charged my new wireless headphones.

Advantages/Disadvantages

Among the advantages of Xiaomi 14, I include the following:

• Excellent display with unique brightness
• Performance in office tasks, but also in games
• Very good cameras for the average user, but also for the content creator
• Charger, cable, and protective case included in the packaging box

As for the disadvantages of Xiaomi 14, I include the following:

Sometimes Xiaomi throttles performance to save energy.

Conclusion: Xiaomi 14 is one of the standout smartphones on the market. It offers significant improvements compared to previous market models, improved lenses and cameras, a clearly better display, fast charging, and a battery that lasts almost a whole day. Overall, it is one of the most complete Android models currently available on the market.

Discover also the Xiaomi 14 Ultra!