Xiaomi 14T Pro: A Powerful Yet Perplexing New Android Contender

No, it's not an iPhone 17 render, it's the new Xiaomi 14T Pro

With the Xiaomi 14T Pro, Xiaomi is keeping it simple this year. Credit: Stan Schroeder/Mashable With the Xiaomi 14T Pro, it appears that the design heads at Xiaomi simply said: Well, let's imagine the next year's iPhone, and then design our phone to look like that. The result, unsurprisingly, looks pretty great, even if it's not the most original. Xiaomi sent me a 14T Pro review unit in the Titan Gray color, and I was surprised at how much I liked it. It has flat, aluminum edges, interspersed with antenna lines, and on the back, there's a giant camera bump that's unmistakably iPhone-ish, with one big difference: It hosts four camera units instead of three. The phone is slightly bigger than my iPhone 15 Pro Max, with ultra-thin bezels on the front. The only thing that really betrays it as an Android phone is the dot-sized camera cut-out on the top of the display; had Xiaomi placed a pill-shaped, Dynamic Island-like cut out there, it would have probably been too much. All in all, I love the design. The phone is simple yet elegant. And I've had several people ask me "what kind of iPhone is that," so that's been fun. Other than that, the new Xiaomi phone is a mighty beast, with a MediaTek Dimensity 9300+ chipset powering things, 12GB of RAM, 256/512/1,024GB of storage, and a 5,000mAh battery with 120W wired charging and 50W wireless charging. The 6.67-inch AMOLED display has a 2,712x1,220 pixel resolution, a refresh rate that goes up to 144Hz, and 4,000 nits of peak brightness. Finally, the Leica-branded rear camera on the back consists of a 50-megapixel main camera, a 50-megapixel telephoto camera, and a 12-megapixel ultra-wide camera (the fourth circle hosts the flash). On the front, there's a 32-megapixel selfie camera. Finally, the phone comes with a number of AI features, including Circle to Search with Google and Google Gemini support. This is big, as these features were previously only available on Google's Pixel devices and some Samsung phones. There's also a number of other AI features on the Xiaomi 14T Pro that were made by Xiaomi, such as AI Notes, AI Recorder, and AI Image Editing. Xiaomi 14T Pro is available globally (but not in the U.S., at least not directly) and starts at €800. The Xiaomi 14T, a similar looking model but with a slightly less powerful chip and lacking certain features such as wireless charging, is also available, starting at €650.

The Xiaomi 14T Pro is a cool (but confusing) new Android phone | Digital Trends

Xiaomi's T-series smartphones are always quite confusing, as you may expect them to be a straight mid-generation upgrade over the older non-T series phone. However, this is not always so, and the Xiaomi 14T Pro proves it. The design has undergone some changes compared to the Xiaomi 14 Pro, with the camera module on the back taking on a more iPhone-like style. The flattened aluminum chassis gives a similar in-hand feel to recent iPhone models, too. It can't hide its 209-gram weight or the 8.3mm thickness, making it a very substantial phone. It does feel high-quality and suitably durable, plus the 14T Pro has an IP68 dust and water resistance rating. On the back is a flat panel with 3D curved sides, which looks and feels like metal, but I don't think it actually is. It's cool to the touch and comes in three colors -- Titan Black, Titan Blue, and Titan Gray -- with Titan Gray being the version seen in most of our photos. It's a highly reflective surface but does not seem to attract more than its fair share of fingerprints. Recommended Videos What about the specification? You look at a 6.67-inch AMOLED screen with a 144Hz refresh rate, a 2712 x 1220 pixel resolution, and a whopping 4,000 nit peak brightness. Seeing the sun in the U.K., where I am at the moment, is a rarity, so I've not been able to put this to the test. Powering the Xiaomi 14T Pro is a MediaTek Dimensity 9300+ processor with 12GB of RAM and up to 1TB of internal storage space. The battery has a 5,000mAh capacity and is recharged using Xiaomi's 120W HyperCharge wired charging system or 50W wireless HyperCharge. Xiaomi continues its partnership with Leica on the 14T Pro, and what you get is similar to the superb Xiaomi 14 Ultra. Leica supplies its Vario-Summilux lenses, a choice of Vibrant or Natural photographic styles, video mode enhancements, different filters, and special portrait modes. You take photos with the primary 50-megapixel Light Fusion 900 