Xiaomi 14 Civi hands-on review

Introduction

The Xiaomi 14 Civi is the latest in the company's series of Civi phones, which are premium mid-range smartphones that are focused 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 launched a few months back.

Xiaomi 14 Civi specs at a glance:

• Body: 157.2x72.8x7.5mm, 178g; Glass front (Gorilla Glass Victus 2), glass back or silicone polymer back (eco leather), aluminum frame.
• Display: 6.55" AMOLED, 68B colors, 120Hz, Dolby Vision, HDR10+, 3000 nits (peak), 1236x2750px resolution, 20.02:9 aspect ratio, 460ppi.
• Chipset: Qualcomm SM8635 Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 (4 nm): Octa-core (1x3.0 GHz Cortex-X4 & 4x2.8 GHz Cortex-A720 & 3x2.0 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.
• Video capture: 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.
• Misc: Fingerprint reader (under display, optical); stereo speakers.

As with previous Civi phones, the 14 Civi comes with several cameras onboard. There are three cameras on the back, which include a 50MP main and a 50MP 2x telephoto along with a 12MP ultra-wide. On the front are not one but two 32MP cameras, one of which has autofocus and the other is ultra-wide. All these are Leica-branded, so you get all the Leica-specific features such as color science, filters, and watermarks that you'd find on the more premium Xiaomi models.

But it's not all about the cameras. The phone comes equipped with the newest 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 has a 6.55-inch AMOLED display with quad-curved glass and Dolby Vision support. And finally, the 4700mAh battery supports 67W of fast charging.

All of this comes at the usual enticing Xiaomi price tag. Let's see how well the phone performs.

Unboxing

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

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