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Android fans have a lot to look forward to in 2025
The Xiaomi 14 Ultra (left) and Honor Magic 7 Pro (right) (Image credit: Future / Honor) Qualcomm debuted its Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset at Snapdragon Summit 2024, and various phone makers have since come forward to confirm that their upcoming flagships will be powered by the all-new (and all-powerful) mobile platform. Qualcomm flew TechRadar to Hawaii and hosted us at the Snapdragon Summit to hear all of the latest news.
Both Xiaomi and Honor joined Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon on stage in Hawaii to announce that the Xiaomi 15 and Honor Magic 7 series, respectively, will launch this month (likely in China) with the Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset.
Asus, too, confirmed that the upcoming Asus ROG Phone 9 will be powered by the Snapdragon 8 Elite, and Samsung mobile chief TM Roh also appeared at Snapdragon Summit to reaffirm his company’s ongoing partnership with Qualcomm. Roh didn’t mention the Samsung Galaxy S25 series by name, but you can bet your house that the best Samsung phones we see in 2025 will come packing the Snapdragon 8 Elite (disclaimer: that’s not serious financial advice).
Xiaomi SVP Adam Zeng announcing the Xiaomi 15 on stage at Snapdragon Summit(Image credit: Future)
Honor CMO Ray Guo announcing the Honor Magic 7 Pro on stage at Snapdragon Summit(Image credit: Honor)
In other words, it’s highly likely that many of next year’s best Android phones will be powered by the Snapdragon 8 Elite, with Samsung’s Galaxy S25 series being the first of that number to ship in the US, UK, and Australia (we’re anticipating a January release date). Those aforementioned models from Xiaomi, Honor, and OnePlus will presumably debut in China first, before launching internationally at a later date in 2025.
As for how the Snapdragon 8 Elite stacks up against its predecessor, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, it’s the first Snapdragon mobile chipset to feature Qualcomm’s second-generation Oryon CPU, and has been designed to “handle the complexities of multi-modal AI” much more efficiently.
Any phones equipped with Qualcomm’s latest chipset will deliver faster app launches, more seamless multitasking, and more powerful generative AI capabilities than their Snapdragon 8 Gen 3-equipped predecessors, and mobile gamers, too, will benefit from sharper images, smoother gameplay, and longer gameplay sessions thanks to the 8 Elite’s improved Adreno GPU.
The first phone with Qualcomm’s new chip will be Xiaomi’s next flagship device.
On stage at Qualcomm’s Snapdragon Summit in Hawaii, the chipmaker introduced its newest silicon for premium phones, the Snapdragon 8 Elite. Soon after, Xiaomi took the stage to declare that the first device to use this chip would be its own flagship Xiaomi 15, which is coming by the end of October.
Xiaomi senior vice president Adam Zeng made the announcement, detailing the first performance advantages the Snapdragon 8 Elite will bring to phones. The Xiaomi 15 series has a 29.7% decrease in power consumption and runs 3 degrees Celsius cooler at peak temperatures. Given Qualcomm’s emphasis on battery efficiency in the new Snapdragon 8 Elite, this is the first real-world example of how the chip improves phones.
Xiaomi did the same thing at last year’s Snapdragon Summit when it revealed the Xiaomi 14 would be the first phone to run last year’s leading Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip. It was the Xiaomi 14 Ultra released back in April that impressed me with its fast speeds, great cameras and AI features.
Qualcomm says its Snapdragon 8 Elite offers many advancements thanks to its Oryon CPU, which debuted in the company’s PC chips last year. On mobile, this promises higher performance as well as greater efficiency, especially when performing intensive tasks. For example, phones using the chip can game for 2.5 hours longer, Qualcomm says. The new chip also offers more generative AI features.
More phones will use the Snapdragon 8 Elite, including the Asus ROG Phone 9 which is set to launch in November, but the Xiaomi 15 will be the first across the finish line to show what the chip is capable of. We’ll have to wait and see how (and if) it harnesses the additional generative AI and camera capabilities debuting in the Snapdragon 8 Elite.
The Snapdragon 8 Elite is built to lengthen battery life and boost performance on upcoming premium Android phones.
The new chip will enable even more generative AI capabilities, which became the showcase feature that tech companies scrambled to integrate into their products this year. The smartphone industry had its own competitive race toward generative AI starting with the Galaxy AI-equipped Samsung Galaxy S24 in January, while the iPhone 16 series is set to get parts of Apple Intelligence in a future update. While nascent with only a few standout features thus far, Qualcomm’s next chip aims to support more features that will give users even more reason to buy Snapdragon 8 Elite-equipped phones.
The Snapdragon 8 Elite builds on the foundation laid by Qualcomm’s previous chip, last year’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, which was the company’s first chip capable of generative AI capabilities. The new chip includes even more AI expertise, such as support for an AI assistant to use the camera to recognize objects in real time, and a new trick that generates lighting so that your artificially well-lit face shows up in videos with bright backgrounds. That’s in addition to features that were available on the previous-generation chip, like image generation through Stable Diffusion and expanding photos beyond their original boundaries.
The chip has an improved neural processing unit, with more cores resulting, in what Qualcomm claims, is up to 45% faster AI performance and better power efficiency. The NPU now integrates multimodal generative AI applications on the device, meaning it can handle inputs from multiple sensors and data sources (audio, video, personal info and more) to answer queries.
The 8 Elite can support more than 70 tokens per second, a metric for how many inputs (text, photos and so on) can be considered when answering queries.
While the previous three years of Qualcomm top-tier chips were Snapdragon Gen 1, Gen 2 and Gen 3, the Snapdragon 8 Elite breaks from its naming convention to signify it’s the best of the best, Qualcomm says. That’s because the 8 Elite is the first of the company’s mobile chips to use the new Qualcomm-designed Oryon CPU. To wit, the company introduced its Snapdragon X Elite PC chips a year ago, which were the first to pack Oryon CPUs.
The 8 Elite uses a second-generation Oryon CPU with a 3-nanometer process (smaller than the 4nm of last year’s Kryo CPU), which helps enable the chip’s 45% greater efficiency. Upgrades in chip architecture have led to 45% better overall performance, but the more interesting benefit is a 62% improvement in web browsing performance — meaning consumers should see websites and web-based apps load faster.
“I think we’ve all experienced one time or another that a website, even though your phone is great, slows down and is labored. So [the Oryon CPU] is going to provide a [browsing] experience that rivals any kind of desktop,” Chris Patrick, a Qualcomm senior vice president and general manager of the mobile handset division, said in a briefing.
This won’t just make it faster to load websites. Many modern apps and software rely on web browsing, so having a CPU designed to speed that up will have knock-on improvements to services consumers use every day.
That improved efficiency applies to high-intensity activities like gaming, and Qualcomm says its new chip enables up to 2.5 hours of additional playtime.
The Snapdragon 8 Elite also improves camera performance, mainly through a new ISP with better AI touches on autofocus, white balance and exposure, all of which happens behind the scenes and should result in better photos. The NPU can also now directly access the camera sensors themselves for real-time enhancements, including for video. Phonemakers can plug their camera algorithms directly into this pipeline.
The 8 Elite also has a round of connectivity improvements mainly due to — you guessed it — AI. The X80 5G Modem uses AI on multiantenna management to better juggle signals for clearer connections, while the FastConnect 7900 integrates Wi-Fi and Bluetooth to reduce latency. This makes it possible for calls leaving Bluetooth range to hand off the connection to Wi-Fi to keep the call going.
We’ll have to wait until new phones with the Snapdragon 8 Elite actually launch to see how much of a difference the new chip makes. But based on Qualcomm’s claims, it sounds like the chip should bring a mix of general and AI-fueled upgrades to the next generation of Android phones.
Xiaomi has created a product listing for the Power Bank 10000mAh 22.5W Lite on its global website, suggesting it will soon be available in more countries. The accessory allows you to charge three devices simultaneously, with features like a low-current charging mode and LEDs to indicate the remaining battery level.