camera, which has an impressive f/1.6 aperture, along with a 50MP telephoto camera and a 12MP wide-angle camera. Just as you'd expect from a phone released in 2024, there's plenty of AI inside, too. It comes with Google Gemini pre-installed, plus it has Google's Circle to Search feature, giving you two of the latest (and most useful) AI features also seen on phones like the Samsung Galaxy S24 and the Google Pixel 9 Pro. The camera also has some AI features, such as AI Portrait and AI Film, plus an AI Image Editing feature. Elsewhere, you have AI Notes, AI Recorder feature, stereo speakers, Bluetooth 5.4, Wi-Fi 7, and NFC. Previous Next 1 of 4 For reference, the old Xiaomi 14 Pro has a slightly larger screen, a different wide-angle camera with 50 megapixels, a smaller-capacity battery, and a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor. It's also even heavier than the Xiaomi 14T Pro. The two phones are similar, yet still suitably different, and I don't consider it an "upgrade" but more of an alternative. The change in processor should also be reflected in the price. I've not used the phone for any length of time yet, but do like the cool-to-the-touch metal body, which reminds me more of the OnePlus Nord 4 than an iPhone. At the time of writing, Xiaomi has not shared the cost of the Xiaomi 14T Pro or where it will be released.

Xiaomi 14T series announced: Undercutting the Pixel 9, Galaxy S24

Both phones offer 144Hz OLED screens, IP68 ratings, and large batteries, while the Pro model brings several extras. Xiaomi traditionally launches its T-series of Android phones in the second half of the year, and 2024 is no different. We got the Xiaomi 13T series last year and it's now time to say hello to the Xiaomi 14T and Xiaomi 14T Pro. The two phones share a few features, namely a 6.67-inch 144Hz OLED screen (2,712 x 1,220, 4,000 nits peak brightness), a 5,000mAh battery (rated for 1,600 charging cycles), and an IP68 rating. Both phones also sport Gorilla Glass 5 on the front instead of a more recent protective glass solution. Xiaomi also says the phones have Gorilla Glass on the back, but didn't specify a version. The two phones share a variety of AI features too. These include Google's Circle to Search, AI Film for smarter video editing, AI Interpreter, AI Notes, AI Recorder, and AI Subtitles (presumably Live Caption with a new name). AI Notes and Recorder, in particular, offer real-time translation, speaker identification, and summaries. Xiaomi confirmed that Circle to Search will launch on October 6. Both phones will receive four major Android OS updates and five years of security patches. That's a way off Google Pixel and Samsung phones but still respectable in 2024. The Pro model is a full-blown flagship Android phone, packing the MediaTek Dimensity 9300 Plus chip, 120W wired charging, and 50W wireless charging. Xiaomi claims a 100% charge in just 19 minutes via 120W charging, but we're guessing real-world results will vary somewhat. Xiaomi's top model also has a slick rear camera system. There's a 50MP Light Fusion 900 main camera (1.2-micron pixels), a 50MP 2.5x telephoto lens, and a 12MP ultrawide camera. Expect 8K/30fps video recording along with a MasterCinema mode for 10-bit Rec. 2020 HDR videos. If you don't want all the 14T Pro's bells and whistles, then the regular Xiaomi 14T is worth a look. It swaps out the Dimensity 9300 Plus processor for a mid-tier Dimensity 8300 Ultra processor. We also get 67W wired charging in lieu of 120W speeds, while wireless charging is dropped altogether. The regular variant still sports a respectable rear camera system. Expect a 50MP IMX906 main camera (one-micron pixels), a 50MP 2x telephoto camera, and a 12MP ultrawide shooter. However, the phone misses out on the Pro model's 8K video recording. The regular Xiaomi 14T costs €649 (~$724) for the base 12GB/256GB model in the UK. It'll be available in Lemon Green, Titan Gray, Titan Blue, and Titan Black color schemes. The Lemon Green model brings a pleather back compared to the regular glass backs on the Titan variants. Meanwhile, the Xiaomi 14T Pro costs €799 (~$891) for the base 12GB/256GB variant. It'll be available in Titan Gray, Titan Blue, and Titan Black color options. The €799 price tag for the Xiaomi 14T Pro, in particular, is significantly cheaper than the Samsung Galaxy S24 (€899) and Google Pixel 9 (€899) launch prices. You do miss out on seven years of updates, but the Xiaomi device offers better camera zoom on paper, faster wired/wireless charging, and a bigger battery.

