Xiaomi 14T & 14T Pro Releases with Leica Summilux Lenses

Today marks the announcement of Xiaomi’s latest major Launch event, bookending 2024 with a suite of product launches. Among them was the official Xiaomi 14T announcement, providing smartphone shoppers with yet another powerful option to compete with the iPhone 16 range or the upcoming Samsung Galaxy S25. The new smartphones are available now via the Xiaomi store, having been announced just today. Xiaomi are positioning the new smartphone as a more affordable alternative to other mainline brands, with the 14T and 14T Pro both being notably cheaper than Apple equivalents.

Xiaomi 14T & Pro Specs

The primary differential factor is the sensors of the 14T and 14T Pro. The former employs a Sony IMX906 sensor, found in a number of previous generation Samsung phones. Far from outmoded, however, the camera sensor still has an equivalent resolution of 50MP. The 14T Pro, meanwhile, uses the new Light Fusion 900 sensor: physically smaller, but equally (if not more) capable of high-quality imaging.

Just as important as the sensor are the optics attached, and Xiaomi has you covered there, too. Three Leica Summilux lenses provide the visuals, for gorgeous visuals and a bright f/1.6 aperture. You have the fairly standard main, wide-angle and telephoto options for the camera (with the wide-angle being 12MP rather than 50.

We much prefer Xiaomi’s approach, tailoring to “videography” rather than “cinematography” as we saw from Apple. The 14T is designed to be a compact rig for simple yet effective filming: capable of 8K filming and cinematic rack focus. How these work in practice will have to be determined upon release, but it looks to be at least competitive with Apple’s video capabilities.

Where Xiaomi and Apple align, however, is in their new use of AI in the cameras. The new AISP photography AI architecture can boost photographic performance by as much as 92%. With 4 models dedicated to the various aspects of image capture, this new AI model of photographic processing seems promising, and a match for Apple’s own A18 chip and Apple Intelligence. Images are clearer, even in low light, and different elements of the photo can be tweaked to enhance the image minutely.

But as mentioned, the selling point of the 14T and 14T Pro over its contemporaries is in price. Where the iPhone 16 costs €969, the base 14T costs €649. And where the 14T Pro is €799, an iPhone 16 Pro will set you back €1229. However, you’ll notice we’re using Euros, not Dollars. Unfortunately, Xiaomi phones aren’t currently available in the US, so Americans will be forced to stick with the standard choices of Apple or Android for now.