The Xiaomi 13 Extremely was considered one of my favourite telephones of 2023; Xiaomi by some means managed to ship the most effective general digicam bundle of the yr, and the remainder of the machine wasn’t all that unhealthy both. So when Xiaomi introduced that it was able to roll out the Xiaomi 14 Extremely, I used to be instantly excited.
That mentioned, I had my misgivings; 2024 has been a terrific yr for telephone cameras, with the Honor Magic 6 Professional and Discover X7 Extremely setting a really excessive normal. I wasn’t certain how Xiaomi would match these gadgets — a lot much less beat them — however then I began utilizing the Xiaomi 14 Extremely, and it was a revelation.
You must use the Xiaomi 14 Extremely for just some minutes to understand that it’s magnificent. I used a variety of telephones this yr, and the Xiaomi 14 Extremely is the one which stands out probably the most. It simply has that little bit further that turns an amazing telephone into one thing really particular.
Xiaomi 14 Extremely: Pricing and launch date
Xiaomi unveiled the Xiaomi 14 Extremely at Cell World Congress 2024, and the machine made its international debut shortly at a launch occasion in India on March 7. It went on normal availability beginning March 14, and it’s now obtainable within the U.Okay. and different international markets.
Xiaomi is promoting a single model of the Xiaomi 14 Extremely globally, and it comes with 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage. The telephone prices £1,299 ($1,640) within the U.Okay., and all orders embody the Xiaomi Pad 6 in addition to the Xiaomi 14 Extremely Skilled Equipment — a £300 worth. The Xiaomi 14 Extremely prices €1,499 ($1,620) in Germany and different components of the area, and whereas all orders include the Xiaomi 14 Extremely Skilled Equipment as normal, patrons exterior the U.Okay. do not get the Xiaomi Pad 6.
Xiaomi is doing issues otherwise in India, the place the Xiaomi 14 Extremely is obtainable for ₹99,999 ($1,199). That is significantly decrease than what the machine retails for in most areas, and also you get the identical 16GB/512GB model. Xiaomi India is not bundling something with the machine, however the truth that it is so inexpensive makes it a significantly better alternative than in some other area.
| Class | Xiaomi 14 Extremely |
|---|---|
| Show | 6.73-inch 120Hz LTPO AMOLED (3200×1440), Dolby Imaginative and prescient, 3000 nits max, Xiaomi Defend Glass |
| OS | HyperOS 1.0.5.0, Android 14 |
| Chipset | Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, Adreno 750, 4nm |
| RAM | 16GB LPDDR5X |
| Storage | 512GB UFS 4.0 |
| Rear digicam 1 | 50MP f/1.63 – f/4.0 Sony LYT-900, 1-inch module, OIS |
| Rear digicam 2 | 50MP f/1.8 Sony IMX858, 1/2.51-inch module, 122-degree FoV |
| Rear digicam 3 | 50MP f/1.8 telephoto, 3.2x optical zoom, OIS |
| Rear digicam 4 | 50MP f/2.5 telephoto, 5x optical zoom, OIS |
| Entrance digicam | 32MP f/2.0, autofocus |
| Ingress safety | IP68 mud and water resistance |
| Connectivity | Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.4, international 5G bands, NFC, dual-band GPS |
| Safety | Optical in-screen sensor |
| Audio | USB-C, stereo sound, 24-bit/192kHz, Snapdragon Sound, AptX HD, AptX Adaptive |
| Battery | 5000mAh battery, 90W HyperCharge charging, 80W wi-fi charging |
| Dimensions | 161.4 x 75.3 x 9.2mm, 224.4g |
| Colours | Black, White |
Xiaomi 14 Extremely: Design
The Xiaomi 13 Extremely received rather a lot proper final yr, however the digicam island was large, and it sat on a raised platform that made utilizing the telephone with no case annoying. Whereas Xiaomi retained the identical broad design, it made a number of tweaks that make holding and utilizing the Xiaomi 14 Extremely that a lot simpler.
Like earlier years, the Xiaomi 14 Extremely has no design similarities to the remainder of its siblings; the Xiaomi 14 has a completely completely different aesthetic, and it is not evident that each telephones are in the identical sequence. Having mentioned that, I believe the Xiaomi 14 Extremely is without doubt one of the best-looking telephones Xiaomi launched in recent times, and the white variant particularly is beautiful.
You continue to get a leather-based again, and it now covers your entire width of the telephone. Identical to final yr, the mid-frame extends to the again the place it merges seamlessly with the leather-based, and it seems to be moderately cool. Xiaomi makes use of an aluminum mid-frame in international fashions of the Xiaomi 14 Extremely, and I used to be eager on utilizing the titanium model of the machine to see how it will maintain up towards the iPhone 15 Professional Max and Galaxy S24 Extremely, however it’s restricted to China.