Hands-On with Xiaomi's New Leica-Equipped 14T and Mix Flip Smartphones

Xiaomi is bringing two new mid-range phones to a global launch in the 14T and 14T Pro, along with its first folding phone in the Mix Flip at an event in Berlin. The company previously brought Leica's lenses and features into the 13T series, making this a more incremental upgrade in comparison. A tighter relationship with Google, along with a focus on AI tools, is driving much of Xiaomi's focus this time around. Both the 14T and 14T Pro will be available in various global markets -- still not North America -- forcing you to get an unlocked model from online retailers who ship to this side of the pond. The Mix Flip is also rolling out globally the same way after a solid run in the Chinese market. It's the company's first flip phone and aims to compete with the likes of established choices like the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6 and Motorola Razr. The most obvious aesthetic change comes in the back panel's aluminum matte finish and camera module. The lenses are far more prominent this time, giving these 14T mid-rangers a more serious look in that regard, and it works when paired with the metallic finish in the rest of the body. These lenses are also Leica Summilux, bringing over a design change to the T Series from the Xiaomi 14 Ultra. Before that, Xiaomi phones (meaning those with Leica branding) used Summicron lenses. Xiaomi claims the main 50-megapixel wide camera on the 14T and 14T Pro can take in 32% more light than their predecessors could. Part of the reason is because of the Light Fusion 900 image sensor Xiaomi co-developed with Leica. It's the same Type 1/1.31 sensor introduced in the 14 Ultra, which in tandem with the newer lenses, is supposed to deliver impressive high dynamic range. Many of the other specs and elements involved, particularly for the 14T Pro, which is what I got to use prior to the event, come from the 13T Series and 14 Ultra. Both 14T models have the same 6.7-inch CrystalRes AMOLED display and 144Hz refresh rate. Only this time, peak brightness expands to 4,000 nits. The 14T Pro runs on MediaTek's Dimensity 9300+ 4nm chipset and offers up to 12GB of RAM and 1TB of storage, though lower storage options are also available. Interestingly, while the phone is dual-SIM, setting the region to the United States or Canada seems to disable eSIM functionality, so you're basically forced to use physical cards. There are workarounds for this using eSIM adapters that you slide in as a physical card, but failing that, I will learn more from Xiaomi on why this limitation exists. As for 5G support, expect that to be sketchy in North America, though 4G LTE works like a charm. Color options are titan gray, titan blue, and titan black. There's a lemon green variant with a leather back but that's exclusive to the regular 14T, not the 14T Pro. The Pro comes with a faster charger, though, where the 120W HyperCharge charger can recharge the phone's battery in just 19 minutes. Wireless charging can go up to 50W -- so long as you have a charger that can go that high. I should also note this is the first T Series phone supporting wireless charging. The 67W wired charger for the 14T clocks in at about 40 to 45 minutes. Xiaomi seemingly enters this sub-category at the right time. With Samsung's terribly underwhelming foldables this year, plus a lack of photography prowess in the Motorola Razr, others have the opportunity to make an impact. It's too soon to tell if the Mix Flip can stake any claim, but I can tell you it does a few things right off the bat. Others, on the other hand, need work. The striking thing about this phone is its four-inch "All Around Liquid" outer display, which envelops both rear camera lenses. While it's cool to see such an edge-to-edge layout, there's no denying the lenses are like islands taking up some of the usable screen space. That means it may be four inches on paper, but not necessarily in practice. Still, it's a sizeable amount of real estate, though also one that feels underutilized right now because there's no scrolling through widgets to better access various apps. It's easy enough to launch an app and use it on the display, only you're relegated to the other three-quarters of the screen because small widgets populate the display above the two lenses. I understand the need to do it this way since it would be senseless to force developers to adapt their apps to avoid that particular corner. Pushing everything over makes functional sense, yet it also makes things feel cramped at the same time. It kind of harkens back to a time when smartphones had 3.5-inch screens. While folded, however, it makes shooting any sort of selfie really easy. There's a palm or voice shutter to start a three-second countdown before snapping a