At a lookProfessional’s Ranking
Professionals
- Unimaginable images efficiency
- Beautiful vegan leather-based design
- Beautiful curved display
- 90W quick charging
- Prime efficiency
Cons
- Costly
- HyperOS software program is a combined bag
Our Verdict
The Xiaomi 14 Extremely is the perfect smartphone for images you should purchase, even with out the non-obligatory Pictures Equipment. It’s nice in nearly all different areas, however you’ve actually acquired to be all in on the cameras to justify the excessive value.
From time to time one thing particular comes alongside. Within the crowded telephone market, it’s a uncommon factor.
Enter the Xiaomi 14 Extremely. Xiaomi has lastly launched its Extremely flagship smartphone outdoors of its residence market. When you’re out there for the very best telephone expertise, you might need discovered it right here.
You’ll need to be all in on the images although, and in case you are, that is an fanatic’s dream. Particularly whenever you add within the non-obligatory Pictures Equipment which, no lie, means this telephone can rival compact mirrorless DSLRs.
Costing a whopping £1,299, it’s not a telephone you’ll be shopping for on a whim. However if you happen to can afford it, this telephone has nearly each bell and whistle you possibly can think about, from insane images expertise to a stunning display to super-fast charging.
It’s not good, no telephone is, however Xiaomi may have the likes of Apple, Samsung and Google quaking of their respective boots after this.
See what the Xiaomi 14 Extremely goes up towards in our greatest smartphones information.
Design & Construct
- Vegan leather-based and Xiaomi Defend glass
- Two colors
- IP68
When you suppose this telephone appears like a digicam, it’s not a coincidence. Xiaomi has crafted it to resemble conventional cameras in varied methods, from the round digicam module to the textured cowl. I feel it appears nice.
There’s no getting round it, the Xiaomi 14 Extremely is a giant telephone. It’s to be anticipated with that Extremely moniker, however don’t say I didn’t warn you.
Chris Martin / Foundry
Chris Martin / Foundry
Chris Martin / Foundry
A lot of the majority is discovered on the again, because the digicam module is a large, nearly ice hockey puck-like, addition. It provides weight and makes the telephone slightly top-heavy however as talked about, it’s all for a very good purpose.
On the plus facet, it does present someplace in your finger to naturally relaxation and assist the telephone.
When you suppose this telephone appears like a digicam, it’s not a coincidence
The general footprint of the handset is just like big-screen rivals. Nevertheless, it’s barely smaller (161.4 x 75.3 x 9.2 mm) and lighter (from 219.8g) than the Samsung Galaxy S24 Extremely.
Xiaomi provides the 14 Extremely in two colors, merely black or white, and each characteristic a ‘nano-tech’ vegan leather-based rear cowl which appears and feels very nice. The way it holds up a yr or two down the road is one other matter, however it’s possible you’ll use a case in some unspecified time in the future anyway.
Chris Martin / Foundry
Chris Martin / Foundry
Chris Martin / Foundry
Unusually, the agency offers a tough plastic case within the field slightly than a flimsy silicone one. That is superb however I’d slightly use the telephone with out, or make use of the case that comes as a part of the Pictures Equipment – extra on that later.
Case or not, the telephone is well-made and sturdy, that includes an IP68 ranking that means it’s just about absolutely mud and water-proof. As all flagships north of £1,000 ought to be.
The one-piece body is a brand new ‘6M42’ built-in high-strength aluminium, and the entrance is Xiaomi’s personal Defend Glass which “incorporates all-new supplies, forming a interlocking construction by high-temperature sintering”.
Mixed with the vegan leather-based again, they kind the Xiaomi Guardian Construction. A enjoyable advertising identify however the telephone does really feel very robust to be honest.
As for the glass, it’s laborious to say with out long-term testing and that’s partly as Xiaomi applies a display protector on the manufacturing unit. This has grow to be fairly scratched throughout my few weeks with the telephone so won’t be on for for much longer.