Xiaomi is expected to launch the Power Bank 10000mAh 22.5W Lite worldwide. (Image source: Xiaomi)
The Xiaomi Power Bank 10000mAh 22.5W Lite has appeared on the brand’s global website. The accessory launched in China in 2023 and is now expected to roll out to countries worldwide in the near future.
The Power Bank 10000mAh 22.5W Lite can be used to charge three devices simultaneously via one USB-C and two USB-A ports. With support for PD and QC3+ fast charging protocols, the 22.5W output allows you to fully recharge a Nintendo Switch in 3.4 hours. An iPhone 14 could charge at 20W to 57% in half an hour or to 100% in two hours. According to Xiaomi, the 10000mAh capacity allows you to charge an iPhone 14 twice, a Nintendo Switch 1.3 times or a Xiaomi 13 1.7 times. You can recharge the portable power bank at 22.5W via the USB-C ports, fully charging in around 4.5 hours.
Other features include a low-current charging mode, LED battery level indicator lights and protection against nine issues, such as overheating and short circuits. The lightweight device weighs around 227g (~0.5 lbs), measures 148.4 x 73 x 15 mm (~5.84 x 2.8 x 0.6 inches) and is suitable for air travel. It is unclear when the Xiaomi Power Bank 10000mAh 22.5W Lite will reach other markets, and how much it will cost. As a guide, the accessory has an RRP of CNY 89 (Nz $20) in China. The product will compete with similar models like the Anker Power Bank (10K, 22.5W).
The Xiaomi Power Bank 22.5W Lite was designed to be a lightweight and portable companion for your smartphone, with a flat body that is easy to carry with your phone when you travel and won’t bulge in your backpack. The 2A1C port configuration supports 22.5W fast charging output for all ports and up to three devices can charge simultaneously.
In conclusion, the Xiaomi Power Bank 22.5W Lite is a powerful, lightweight, and affordable portable power bank that offers multiple fast charging protocols suitable for most consumer electronics products on the market. Its compact design, low-current mode, and ability to charge up to three devices simultaneously make it an ideal companion for travelers and anyone on the go. Overall, the Xiaomi Power Bank 22.5W Lite is a great value for its price point and is sure to meet the needs of anyone looking for a reliable and efficient portable power bank.
Xiaomi 15 Ultra could come with the same periscope telephoto camera as the Vivo X200 Pro (Image source: Xiaomi)
The Xiaomi 15 Ultra will be one of the brand’s premium smartphones featuring the next-gen Snapdragon 8 series SoC. It’s now tipped to launch within the first quarter of 2025 and will reportedly feature an upgraded periscope telephoto sensor compared to its predecessor.
>>>>BP51 Battery for Xiaomi 14 Ultra Xiaomi will be among the first brands to launch smartphones featuring the next-gen Snapdragon 8 series SoC. The name of this 3nm mobile chipset has not been confirmed yet, but it may be called the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4, Snapdragon 8 Extreme Edition, or Snapdragon 8 Elite. However, leaks around the phones that are expected to feature it are still rolling out in full force.
The latest one comes from Digital Chat Station, a prominent Weibo leaker, who shared some key information about the Xiaomi 15 Ultra. According to the tipster, the top-end phone will be launching after the Chinese New Year, which begins with the appearance of the new moon.
That suggests that the Xiaomi 15 Ultra could launch within the first quarter of 2025. This timeframe aligns with the launch timeline of its predecessor, which launched in February of this year.
Besides sharing the possible launch timeframe, Digital Chat Station has also reported on the periscope telephoto camera of the Xiaomi 15 Ultra. It’s said to be the same 200 MP Samsung HP9 sensor that’s found in the Vivo X100 Ultra and the X200 Pro models. This periscope sensor is reported to offer 4.3x optical zoom.
As for the other three cameras, a previous leak suggested that the primary camera will be a Sony LYT-900 50 MP primary sensor, while the ultra-wide is said to be a 50 MP IMX858 sensor. The second telephoto will reportedly be a 50 MP IMX858 sensor. So, only the periscope telephoto camera may change in the upcoming flagship.
Verdict An accomplished clamshell with plenty of power, a big battery, and appealing image processing. The Xiaomi Mix Flip is a fine first effort that turns the category into a three horse race.
Pros
Equally usable whether open or folded, with two stellar screens
Clean, detailed photo with striking Leica colours
Long-lasting battery with rapid charging
Cons
Outer screen support still in the early stages
No water resistance rating
Heavy use sees it get toasty
Introduction Having previously stayed firmly on home soil for its book-style foldables, Xiaomi has decided there’s now enough excitement around clamshells to go global with its debut effort flip phone. The Mix Flip has some catching up to do, with main rivals Motorola and Samsung already several generations deep – but Xiaomi reckons having one of the biggest batteries in the class and a novel take on the cover screen will make all the difference. Of course it comes with a few AI smarts – what phone doesn’t right now? Leica-influenced image processing also promises to extract the full potential from a pair of 50MP cameras, which should make photography fans sit up and take notice. However, it’s priced to almost directly rival the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip6 here in Europe, leaving the Motorola Razr 50 Ultra to go it alone as the more affordable alternative.
After spending a few weeks using one as my main handset, I’m not convinced Xiaomi has cracked the flip phone formula at the first time of asking – but it definitely does a few things better than any alternative.
Stop me if you’ve heard this one before. With flat sides made from polished metal, rear glass with a matte finish, and a front-filling screen with two big bites taken out by a pair of exterior snappers, the Xiaomi Mix Flip is about as on trend as a flip phone gets right now. The materials used fend off fingerprints rather well, or at least they did on my black review unit – I’ve yet to see the purple variant in person.
Weighing a respectable 192g and measuring 16mm thick when folded, it’s a little heavier and ever-so-slightly thicker than either the Galaxy Z Flip6 or Razr 50 Ultra. I still had no issues holding it one-handed while folded, and the square shape helped it slip perfectly into my pockets. Though on the subject of slipping, that rear glass does make it quick to slide around on soft surfaces. Don’t expect to put it down on a sofa cushion and it be in the same place when you return.
Opened up this is a tall, slender phone, but the slightly rounded outer panels both have slightly rounded edges that make it more comfortable to grip than the Samsung alternative. You also get one extra goodie the Galaxy omits: an IR blaster for controlling other gadgets.
The Mix Flip’s 4.01in cover screen is larger than pretty much every other clamshell, and makes space for the two large camera lenses in a sensible way. The portion of AMOLED panel directly beneath them is reserved for a bunch of widgets, leaving the rest free to run apps in a familiar 16:9 aspect ratio – with no awkward cutouts or obscured areas like you’ll find on Samsung’s Z Flip6 and the Motorola Razr 50 Ultra.
It’s a real treat for the eyes, being bright enough to see clearly outdoors and with the same impactful colours as the larger inner display. Contrast is unsurprisingly epic (it is an OLED, after all), text looks crisp courtesy of a high 1392×1208 resolution, and viewing angles are great, too. Waking it up can be tricky using the power button, which really needed a textured finish to make it stand out from the volume controls; better to activate double tap-to-wake for when you’re just checking the time or glancing at new notifications.
Inside there’s a sizeable 6.86in flexible AMOLED good for 120Hz refresh rates and a peak 3000 nits brightness. That makes it brighter than the Galaxy Z Flip6 on paper, and on par with the Razr 50 UItra. All three are usable outdoors in my experience, and those numbers mainly refer to the brightest bits of HDR content anyway. The Xiaomi is packing plenty of pixels, and has a great colour balance.
Motorola is still the best at hiding its screen creases, with Xiaomi’s being a lot more noticeable. The protective layer on top of the flexibler panel also really highlights light reflections, but I’d say that’s also the case with every other flip phone I’ve used.
Loud and clean-sounding stereo speakers help the Mix Flip make a good impression when streaming music or watching videos. There’s even a small hint of bass, though not to the extent you’ll want to leave your headphones at home. Bluetooth or USB-C only, of course – there’s no 3.5mm port in sight.