photo. Bizarrely, though, you can only pick between Leica Authentic and Vibrant, omitting all other Leica filter simulations in the filter menu. Keeping things consistent, Xiaomi also does the same thing when you try taking a selfie with the 32-megapixel front camera. Flip it open and the Mix Flip extends to a 6.86-inch CrystalRes AMOLED screen that's pretty bright and vibrant. The crease in the middle is visible but not terribly so, and is even less obvious when you enable dark mode. Peak brightness is a commendable 3,000 nits and the 120Hz refresh rate is adaptive (though you can also choose what you want, too). Running on the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor and at a set configuration of 12GB of RAM and 512GB storage, the Mix Flip is a sturdy performer on paper. The bigger question is how the software will hold up given Xiaomi's HyperOS still has some growing pains to deal with. Apart from the Summilux lenses and Light Fusion 900 image sensor, there's not as much to talk about from a hardware perspective. The 50-megapixel telephoto (60mm equivalent; f/2.0) and 12-megapixel ultra-wide (15mm equivalent; f/2.2) bear many similarities to those equipped in the 13T Pro. One difference is Xiaomi is placing a priority on focal lengths by offering five within the three rear cameras. The ultra-wide at 15mm (0.6x), wide at 23mm (1x default) and 46mm (2x crop factor), and the telephoto offering 60mm (2.6x) and 120mm (5x). All of these are visible in several modes, albeit with variations in certain cases, as in how the Portrait mode gives you 23mm, 35mm, 60mm, and 75mm options. As always with Xiaomi phones bearing Leica's name, its styles and filters are also widely available here. You can shoot in RAW at full resolution in Pro mode, as well as utilize the various control levers within the settings. Notably missing are Leica's "customized photographic styles" that were first introduced in the 13T Series, where you could adjust settings for tone, tonality, and texture and save them as presets. You can still save manual settings controls in Pro mode (or import them from other Xiaomi devices) as parameter presets, but any granular control over tone appears to be gone without an explanation. Arguably the biggest hurdle for Xiaomi -- at least based on my experience with its phones -- is how it handles exposed and bright light sources. Despite proving itself an excellent shooter, the 13T Pro was marred by lens flare issues that particularly afflicted the ultra-wide lens. But even without flaring, exposed lights often lead to clipping, forcing adjustments and compromises when adjusting exposure. Xiaomi claims 6x better dynamic range here, plus faster focus in low-light conditions, but there are nuances to these things that I'm still working to figure out. I'll need to test the 14T Pro further to gauge progress in all respects, but my initial impression is there's definitely still work to do. Compared to Vivo, which continues to impress in how it handles lights and reflections, Xiaomi and Leica need to address this challenge more proactively. AI this, AI that. It's a buzzword that's impossible to escape in the tech world and Xiaomi is throwing its own hat in the proverbial ring. I'll need more time to truly test some of the photo and video-centric features but at least some of what I've seen so far doesn't feel like a ridiculous gimmick. Xiaomi has offered a growing editing suite within its Gallery app, especially under the "Create" section where you could erase people or objects from images, as well as play around with bokeh, skies, and add a Leica watermark. There are now "2.0 Pro" enhancements that are better at recognizing people and objects to remove them more non-destructively. It's cloud-based, so needs a connection to work, and requires you to agree to the user agreement and privacy policy. When I checked them, they were both in Mandarin, so can't be sure what the conditions are. I tested it out on a sample device at a media briefing and, while certainly a noticeable improvement, there are still kinks to work out in how it recognizes circling a person or thing manually. Moreover, it's not clear whose cloud all this runs through. Is it Xiaomi? Google? Apparently, it's run through the cloud using Google services, though it's not totally clear how the behind-the-scenes stuff works. What's been confirmed to PetaPixel is that Xiaomi doesn't store any of the data running in these AI editing features. Either way, you'll need a data or WiFi connection becomes many of these new AI features aren't on-device anyway. I will admit, though, that I really like the AI Film feature. This allows you to select as many images and videos as you want and create videos from them. A generative AI prompt lets you type in what kind of style or layout you're looking for. To