Display & Audio system
- 6.7-inch AMOLED
- 1-120Hz
- The perfect of curved and flat worlds
- Spectacular audio
The 14 Extremely provides the perfect of each worlds, with the glass fantastically curved on all sides however the beautiful show beneath being flat
A lot of the specifics in regards to the 14 Extremely’s show is about what you’d count on for a flagship of this value. Nevertheless, there’s a mixture of design components which make it uncommon.
Xiaomi touts an ‘throughout liquid show’, however it’s not so simple as the show bodily being curved on the edges. That strategy is a bit divisive as though it appears and feels good, you get a little bit of picture distortion and the draw back of unintended enter.
The 14 Extremely provides the perfect of each worlds, with the glass fantastically curved on all sides however the beautiful show beneath being flat.
Chris Martin / Foundry
Chris Martin / Foundry
Chris Martin / Foundry
It’s a mammoth 6.73-inch (barely smaller than the S24 Extremely’s 6.8-inch) panel with a protracted record of high specs, together with AMOLED tech with a excessive pixel density of 522ppi, plus assist for Dolby Imaginative and prescient and HDR10+.
LPTO expertise means the refresh fee can dynamically alter from 120Hz down to only 1Hz so you will get easy efficiency when the excessive refresh fee is required, however save energy when it isn’t.
It’s additionally very vivid, with a typical excessive brightness of 1000 nits and a theoretical peak brightness of 3000 nits. In a real-world measurement with auto brightness switched off and daylight mode on, I measured it at a formidable 736 nits and located it simple to make use of in all conditions.
Chris Martin / Foundry
Chris Martin / Foundry
Chris Martin / Foundry
The embedded fingerprint scanner is superb certainly, and I like that it sits increased up than the Xiaomi 14 making it extra pure and comfy for me to make use of.
There’s no headphone jack, which I all the time discover a disgrace on a telephone of this dimension, however it’s not a giant deal when wi-fi headphones are so prevalent. The 14 Extremely is impressively filled with high-end audio codecs together with AAC, AptX Adaptive, LDAC and LHDC 5.0, so Hello-Res Audio isn’t far-off with the proper streaming service and headphones.
Its stereo audio system are good high quality and have loads of velocity, together with a spacious and detailed soundscape. You’ll be suitably immersed in audio when listening to music, gaming, watching movies and extra.
Specs & Efficiency
- Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset
- Whopping 16GB of RAM
- Solely 512GB storage in UK
Matching many different 2024 flagships, the Xiaomi 14 Extremely options with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset within the engine room.
You get a whopping 16GB of RAM (greater than the S24 Extremely or Pixel 8 Professional). Simply notice that, within the UK not less than, there’s just one storage capability at 512GB.
Chris Martin / Foundry
Chris Martin / Foundry
Chris Martin / Foundry
Efficiency, unsurprisingly, is extraordinarily fast and the 14 Extremely can deal with no matter you throw at it with relative ease. Whether or not it’s opening apps, picture enhancing, streaming video or gaming.
Prime video games resembling Genshin Influence are buttery easy and you’ll play with excessive settings, no downside. A beefier cooling system than the common Xiaomi 14 – a ‘Twin-Channel IceLoop System’ – helps maintain the inner temperature down and it appears to work nicely.
The 14 Extremely can deal with no matter you throw at it with relative ease
You possibly can see the way it benchmarks in contrast with key rivals under:
Xiaomi 14 Extremely benchmarks
When it comes to different specs, the 14 Extremely is filled with loads of bells and whistles together with 5G assist, Wi-Fi 7 (in choose markets together with the UK), twin nano-SIM assist (no eSIM), Bluetooth 5.4 with twin connections, NFC and even an IR blaster.
The latter is tremendous helpful even only for adjusting the quantity of or switching the TV on and off when your toddler has misplaced the devoted distant.
