Xiaomi 14 in the test: smartphone insider tip for 692 euros with 512 GB memory

Xiaomi has always been in favor of offering a lot of technology at competitive prices. Prices are still competitive, but no longer as great as they were five years ago. If some time has passed since its launch on the market, things are different. You can see this clearly on the Xiaomi 14, the co-flagship behind the Xiaomi 14 Ultra (test report), with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, 12 GB of main memory (RAM) and a Leica camera.

The price has now dropped significantly: currently only the variant with 512 GB storage is priced at 692 euros – An announcement compared to the competition. We will show whether he can convince too.

The Xiaomi 14 also comes with a more angular design like every other smartphone at the moment – ​​everything is a bit iPhone-like. But this is no harm, the exterior looks elegant and timeless chic. The aluminum edges are angular like its name and have diamond engravings on them. The matte back is made of glass. The workmanship of the materials also appears to be impeccable. It doesn’t require that much care, but it may take a scratch or two in the long run.

The glass, square camera element, which is slightly separate from the housing, includes three lenses and an LED flash. The smartphone is IP68 certified against dust and water damage. However, in small print, Xiaomi recommends not using the cell phone on the beach or pool – IP certification is limited to fresh water without additives like salt or chlorine. However, properly protected smartphones can now survive unintended showering without any problems. The case measures 152.8 × 71.5 × 8.2 mm. At 193 grams, the weight is pleasantly low, especially for a flagship.

The OLED display with LTPO technology (Low Temperature Polycrystalline Oxide) shines with high brightness and brilliant colors and, at 6.36 inches, is surprisingly compact for a current flagship smartphone. However, it only reaches maximum brightness under bright sunlight and active automatic brightness control; Less in manual mode. In practical testing, the brightness was high enough to read everything even in bright sunlight. Pixel density is high at 460 ppi (pixels per inch), and the refresh rate can be adjusted between 1 and 120 Hz thanks to LTPO technology. This allows the display to flexibly adapt to current usage and switch down depending on the application, thereby saving power. In short: there’s definitely nothing to complain about when it comes to the display.

“For legendary moments”: this is Xiaomi’s slogan to describe the Xiaomi 14’s Huawei camera setup. In practice we find that this is appropriate. The smartphone offers a main camera with 50 megapixels and a bright f/1.6 aperture as well as optical image stabilization. As usual, the software combines four pixels into one pixel (pixel binning) to improve detail and brightness levels as well as reduce image noise, resulting in an actual resolution of 12.5 megapixels. This lens can record maximum 4K video at 60 fps without HDR and 4K video at 30 fps with HDR.

The pictures are absolutely convincing. During the day, images are clear and offer good color dynamism. We use the default settings Laika VibrantAccordingly, when the sky is blue and the sun is shining the colors are almost too intense. Good images and colors appear realistic even at night. However, a steadier hand is then necessary, otherwise the image will blur more quickly. Images come out especially good if you manually reduce the brightness before taking the shutter.

The telephoto lens with 3.2x optical zoom also works with 50 megapixels and optical stabilization and has an f/2.0 aperture. This means you can still get close to the object with high recording quality. It also has a wide-angle lens with 50 megapixels and f/2.2 aperture. Both the lenses deliver solid results and perform their functions to our satisfaction. The wide-angle lens is also used for macro mode and delivers impressive images in this use. On a spider on a leaf, we can also see the hairs on the individual legs in detail.

The front camera takes equally solid photos at 32 megapixels and an f/2.0 aperture. It can record videos in maximum 2K at 60 FPS. The color quality is convincing and the level of detail is absolutely adequate, although a little weaker than the main camera – logical. The colors and details in the back of our heads become a little blurry. He has a little trouble with the backlighting and everything turns yellow.