try this, I typed in, "show a montage with Ken Burns effect for photos," and it duly delivered. It even added music from royalty-free tunes stored on the phone. I could change the aspect ratio to portrait or landscape (4:3 or 16:9) and also manually edit the entire video through an editor within the interface. Xiaomi includes the option to type text into any photo or video, though I didn't see a way to move the text elsewhere. A variety of filters and LUTs also offer some stylistic choices. TikTok and CapCut users will feel familiar with these tools, but at least they don't cost you anything, monetarily speaking. What's neat about this is how easy it is to produce engaging content with your own photos. Move any of your images from other apps or albums to the Gallery app and you can put them together however you like. Those who like YouTube shorts or Instagram Stories and Reels may get a kick out of sharing key photos and video clips this way. I can also see how photographers might like it as a way to share various photos with clients through a quick video montage. Google was also on hand to talk about its growing partnership with Xiaomi driven largely by the former's Gemini AI presence in Xiaomi's latest devices. Details were vague but it basically amounts to Gemini Live playing a bigger role in the 14T Series phones and what they can do. In the example presented to media, a Google rep had a conversation with the Gemini AI about when it was best to take photos of Berlin's Brandenburg Gate. The AI suggested times coinciding with golden and blue hours (no surprise) and offered to set an alarm in advance so he wouldn't miss his chance. It's an interesting use case for someone not as well-versed in photography, and will be interesting to see how much better it gets at recommending places, times, and techniques. For now, the implementation with Xiaomi will likely take time to fully realize, whatever it may be going forward. Xiaomi isn't explicitly saying so, but it's taking a pretty competitive stance on pricing. The 14T Pro starts at 799 Euros, while the 14T starts at 649 Euros. Converted to dollars, we're talking roughly $720 and $890, respectively. The Mix Flip, for its part, will go for 1,299 Euros, which converts to about $1,450.

Xiaomi 14T Pro review: an affordable ace with lots of pace | Stuff

Big-name smartphone brands love the two-tier approach: take your recent flagship, dilute the experience down a bit, and hit a more appealing price point. Xiaomi does things slightly differently to its western rivals, having multiple China-only sub-brands to call upon for a bit of cheeky rebranding, but the results are the same. The Xiaomi 14T Pro is the latest effort, which brings back Leica for some help on the photography front and doesn't skimp on performance. It has more in common with the outgoing Xiaomi 13T Pro than the Xiaomi 14 launched earlier in 2024, but that's no bad thing as I was a fan of that phone's capable cameras and near-flagship power. Factor in some of the fastest charging - both wired and wireless - you'll find for the money, a liberal splash of AI, and a frankly ridiculous amount of onboard storage, and this should be another successful outing. At £649 for the 12GB+256GB entry model, it also comfortably undercuts Samsung and Google's recent mainstream models. But are annual improvements enough to stand out, now that rivals are going big on distinctive design? The phone world has gone mad for flat screens and squared-off frames, so it's no big shock to see the Xiaomi 14T Pro follow suit. It's got a lot in common with the Xiaomi 14 flagship, without being a total retread: the metal frame has a matte finish rather than a polished one, and the rear glass gets a frosted texture that's great at hiding fingerprint smudges. The textured power button is a neat addition; it's much easier to find by touch than some phones I've used latel.y There's clearly some of the Redmi K70 Extreme Edition on show here - Xiaomi has surely borrowed some of the underlying hardware from its China-only offering. But when that means a metal frame, instead of the Xiaomi 13T Pro's plastic one, I'm all for it. Instead of one giant slab of glass to cover the entire rear camera module, the 14T Pro has four individual lens barrels. Only three of 'em actually have a sensor inside, with the fourth hiding the LED flash, but I like the symmetry. The Leica branding is wonderfully subtle, as is the Xiaomi logo near the phone's bottom edge. If anything, the 14T Pro looks a little too generic; cover up the logos and it really could've come from any brand. At a palm-filling 6.67in, this phone also has to share the spotlight with any number of big-screen rivals. It doesn't stand out nearly as much as the Xiaomi 14, which had a fairly unique screen size. Maybe Xiaomi shouldn't have