Cameras & Video
- Unimaginable quad digicam system
- Co-developed with Leica
- Optionally available Pictures Equipment is superior
On the subject of the cameras, the Xiaomi 14 Extremely is certainly a case of all killer no filler
As you will have gathered by this level within the evaluate, images is the principle occasion on the 14 Extremely. You don’t (or shouldn’t) have a digicam bump this large with out having one thing to indicate for it.
And there’s tons to indicate right here, with no fewer than 4 rear cameras co-developed with Leica. On the subject of the cameras, the Xiaomi 14 Extremely is certainly a case of all killer no filler.
Chris Martin / Foundry
Chris Martin / Foundry
Chris Martin / Foundry
All 4 lenses are 50Mp, so it’s an analogous affair to the common 14 right here however delve into the specs and the Extremely has extra to supply than simply an additional lens.
The primary digicam is a images nerd’s dream come true with optical picture stabilisation (OIS), an enormous 1-inch sensor and even variable step-less aperture between f/1.63/2.0/2.8/4.0 – to provide the headline particulars.
Elsewhere there’s an ultrawide, a floating telescope at 3.2x and a periscope digicam for 5x optical zoom. They’re all based mostly on the Sony IMX858 sensor and solely the ultrawide doesn’t have OIS.
When you prefer to deal in focal lengths, this provides you the equal of 12-, 23-, 75- and 120mm which is a formidable array to play with, and people lengths are talked about all through the digicam app so you realize which you’re utilizing.
Speaking of the app, Xiaomi has completed an incredible job with this contemplating what number of modes and settings there can be found. It’s neat, intuitive, and you’ll simply level and shoot or spend hours fine-tuning (together with selecting the aperture on the principle digicam and saving customized presets) relying in your choice.
As I discovered with the common 14, the standard on supply right here is totally beautiful. The best way the telephone captures mild is usually astonishing, and viewers of the outcomes wouldn’t imagine they got here from a telephone slightly than a fully-fledged DLSR digicam.
Chris Martin / Foundry
Chris Martin / Foundry
Chris Martin / Foundry
When you’re undecided which digicam to make use of, the telephone could change routinely (macro pictures for instance), however I usually most well-liked the outcomes by making my very own alternative. High quality is so excessive throughout the board that you could be not even be capable of inform which digicam has been used for a shot, past the plain distinction between an ultrawide and 5x optical zoom.
The best way the telephone captures mild is usually astonishing, and viewers of the outcomes wouldn’t imagine they got here from a telephone slightly than a fully-fledged DLSR digicam
You possibly can nearly fully get rid of portrait and night time modes as there’s loads of pure bokeh and the principle sensor can soak up mild like some sort of magical sponge.
As ordinary, the principle digicam is the perfect, however the two telephoto lenses sustain impressively nicely with glorious element, color, publicity and white stability. You possibly can zoom digitally past the 5x optical out there as much as a ridiculous 120x, however that’s extraordinarily laborious to make use of handheld and high quality takes a giant dip after round 30x.
In the meantime, the ultrawide does a very good job of becoming much more in at top quality with out a lot distortion within the corners in any respect.
I’ve most well-liked to shoot within the Leica Genuine color profile which is near actual life, however you possibly can change to Leica Vibrant within the high nook if you’d like extra punchy saturated colors akin to Samsung’s telephones.
Transferring to the selfie digicam and this is identical 32Mp (f/2.0) digicam because the common 14. It’s glorious when it comes to high quality and might routinely change between 0.8- and 1x relying on what you’re attempting to suit into the body.
It’s acquired loads of options, together with portrait mode with depth management, and might shoot video in as much as 4K. On the rear, you possibly can go all the way in which to 8K/30fps if you happen to like, although 4K with 60fps (as much as 120fps) is preferable for many conditions. If you wish to use Xiaomi’s regular video or regular video professional modes, you’ll must drop to 1080p however with OIS on the principle digicam, I didn’t discover this essential.
General, that is the perfect smartphone cash should buy proper now for images and I haven’t even talked about the Pictures Equipment which takes it to a different stage.
