Following the launch of Qualcomm’s new Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 mobile SoC, we saw a number of manufacturers announce that the new high-powered chipset will be present in their upcoming flagship Android devices. As such, it looks like Xiaomi is one of the first brands to bring the 8 Gen 3 chip to market with the unveiling of its new Xiaomi 14 series phones.
Consisting of the base model Xiaomi 14 and Xiaomi 14 Pro, the lineup is currently exclusive for buyers in China, although we can expect them to be made available in the coming months for more regions worldwide. With that said, both phones come with features that build on Xiaomi’s experience with its previous flagship devices, although there are some key differences between the two.
Display and External Design
In keeping line with most smartphone flagships that feature two different sizes, the Xiaomi 14 and 14 Pro come with differences both in and out. For one, the Xiaomi 14 features flat sides with a 6.36-inch display, which is smaller versus the 6.73-inch screen on the more expensive model. Additionally, the Xiaomi 14 Pro features slightly curved edges on the display, and even comes in a titanium variant.
With that being said though, the displays on both phones will support HDR10+ and come with a peak brightness of 3,000 nits, which is rather bright and outshines most competing flagship phones out there. They are smooth as well thanks to a 120Hz refresh rate.
Internal Specs and Software
Folks looking to get a smartphone with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 inside as soon as possible will want to look at the 14 and 14 Pro, which both come with the latest and greatest from Qualcomm. Xiaomi has also included different RAM options, with the regular 14 starting with an 8GB configuration that maxes out at 16GB, while its Pro sibling will come with 12 up to 16GB RAM configurations. Both phones also start with 256GB storage, maxing out at 1TB.
Powering the Xiaomi 14 is a 4610 mAh battery with support for 90W wired charging, 50W wireless charging, and 10W reverse wireless charging. The Xiaomi 14 Pro meanwhile beefs things up a bit with a larger 4880 mAh battery with 120W wired charging.
For software, both phones ship with Android 14, although it is layered with Xiaomi’s newly-revamped Hyper OS, which carries over some elements from MIUI while adding some new software features that are exclusive for Xiaomi devices.
Camera Hardware
As with recent Xiaomi flagships, the Xiaomi 14 and 14 Pro’s cameras were developed in collaboration with Leica, and feature what Xiaomi calls the “Light Hunter 900” sensor in lieu of the 1-inch sensor on last year’s Xiaomi flagships. The two phones come with similar camera specs, which consist of a 50MP main camera, a 50MP telephoto lens, and a 50MP ultrawide lens. Other similarities include a 32MP selfie camera, and video recording that maxes out at 8K resolution at 24fps.
One notable difference on the Pro model is that the main camera has a slightly wider aperture of f/1.4 versus the f/1.6 on the base model. With that said though, Xiaomi has mostly kept it similar in the camera department.
Pricing and Availability
At the moment, Xiaomi has kept both the 14 and 14 Pro exclusive for Chinese markets, with a price of CNY 3,999 for the regular 14, and 4,999 for the 14 Pro. There’s no word of a global launch yet, although it shouldn’t be too surprising to see the devices become available for more regions soon, as is the practice with previous Xiaomi devices.
