A silver LEICA logo is starting back at me, as I unpack the latest Xiaomi flagship. I would have mentioned the design or other features first, but the Leica partnership is undoubtedly one of the most alluring aspects. I’ve been taking the Xiaomi 14 along on my weekly adventures over the last couple of weeks and it’s slowly but surely made its way into my heart. 

Design & Display

I’ve got the all-black colour variant, although I think the Jade Green finish looks the most appealing. A square camera island with rounded corners draws the eye to the top left. The soft matte texture finish on the rear panel is smooth to the touch and offers a firm grip. And, surprisingly keeps smudging away for the most part. 

There’s a 6.36-inch AMOLED display, perfect for those who prefer compact Android smartphones. It’s a little smaller than what I’m used to. However, the screen offers a high resolution of 2,670 x 1,200 pixels resolution. It has a dynamic refresh rate of up to 120 Hz for smooth animations and scrolling. There’s a fingerprint sensor under the screen, which works snappily enough, and also doubles up as a heart rate monitor. 

Camera

The camera setup is one of the USPs of the Xiaomi 14. The primary setup consists of a 50 MP camera with a 1/1.31-inch sensor, a 50 MP ultra-wide camera with a 115-degree field of view, and a 50 MP telephoto lens with auto-focus and optical image stabilisation. The collaboration with Leica brings in two modes Leica Authentic Look and Leica Vibrant Look which I can toggle through from the top right of the viewfinder. The difference between the two thankfully isn’t too dramatic. The Leica Vibrant mode amps up colour saturation just a tad bit,w without distorting it to unrealistic levels. The photos taken in ample daylight were sharp and vivid. The low-light pictures I took on the Xiaomi 14 didn’t disappoint either. The noise was minimal, with the accuracy of the colour tones not being compromised. AI watermark, Supermoon, Panorama, Documents, Long exposure and Pro mode are some of the preset imaging modes backed into the camera app. For videos, there’s a special Movie Mode that automatically focuses on the main subject, switches focus, and provides a decent bokeh effect to make it look more cinematic. The results were mixed on this one with there being some stutters while manually shifting focus. 

The 32 MP selfie camera made me look great in my online gym sessions as well as work meetings. And, in the selfies too. I used the PalmTimer to test out some front-camera snaps. Even with minimal smoothening, the selfies were bright, and prime to share on social media. There’s a host of lovely filters I could use as well. 

Tech Specs

The Xiaomi 14 is powered by the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 mobile platform and runs Xiaomi HyperOS, which the company has been making a big deal of. There’s a standard 12 GB of RAM across variants, with the storage options being either 256 GB or 512 GB. My daily usage included taking photographs, streaming from Spotify, checking emails, catching up on reading, and some casual gaming. After all, the burgers aren’t gonna cook themselves!

The Xiaomi 14 handled all tasks, and multitasking with ease. It also never heated up with extended use of videos or gameplay. The only downside is the Xiaomi 14 has way more bloatware than I’d expect to see on a flagship device. The UI brings in some features that one might find useful such as the sidebar which houses apps for quick access. There are a bunch of floating window options where I can resize windows, move them around, and hide them when I don’t need them. However, it’s not something I felt the need to do often during the two weeks I used the phone. 

According to the company, the smartphone will get four years of Android updates and five years of security patches.

Battery

The Xiaomi 14 houses a massive 4,610 mAh battery, coupled with a 90W HyperCharge for rapid wired charging. It is also designed for wireless charging. With my usage, which would be moderate at best, it went on for a full day and would still have anywhere between 45-60 per cent charge at the end of the day. 

Verdict

The Xiaomi 14 might be a good choice for you if you love compact flagships. It boasts a great set of cameras, and well-built hardware, and offers great battery life and super-fast charging. What you might not like is the bloatware, but it’s nothing a quick round of uninstalling can’t take care of. If you love bigger screens or are not a fan of UI overlays, then you might want to check out competitors such as the Google Pixel 8 or even the Samsung Galaxy S24, although they cost just a tad bit more.

Price - ₹69,999 onwards

Pros - Compact flagship, Leica-branded photography experience, smooth performance, fast charge, wireless charging

Cons - Too much bloatware

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