Xiaomi 14 Civi Review: A Premium Smartphone Experience Under Rs. 50,000
Xiaomi is celebrating a decade in India this July, and it seems they’re aiming to make this anniversary memorable with a strategic shift in their approach. Until the recent launch of the Xiaomi 14 Civi, the company hadn’t actively challenged rivals in the sub-Rs. 50,000 segment. However, with the Civi (short for Cinematic Vision), Xiaomi is determined to shake things up. It boasts a premium design, packed with flagship features that cater to a specific, discerning audience. This review dives deep into what makes the Xiaomi 14 Civi a game-changer in this price segment and whether it lives up to the hype.
Design: Aesthetics Meet Functionality
The Xiaomi 14 Civi, as part of the premium 14 series, boasts high-quality materials, evident in its metal frame and aesthetically pleasing design. Its dimensions – 157.20×72.77×7.45mm and weight – 179.3 grams – strike the perfect balance for one-handed use, placing it comfortably between the Xiaomi 14 (6.36-inch) and Xiaomi 14 Ultra (6.73-inch).
It’s also the lightest in the series, making it an ergonomic choice, especially when compared to the competition like OnePlus 12R (207 grams) and Samsung Galaxy A55 (213 grams). Furthermore, its slim profile at 7.4mm further enhances its practicality, making it one of the slimmest smartphones in this price bracket.
Xiaomi has meticulously crafted three colourways for the 14 Civi: Cruise Blue with a dual-slice design, Matcha Green incorporating vegan leather, and Shadow Black, which I preferred for my review, featuring a classic matte finish.
The symmetrical design, accentuated by a quad-curve body, feels substantial in hand. The starry Leica camera ring, housing all the camera sensors, is a standout feature. Xiaomi has placed all physical buttons on the right side, easily accessible with one hand. The IR blaster is situated on the top panel, while the Type-C port for charging is at the bottom. The addition of dual stereo speakers enhances the user experience, and I’ll delve deeper into its audio quality in the performance section.
Overall, the Xiaomi 14 Civi feels like a well-thought-out device, designed without any compromise on aesthetics or functionality. However, the lack of IP68 rating could be a disappointment for some, particularly considering the growing popularity of water-resistant smartphones.
Display: Small but Powerful
While the 6.55-inch Quad Curved AMOLED display might seem small compared to rivals like the 12R (6.78 inches) and Galaxy A55 (6.6 inches), the Xiaomi 14 Civi packs a punch. It stands out with its quad-curved display, a first for this price segment.
This display offers a dazzling combination of features: 120Hz refresh rate, 3000nits peak brightness, Dolby Vision, HDR10+, 460PPI, and TÜV Rheinland Low Blue Light (hardware solution) certification.
In real-world use, the Civi’s display shines bright, ideal for binge-watching and gaming. Its readability under direct sunlight is excellent, thanks to the high peak brightness. The floating quad-curved display adds a premium touch, enhancing the overall viewing experience. The result is a vibrant, crisp, and smooth display perfect for high-definition video and photo content.
Camera: Leica Magic at an Affordable Price
The Xiaomi 14 Civi is the first from Xiaomi to integrate Leica cameras into this price range, a feat that would have been unthinkable just a few years ago. The real-world performance of this camera system is truly remarkable, becoming one of the prime highlights of the device.
Here’s a closer look at the Civi’s camera specifications:
- Main: 50MP with f/1.63 aperture and OIS
- Telephoto: 50MP with f/1.98 aperture
- Ultra-wide: 12MP with 120-degree field of view
- Selfie: 32MP primary sensor & 32MP ultra-wide selfie camera
In daylight, the phone consistently delivers excellent photos with impressive autofocus capabilities. One of the standout features is the Civi’s ability to seamlessly adjust brightness to various lighting conditions. Skin tones are accurately captured in most lighting scenarios, ensuring a wide dynamic range with accurate exposure. The level of detail is impressive, particularly in well-lit environments.
The video recording experience is equally impressive, highlighting Xiaomi’s commitment to optimizing video capabilities.
The Leica features integrated into the camera unlock a world of creative possibilities, particularly for portrait photography. The Master Portrait and Leica Portrait modes are my personal favorites, delivering stunning results. The 35mm mode, coupled with various Leica filters, allows for a vintage aesthetic touch. Of the plethora of filters available, the black and white filter stands out for its unique character.
Like other devices in the Xiaomi 14 series, the Civi excels in bokeh shots. Subject segmentation is precise, resulting in a pleasing blur effect in both the foreground and background. However, slight instabilities can be observed in some camera samples taken in low-light conditions.
Low-light photography is where the Civi truly shines. It handles less challenging shots with finesse, but noise is evident in low-light scenarios. Target exposure can be slightly off in extremely low light, and zooming into shots can result in a loss of fine details in some low-light samples.
The Civi’s ultra-wide camera performance is commendable. Noise management is excellent, and while the level of detail is good, it’s not quite on par with premium flagship phones. Still, the Civi holds its own, able to compete with higher-priced smartphones in this aspect.
The Xiaomi 14 Civi revolutionizes the selfie game in this price segment, offering the only phone with dual front-facing cameras. Xiaomi deserves credit for this bold move. The Civi delivers decent skin tones with good white balance and accurate target exposure. But it might be wise to disable the beautification mode in selfies as it can unnecessarily flatten the color. Selfie quality is similarly strong in low light, although some desaturation can be observed in certain samples.