Chris Martin / Foundry
Chris Martin / Foundry
Chris Martin / Foundry
This non-obligatory accent is £179 extra in the UK, however you’ll usually discover Xiaomi bundling it with the handset. It’s primarily a digicam grip attachment, and you’ll have to put a case on earlier than this slides into place. Nevertheless it all appears and feels nice, with the black possibility lined in a woven material end which is sturdy and grippy.
The grip itself provides not solely a two-stage shutter, zoom lever, report button and customisable wheel but additionally accommodates a 1500mAh battery to maintain the telephone topped up with cost.
Moreover, there’s a gorgeous orange digicam ring, or you possibly can put a 67mm filter on as an alternative. With all this, in addition to the wrist strap, you’ve actually acquired a digicam that occurs to even be a telephone.
Battery Life & Charging
- 5000mAh battery
- 90W HyperCharge
- 80W wi-fi charging
- Adapter included
A 5000mAh battery is the typical dimension for a smartphone in 2024. Though you may count on it to be increased for a telephone this large, it matches the S24 Extremely, so it’s clear the area and weight is primarily for the digicam system.
In our ordinary PCMark battery take a look at with the display set to the prompt 200 nits, the telephone lasted a good, if not excellent, 12 hours and 42 minutes.
I haven’t discovered myself worrying about battery life, which says so much
It’s about the one space the place the 14 Extremely doesn’t really excel, however it’s actually not dangerous. I haven’t discovered myself worrying about battery life, which says so much. It would comfortably final a day except you’re hammering issues like gaming and 4K video recording.
I’ve seen the telephone final a few days when my utilization has been on the lighter facet.
Chris Martin / Foundry
Chris Martin / Foundry
Chris Martin / Foundry
On the subject of charging, you get a speedy 90W HyperCharge adapter within the field, which might get you from lifeless to 52% in simply quarter-hour or 88% in half an hour, each of that are very fast.
It’s particularly beneficial whenever you evaluate to Samsung and Google rivals, which supply a lot slower charging and don’t embrace any charger within the field. Nevertheless, it’s price noting that this strategy is extra eco-friendly, and you could have already got a suitable charger at residence.
The 14 Extremely additionally helps whopping 80W wi-fi ‘HyperCharge’ and 10W reverse wi-fi charging, with the latter permitting you to simply cost any devices that assist Qi charging, resembling wi-fi earbuds.
Software program & Apps
- HyperOS
- Android 14
- Respectable promised software program assist
The 14 Extremely, like its stablemate the common Xiaomi 14, makes use of the HyperOS software program.
That is Xiaomi’s ‘new’ working system which runs on Android 14, however HyperOS isn’t way more than a rebranded model of the MIUI pores and skin which got here earlier than it.
General, it’s a combined bag. There are issues I like and issues I don’t like.
Chris Martin / Foundry
Chris Martin / Foundry
Chris Martin / Foundry
The cut up notification and fast settings panels (to the left and proper of the punch gap digicam) will likely be divisive, as will likely be different iOS influences such because the default choice to haven’t any app drawer. You’ll additionally must get used to the grid of latest apps and shutting them by swiping sideways.
HyperOS isn’t way more than a rebranded model of the MIUI pores and skin which got here earlier than it
Bloatware stays a problem, however I’ve positively seen so much worse up to now. Nobody wants three, sure three, internet browsers and there are different apps that you just’ll wish to uninstall instantly (which you’ll be able to). Nevertheless, the likes of Spotify, TikTok and Fb aren’t so dangerous in my e-book.
One other damaging is what was attractive rotating photographs on the lock display have now grow to be nearly completely adverts. There’s additionally a ‘Really useful feed’ if you happen to swipe up from the house display which seems to be Xiaomi’s model of Google Uncover, simply one million occasions worse, with overwhelming hyperlinks to tabloid articles I’m not taken with.
On the plus facet, there are some nifty options such because the GameTurbo mode (for enhancing gaming efficiency and decreasing distractions) and floating apps which assist with multi-tasking, even when Xiaomi may do a greater job of displaying how these options work, and even that they exist.