Cameras: has the Leica look
After a few years in the doldrums, it’s great to see flip phones finally getting the sort of camera hardware that can compete with traditional handsets. We’re not talking the true flagship-grade stuff yet, but thew Mix Flip’s twin 50MP snappers are nothing to be sniffed at. The lead lens has an f/1.7 aperture and optical image stabilisation, while the secondary is good for 2x optical zoom – or 4x magnification with some sensor cropping. There’s also a 32MP punch-hole camera which is best reserved for video calls.
That there’s no ultrawide lens will divide opinions. Some will argue the main camera’s high pixel count should be good enough for cropped 2x snaps to negate the need for a dedicated telephoto; others will be glad to see the back of a lens they rarely used in favour of one more suited to portraits. I’m in the latter camp.
What matters most is that the two sensors are wonderfully consistent, with the same excellent colour treatment courtesy of two Leica-backed processing modes. The vignetting seen on Leica Authentic shots adds an almost analogue feel that few clamshell rivals can match. It won’t be to all tastes, though, so Xiaomi wisely defaults to the Leica Vivid setting instead. These colours will probably appeal more to Samsung phone owners, who like their pics a little more vibrant.
Either way, you should expect an excellent level of detail across the board, with plenty of dynamic range, minimal noise and the sort of dramatic contrast that gives depth to even mundane scenes. The 2x zoom lens holds up very well during the day, albeit with a softer presentation the further you get from the centre of the frame. 4x shots are softer still, but you won’t notice unless you’re peeping at pixels. That you can use this lens for close-ups is a real win, too.
Software experience: first flip steps
Xiaomi’s Android UI, HyperOS, hasn’t been tweaked all that heavily to accommodate the Mix Flip’s outer screen. A new entry in the Settings screen lets you change its wallpaper, pick from a handful of widgets to fill the bottom corner, and select which apps are available without opening the phone up.
Not every app is supported, and I couldn’t find a way to test my luck with ones Xiaomi had yet to greenlight, unlike Motorola’s more relaxed approach or Samsung’s jump-through-hoops workaround. The firm reckons there are at least 200 heavy hitters at launch, including Facebook, Spotify, Google Maps, Chrome and YouTube. They all work about as well as you’d expect, crammed into a space roughly the same size as the original iPhone’s screen, with small icons that can be fiddly to tap. I was surprised how well I could type out SMS messages on the diddy onscreen keyboard, though.
The selection of widgets that can fill the small chunk of screen real estate beneath the camera lenses is pretty limited at launch, and while Xiaomi has committed to four new Android generations, it remains to be seen whether it’ll expand the Flip-specific features any time soon. There’s no way to download more through its Themes app, either.
As a higher-end handset, the Mix Flip has less pre-installed bloat than the Xiaomi 14T Pro. There’s mostly just the own-brand ones vying for your attention alongside Google’s usual selection.
Elsewhere, Xiaomi is ploughing on with AI adoption, bringing Google Gemini at launch and Circle to Search soon with an OTA update. Artificial intelligence also powers system-wide subtitles (a nice push for accessibility, if not always accurate), and will eventually include text summaries, audio transcription and language translation – though none were on my review unit.
I could try AI expansion, which extends images you’ve cropped in on too tightly, and AI Magic Erase Pro to remove unwanted objects and people from photos. I’d say both work as advertised, though Google and Samsung’s algorithms produce pics that are a little more convincing right now.
Performance & battery life: plentiful power, not always needed
With a Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset, 12GB of RAM and a healthy 512GB of storage, the Mix Flip ticks the same hardware boxes as most top-tier Android phones released this year, clamshell or otherwise. That gives it an advantage over the Razr 50 Ultra’s downclocked S variant, and should mean it slots beneath Samsung’s “for Galaxy”-tuned silicon.
Benchmarks say otherwise, with the Xiaomi carving out a lead in both AnTuTu and the Geekbench single- and multi-core tests. Unsurprisingly that translated to near-flawless performance in regular use, with apps opening in a flash and split-screen multitasking always smooth.
The problem is it can’t maintain peak performance for too long without getting hot under the collar. That’s unlikely to cause issues if you’re sticking to streaming, image editing and productivity tasks, but could mean a slightly diminished performance in games over time. Demanding releases like Zenless Zone Zero let me crank the details and played smoothly for a short burst, but gamers might want to think about alternatives. Then again, I’m hopelessly addicted to Balatro right now, which doesn’t push the phone anywhere near its limits and can easily wipe away hours of my evenings.
It has the largest battery capacity of any flip phone I’ve tried to date, but the Mix Flip also has a flagship-grade CPU sapping power at a considerable rate. In a video rundown test, it managed between 14 and 15 hours – roughly the same as the Razr 50 Ultra. Motorola’s phone has a smaller battery, but also a less potent processor, so it evens out overall.
The nature of a clamshell meant I wasn’t opening the Mix Flip every time a notification came through, so I was less likely to check in on my social feeds and news apps. That resulted in better real world battery life than I’ve seen from traditional phones with even bigger batteries. I had to work hard to drain it completely in a day spend connected to Wi-Fi, and it was only while travelling exclusively on 5G that I felt the need to plug in before the evening was out. Xiaomi has done far better in this respect than Samsung’s latest flip phone.
The Mix Flip has the Galaxy Z Flip6 soundly beaten on wired charging speeds, too. On a 67W power brick, a full charge takes a little over 50 minutes, or half the time it takes the Samsung to do the same. You don’t get wireless charging here, though – something you will find on the Galaxy.
Xiaomi Mix Flip verdict
I don’t think the Xiaomi Mix Flip is the very best clamshell phone around – but it does dominate the competition in a few key areas. Battery life and charging speeds are fantastic, the sensibly-shaped outer screen is a great shape for full-screen apps (if still a little cramped), and the cameras produce wonderfully atmospheric photos with very little effort.
If those features are higher on your wish list than water resistance or a clean take on Android, this is a phone that deserves your attention – even if that means accepting a less than subtle crease on the inner screen. Xiaomi’s burgeoning app ecosystem and AI enhancements are a step behind Samsung’s, too – and the Mix Flip doesn’t have price on its side compared to the Z Flip6, now that discounts and contract deals have come into effect.
It’s the outside choice, but one that’ll reward keen photographers in a way few flip phones can.
Thinking about defecting from Apple? The Xiaomi 14T Pro is a value-tastic iPhone 16 alternative
If you’re thinking about the best phones and jumping ship from iPhone to Android, then Xiaomi’s new 14T Pro makes an incredibly compelling case.
Specifically, when comparing the Xiaomi 14T Pro to the iPhone 16, Apple’s entry-level 2024 smartphone, the 14T Pro runs rings around the iPhone in a few key areas despite costing significantly less. I’m not talking about insignificant, nice-to-have features either, with Xiaomi’s phone packing much more storage, superior camera specs, a higher-capacity and faster charging battery, and even giving you a case and a pre-fitted screen protector in the box.
Are you reading this and waiting for the catch, though? I’ve tried Xiaomi’s 14T Pro and this isn’t a clunky plastic Android phone with hardly any power. From the glass back that curves into the metal frame, to its IP68 dust- and water-resistant body, the Xiaomi 14T Pro looks and feels fantastic. It’s also powered by a MediaTek Dimensity 9300+ chipset, a flagship processor that chews through the latest AAA mobile games, and most of Xiaomi’s artificial intelligence (AI) features are ready to go from launch. Having tested out the new Xiaomi 14T Pro, here are 5 key features that I think are its biggest appeal. Especially if you’re looking for one of the best Android phones and don’t want to pay big money for your purchase.
As you can see from the breakdown below, the Xiaomi 14T Pro’s price-to-storage ratio is much better value than the iPhone 16’s.
The 14T Pro’s starting capacity is 256GB, making its matching 256GB iPhone 16 rival far more expensive, despite, as I’ll come onto, its inferior spec in so many key areas.
In fact, if you want years of storage, you could buy the 1TB Xiaomi 14T Pro for the same price as the 128GB iPhone 16.
