Xiaomi’s T series of phones fit a recognisable part of a smartphone manufacturer’s portfolio. T phones look to bring as many of the key features from the high-end flagship range but at a more affordable price. Every smartphone is a balance of priorities, but the so-called “flagship killer” space of high specifications against lower price
While the flagships can push specifications and capabilities to a greater extent, Xiaomi needs to focus tightly on where it wants to invest the bill of materials. Having spent time with a Xiaomi 14T Pro review unit, three areas that have picked up that focus are the display, the camera, and the all-important for 2024 and beyond AI features.
The Xiaomi 14T Pro Display
At 6.67 inches, the AMOLED display dominates the handset. With the vertical edges and just a slight chamfer, the overall feel is reminiscent of several Android smartphones. The curve to the rear edge is more pronounced; Xiamoi calls this a 3D Curved Back, following other smartphone manufacturers by branding as many of the touches on the phone as possible.
Thus, we get “CrystalRes AMOLED Technology” powering the AMOLED display. The numbers tell the story, though; it runs at 2712×1200 pixels (446 pixels per inch) and has a refresh rate of up to 144Hz for smooth scrolling and impressive graphics handling for mobile gaming.
That fast refresh is probably the key feature. It’s variable. This can be left to change automatically, or you can lock it to a slower rate of 60Hz to improve battery life, leaving the smooth scrolling and animations behind for more time with your phone. One thing the screen doesn’t have much of is glare, the peak brightness of 4,000 nits contributes to the readability in sunlight.
The display ratio of 20:9 matches the likes of the Pixel 9 and Pixel 9 Pro, but is slightly narrower than Samsung’s Galaxy S25 family. There are still some app compatibility issues here, with landscape views offering thin black bars on either side of the main display… which means the thin bezels are obscured by the pixels but does mean that the selfie camera isn’t in view when watching videos.
Leica And The Xiaomi 14T Pro
It’s impossible to miss the Leica Optics lens at the rear of the Xiaomi 14T Pro. Three lenses, plus some sensors and LED flash, are arranged in a 2×2 layout on a raised square island. It echoes the curved edges with many 90-degree profiles seen in the rest of the handset.
Lens-wise, the main camera comes with a common mix of lenses: a 50MP LightFusion primary sensor, a 50MP telephoto lens with 2.6x optical zoom, and a 12MP ultra-wide lens. One thing prevalent on more expensive handsets that is missing here is a folded “periscope” optical zoom. That limits the extreme zoom capability, although that feels like one of the compromises made to get better imagery with subjects closer to the smartphone.
Alongside the hardware, the Leica partnership offers two Leice photographic styles, Leica filters, and a Leica portrait mode as part of the package. There’s even a shutter sound designed to replicate the sound of a mechanical shutter on a Leica camera.
Those two filters, vibrant or authentic, address one of the long-standing differences between smartphones depending on their regional releases… will the camera software bias towards a more vibrant color, or a more authentic color. Here, you can switch between the two options with a touch on an icon in the camera app.
It’s still not perfect in terms of color reproduction; the vibrancy is still there; authentic still feels a touch too over-eager for genuine authenticity, but the camera delivers some sharp images in close spaces and out to middle distance. For the mid-range market, this is an above-average camera.
Android And The Xiaomi 14T Pro
HyperOS is Xiaomi’s flavour of Android. The global version does have support for Google Play Services, so you have the likes of Gmail, Chrome and YouTube, as Android users expect.
HyperOS biases towards a simple UI without overloading the user with too many settings or options. They are there, so power users must go through another layer of dialog boxes. The look and feel of the software is very much focused on large curved corners. This takes up a lot of space around information, and I found myself wanting more information on the screen, but I can see the impact of this look in making the 14T Pro feel less threatening.
That’s helped by a less than fanatical implementation of artificial intelligence. As with almost every smartphone manufacturer, AI is an ever-present “new feature” in the software. Xiaomi hasn’t overpowered the environment with AI at every corner, but it is there. Out of the box the handset is set to use Google Gemini instead of Google Assistant, and several AI features in the camera app to help you take, edit, and select the best picture possibl
Much like the UI, AI is there if you dig into the settings and dialogs if you want it. Xiaomi’s current AI suite is not as extensive as those from Google and Samsung, so this implementation feels a bit behind the curve. More AI tools are coming in future updates, at this point you can make a fair AI comparison between devices.
Conclusions
The Xiaomi 14T Pro is an iterative update to last year’s 13T Pro, and the small steps forward, while attractive, don’t feel enough to force an upgrade. Those coming to the mid-range after two or more years with their current handset will find much more to like. The camera has clearly been a priority, and while optical zoom has been sacrificed, the camera makes up for it with a much more robust capability for personal and group pictures. The screen’s refresh rate creates a feeling of smoothness and accuracy that belies the price of the handsets, and HyperOS strips back the complexity of Android without removing it.
The Xiaomi 14T Pro is missing some features you would expect to see on premium smartphones. The battery life is less than you would expect for 5000mAh. Neither is a fast charger in the box, but that’s becoming standard at the highest end, so maybe it is a perfect echo of a flagship?
It’s a classic flagship-killer, not a flagship. That makes it a very strong performer in the mid-range space and deserves your consideration.
Disclaimer: Xiaomi provided a Xiaomi 14T Pro for review purposes.