played it so safe on the colour front: the Titan Gray, Titan Black and Titan Blue options are all pretty subdued. As the name hints at they're all a close match for flagship rivals that actually use titanium, but this phone is aluminium all the way. It's great to see an IP68 rating, meaning dust and accidental dunkings shouldn't cause any issues. An IR blaster at the top edge is a clear hint this phone was originally aimed at a Chinese audience; it's pretty much unheard of on Western devices now. It's not the most useful inclusion if you're all in on smart home tech, but could be handy for controlling older gadgets. On paper, the Xiaomi 14T Pro's AMOLED screen isn't all that different from its predecessor's. 6.67in panel? Check. A better-than-Full HD resolution? Check. Silky smooth dynamic refresh rate? Check. Gorilla Glass 5 protection and HDR10+ support are also on board, just like they were last year. None of that is a bad thing, of course. The Xiaomi 13T Pro had a very respectable display, and the newer generation still rubs shoulders with pricier rivals for sharpness, definition, contrast and viewing angles. Colour temperature and vibrancy are both on point, giving images plenty of punch without going OTT, and Xiaomi continues to offer some of the most comprehensive colour gamut controls of any Android phone. Brightness sees the biggest upgrade, with the screen now maxing out at a retina-searing 4000 nits. OK, so that only applies to a small part of the picture, and only for HDR images - but it means photos shot in Google's Ultra HDR format really leap off the screen. It's easily bright enough to stand out when stepping outside, so I had no trouble seeing what was onscreen even on sunny days. I wasn't blown away by the previous generation phone's stereo speakers, and don't think things have improved much here. The down-firing main driver still shouts louder than the earpiece tweeter, so watching videos in landscape can sound quite unbalanced. It's not short on volume, but lacking on bass so I would always reach for headphones for anything other than quick YouTube catch-ups. The outgoing 13T Pro brought Leica to Xiaomi's mid-tier offering for the first time, so a return isn't a huge surprise - but it's a welcome one nonetheless. It means you get to pick between Authentic and Vibrant visual styles for each of the three rear lenses, which use a bit of clever sensor cropping to give five different focal lengths. I love the Authentic mode's stronger contrast and shadow definition, but appreciate the Vibrant mode's more dynamic colours will please a larger audience. The main snapper uses the same 50MP Light Fusion 900 sensor as the pricier Xiaomi 14, with an f/1.6 aperture that lets in a lot more light than the 13T Pro's lead lens. The 50MP telephoto has a slightly tighter aperture this time out, but stronger 2.6x magnification that's more suited to portrait photos. There aren't any hardware upgrades of note for the ultrawide camera, but selfie fans will appreciate the larger 32MP pixel count punch-hole cam up front. It also has a wider aperture, which makes a big difference at night. With no dedicated macro mode and a very narrow field of focus, this isn't the best phone for close-up shots - though if you get the focus window right it still puts in a good showing, with plenty of convincing bokeh blur. Some of the portrait modes are more telling that they use digital depth effects, especially around loose hair strands, but the more subdued lens effects create very pleasing snaps. For all other kinds of photos, the Xiaomi 14T Pro puts in a consistently great performance. All three rear lenses have very similar colour and exposure treatments; the ultrawide falls behind on definition but it's not a night and day difference. Contrast and shadow details are a little boosted, too, although results are still easy on the eye. Noise is kept in check and while white balance leans slightly warmer than other phones, I still thought my test shots stayed largely true-to-life in Leica Authentic mode, which adds a slight vignette to your snaps. Sharpening increases as you swap from optical to digital zoom, leaving some shots looking a bit crispier than others, but for daylight shooting I wouldn't hesitate to use all the focal lengths offered through the camera app. I'm a big fan of how it lets to create multiple custom presets and save them for different shooting scenarios, too. Night-time shooting still favours the main and telephoto lenses, with the ultrawide having a hard time of maintaining detail without also ramping up image noise. Xiaomi has almost closed the gap between its mid-range offering and higher-priced rivals, with plenty of shadow depth alongside correctly exposed highlights, though sharpening does take a big leap up to maintain that clarity. Xiaomi's