Gamers and geeks might be wondering if Xiaomi uses slower UFS 3.1 storage or past-gen LPDDR4X RAM to hit that kind of price, but the 14T Pro runs with nippy UFS 4.0 and LPDDR5X memory, matching the iPhone 16 and 16 Pro head-on.
Where the iPhone edges ahead is with its 3nm chipset, which uses a more cutting-edge manufacturing process, but truth be told, the MediaTek 9300+ is a beast of a chip – so neither phone is left wanting in terms of performance.
iPhones always have smaller batteries than their Android counterparts. One reason is that Apple’s iOS software is more power-efficient than its Android equivalent. Another is that iPhones tend to have smaller screens and bodies, reducing the need and space for huge-capacity cells. A final point is that folks with smaller iPhones are typically used to settling for less screen time than Android users.
When you look at the iPhone 16’s battery specs and charging credentials alongside those of the 14T Pro, anyone concerned about not making it through a full day or in need of fast top-ups looks set to be better served by Xiaomi’s new phone.
Starting with capacity: the iPhone 16’s battery is a modest 3561mAh. This should get most through a full day, especially considering the phone’s compact 6.1-inch screen, but power users will struggle if hot-spotting and video recording for long bouts.
The Xiaomi 14T Pro’s 6.67-inch screen saps battery quicker, but I still found it easy to get through a busy day with 15-20% power remaining thanks to its much higher capacity 5000mAh cell.
Going beyond battery life, the Xiaomi 14T Pro’s charging speeds are also much faster than those of the iPhone 16, across both wired and wireless charging. Neither phone ships with a charger in the box, but both phones support a standard of fast-charging called Power Delivery (PD), with the iPhone 16 Pro capping out at PD 2.0, and the Xiaomi 14T Pro at a faster PD 3.0.
Xiaomi also implements its own proprietary fast charging in the 14T Pro – 120W HyperCharge – which powers the phone up fully in 19 minutes, while the iPhone takes roughly 2 hours.
Even though Apple has bumped up its wireless charging speed to 25W for 2024, it still can’t keep up with Xiaomi’s 50W wireless charging, which takes 45 minutes to charge the phone. That’s less than half the time it takes when plugging in an iPhone 16.
To hit those max speeds across Apple and Xiaomi devices, whether wired or wireless, you will need to pick up compatible chargers, but it’s great to see both phone makers support the PD standard, which increases compatibility across the 14T Pro and iPhone 16 with a huge number of third-party charging solutions.
3. Better camera hardware and pro features
Apple has a long history of handicapping standard iPhone camera software when compared to the company’s Pro series. Going beyond hardware, vanilla iPhones have missed out on raw capture in past years, haven’t supported more manual photo modes and don’t offer advanced video capture options either. Unsurprisingly, the iPhone 16 also has a much smaller camera sensor than the iPhone 16 Pro and no optical zoom camera.
In stark contrast to the pricier iPhone, Xiaomi loads up its 14T Pro with a near-iPhone 16 Pro-sized sensor (1/1.31-inch compared to the iPhone 16’s 1/1.56-inch). That means it can create more natural background blur when snapping close-up objects and grabs more light in low-light scenes. Both phones sport fast f/1.6 aperture lenses with optical stabilisation (OIS), and high-resolution sensors (circa 50-megapixels), so are matched in most other areas.
It isn’t a clean sweep for Xiaomi on the camera front. The 14T Pro’s ultra-wide camera misses out on autofocus, while the iPhone 16 Pro’s ultra-wide can capture super close-up objects for more versatility. As for zoom, though, Xiaomi’s 14T Pro is a clear winner.
While Apple only puts two cameras on the iPhone 16 – a wide and ultra-wide – Xiaomi adds a third on the 14T – a 60mm equivalent telephoto camera, which works out at a 2.6x optical zoom. This combination of optical zoom and in-sensor zooming makes for a better zooming experience, especially in bright environments.
Xiaomi also packs a pro mode with full manual controls into its 14T Pro, with support for handy photographer tools like an on-screen histogram, manual controls, focus-peaking and exposure verification (also called zebra lines).
Anyone who plans on editing video shot on their phone will appreciate Xiaomi’s LOG capture, which ekes out maximum detail from shadows and highlights, and the 14T Pro also has Leica photo processing, creating more dramatic-looking photos.
4. Smoother ProMotion-beating display
Apple has been loading up its vanilla iPhones with disappointing 60Hz displays for years. While most Android phones run with smooth 120Hz screens, making social media feeds and menus flow like butter on a frying pan, Apple’s digging its heels in and saving its ‘Pro Motion’ 120Hz refresh rate tech for its 16 Pro and 16 Pro Max. Meanwhile, in the Xiaomi camp, the 14T Pro’s screen is an ultra-smooth 144Hz, out-performing even the Pro iPhones when it comes to on-screen fluidity.
Now while you probably won’t be able to tell the difference between 120Hz and 144Hz, you can definitely spot the difference between 60Hz and 144Hz, and the Xiaomi 14T Pro looks gloriously fluid when set against Apple’s iPhone 16.
Refresh rate isn’t the only area the 14T Pro takes the crown when it comes to screen performance, with the much bigger 6.67–inch size commanding attention when set alongside the iPhone’s 6.1-inch panel.
The 14T Pro’s in-display fingerprint scanner also means it doesn’t require Face ID for secure unlocking, so there’s no big pill-shaped cutout at the top (the Dynamic Island), just a punch-hole selfie camera. Finally, the Xiaomi 14T Pro’s peak brightness edges ahead of the iPhone 16 as well.
5. In-box accessories Neither Apple or Xiaomi ship chargers in the box with their phones anymore (for European users), but Xiaomi’s still packs in extra value with an in-box black, soft-touch opaque case, and a pre-fitted screen protector with the 14T Pro.
With both phones being IP68 water- and dust-resistant and sporting tempered glass displays, they’re relatively durable out of the gate, but if you still want an extra layer of protection from all sides, only Xiaomi’s got you covered without the need for additional purchases.
Initial impressions Of course, if you’re sold into the Apple ecosystem, then upgrading to an iPhone 16 will be a much smoother experience than switching to Android. The iPhone 16 is also available in a bunch of fun colours, and if you’re after a bigger phone, you could always go for the larger (and pricier) iPhone 16 Plus. I also can’t fault Apple’s after-sales service from experience, especially if you’re signed up for Apple Care (at an additional fee, of course).
Whichever way you slice it, though, having spent a couple of weeks with the Xiaomi 14T Pro, I’ve no doubt it’s an excellent phone that represents great value, especially in the NZ, making it one of the smartest choices for any prospective iPhone user thinking about going to Android in 2024.
Xiaomi’s latest premium mid-ranger offers a flagship-feeling experience that seriously impresses
Verdict The Xiaomi 14T Pro is a testament to the benefits of making well-thought-out improvements without going overboard. Buoyed by a much-improved build, a seriously impressive display, and performance that puts even the most premium flagships in a spot of bother, the Xiaomi 14T Pro sits comfortably near the top of a growing tree of mid-range phones, even if it’s hampered by a lack of global availability.
The era of AI phones has well and truly arrived, and the Xiaomi 14T Pro proves that mid-range phones don’t have to miss out on all the fun. As with previous generations of T Pro models, Xiaomi hasn’t skimped on the hardware included in this latest edition, meaning the door is more open than ever for accessible, and affordable, AI exploration.
Unlike many of the latest phones, however, Xiaomi hasn’t put all its focus into AI, and it’s for the better. Straight out of the box, you can see some of the new thought that’s gone into the 14T Pro’s design, with the phone sporting a clean aluminum frame and what Xiaomi describes as a “3D curved back”. These changes, partnered with a traditionally large (if now a tad less obvious) camera bump, give the 14T Pro a superbly premium feel and weightiness in the hand.
Get it loaded up and frankly, AI is the last thing you’ll be thinking about. Xiaomi’s HyperOS is smoother than ever, and the continued priority given to the phone’s display and processing capabilities means you’d easily be fooled into thinking you’re handling a much more pricey device than it is.