The digicam housing on the again is sort of unchanged to final yr, and the one distinction is that it’s even bigger. You continue to get a gold accent that encircles the housing, and the sheer measurement makes it stand out visually. Having used the Xiaomi 13 Extremely extensively, the Xiaomi 14 Extremely has a significantly better in-hand really feel; the machine is a smidgen shorter and wider than its predecessor, and that’s noticeable when utilizing each telephones subsequent to one another.
The facility and quantity buttons are on the suitable, and the fingerprint sensor is optimally positioned on the display screen the place it may be simply accessed by your thumb when utilizing the telephone one-handed. A variety of producers place the module decrease on the display screen, however that fortunately is not a difficulty on this telephone.
Speaking about non-issues, the Xiaomi 14 Extremely has IP68 ingress safety, giving it the identical degree of resilience as the most effective Samsung telephones — it is good to see Xiaomi persevering with to supply this characteristic as normal on its high-end gadgets.
Xiaomi 14 Extremely: Show
The Xiaomi 14 Extremely has the identical 6.73-inch AMOLED panel as final yr, and it retains Dolby Imaginative and prescient and HDR10+. The one significant distinction on this space is that the display screen goes as much as 3,000 nits in HDR content material, and whereas it tends to get marginally brighter than its predecessor in day by day use, it is not noticeable until you are utilizing each gadgets side-by-side.
Whereas there is not a lot of the way in which of an improve, the display screen has loads going for it; the LTPO tech ensures the dynamic refresh goes right down to 1Hz when viewing static content material, you get an amazing choice of always-on types, and there is a variety of customizability generally. You may alter the colour stability, change colour gamut, and tweak nearly the whole lot to do with the panel.
Xiaomi does an amazing job with colour calibration generally, and whereas the Xiaomi 14 Extremely does not fairly hit the insane brightness ranges posted by the Magic 6 Professional, the AMOLED panel has standout colours and distinction ranges, and is excellent in day by day use. I did not see any points whereas streaming content material or enjoying video games on the machine, and the stereo sound is among the many finest telephone of any telephone I examined in 2024.
The one space the place issues are completely different is display screen safety; Xiaomi is utilizing its personal in-house glass layer in lieu of Corning’s Gorilla Glass, with the model noting that it affords significantly better shatter resistance. I put that to the check (unwittingly, as all the time) when the machine slid down the nightstand and fell to the ground, and fortunately there was no injury.
Xiaomi 14 Extremely: {Hardware}
Like its rivals, the Xiaomi 14 Extremely is powered by the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, and it has all the extra options you’d need in a high-end machine. Xiaomi is making a single variant of the telephone obtainable in international markets, and it comes with 16GB of LPDDR5X RAM and 512GB of UFS 4.0 storage. I’d have appreciated to see the 1TB mannequin making its international debut, however like different Chinese language manufacturers, Xiaomi is limiting that variant to its house market.
The telephone has no slowdowns or lag by any means in day by day use, and whereas Xiaomi did not introduce many new software program options, it made system stability a precedence.
| Class | Xiaomi 14 Extremely | Honor Magic 6 Professional | OPPO Discover X7 Extremely |
|---|---|---|---|
| Geekbench 6 (single-core) | 2129 | 1908 | 1254 |
| Geekbench 6 (multi-core) | 6506 | 6816 | 5032 |
| 3DMark Wild Life Excessive (rating) | 4519 | 5121 | 4967 |
| 3DMark Wild Life Excessive (FPS) | 27.07 | 30.67 | 29.75 |
| 3DMark Photo voltaic Bay (rating) | 8129 | 8623 | 8409 |
| 3DMark Photo voltaic Bay (FPS) | 30.91 | 32.79 | 31.97 |
Xiaomi deliberately blocks entry to 3DMark on its gadgets, however surprisingly sufficient, that is not the case on the Xiaomi 14 Extremely — I used to be capable of launch the utility and run the same old checks. It is clear that Xiaomi set conservative thermal limits on the machine, because it did not get near the likes of the Zenfone 11 and Magic 6 Professional in a variety of artificial workloads.
Additionally, whereas operating the 3DMark Photo voltaic Bay stress check, the machine received so scorching that it successfully shut down. A big Machine Overheated message confirmed up on the display screen, and it shut down the radios and went into hibernation. I did not run into this specific problem on any machine in a number of years — Sony’s telephones have been liable to hit their thermal restrict typically — however it’s no marvel that Xiaomi is being aggressive.
That mentioned, the machine does not overheat in common use, and whereas it tends to get scorching after prolonged gaming periods, it is not uncomfortable to carry.
Xiaomi is understood to ship a great {hardware} bundle, and it did not depart something out right here; the Xiaomi 14 Extremely consists of Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.4, international Sub-6 5G bands, NFC, your entire suite of AptX audio codecs, and USB-C 3.2 with DisplayPort, permitting you to reflect the machine to an exterior monitor.