Like the Xiaomi 14, it features Qualcomm’s latest chipset – Snapdragon 8 Gen 3. It offers high performance with eight cores and eight threads. There is one high-speed core at 3.3 GHz, three cores at 3.2 GHz, two high-speed cores at 3.0 GHz, and two high-speed cores at 2.3 GHz. The really nice thing is that Xiaomi uses 12 GB of RAM – this creates performance reserve and allows reliable app playback. The sheer amount of storage is also premium, with 256GB and 512GB of internal storage available – it works as per the UFS 4.0 standard and is accordingly fast.

Xiaomi 14T Pro in test: Charges top smartphone in 25 minutes

We record system performance in numbers using the PCMark Work 2.0 benchmark, where the Xiaomi 14 achieved an average of 15,800 points. In 3DMark Wildlife Extreme it gets around 5000 points – the top value. Despite the high level of heat generated during the benchmarks, it runs without a drop in speed. However, the Xiaomi 14 aborted the stress test after about 15 minutes on all attempts – but this could also be a compatibility issue with the app. There is no such problem in everyday life.

It’s good that Xiaomi has now broken the tired tradition of installing only one USB-C 2.0 port, even in its top devices. The Xiaomi 14 relies on USB-C 3.2 (OTG and DisplayPort). It connects wirelessly with Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 5.4 (support for LDAC and aptX Adaptive). It uses GPS, Glonass, Beidou, Galileo and NavIC to determine location. It establishes mobile phone connection via 5G and offers dual SIM. Mobile payment works via NFC.

The stereo speakers are nice, open, and quite loud. However, as with integrated speakers, there is a noticeable lack of mids and, above all, lows. The vibration motor provides pleasant, haptic feedback while typing or other interactions with the software. However, it feels a little cheap and produces a metallic crackle – Google’s motors seem more sensitive and higher quality here.

As far as software is concerned, Xiaomi relies on the Xiaomi Hyper OS interface, which looks very similar to the earlier MIUI. It responds intuitively and is stylish, but borrowing the design from Apple is unremarkable. Countless animations and lots of colors give the user interface an attractive and vibrant feel. The software also offers a number of personalization options out of the box with Xiaomi’s exclusive Themes app.

The massive use of bloatware and advertising in system apps is a shameful and unpleasant aspect for a cell phone that costs less than 700 euros. This can be very intrusive at times; Older people in particular may become confused and access Internet pages unwantedly.

At the time of testing (September 26, 2024) preinstalled with Android version 14, the security update is from August 1, 2024 and therefore still current. At this point, the September patch can already be found on Google Pixel or Samsung smartphones. The Xiaomi 14 gets four Android updates and security patches every 90 days for five years.

In our testing, the Xiaomi 14’s 4610 mAh battery lasted about one and a half days with intensive use and about two and a half days with sporadic use. PCmark’s battery test certifies that the Xiaomi 14 has a solid 13 hours of runtime with a preset brightness of 200 cd/m². When Always-On Display is activated, battery life is reduced even further. But the battery charges in about 30 minutes at 90W with the original Xiaomi power supply, which is really quick and a practical relief in everyday life.

Xiaomi 14 is currently available in better device variants with 512GB internal memory 692 eurosThe version with 256 GB is available for 734 euros and is therefore not recommended at the moment.

Xiaomi 14 is a great smartphone in almost every aspect. Photos come out good, the exterior looks great and the display is really great. Battery life is impressive; Competitors like Samsung, Google and Co. have a lot to gain from higher charging speeds of 90W – we don’t want to miss that in everyday life. The Xiaomi 14 with 6.36 inches is also the perfect address for those who prefer it more compact. The display also impresses with its bright colors and high brightness.

It’s a shame that Xiaomi still relies too heavily on advertising and, above all, on a lot of pre-installed bloatware in system apps. This is not necessary in the case of expensive smartphones. The previous penalty related to the slow USB-C port has now been eliminated – which is commendable. Overall, a very good smartphone at a competitively low price and hence our insider recommendation.

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