Xiaomi’s ventures into AI are much more measured than we’ve seen from the likes of Google and Samsung, and, in fairness, what you’re given here is a pretty good starting point if you’re looking to AI-ify your day-to-day life. While Xiaomi has, of course, added Android-wide features such as Circle to Search and Gemini to the 14T Pro, it has taken positive, if potentially cautious, steps in its own direction in terms of what’s offered uniquely on its devices. Rest assured, though, that the Xiaomi 14T Pro is a more than capable scalpal with which to enter the AI world.
Whether your focus is on AI or some of the other more necessary advancements Xiaomi has made in recent years – I’m looking at you, wireless charging – then you’re unlikely to be disappointed with the Xiaomi 14T Pro. In fact, as ever, you’ll likely find yourself seriously impressed with just how much can be packed into a device whose price tag doesn’t even come close to those of its flagship competition.
Xiaomi does, however, continue to limit the markets in which it operates (by choice or otherwise), which does a disservice to the Xiaomi 14T Pro. Lacking availability in America leaves a market gap that the likes of Samsung or OnePlus can quite happily fill, and while the price of the 14T Pro is impressively cheap for a phone of this quality, there are plenty more premium options out there for, in some cases, only a fraction more money.
The Xiaomi 14T Pro boasts some impressive specs given its price tag. Take a look at the full breakdown below:
Xiaomi 14T Pro specs
Dimensions:
160.4mm x 75.1mm x 8.39mm
Weight:
209g
Display:
6.67-inch CrystalRes AMOLED
Resolution:
2712 x 1220
Refresh rate:
Up to 144Hz
Peak brightness:
4000 nits
CPU:
MediaTek Dimensity 9300+
RAM:
Up to 12GB LPDDR5X
Storage:
Up to 1TB, UFS 4.0
OS:
HyperOS with Android 14
Cameras:
50MP main, 50MP telephoto, 12MP ultra-wide
Selfie camera:
32MP
Battery:
5000mAh
Charging:
120W wired, 50W wireless
Colours:
Titan Gray, Titan Blue, Titan Black
Value score: 4 / 5
Xiaomi 14T Pro review: design
New aluminum frame with 3D-curved back
Smaller camera bump than previous models
Some fingerprint issues
The Xiaomi 14T Pro takes a notable step up in terms of design versus its predecessor, but that doesn’t make it flawless. Coming in three colors – Titan Grey, Titan Blue, and Titan Black – you’d almost expect the phone to be built from titanium, right? Well, despite pre-launch rumors hinting at such an upgrade, there is, in fact, no titanium on the Xiaomi 14T Pro, which, while disappointing, isn’t necessarily a bad thing.
All three colors look positively premium, and with the aluminum alloy frame and 3D-curved back, the phone possesses a flagship-like feel in the hand, much like the Google Pixel 8, which isn’t bad company to be in whatsoever. One thing I did find in testing, however, was that while the back of the phone is indeed lovely, it was an absolute fingerprint magnet. I mainly used the phone in the case that comes with it, but my Titan Gray test model became covered in fingerprints the moment it left that case, which is somewhat of an annoyance when frankly the phone is otherwise rather pleasing to the eye.
The biggest improvement in terms of design comes to the phone’s camera bump. The best Xiaomi phones are known for their cameras, mainly due to the brand’s partnership with Leica (which we’ll come to later), but also due to the sheer size of their camera bumps. In reality, the Xiaomi 14T Pro is no different; the bump covers over 50% of the width of the phone and, by rough maths, over a third of the length, from its position in the top left of the back panel. Despite this, the bump is a huge upgrade from prior models, with this year’s cameras not only protruding less far from the rear of the phone, but also being housed in a color-matched bump.
Gone are the days of a large, garish black block on the back of your device. Instead, you get a lovely, Lego brick-esque square in a color that matches your back panel seamlessly. What’s more, the reduced depth and increased width of the bump means you experience very little wobble should you choose to use your phone without a bump-eliminating case or any case at all, which is a nice (if a tad niche) benefit.
Design score: 4 / 5
Xiaomi 14T Pro review: software
HyperOS with Android 14
Steady but well-thought-out steps into the world of AI
Every phone right now seems to be throwing all its eggs in the AI basket, but Xiaomi seems to be taking a more measured approach to its AI rollout. Despite this, there are still some fundamental qualms I have with Xiaomi’s approach that tarnish the near-premium experience the rest of the phone provides. While the days of being greeted by tens of preinstalled apps on Xiaomi devices are long gone, it seems that Xiaomi isn’t quite ready to give up on them entirely.
On loading up the phone, you’re not only greeted by the array of on-device tools and features, which I’ll get to in a second, but you’re also met with apps such as AliExpress, TikTok, WPS Office, and LinkedIn. Plus, in the same app folder, you’re bombarded with a host of recommended apps and games that aren’t yet installed but could be downloaded from the Mi Store via a shortcut, which overall seems a tad messy and unnecessary in an otherwise impressively clean layout.
Pre-installed qualms aside, there’s very little to take offense to about Xiaomi’s HyperOS or the tools that come installed with the Xiaomi 14T Pro. Instead, this is where we start to see Xiaomi’s slow and steady approach to introducing AI come into its own. First and foremost, your digital assistant comes preset to Google Gemini rather than Google Assistant, and, while it wasn’t available during our review, Circle to Search will also be rolling out to these devices.
Outside of what Google adds to the device, Xiaomi’s app offerings have become evermore positive since the launch of HyperOS. The biggest benefactor for mobile users of the HyperOS upgrade was the Gallery, which not only saw a number of small feature improvements to improve efficiency and add easy access to auto-generated folders and media types, but also gave prominence to Xiaomi’s Best Take feature, which can analyze multiple similar photos and tell you which of the shots is, you guessed it, the best.
The general theme of HyperOS was always to improve the interconnectivity of Xiaomi devices, which essentially boiled down to making everything look clean, work efficiently, and interact seamlessly with each other, no matter what device you were using. The downside of having the nicest user experience on Android, however, is that HyperOS hides some of its best features in the depths so as to not look overly messy – which is made more baffling by the array of apps you’re shown on receiving the device.
One of the best examples of this is Xiaomi’s AI Subtitles feature, which you can use to translate conversations either in-person using the microphone, or even to translate films and TV shows by configuring it to translate system audio. Pretty cool right? The issue is, to find this feature, which worked impressively well in testing, you need to go into the depths of the settings menu, apply for beta access (as it is yet to be fully released), and then add a shortcut to your home screen.
Xiaomi is, however, remaining steady with its AI releases, and we’re expecting AI Recorder and some AI Film features to arrive in the near future. One thing’s for sure, though: this is the most polished HyperOS we’ve seen since launch and the Xiaomi 14T Pro is, arguably, the perfect example of this software given just how smoothly you can access everything, from settings in the updated Control Center to your favorite photos via improved image searching.
If the slow, steady, and simple approach does one thing very well for HyperOS and the Xiaomi 14T Pro in particular, it’s the extent to which simplicity is combined with effectiveness throughout its apps and interfaces. Whether you’re using the Control Center to control your music or the redesigned weather app to check the forecast, there is little to no excess in terms of what you’re shown, and yet you can quickly access anything you might need. When partnered with the Xiaomi 14T Pro’s hardware, this gives you a seriously impressive mobile experience.
Software score: 4 / 5
Xiaomi 14T Pro review: cameras
Leica partnership continues to impress with standard shooting
Some strange variations in light capture and vibrance
If there’s one thing the Xiaomi 14T Pro is supposed to excel at, it’s photography, but right now I’m constantly flitting between loving it and hating it. Since Xiaomi brought its Leica-partnered camera systems to its T series with the 13T and 13T Pro, it has probably set the bar for mid-range photography. With these latest phones, however, it seems to play jump-rope with this bar a little too much, with some features seriously pushing the mark, and some falling annoyingly beneath.