There are additionally AI options coming which I haven’t been in a position to take a look at, resembling reside subtitles for video calls and ‘AI Portrait’ which, when you’ve taken sufficient selfies, can create photographs of you with particular prompts. I’ve seen it in motion and it’s very spectacular if you wish to have enjoyable or faux you went on vacation someplace unique whenever you really went to Skegness.
Xiaomi guarantees a good 4 years of OS updates and 5 years of safety patches which, till not too long ago, could be completely acceptable. Samsung and Google now supply seven of every, which is considerably higher, assuming each keep on with their guarantees.
Nonetheless, 4 to 5 years of longevity ought to be sufficient for many customers.
Value & Availability
There’s no selecting between fashions in the case of the Xiaomi 14 Extremely. Within the UK it’s £1,299 for the 16/512GB mannequin or nothing. Your alternative is between black or white colourways.
You should buy it from the official Mi store the place there are numerous provides together with £150 trade-in, 6-months of 100GB Google storage and 3-months of YouTube Premium. You too can get it from Amazon, however it’s not formally out there within the US.
The worth places it up towards the likes of the Google Pixel 8 Professional which is £1,179 for the matching 512GB capability, although as little as £999 if 128GB is sufficient for you.
Then there’s the Samsung Galaxy S24 Extremely which is £1,349 for the 512GB and even has a £1,549 1TB mannequin if you happen to want it. On the Apple facet, the iPhone 15 Professional Max is £1,399 for 512GB.
There are different nice images telephones such because the Oppo Discover X7 Extremely however will probably be a lot more durable to get your arms on that.
You must also contemplate the Xiaomi 14 because the common mannequin remains to be critically spectacular, way more reasonably priced and a extra manageable handset size-wise. As are the Pixel 8 and Galaxy S24.
See extra choices in our information to the perfect smartphones you should purchase.
Chris Martin / Foundry
Chris Martin / Foundry
Chris Martin / Foundry
Do you have to purchase the Xiaomi 14 Extremely?
In nearly each approach, the Xiaomi 14 Extremely is an unimaginable smartphone. It’s acquired beautiful design and excessive construct high quality, an superior display that’s acquired the perfect of each flat and curved worlds, and flagship-level efficiency.
For my cash, it’s the perfect smartphone for images in the marketplace proper now, even with out factoring within the glorious Pictures Equipment. Nevertheless, I’d say you do have to essentially take advantage of this a part of the telephone to justify shopping for one.
At £1,299, it’s cheaper than the equal Galaxy S24 Extremely and if you happen to’re all about ISO and f-stops then the 14 Extremely is for you.
Nevertheless, you possibly can nonetheless get unimaginable high quality for much less within the Google Pixel 8 Professional and the common Xiaomi 14/Pixel 8 if you’d like a smaller telephone.
Specs
- Android 14 w/ HyperOS 1.0
- 6.7in WQHD+ AMOLED 1-120Hz show, 240Hz contact sampling, Dolby Imaginative and prescient, HDR10+
- In-display fingerprint sensor
- Xiaomi Defend glass entrance
- Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3
- 16GB RAM LPDDR5X
- 512GB UFS 4.0 non-expandable storage
- 50Mp, f/1.63-4.0, predominant digicam with OIS
- 50Mp, f/2.2 wide-angle digicam
- 50Mp, f/2 telephoto 3.2x digicam with OIS
- 50Mp, f/2.5 periscope 5x cameras with OIS
- 32Mp, f/2.0 front-facing digicam
- Twin audio system with Dolby Atmos
- 5G
- WiFi 7
- Bluetooth 5.4
- USB-C port
- IR blaster
- NFC
- Twin-SIM
- 5000mAh battery
- 90W quick charging
- 80W wi-fi charging
- 10W reverse wi-fi charging
- 161.4 x 75.3 x 9.2mm
- 219.8g
- Launch colors: Black, White