The vibration motor is improbable as nicely, delivering beautiful suggestions when utilizing the keyboard and navigating the interface. I did not see any points with connectivity or the remainder of the radios, and the Xiaomi 14 Extremely is without doubt one of the most feature-rich telephones you may get at the moment.
Xiaomi 14 Extremely: Battery life
Xiaomi is not altering something across the battery, and the Xiaomi 14 Extremely has the identical 5,000mAh battery as its predecessor. You get the identical 90W charging tech as nicely, and it takes simply over 35 minutes to cost the battery. What I like about Xiaomi’s charging tech is that it makes use of the USB PD 3.0 normal, and the bundled 90W charger is nice at charging an entire host of different gadgets along with the telephone.
Xiaomi additionally affords wi-fi charging on the machine, and it goes as much as 80W. That mentioned, the model does not promote its wi-fi charger in most international locations, and it goes right down to 15W when utilizing an everyday Qi charging mat.
Because of the massive battery, the Xiaomi 14 Extremely manages to final nicely over a day with none points by any means. It lasts a little bit longer than its predecessor, and even with heavy use, it delivers over a day’s price of energy persistently. To be trustworthy, battery nervousness actually is not a factor in 2024, and with most high-end telephones providing 5000mAh or bigger batteries, you are assured to get a day’s price of use with none trouble.
Xiaomi 14 Extremely: Cameras
The Xiaomi 13 Extremely had the most effective cameras of any telephone I examined in 2023, so I used to be eager on having a look at what the Xiaomi 14 Extremely has to supply on this space. Fortunately, Xiaomi hasn’t made too many modifications on this space — the telephone has quad 50MP cameras this time as nicely — and the Xiaomi 14 Extremely retains a variety of the identical nice options that made its predecessor stand out.
The primary digicam is a 1-inch 50MP Sony LYT-900 module, and the important thing speaking level is that it makes use of variable aperture, going from f/1.6 all the way in which to f/4.0. There’s restricted adjustability in auto mode, however the Professional mode unlocks the total potential of the module. You get a 50MP wide-angle lens that makes use of a Sony IMX858 module, and two 50MP telephoto lenses, one which goes as much as 3.2x optical zoom and the opposite as much as 5x.
Xiaomi is not the one producer providing two telephoto modules, with the Discover X7 Extremely additionally going this route. There’s OIS on three of the lenses (the wide-angle misses out), and on the entrance Xiaomi affords a 32MP digicam — equivalent to final yr.
The Leica partnership brings a slate of taking pictures modes and results, and you may want to choose between Leica Vibrant and Leica Genuine modes for stills — I favor to make use of the Vibrant mode because it delivers higher colours. There are extra taking pictures modes than you may find yourself utilizing, and Xiaomi did not depart something out.Â
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The Xiaomi 14 Extremely takes improbable photographs in daylight situations, delivering wonderful dynamic vary, colour vibrancy, and rendition. I haven’t got something to fault with the digicam in daylight situations, and the wide-angle lens does a great job serving up an identical caliber of photographs as the primary lens.
The place the telephone really comes into its personal is portrait photographs; I received higher photos out of the Xiaomi 14 Extremely than my mirrorless, and that is the largest cause why I exploit the machine. It additionally does an amazing job with shifting topics; we’ve a nine-month-old who does not sit nonetheless for quite a lot of seconds, and the Xiaomi 14 Extremely is ready to sustain together with her.
I have not used the telephoto lenses all that a lot, however they’re higher than final yr — although Xiaomi is utilizing the identical digicam modules. Tweaks to its digicam tuning means you get higher element at 3.2x and 5x, and what’s evident this yr is how good the photographs are at as much as 10x and even past.
The Xiaomi 14 Extremely excels in low-light situations, and even with little to no ambient gentle, the telephone by some means manages to ship usable photographs. I’ve all the time maintained that Google makes the most effective cameras, however that hasn’t been the case for over a yr now, and the Xiaomi 14 Extremely extends Xiaomi’s lead on this space.
The Xiaomi 14 Extremely is leagues forward of the Galaxy S24 Extremely and even edges out the Honor Magic 6 Professional in most situations. I believe its greatest rival is the Discover X7 Extremely, however with that telephone restricted to China, Xiaomi does not actually have a contender that delivers the identical caliber of photographs and movies. For those who take a variety of photographs and movies, the Xiaomi 14 Extremely is the most effective telephone of 2024.
Xiaomi 14 Extremely: Software program
Xiaomi made a giant deal of its software program overhaul, and on the outset, there is not something noticeably completely different. HyperOS 1.0 is predicated on Android 14, and in a variety of methods, it’s just about indistinguishable to MIUI 14. In reality, the Xiaomi 14 Extremely does not have any significant new additions on the software program facet of issues.