Take, for example, close-up photographs. There’s no denying that the results I was able to achieve were extremely positive, especially when you consider that the Xiaomi 14 Ultra, aka the best camera phone from the brand, offers similar close-up performance. However, I often found myself resorting to standard camera modes rather than the usually more effective portrait mode to take the best shots, as I was having difficulty getting the right levels of focus and exposure otherwise. This isn’t a major issue, but if one mode can get into focus in less than half the time that another can and produce equal – if not better – results, why wouldn’t I use that?
Xiaomi’s partnership with Leica brings into focus several features that supposedly enhance your shooting capabilities. The first of these you’ll likely encounter is the shooting styles: Leica Authentic, and Leica Vibrant. Shooting with the 50MP wide lens is the best opportunity to see the variations in style in action, as the results can be starkly different. Something that became immediately apparent using the Xiaomi 14T Pro was that, whether you chose Authentic or Vibrant, you were guaranteed an immense amount of color. In either mode, shooting in wide made each color almost excessively saturated, with greens of grass making England seem much more beautiful than it was in reality, and, in fairness, making a much more visually appealing scene out of something that was otherwise rather grey. All in all, superb photos, but not necessarily the most honest to the colors in the scene. Cameras score: 4 / 5
Xiaomi 14T Pro review: performance
Dimensity 9300+ chipset benchmarks seriously well
Impressive performance in intense gaming scenarios, if a tad hot
As it doesn’t come from Snapdragon or Apple, the Xiaomi 14T Pro’s Dimensity 9300+ chipset could be easily overlooked, but, if our testing is anything to go by, there’s a seriously impressive bit of kit powering this phone, and I struggled to find any scenarios that put this in any doubt.
In our benchmark testing, the Dimensity 9300+ scored only just under the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra in single-core testing, and above the S24 Ultra in multi-core, so I wasn’t joking when I said it could hold its own. Whether it’s the focus on simplicity and efficiency behind HyperOS, sheer performing power, or, most likely, a combination of both, I struggled to create any scenario that caused a genuine performance impact, so you don’t need to worry about killing the 14T Pro off with Chrome tabs or your daily Wordle.
The sheer amount of RAM available on the Xiaomi 14T Pro could also play a big part in these benchmark scores, with the device having up to 12GB physical LPDDR5X RAM onboard, plus the option to extend this by up to a further 12GB using the device’s internal memory. For the majority of the testing period, I ran the 14T Pro with 6GB of Memory Extension as Xiaomi calls it, meaning it totaled 18GB of available RAM at any time with the model I was reviewing, but, in all honesty, that’s probably as much as anyone would need, so having a further 6GB of extension available is just an added bonus.
In gaming scenarios, most notably with the likes of Call of Duty Mobile and Mortal Kombat, I saw very little in terms of performance drops or impact post-session, with the phone able to comfortably play these more graphically intense titles at maximum settings without impacting my ability to smoothly demolish my foes. One thing to note, however, is that the phone was playing games while running at between 38 and 40 degrees Celsius – or 100 to 104 degrees Fahrenheit, if that’s your preferred unit of measure. Not exceptionally hot, but hot enough that even with a case on you could tell there was some serious work happening under the hood. Either way, the lack of any performance drops no matter the circumstance puts the Xiaomi 14T Pro in strong company in terms of performance.
Performance score: 4.5 / 5
Xiaomi 14T Pro review: battery
120W wired HyperCharge continues to impress
Wireless charging finally available with 50W wireless HyperCharge
For me, perhaps the best upgrade available on the Xiaomi 14T Pro is the arrival of wireless charging. What for many phones has seemed like a reasonably standard feature for several years now has long been missing from Xiaomi’s mid-range phones, but now it has arrived with truly Xiaomi-worthy power capabilities.
With 50W wireless charging, the Xiaomi 14T Pro instantly puts the cat among the pigeons in terms of wireless capabilities across both Android and Apple devices. The Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra, for example, only offers 15W wireless charging, also for a 5000mAh battery, so this is a serious step in the charging game for Xiaomi, whose flagship phones were, frankly, already among the best available from a charging perspective.
The Xiaomi 14T Pro continues to offer Xiaomi’s 120W HyperCharge when wired, meaning you can get a full charge in around 20 minutes, though Xiaomi is yet to confirm any official charge times. Partner this with a 50W wireless charging alternative, and a 5000mAh battery, and you needn’t worry about regularly charging the 14T Pro.
Regular day-to-day use saw me comfortably get multiple days’ worth of runtime from the 14T Pro, while more intense use from gaming saw a battery drain of roughly 10% per hour, which, when you consider the strain of maximum graphics settings and online gameplay, is seriously impressive. Nice work, Xiaomi.
Battery score: 4.5 / 5
Should you buy the Xiaomi 14T Pro?
Buy if…
You love a beautiful display
While the resolution is a tad strange, there’s no denying that the display on the Xiaomi 14T Pro is one of the most enjoyable to use for day-to-day mobile tasks, gaming, and, streaming.
You never want to worry about charging again
Xiaomi’s offering of both 120W wired charging and 50W wireless charging on a phone with a 5,000mAh battery and some serious efficiency features means you’ll never be left wanting for battery life.
You want serious gaming performance
In our tests, the Xiaomi 14T Pro handled even some of the most intense games with ease, and without completely wiping out your battery after one round. Don’t buy if…
You want an infinite array of AI capabilities
While a whole host of AI capabilities are available from Xiaomi, with more to come too, it’s still behind some competitors in terms of the variety and amount of AI-oriented features available.
When it comes to the foldable industry, Xiaomi has paved its way to the top by constantly evolving the technology and bringing about major iterations every time that makes its foldable truly stand out. It has not been long since the company was the talk of the town for its Mix Fold 4, which holds the record for the thinnest foldable profile. Now, the smartphone manufacturer has launched Mix Flip globally to give the industry even more fierce competition.
Xiaomi has fully launched the Mix Flip in global markets today, and it is its first clamshell folding phone
Xiaomi has been making its mark by vigorously bringing in foldable phones of different form factors and giving a tough time to others, leaving even Samsung behind when it comes to the thinnest profile of a foldable. The Mix Flip is the company’s first clamshell foldable, which was unveiled in China earlier this year. Users have long been waiting for the phone to hit global markets and would be relieved to know that it has been officially launched globally.
Although the Mix Fold was limited to Europe last month, it has now been fully released globally. The Mix Flip features a 6.86-inch OLED fold display and a 4.01-inch cover screen. Its peak brightness is 3,000 nits and 1,600 nits when in high-brightness mode, which marks a huge upgrade in visibility, especially in outdoor settings.
Xiaomi is also focusing on functionality along with the new form factor it is bringing forward as the cover display extends support for keyboard typing and also for using apps like YouTube or even Google Maps, providing a major convenience for users. The clamshell foldable features a Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor and comes with a bigger-than-average battery for foldable phones, standing at 4,780mAh. It also comes with extended charging cycles going up to 1,600 before the battery hits its 80 percent capacity.
Xiaomi’s Mix Flip is also packed with 67W wired charging that marks a faster speed, but we see the wireless charging and IP rating being absent from the model, which might come as a disappointment to many given how Galaxy Z Flip 6 and even Motorola Razr Plus 2024 is offering complete water resistance.
The Mix Flip followed the company’s pattern of its other flagship phones by opting for a Leica-branded camera setup and featuring a 50MP primary camera and a 50MP 2x telephoto lens. The zoom-in capabilities, in comparison to the Z Flip 6, offer greater clarity and more detailed photo-capturing abilities.
Taking close-up shots, especially for those interested in macro photography, would be of high quality as the telephoto lens offers a minimum focusing distance of nine centimeters. The video calls offer more clarity, which is attributed to the 32MP front camera. Although Xiaomi’s Mix Flip offers a bigger battery and an upgraded camera zoom feature to take on the Z Flip 6, it lacks wireless charging and the IP rating offered by Samsung in its Flip model. The Xiaomi Mix Flip’s base model costs €1,299 (around $1,447) and has 12GB of RAM and 512GB of storage capacity. It is available in a black and purple color scheme.Official prices in New Zealand are not yet available.
