Xiaomi 14T Review: Leica Powered!

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86%

86%

• Camera

  9
• Display

  9
• Design

  8
• Performance

  9
• Value For Money

  8
• User Ratings (21 Votes)
  5

I’ve had a lot of requests for reviews of Xiaomi products, but I’ve not been able to answer them – until now.

For the last couple of weeks, I’ve had access to the Xiaomi 14T, their latest mid-range smartphone, which has allowed me to give it a proper going-over before the official launch.

At a €649/£549, the 14T is a very competitively priced phone, but will it deliver at that level, and does it deserve the unmissable Leica camera badging? Let’s find out.

Specs and Pricing

The 14T is powered by the MediaTek Dimensity 8300-Ultra, with Xiaomi promising a 20% boost in CPU performance and a massive 60% uplift in GPU capabilities. There’s up to 12GB of RAM on offer and up to 512GB of storage.

The display is a 6.67-inch AMOLED unit with a 1.5K resolution and support for HDR10+ content and Dolby Vision. Oh, and of course it has a 144Hz refresh rate.

There’s a 5,000mAh battery nestled inside the 14T that offers 67W HyperCharge (a full charge in just 45 minutes) and the device itself has IP68 water and dust resistance to rely on.

The 14T comes in two flavours – standard and Pro, with the latter sporting the MediaTek 9300+, 50W wireless charging, and a slightly uprated camera system.

For the base model Xiaomi 14T, it’ll cost you an extremely reasonable €649/£549. The Xiaomi 14T Pro costs €799/£649 which, for a pro model device is still great value.

Design and display

The 14T comes in four colours – Titan Gray, Titan Blue, Titan Black, and Lemon Green, with the latter using 50% bio-based materials.

The best way to describe the 14T is that it is understated, professional, and, clearly, very keen for the user to focus on (if you’ll excuse the pun) the camera system. You can’t miss that Leica branding – but I’ll get to that in a moment.

In the hand, the 14T feels great and has a form factor which is almost one-handed, which is refreshing for someone who spends most of his time now using the mahoosive iPhone 16 Pro Max.

The display is lovely. And it should be; this is something I’ve come to expect with most new Android-based phones these days. It’s sharp and vibrant, the bezels aren’t too big, and the high refresh rate once again reveals that Apple really does need to get its act together with the standard iPhone.

Overall, the Xiaomi 14T is a great-looking phone. It doesn’t leap off your desk or make any claims for innovative smartphone design, but sometimes, we don’t need that. It looks smart, and for me, that’s enough.

Xiaomi 14T camera

The Xiaomi 14T camera system has been co-engineered with Leica for a serious boost in night photography capabilities.

It’s a triple-camera setup which rings in with the following specs:

• 50MP wide-angle (Sony IMX906 sensor, 23mm focal length)
• 50MP telephoto lens (50mm focal length)
• 12MP ultra-wide (15mm focal length)

There’s also an advanced night mode, enhanced portrait photography, and cinematic video features such as Cinematic Blur and Rack Focus.

Last night, I was invited to an evening hosted by Xiaomi and Leica which featured three keynote speakers, all of whom were professional photographers. The images created by those guys with the 14T were incredibly impressive, and while I can’t show you those particular snaps, I can show you what I managed to capture with the phone myself.

As always, this is the most subjective part of any smartphone review, so please keep that in mind while you browse these photos from the Xiaomi 14T.

However, I’m a big fan. The focal lengths may be slightly restrictive from an optical perspective compared to the iPhone 16 Pro Max, but the latter is a flagship device, and what Xiaomi has achieved with its Leica partnership is rather special.

There are two styles to choose from – Leica Vibrant and Leica Authentic. I preferred the contrasty, muted-coloured latter, but the former is there for anyone who wants their images to pop a little more.

For comparison, here’s a Vibrant shot:

…and here’s an Authentic shot:

I think you need three things from a smartphone camera: a fast shutter speed, no faffing with settings (unless you want to), and a reliable night mode.

The 14T performs brilliantly in all three areas. The busy duck pond shot is a great example of it capturing the moment when desired (and with just enough movement retained to keep it alive), and the night images I captured in Berlin this week are utterly lovely.

As always, I’ll let you be the judge of these photos in the comments section, but for me, the 14T has earned that Leica badge.

When it comes to video, there’s a standard video mode which tops out at 4K 30fps, a movie mode which is restricted to 1080p (but shoots in HDR), and a Director mode which offers a “comprehensive cinematography interface” and supports up to 4K 60fps.

Performance

I don’t do benchmarks, and I don’t play games on my phones, therefore my grading for performance these days is fast becoming a moot point. Every phone I’ve reviewed over the last couple of years has felt great in everyday use, and the 14T is no different.

That MediaTek chip may be 4nm (against the increasingly 3nm-based competition) but when combined with the 144Hz refresh rate, it makes the phone feel as fast, smooth, and as responsive as one would expect in 2024. It’s a great performer.

Battery life is great, too. It’ll sail well into two days of normal use, and the super-fast charging is incredibly useful when you’re in a pinch.

HyperOS feels fluid and is a considerate dusting of Android 14. There’s also Google Gemini and Circle to Search built in as standard, and a bunch of AI features for image processing, text, and voice, which are fast becoming industry standard.

Conclusion

This is my first extended experience with a Xiaomi phone, and the 14T has demonstrated what I’ve been missing out on.

It’s that camera system. For me, it pushes incredibly close to the Pixel in terms of my favourite types of smartphone images and the Leica tie-in is deserved and an obvious pull for anyone who wants the best camera system on a phone without spending flagship money.

For a price that’s less than the Pixel 9, it is one of the best value-for-money smartphones I’ve used.

For that reason, you should have no qualms about buying the Xiaomi 14T, whether it sits right in your desired price point, or even if you could spend a bit more!

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