Overall, the Xiaomi 14 Civi boasts a camera setup that raises the bar in the sub-Rs. 50,000 segment. It surpasses the offerings of its closest competitors – OnePlus 12R and Samsung Galaxy A55, making it a compelling choice for those who prioritize photography.
Performance: Power and Performance Unleashed
The Xiaomi 14 Civi joins the ranks of new flagships powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 mobile platform, a chip that delivers significant performance enhancements. While these improvements might not be noticeable in daily usage, the Civi excels in its multitasking abilities. Juggling multiple open apps is effortless, with no stutters or lag. During my review, I used the Civi as my primary device, and it performed flawlessly without glitches for several weeks.
The Civi handles even the most demanding games with ease, running COD Mobile, BGMI, and Genshin Impact smoothly with the highest settings and graphics enabled. Games like Need for Speed No Limits feel incredibly responsive. Surprisingly, Xiaomi doesn’t emphasize the 14 Civi’s gaming capabilities. However, I did find that the device can get warm, sometimes quite noticeably, during extensive gaming sessions. The Xiaomi IceLoop Cooling tech kicks in to manage the heat effectively. The phone also tends to heat up with extensive camera use for photo and video capture.
It’s worth noting that I was testing the device during Delhi’s scorching summer, with temperatures exceeding 45 degrees Celsius. However, the Civi’s heating issues are not as severe as those experienced on the Google Pixel 8a.
The 14 Civi is an exceptional multimedia device, thanks to the perfect combination of its fantastic display and powerful stereo speakers. It also offers a fast in-screen fingerprint sensor and face unlock, both of which are lightning-fast.
The Civi achieved excellent benchmark scores across the board. In AnTuTu, it scored 139,2401 points, rivaling the OnePlus 12R in the same test. It also performed well in single-core (1931) and multi-core (4946) tests. On GFX Bench, the Civi scored 6,727 frames in T-Rex (120fps) and 7,091 in Manhattan 3.1 tests. Again, I noticed the device getting warm when running these synthetic benchmarks.
The Xiaomi 14 Civi delivers excellent call quality, with one of the most impressive aspects being its rapid network connection. While reviewing the device, I frequently witnessed it latching onto networks within seconds of exiting an elevator or basement, while the iPhone 15 Pro Max took a significant 20-30 seconds to reconnect.
Xiaomi promises 3 years of Android updates and 4 years of security updates, falling behind devices like Google Pixel 8a and Samsung Galaxy A55 in terms of the update cycle.
The 14 Civi ships with Android 14-based HyperOS, incorporating a wide range of customization options. These include significant visual changes to the lock screen, subtle tweaks to the Gallery app for added appeal, and a refreshed Control Center to offer a less cluttered experience. The process for removing bloatware apps is remarkably easy.
Xiaomi’s approach to AI is evident in the 14 Civi. The gallery incorporates intriguing AI tools for AI Portraits and AI expansion. During my testing, the Erase and Sky features performed flawlessly. Other AI-enabled features are still under development and are expected to be rolled out via future updates.
Battery: A Good Effort, but Not a Leader
The 4700mAh battery in the Xiaomi 14 Civi is the smallest in this price segment, compared to the 5000mAh batteries found in the 12R and Galaxy A55. The Civi features 67W fast charging and comes with a fast-charging brick in the box, while OnePlus ships a 100W brick with the 12R, and Samsung doesn’t include a charger with the Galaxy A55.
In real-world scenarios, the Xiaomi 14 Civi consistently lasted almost a full day on a single charge with heavy usage, which included running multiple apps in the background, browsing the internet, making calls, using Outlook, WhatsApp, Telegram, X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and frequent camera use. With medium usage, the phone could easily last over a day. In our video loop test, the Civi lasted 13 hours and 15 minutes before shutting down, performing better than the pricier Xiaomi 14, which packs a 4610mAh battery.
With its 67W fast charging capabilities, the phone can fully charge from 0 to 100% in approximately 50 minutes, a decent figure but not the fastest in the segment. The OnePlus 12R, for instance, can achieve a full charge in under 30 minutes.
While the Xiaomi 14 Civi might not entirely dominate the competition in battery performance, it certainly holds its own, providing a reliable and competitive experience.
Xiaomi 14 Civi Review: Verdict
The Xiaomi 14 Civi represents Xiaomi’s drive to reclaim its strong position in the smartphone market. It exemplifies how to achieve this in style without compromising on any aspect. The most impressive aspect of this package is that it doesn’t feel like a budget option in the sub-Rs. 50,000 segment. For smartphone enthusiasts and loyal Xiaomi fans, the 14 Civi feels like a welcome return to form. Xiaomi is excelling at what it does best, delivering competitive pricing in a price segment where it previously had no presence.
The Xiaomi 14 Civi offers a compelling list of advantages. Its one-handed design, exceptional display, powerful stereo speakers, high performance, and likable HyperOS all contribute to a winning formula. The battery, while not a standout feature, still delivers a solid performance. While bloatware is somewhat controlled, we did encounter some notifications during the initial review phase.
If you’re searching for a phone under Rs. 50,000, the Xiaomi 14 Civi deserves a top spot on your list. You can consider alternatives like the OnePlus 12R and Samsung Galaxy A55, but the Civi’s comprehensive features and performance make it a tough competitor. If you’re looking for a new Pixel, then the Google Pixel 8a is also a solid option in this price bracket.