Xiaomi 14 was released in India in March this year. It is one of the best compact flagship phones available on the market. The smartphone boasts a solid set of specifications. However, it lags behind its competitors in some key areas.
If you plan to upgrade to the Xiaomi 14 (full review), don’t forget to check out its best alternatives, which will help you make a better decision. Before we move on to the alternatives, let’s quickly recall the device via the spec sheet below.
5G/4G/3G/2G Wi-Fi 7/Wi-Fi 6 Bluetooth 5.4 NFC supported
Unlike Xiaomi 14, the Vivo X100 has a curved display that’s around 6.6% bigger in size. The Xiaomi 14 uses an OLED panel, while the rest of the display specifications are almost similar.
Both smartphones are IP68 certified for dust & water resistance. However, the Vivo X100 lacks protection, whereas the Xiaomi 14 uses Corning Gorilla Glass 5.
The Vivo X100 rocks a big circular camera module that’s easily distinguishable from the crowd, whereas the Xiaomi 14 features a rectangular camera module.
Both smartphones have a 50MP primary camera with OIS and a 50MP ultrawide camera (the Vivo X100 has a larger field of view). The periscope telephoto lens on the Vivo phone supports 3x optical zoom, while it is 3.2x on the Xiaomi 14).
Both smartphones take stunning photos and videos using the main camera in varying lighting conditions with fine details, sharpness, and colour accuracy. However, the dynamic range could have been better on the Vivo X100.
The Vivo phone takes good shots with its ultrawide cameras in various lighting conditions. It also takes good macro shots. However, the selfies and videos using the front camera are pretty decent, with some sort of skin smoothing.
Notably, the Vivo X100 supports up to 4K video recording using the rear camera, but only 1080p with its selfie camera. In contrast, the Xiaomi 14 can record up to 8K videos using its rear camera and 4K with its selfie camera.
Both smartphones take excellent photos and videos. However, in most cases, the Xiaomi 14 produces better shots, particularly with its rear camera setup. The Vivo X100 might have an edge when it comes to portrait selfies.
The Vivo X100 is powered by a Dimensity 9300 chip, whereas the Xiaomi 14 uses Snapdragon 8 Gen 3. Both are the fastest mobile CPUs from their respective manufacturers and have similar benchmark results. They deliver excellent performance, but the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 has slightly better gaming stability. Check out the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 vs. Dimensity 9300 for more details.
The Xiaomi 14 and Vivo X100 have similar connectivity features, except the former has a faster USB data transfer rate.
The Vivo X100 has a larger battery capacity and supports much faster wired charging compared to Xiaomi 14. This means you’ll benefit from more screen time and quicker battery filling on the Vivo phone. However, the Vivo phone lacks wireless and reverse wireless charging.
5G/4G/3G/2G Wi-Fi 6E Bluetooth 5.3 NFC (supported) USB Type-C 3.2 Gen 1
The Galaxy S24 (Snapdragon version) is another good alternative to the Xiaomi 14. It’s more compact and lightweight than the Xiaomi 14 and features a 6.2-inch Dynamic LTPO AMOLED 2X screen — the brightness peaks at 2600nits (slightly lower than Xiaomi 14).
The Galaxy S24 uses the second-generation Gorilla Glass Victus, while the Xiaomi 14 has the first-generation Gorilla Glass Victus protection. Both devices are powered by the same Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip. There’s also an Exynos version, but it’s difficult to recommend because of Exynos problems.
The Galaxy S24 packs a lesser battery capacity than the Xiaomi 14, and as you may already know, Samsung is not a fan of superfast charging. Hence, you only get 25W charging support, while the Xiaomi 14 supports 90W fast charging. Both devices support wireless and reverse wireless charging, although they are faster on the Xiaomi phone.
Samsung phones are better known for software updates. The Galaxy S24 is promised seven years of Android and security updates, while the Xiaomi 14 will only get 4 Android updates and five years of security patches.
3. OnePlus 12
OnePlus 12 Specs
Body
164.3 x 75.8 x 9.2mm 220g
Display
6.82″ 120Hz LTPO AMOLED 1440 x 3168 pixels resolution HDR10+, Dolby Vision, 4500nits (peak) Corning Gorilla Glass Victus 2
5G/4G/3G/2G Wi-Fi 7/Wi-Fi 6E Bluetooth 5.4 NFC (supported) USB Type-C 3.2 Gen 1
The OnePlus 12 is another solid alternative to the Xiaomi 14. It’s slightly bigger and bulkier and has an IP65 rating for dust and water resistance. Both smartphones have the same Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip, which delivers superior performance.
The OnePlus 12 has a 6.82-inch LTPO AMOLED screen with 120Hz refresh rate, Dolby Vision support, and 4500nits of peak brightness. Compared to Xiaomi 14, it has a bigger display with more pixels and higher peak brightness for better outdoor visibility. Also, it is protected by a Gorilla Glass Victus 2, while the Xiaomi 14 uses first-gen protection.
Both smartphones come with Android 14 out of the box and have been promised four years of Android updates from their respective brands.
The OnePlus 12 boasts a circular camera module featuring a 50MP primary sensor with OIS, a 64MP periscope telephoto lens with OIS, 3x optical zoom, and a 48MP ultrawide lens with 114-degree field of view (FOV). The camera setup is made in collaboration with Hasselblad to achieve better colour accuracy. There’s a 32MP camera for selfies.
5G/4G/3G/2G Wi-Fi 7/Wi-Fi 6 Bluetooth 5.4 NFC (supported) USB Type-C 2.0
iQOO 12 was released last year with a strong spec sheet. It boasts a slightly larger LTPO AMOLED screen than the Xiaomi 14 with a higher refresh rate and a peak brightness of 3000nits.
The iQOO device is fueled by the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, the same chip inside the Xiaomi 14. It’s the most powerful chip for Android phones, ensuring superior performance and efficiency.
Let’s get to the cameras. The iQOO 12’s main camera takes detailed, sharp daylight images with excellent dynamic range. The overall image processing is sound, but sometimes, you may observe various imperfections due to weak processing.
The telephoto cameras are excellent, offering great details, colours, right sharpness, and less noise. The dynamic range and overall contrast are also impressive. The 64MP high-res zoomed images are okay(ish) with a good amount of details, accurate colours and good dynamic range, but they are pretty noisy.
5G/4G/3G/2G Wi-Fi 6 Bluetooth 5.3 NFC (supported) USB Type-C 3.2
The Pixel 8 has similar pricing to the Xiaomi 14 and offers good value for money. Hence, it is an alternative to the Xiaomi 14 worth exploring.
The Pixel 8 is a compact flagship phone featuring a 6.2-inch OLED screen, although it’s not an LTPO panel and has a lower peak brightness than the Xiaomi 14.
The smartphone is powered by an in-house Tensor G3 chip, which isn’t as powerful as the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 on the benchmarks. That doesn’t make it a bad choice for high-end phones. The chip can still deliver great performance.
The Pixel 8 has only two camera sensors on the back — a 50MP primary camera with OIS and a 12MP ultrawide camera with a 126-degree FOV. It is also equipped with a 10.5MP camera for selfies.
The smartphone takes good daylight shots with nicer details, consistent white balance, and good saturation. The ultrawide camera also shoots great images. It also has an autofocus that enables both general close-up shots and macro shots.
The Pixel 8 does an impressive job in low-light conditions, all thanks to good image processing. However, the portrait shots are just acceptable. The device takes nice selfies with good details. The video quality of the Pixel 8’s main camera is impressive. The ultrawide camera outputs an average video quality at night but does a fantastic job in daylight.
note:
The Xiaomi 14 is a solid flagship phone. However, these five phones are better than that in one or more key areas. Would you pick Xiaomi 14 or any of these alternatives? Share your thoughts in the comment section below.
The Xiaomi 13 is likely to be a big upgrade over the Xiaomi 12.Boasting an exceptionally bright display, phenomenal performance and a handsome straight-edged design, the Xiaomi 13 is an impressive Android flagship that deserves a much wider market.