HyperOS skin isn't all that removed from the outgoing MIUI, which itself borrowed more from iOS than vanilla Android. Notifications and quick settings are still split into two pull-down menus; there's still no app drawer by default; and the squircle-shaped icons still feel a bit Apple-esque. There's a bunch of own-brand homescreen widgets to choose from as well as the usual Android defaults, plus a bunch of Xiaomi apps and third-party bloat that really want to replace Google's own. Does anyone really need three different web browsers? Almost every Xiaomi app wants to sell you something - games, music, homescreen themes - or is stuffed with adverts. I'm not too fussed about Netlix and Amazon shopping being preinstalled (it saved me a trip to the Play Store) but AliExpress and Booking.com were instant deletes. Google Podcasts is also a pretty useless inclusion now Google has discontinued. Xiaomi hasn't gone overboard on AI like some brands, but there are still a few features scattered through the OS that use machine learning. Gemini is the default voice assistant now, the voice recorder can transcribe and summarise speech, and generative subtitles are great for accessibility. Circle to search is just a few weeks away. The gallery app's AI image editor can generationally expand your tightly cropped snaps, but I'd put it behind Google and Samsung's versions for convincing results. AI Portrait is a more entertaining addition, training a model on your likeness to make you appear like an astronaut, cowboy or viking with a few text prompts (and some cloud-based processing). The 14T Pro isn't the most future-proof phone out there, with Xiaomi committing to four years of Android version updates and five years of security patches. Samsung and Google both promise seven years, which is something to think about if you're after a handset for the long haul. This is the second Xiaomi T-series phone to go with MediaTek silicon instead of Qualcomm. The 14T Pro's Dimensity 9300+ is every bit the flagship chipset (even if its replacement is due fairly soon) and in certain tests actually outscores the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, so it's perfectly able to run Android 14 smoothly. 12GB of RAM helps with multitasking, and games load pretty quickly too. It's not a colossal jump forward from the Dimensity 9200, a bit like how Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 brings a 10-15% hike over its previous generation, so the gap between this phone and the outgoing Xiaomi 13T Pro isn't huge. If you're upgrading from an older phone, though? Expect wonderfully snappy performance in just about every app. I had no complaints when gaming, either; MicroSD expansion may be almost entirely extinct now, but the Xiaomi 14T Pro still has you covered if storage is high on your priorities list. As well as 256GB and 512GB versions, there's also a top-tier model with a colossal 1TB capacity. You've usually got to step up to true flagship phones (and their associated high prices) to fit so many files and photos in your pocket. With a 5000mAh battery and an impressively efficient chipset, the Xiaomi 14T Pro had no problem lasting through entire days of use. On a regular day, where I bounced between Wi-Fi and 5G connections, took photos, played a few games and streamed an hour or two of videos, I headed to bed with 30% or more remaining. It's not much of a struggle to eke a full two days between top-ups, which is a great showing for a phone with such potency. It's great to see Xiaomi bring back the rapid wired charging seen on the 13T Pro, and even better that this new phone can manage wireless refuelling at a heady 50W if you have a beefy enough wireless pad. On the other hand, you don't get a power brick in the box now. With a compatible charger I saw a complete recharge in just over 30 minutes. There's not really a box the Xiaomi 14T Pro doesn't tick for the money. It's plenty powerful, can easily last all day, charges ridiculously quickly, and has a very tidy display. You're also spoilt for storage options, with a massive 1TB available if you don't mind spending a little extra; that's something you won't get from many mid-range rivals. I'm a big fan of Xiaomi's Leica-led image processing, and while overall quality isn't quite on par with the more expensive alternatives, this is still a very convincing camera phone. It doesn't feel like an especially big leap forward from the outgoing 13T Pro, although top marks to Xiaomi from making the switch from a polycarbonate frame to a metal one. The 14T Pro doesn't feel out of its depth against pricier rivals as a result. It may not have especially stand-out styling, either - but if you want a phone that feels great to hold and performs like a flagship, yet doesn't cost nearly as much? There aren't many alternatives.