Whereas the software program could not have any groundbreaking options, it’s fluid like no different Xiaomi telephone. That is true with the usual Xiaomi 14 as nicely, and the model deserves credit score for lastly optimizing its software program in order that it runs fluidly on Qualcomm’s high-end {hardware}. The distinction is noticeable towards the Xiaomi 13 Extremely, and it makes utilizing the machine that rather more pleasant.
That mentioned, there are a couple of frustrations — as is all the time the case with Xiaomi. The model has supplied a Management Heart-style break up notification pane for over three years now, however it was all the time non-compulsory; that is not the case now. There isn’t a approach to get a unified notification pane with toggles and notifications in the identical window, and that is irksome.
However what notably bothers me is that the toggles part does not have any textual content labels. This makes it extremely annoying to make use of, and it all the time took rather a lot longer to drag up a setting — whether or not it is launching Tailscale, accessing Bitwarden, or simply toggling the flashlight — than on some other telephone. I do not know what Xiaomi was making an attempt to attain right here, but when the aim was to make the notification pane tougher to make use of, it succeeded.
As for the notification part, a pull-down on a notification does not reveal extra particulars — you may want to make use of the arrow down button that is positioned to the suitable. That is completely different to how Google, Samsung, and ASUS do issues, and I do not perceive why Xiaomi could not have retained the identical system as MIUI 14.
However that is my solely quibble with the software program. I nonetheless suppose that Xiaomi’s software program is in want of a visible overhaul; ColorOS does a greater job integrating Materials You with a singular visible aesthetic. The one customization characteristic that is new is the flexibility to alter the look of the lock display screen, and it’s almost equivalent to what you get in One UI 6.Â
On the subject of software program updates, Xiaomi ensures 4 platform updates together with 5 years of safety updates. That is in step with what different Chinese language manufacturers provide, however I am not satisfied that Xiaomi can ship software program updates on time. That will change within the coming months, however till now, Xiaomi was the final of the key Chinese language producers to ship platform updates to its telephones.
Xiaomi 14 Extremely: The options
Honor’s Magic 6 Professional comes near the Xiaomi 14 Extremely in terms of the cameras, and the telephone is obtainable globally. The telephone has a brighter display screen and lasts longer, and whereas its zoom lens is not as versatile because the Xiaomi 14 Extremely, the primary digicam and wide-angle lenses take wonderful photographs in nearly any situation. And at £1,099, it’s £200 lower than what the Xiaomi 14 Extremely prices within the U.Okay.
I just like the Discover X7 Extremely fairly a bit as nicely, and if something, it takes barely higher portrait photographs than the Xiaomi 14 Extremely — no small feat. However the machine is proscribed to China, and there are such a lot of points with the software program that I am not going to suggest it.
The Galaxy S24 Extremely inevitably will get a point out as a result of it’s the default alternative in most international locations, however Samsung has performed it too protected this yr — to the detriment of the machine. The Galaxy S24 Extremely has all of the extras you want, and the telephone feels nice to carry and use. Whereas the digicam modules have not modified, Samsung made loads of tweaks to its algorithms to ship higher photographs, however the telephone does not measure as much as the Xiaomi 14 Extremely in difficult situations.
Xiaomi 14 Extremely: Do you have to purchase it?
You should purchase this if:
- You need the most effective digicam telephone obtainable at the moment
- You need a attractive design that is nice to carry and use
- You want standout battery life
- You need long-term software program updates
You should not purchase this if:
Xiaomi received rather a lot proper with its telephone technique in 2024. The Xiaomi 14 is a improbable machine that mixes high-end internals and standout cameras in a chassis that is smaller than its rivals, and I appreciated utilizing the machine a lot that I did not swap out nicely previous the assessment window.
The Xiaomi 14 Extremely is in a league of its personal. I am not exaggerating once I say that that is my favourite telephone of 2024; I received near 30 gadgets this yr — together with all of the flagships — and it has a greater in-hand really feel than simply about some other telephone. However that is not why I just like the telephone a lot — it is the cameras that actually differentiate the Xiaomi 14 Extremely from the remainder of the pack.
The Discover X7 Extremely and Magic 6 Professional come near what Xiaomi is providing this yr, however the Xiaomi 14 Extremely nonetheless has a slender edge in terms of photographs, and it handily beats the Galaxy S24 Extremely and Pixel 8 Professional. It is nice to see Xiaomi bringing the machine to extra markets this yr, and its launch in India is a pivotal second because the model tries to alter the established order.
Xiaomi has been making flagships for the higher a part of a decade now, and the Xiaomi 14 Extremely is proof that the Chinese language producer can outshine the most effective that this phase has to supply.
