Introduction and specifications
The Xiaomi 14 Civi is the latest in the 14 series, playing a similar role to the Galaxy FE smartphones in Samsung's lineup. That is, it's positioned in the premium mid-range segment, but shares much of its hardware and, if Xiaomi is to be believed, user experience with the flagships. The fact is, Xiaomi already had an entire line for this purpose – the T series – which leaves us wondering if the Civi will fit into the picture.
At the time of writing, the Xiaomi 14 Civi is only available in India, while Chinese users can find it as the Xiaomi Civi 4 Pro. It’s unclear when and which other markets will get the phone, but with the launch of the aforementioned T series fast approaching, it may never see a particularly wide rollout.
Regardless, the Civi 14 runs on one of Qualcomm's latest chipsets, the Snapdragon 8s Gen 3, paired with at least 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage. While the name suggests that this is simply a lower-frequency version of the flagship SoC, the differences are actually more significant than that, but even so, the 8s Gen 3 is no slouch.
Xiaomi 14 Civi Specifications Overview:
- Body: 157.2×72.8×7.5 mm, 178 g; glass front (Gorilla Glass Victus 2), glass back or silicone polymer back (eco-leather), aluminum frame.
- Display: 6.55″ AMOLED, 68B colors, 120 Hz, Dolby Vision, HDR10+, 3000 nits (peak), 1236x2750px resolution, 20.02:9 aspect ratio, 460ppi.
- Chipset: Qualcomm SM8635 Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 (4nm): Octa-core (1×3.0 GHz Cortex-X4 and 4×2.8 GHz Cortex-A720 and 3×2.0 GHz Cortex-A520); Adreno 735.
- Memory: 256 GB 8 GB RAM, 512 GB 12 GB RAM; UFS 4.0.
- Operating System/Software: Android 14, HyperOS.
- Rear camera: Large (main): 50 MP, f/1.6, 25mm, 1/1.55″, 1.0µm, PDAF, OIS; Telephoto lens: 50 MP, f/2.0, 50 mm, 0.64 µm, PDAF, 2x optical zoom; Ultra wide angle: 12 MP, f/2.2, 15 mm, 120˚, 1.12 µm.
- Front camera: Large (main): 32 MP, f/2.0, 26 mm, 1/2.8″, 0.8 µm, AF; Ultra wide angle: 32 MP, f/2.4, 100˚, 1/2.8″, 0.8 µm.
- Video capture: Rear camera: 4K at 24/30/60 fps, 1080p at 30/60/120/240/960 fps, 720p at 1920 fps, gyroscope-EIS; Front camera: 4K at 30 fps, 1080p at 30/60 fps; gyroscope-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.
- Miscellaneous : Fingerprint reader (under display, optical); stereo speakers.
The Civi is built around a 6.55-inch OLED panel that doesn't feature LTPO technology, but otherwise sounds pretty good on paper – 120Hz, Dolby Vision, and a peak brightness of 3,000 nits.
The camera setup is another example of “almost like the flagship.” The Xiaomi Civi 14 features a 50MP main camera with a slightly smaller sensor than the Xiaomi 14, a 50MP telephoto camera that reaches a shorter lens (2x vs. 3.2x), and a lower-resolution ultrawide camera (12MP vs. 50MP).
However, on the front, the pill-shaped cutout houses two cameras compared to one for the Xiaomi 14. The Civi has a standard 32MP with autofocus and another with an ultra-wide-angle lens.
So those are the key specifications covered, but what matters is how each of these parts perform in real life. Let’s take the Xiaomi 14 Civi out of the box and find out!
Unboxing the Xiaomi 14 Civi
The phone comes in a standard retail box containing all the usual user manuals and the 67W charger needed to maximize its charging potential. Of course, there's also the USB-A to USB-C cable used for charging and data transfer.
There is also a clear silicone case for well-stocked retail packaging.