Pros +Smart-looking design +Impressively bright display +Speedy Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor Cons -Memory options vary by region
The Mi 13 is the successor to the company’s flagship Mi 12 in 2022 and maintains the philosophy of its predecessor: premium performance in a compact package.
Aside from a slight increase in size, the phone’s display remains largely unchanged, but Xiaomi’s knack for brightness and bright colors is reflected in a sleeker, almost iphone-like body that puts the Mi 13 in the “pretty” camp of the best Android phones today.
The Mi 13’s Leica-branded camera setup aside, if you’re as enamored of Apple’s straight-edge aesthetic as I am, the phone’s resemblance to the best iphones is a positive, not a negative, factor.
The Xiaomi 13’s impressive speeds are made possible by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset – similar to the processor you’ll find powering Samsung’s newly-released Samsung Galaxy S23 line – and the device is offered in two memory variations: 8GB or 12GB of LPDDR5X RAM, paired with 256GB of UFS 4.0 storage.
The phone’s 4,500mAh battery remains unchanged from the Xiaomi 12 – meaning you still get at least one whole day’s juice on a single charge – and the latter’s 67W wired charging, 50W wireless charging and 10W reverse wireless charging capabilities are carried over, too.
On paper, the biggest difference between the Xiaomi 13 and its predecessor is the former’s Leica-branded camera array. Comprising a 50MP f/1.8 main shooter with OIS (optical image stabilization), a 10MP f/2.0 telephoto camera with 3.2x optical zoom, and a 12MP f/2.2 ultrawide sensor, the Xiaomi 13’s camera setup makes the phone a much more versatile beast for photographers; primarily because Xiaomi’s Leica partnership allows for two distinct shooting modes: Vibrant and Authentic. The former makes colors look brighter and more saturated, while the latter replicates the original Leica look by encouraging bolder contrast and a greater dynamic range, which proves a nice differentiator between this and other Android phones.
If you’re looking for one of the very best camera phones, though, the Xiaomi 13 still doesn’t hold a candle to the photography performance offered by its Pro-grade sibling – the Xiaomi 13 Pro – or the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra and iPhone 14 Pro.
The bottom line is this: the Xiaomi 13 is an excellent flagship option for Android fans with a soft spot for Apple’s design philosophy. It doesn’t beat the competition in any one area, but Xiaomi’s latest premium offering still delivers almost everything you could want from a smartphone to an extremely high standard.
Xiaomi 13 : Specs
Dimensions:
71.5 x 152.8 x 8 mm
Weight:
185g / 189g
OS:
Android 13 with MIUI 14
Screen size:
6.36 inches
Resolution:
1080 × 2400 pixels
CPU:
Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2
RAM
8GB / 12GB (region-dependent)
Storage:
256GB
Rear Cameras:
50MP (wide), 10MP (telephoto), 12MP (ultrawide)
Front Camera:
32MP
Battery:
4,500mAh
Xiaomi 13 : Design
iPhone 14-like straight-sided design is a great size
Corning Gorilla Glass Victus protection
Nice color options internationally
Xiaomi has opted for a decidedly iPhone 14-like design with the Xiaomi 13, which is by no means a criticism.
Coming in at 71.5 x 152.8 x 8mm and weighing 185g, the phone sports a glossy, straight-edged aluminum body that’s more conservative than boundary-pushing, but it feels great in the hand, and its size – for me, at least – hits a rare sweet spot between being comfortable to navigate and large enough to look impressive. For reference, the Xiaomi 13 sits halfway between the Samsung Galaxy S23 and Samsung Galaxy S23 Plus (and therefore the S22 and S22 Plus) in terms of size, almost to the millimeter.
Internationally, the Xiaomi 13 is available in three standard colors: black, white and Flora Green. In China, the company has also produced a gray and a light blue version, as well as limited edition iterations in more eye-catching red, green, yellow and blue finishes.
Design score: 4.5 / 5
Xiaomi 13 : Cameras
Smart-looking Leica-branded triple rear camera setup
3.2x 10MP f/2.0 telephoto lens w/ OIS
Strong 50MP main sensor
The Xiaomi 13 boasts a Leica-branded triple rear camera setup consisting of a 50MP f/1.8 main shooter with OIS, a 10MP f/2.0 telephoto camera with 3.2x optical zoom and OIS, and a 12MP f/2.2 ultrawide sensor. The latter camera represents the biggest difference between the Xiaomi 13 and its predecessor, which limped along with an underwhelming 5MP ‘telemacro’ sensor. Xiaomi’s partnership with Leica has also brought with it an ALD lens coating that reduces reflectivity and thus improves image clarity, collectively rendering the overall appearance of the phone’s camera setup much smarter than that of the Xiaomi 12.
Cameras score: 4 / 5
Xiaomi 13 : Performance and audio
peedy Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset
WiFi 7
Powerful Dolby Atmos speakers
The Xiaomi 13 packs the best mobile SoC Qualcomm has to offer right now in 2023: the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2. There’s no bespoke version of the chipset here (which you’ll find in Samsung’s Galaxy S23 line), but from a practical point of view, the Xiaomi 13 still boasts the fastest silicon around (the Xiaomi 13 Pro uses the same processor, too). In fact, the phone’s Geekbench 6 scores were almost identical to those of the Samsung Galaxy S23 Plus, suggesting the difference between the two processors is negligible.
The Xiaomi 13 has felt suitably speedy in my time spent with the device. Neither gaming nor general browsing has caused the phone to noticeably heat up, with FIFA Mobile – my usual benchmark test for mobile gaming – running as smoothly as could be hoped for on a mobile device.
The Xiaomi 13 is a 5G phone, so you’ll be able to connect to the faster mobile network if it’s offered where you live, but as with all phones, your speeds will depend more on your network and area than the phone you’re using. WiFi 7 is also an impressively new networking technology that – if you can connect to a compatible network – will support up to 3.6Gbps.
I was pleasantly surprised with the Xiaomi 13’s audio credentials, too. I’m not one for playing music or videos out loud, but the phone’s Dolby Atmos-tuned dual speakers are exceptionally loud and bass-rich.
Performance score: 5 / 5
Xiaomi 13 review: Battery life
4,500mAh battery is the same capacity as predecessor
67W wired fast charging (charger in box)
The Xiaomi 13 has a 4,500mAh battery that supports 67W wired charging, 50W wireless charging and 10W reverse wireless charging. That’s the same battery tech as you’ll find in its predecessor, the Xiaomi 12, and will be plenty fast enough for most users.
In our tests using the phone’s 67W charger – which, mercifully, is included in the box (good job, Xiaomi!) – the Xiaomi 13 charged to 41% in 15 minutes, 78% in 30 minutes and 100% in 46 minutes.
With most of the phone’s the bells and whistles engaged – 120Hz refresh rate, auto brightness, several open apps and so on – the phone comfortably lasted a full day of relatively heavy use. If you’re someone who only lightly scrolls and sends a handful of messages each day, I’d say you’ll probably get two days from the Xiaomi 13, which is about the same as you can expect from the Galaxy S23, Galaxy S23 Plus and iPhone 14 under similar usage conditions.
I like to run a little streaming experiment when testing phones, and the Xiaomi 13 passed with flying colors. After booting up YouTube and streaming an entire two-hour film in 1080p at medium brightness, the phone’s battery had only drained 10%. In other words, you won’t need to fret about the Xiaomi 13’s charge when watching lengthy videos during a commute or long flight (though4Kstreaming will, for obvious reasons, drain power at a faster rate).
Battery life score: 4 / 5
Should you buy the Xiaomi 13? Buy it if… You want the Android experience in an iPhone-style package The Xiaomi 13 is the most iPhone-like Xiaomi phone to date, but you’re still getting the Android 13 (underneath MIUI 14) experience.
You want a full-featured Android flagship that isn’t a Samsung Despite not boasting the same camera credentials as its pricier sibling, the Xiaomi 13 will remain a top-tier handset for several years, thanks to its industry-leading processor and impressive display.
