Xiaomi 14 Civi hands-on review

Introduction

The Xiaomi 14 Civi is the latest in the company’s Civi series of phones, which are premium mid-range smartphones that focus on camera features and performance.

This particular model that we are reviewing is the Indian variant of the Xiaomi Civi 4 Pro, which was a China-exclusive device that was launched just a few months ago.

Xiaomi 14 Civi specifications at a glance:

• Body: 157.2×72.8×7.5mm, 178g; Glass front (Gorilla Glass Victus 2), glass back or silicone polymer back (eco leather), aluminium frame.
• Display: 6.55″ AMOLED, 68B colours, 120Hz, Dolby Vision, HDR10+, 3000 nits (peak), 1236x2750px resolution, 20.02:9 aspect ratio, 460ppi.
• Chipset: Qualcomm SM8635 Snapdragon 8s Generation 3 (4 nm): Octa-core (1×3.0 GHz Cortex-X4 & 4×2.8 GHz Cortex-A720 & 3×2.0 GHz Cortex-A520); Adreno 735.
• Memory: 256GB 8GB RAM, 512GB 12GB RAM; UFS 4.0.
• OS/Software: Android 14, HyperOS.
• rear camera: Wide (main): 50 MP, f/1.6, 25mm, 1/1.55″, 1.0µm, PDAF, OIS; Ultra Wide Angle: 12 MP, f/2.2, 15mm, 120˚, 1.12µm; Telephoto: 50 MP, f/2.0, 50mm, 0.64µm, PDAF, 2x optical zoom.
• front camera: Wide (main): 32 MP, f/2.0, 26mm, 1/2.8″, 0.8µm, AF; Ultra Wide Angle: 32 MP, f/2.4, 100˚, 1/2.8″, 0.8µm.
• Record video: rear camera: 4K@24/30/60fps, 1080p@30/60/120/240/960fps, 720p@1920fps, Gyro-EIS; front camera: 4K@30fps, 1080p@30/60fps; Gyro-EIS.
• Battery: 4700mAh; 67W wired, PD3.0, 100% in 40 minutes (advertised).
• Connectivity: 5G; Dual SIM; Wi-Fi 6; BT 5.4; NFC; Infrared port.
• various: Fingerprint reader (under the display, optical); stereo speakers.

Like previous Civi phones, the 14 Civi also has multiple cameras. There are three cameras on the back, including a 50MP main camera and a 50MP 2x telephoto and a 12MP ultra-wide camera. On the front are not one but two 32MP cameras, one of which is autofocus and the other ultra-wide. These are all Leica-branded, so you get all the Leica-specific features like colour science, filters and watermarks that you’ll find on the more premium Xiaomi models.

But it’s not all about the camera. The phone is equipped with the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 chip, which has proven to be quite capable. You also get up to 12GB of memory and 512GB of storage. The phone also features a 6.55-inch AMOLED display with quad-curved glass and Dolby Vision support. And finally, the 4700mAh battery supports 67W fast charging.

All this is available at an attractive price tag from Xiaomi. Let’s see how well the phone performs.

Unboxing

The Xiaomi 14 Civi India review unit comes in black Xiaomi 14 series packaging with Leica branding. Inside you will find the phone along with a 67W charger and a USB-A to C cable.

A useful inclusion is a hard transparent case, which feels better than the usual soft silicone variants you usually get. The case is quite slim and adds minimally to the phone’s dimensions. It’s also nice that it has an open bottom lip, which makes it easier to use navigation gestures.