Xiaomi 14 CIVI Review: Xiaomi is making waves in India with its latest offerings, including the Xiaomi 14 and Xiaomi 14 Ultra, known for their premium features and impressive cameras. Responding to consumer demand for high-quality cameras at a more affordable price, Xiaomi introduced the Xiaomi 14 CIVI. This phone, part of the CIVI series known for its Cinematic Vision and focus on cameras, promises exceptional performance and photography capabilities.
Xiaomi 14 CIVI Review with Detailed Specifications
Design:
The Xiaomi 14 CIVI has a very high-quality, soft-touch finish that feels great. There’s a glass strip on the back with a unique pattern for each phone, so your green 14 CIVI will look different from anyone else’s. The design grew on me, but it might not be for everyone. If you don’t like this version, you can choose the black or green one, which also look very good.
I particularly like the 14 CIVI because it’s very slim and light, with nano-textured vegan leather sides that feel amazing. It’s comfortable to hold and use with one hand, thanks to the slightly curved edges on both the front and back. The frame is made of aluminum, so it feels very premium.
Display & Multimedia:
It has a large 6.55-inch screen with 1.5K resolution, making images sharp and detailed. The display has very thin side bezels, almost none, and slim chin and top bezels. It features a beautiful quad-curved design, giving it a flagship look. This screen is bright and colorful. If you prefer better color accuracy, you can switch to the original ProColor mode.
The display can reach a peak brightness of 3,000 nits when watching HDR content, and it supports Dolby Vision on Netflix, ensuring high-quality video playback.
It holds TUV Rheinland certifications for being flicker-free and low-light friendly, ensuring comfortable viewing. It features Corning Gorilla Glass Victus 2 for excellent scratch resistance and an optical in-display fingerprint scanner for quick unlocking.
It provides excellent audio and display quality, making it ideal for watching movies and videos. The phone offers great haptic feedback, which feels even better because of its small size.
Overall, the Xiaomi 14 CIVI offers an impressive display that enhances multimedia enjoyment with its high resolution, brightness, and certified quality.
Ports and Buttons:
The Xiaomi 14 CIVI has these ports and buttons:
- At the bottom, there’s a microphone, USB Type-C port, and speaker grille.
- The sides feature the volume rocker and power button.
- At the top, there’s a headphone jack, IR blaster, noise-canceling microphone, and another speaker grille.
- There are antenna lines visible due to the metal frame.
- The phone has a dual nano SIM card slot, but no SD card slot is available in this premium model.
Processor & Gaming Performance:
The Xiaomi 14 CIVI is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8S Gen 3 processor, making it a flagship phone. It scores between 1.4-1.5 million on AnTuTu. In a CPU throttle test, where 40 threads ran for 30 minutes, it had a CPU stability score of 87%. Thanks to LPDDR5X 8533Mbps RAM and UFS 4.0 storage, the phone also has excellent read and write speeds.
You can play games at the highest settings. Genshin Impact runs smoothly at 57 FPS, PUBG at 90 FPS, and COD at 120 FPS. The phone does get a bit warm, but it stays below 44-45 degrees Celsius. This is helped by the 4,000 mm² vapor cooling chamber inside.
However, the Xiaomi 14 CIVI can get hot, especially around the top frame during heavy use or in hot weather, similar to other phones.
Operating System:
The Xiaomi 14 CIVI runs on HyperOS, which is based on Android 14. It promises 3 years of major updates and 4 years of security updates, ensuring you’ll get versions 15, 16, and 17.
HyperOS is cleaner compared to MIUI, with fewer pre-installed third-party apps like Facebook and Fitbit. You can uninstall some apps during setup, though we noticed a few tricky setup steps.
Overall, HyperOS offers a smooth experience with refined swiping and touching gestures. It’s straightforward, clean, and enjoyable to use, with minimal bloatware and no need for additional launchers.
Cameras:
The Xiaomi 14 CIVI boasts a triple-camera setup featuring a 50MP primary sensor, a 50MP portrait sensor, and a 12MP ultrawide sensor. It also includes a dual 32MP selfie camera setup.
This phone marks the debut of the CIVI series in India, emphasizing its selfie and camera capabilities. Partnering with Leica for co-engineered sensors enhances color accuracy and photo quality. You can choose between Leica’s Authentic mode for natural colors or Vibrant mode for more vivid tones when capturing photos.
For portraits, there’s a dedicated master mode offering various focal lengths (35mm, 50mm, 90mm) to enhance details, especially for capturing people. The camera performs well in low light, maintaining good colors and sharpness without looking blurry.
The CIVI (Cinematic Vision) excels not only in photography but also in videography, supporting 4K video recording at 60FPS with HDR capabilities. It includes features like Master Cinema mode for advanced video settings.
For selfies, you can record 4K video at 30 frames per second, and it offers many beauty modes to adjust your facial features and enhance appearances easily.
Additional features include 720FPS and 1920FPS super slow-motion mode, time-lapse, and dual video mode for simultaneous front and rear camera use. It also offers a pocket mirror mode for makeup.
Overall, the Xiaomi 14 CIVI’s camera system stands out for its versatility and quality, whether for photos or videos.
Connectivity:
The Xiaomi 14 CIVI supports Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.4, VONR, NFC, and an IR Blaster. It also works with 8 5G bands, ensuring good connectivity options. The 14 CIVI does not have a notification light or FM radio. SR value is within safe limits.
For security, it includes an in-display fingerprint sensor and face unlock, both of which work effectively.
IP Rating:
It doesn’t mention IP certification, but it might be IP64 certified, though this isn’t confirmed.
Quick Overview of Xiaomi 14 CIVI
| Features | Specifications |
|---|---|
| Display | 1.5K 6.55″ AMOLED, 120Hz refresh rate, 3000 nits peak brightness, Dolby Vision, HDR10+, 68 billion colors, Corning Gorilla Glass Victus 2 Protection |
| Processor | Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 |
| OS | Android 14, HyperOS |
| Memory | 8GB/12GB |
| Storage | 256GB/512GB |
| Cameras | Rear Camera: 50MP primary sensor + 50MP portrait sensor + 12MP ultrawide sensor Front Camera: 32MP wide sensor + 32MP ultrawide sensor |
| Battery | 4700mAh (typ) battery with 67W Fast charging support |
Xiaomi 14 CIVI Price:
The base variant of the Xiaomi 14 CIVI has 8GB RAM and 256GB storage and costs ₹42,999. The other variant comes with 12GB RAM and 512GB storage and is priced at ₹47,999.
Overall, the Xiaomi 14 CIVI is a standout choice for users looking for a sleek, powerful smartphone with excellent camera capabilities. From its stunning design and vibrant display to its robust performance and innovative camera features, the Xiaomi 14 CIVI delivers on all fronts. Whether you’re capturing memorable moments or enjoying multimedia, this phone offers a premium experience at a competitive price point.