Last week I was invited by Xiaomi UK to attend a special press event in London where several new phones and wearables were being shown off. Several tech outlets attended the event, and the general feel of the evening was excellent with representatives from Xiaomi on hand to answer any of our questions.
Now that the embargo has lifted, it’s time to share some more details.
The devices being demonstrated were two phones from the POCO and Redmi arm of Xiaomi, offering mid-range pricing but mid-to-top-tier performance, and with premium aesthetics and supporting specifications. These are the Redmi Note 14 series, and the POCO X7 series promising some interesting features. As for wearables, Redmi Watch 5, and the Redmi Buds 6 were on the event floor, too.
The cameras on these phones see an upgrade as well, now featuring all the AI gubbins we see everywhere, and the top of the pack coming with 200MP and 50MP respectively for the main cameras, whilst an 8MP ultra-wide and 2MP macro lens feature alongside them. These camera specs are slightly lacking compared to the Chinese variants, for example, the Note 14 Pro+ 5G over there comes with a bigger battery and a dedicated telephoto camera, the rather weedy 2MP macro replaces the telephoto on European handsets. It was not made clear why there is a regional difference.
During the presentation, the core specs were talked about in detail, the Pro handsets especially. IP68 water and dust resistance, a 200MP camera using the Samsung HP3 sensor on the Note 14 Pro+ which also features optical quality zoom as well as 120W charging (though EU models do not feature a charger in the box). None of these new releases feature wireless charging, I specifically asked about this and was told it is not something Xiaomi found to be that popular over here, but they are keeping an ear to the ground, and this may change in future. I thought this was a bit of a shame as wireless charging is extremely convenient.
All models are available in a variety of colours, with the most striking being the above with a split quadrant design that glimmers under the light. Vegan leather options are also available.
It is worth noting that at launch the Note 14 phones will ship with HyperOS 1.0 which is based on Android 14, whilst the POCO X7 Pro will launch with HyperOS 2, based on Android 15. I was told that HyperOS 2 for the Note 14 series will release shortly after the official launch date, though no exact date was given.
The Note 14 Pro+ 5G and Note 14 Pro+ also feature a new internal structure comprising of impact-absorbing foam polymer buffering material which Xiaomi says increases drop protection by 200%, and the use of Gorilla Glas Victus 2 up front ensure additional scratch and crack resistance on top. Gorilla Glass 7i features on the back for models sporting a matte glass panel, otherwise vegan leather is featured.
The Snapdragon 7s Gen 3 features on the Note 14 Pro+ 5G, too, and this is the world’s first phone to release using this new mid-tier chipset which is tooted to be ultra-efficient with near flagship performance.
During the Q&A round the reps were asked about how many years of updates Xiaomi is promising these new handsets, and the answer was that Xiaomi is following the EU guidelines on software updates. This means that Xiaomi will deliver at least 5 years of updates to these phones. Even though the UK is not part of the EU anymore, Xiaomi will still honour the EU ruling and include the UK.
“This regulation sets requirements that will apply to mobile phones and tablets put on the EU market from 20 June 2025 onwards, including the obligation to make operating system updates available, at no cost, for at least 5 years from the date of the end of placement on the market of the last unit of a product model.19 Jun 2024” – europe.eu
You can read more about the rulings here, and Xiaomi’s current EOL and update policy here.
In terms of specs, pricing and exact colours, with availability starting January 15th 2025 on mi.com and authorised retailers, here is what we are looking at:
POCO X7 series:
X7 Pro: IP68, Mediatek Dimensity 8400-Ultra, 6000mAh battery, 90W charging, 6.67″ 1.5K 120Hz AMOLED, 50MP main camera.
X7: IP68, Mediatek Dimensity 7300-Ultra, 5110mAh battery, 45W charging, 6.67″ 1.5K 120Hz AMOLED, 50MP main camera.
- X7: 8GB + 256GB, RRP: £249 – Black, Green and Silver
- X7: 12GB + 512GB, RRP: £299 – Black, Green and Silver
- X7 Pro: 8GB + 256GB, RRP: £309 – Black, Green, and Yellow
- X7 Pro: 12GB + 512GB, RRP: £349 – Black, Green, and Yellow
Redmi Note 14 series:
Note 14 Pro+ 5G: IP68, Snapdragon 7S Gen 3, 5110mAh battery. 120W charging, 6.67″ 1.5K AMOLED, eSIM support, 200MP main camera.
Note 14 Pro 5G: IP68, MediaTek Dimensity 7300-Ultra, 5110MaH battery, 45W charging, 6.67″ 1.5K AMOLED, eSIM support, 200MP main camera.
Note 14: IP54, MediaTek Helio G99-Ultra, 5500mAh battery, 33W charging, 6.67″ 1080p AMOLED, MicroSD card slot, 108MP main camera.
- Note 14 Pro+ 5G: 8GB + 256GB, RRP: £399 – Midnight Black, Lavender Purple, and Frost Blue
- Note 14 Pro+ 5G: 12GB + 512GB, RRP: £449 – Midnight Black, Lavender Purple, and Frost Blue
- Note 14 Pro 5G: 8GB + 256GB, RRP: £299 – Midnight Black, Lavender Purple, and Coral Green
- Note 14: 6GB + 128GB, RRP: £179 – Midnight Black, Mist Purple, Ocean Blue, and Lime Green
- Note 14: 8GB + 256GB, RRP: £229 – Midnight Black, Mist Purple, Ocean Blue, and Lime Green
Redmi wearables:
Buds 6: SBC/AAC, 49dB ANC, 10 hours playback, 48 hours with case, wired charging
Buds 6 Pro: SBC/AAC/LDAC, 55dB ANC, 9.6 hours playback, 36 hours with case, wired charging
Watch 5: 2.07″ AMOLED, 24 days battery life, linear motor haptics, GNSS, 47.5mm x 41.1mm x 11.3mm, 550mAh battery, wired charging, 5ATM water resistance.
- Buds 6: RRP: £34.99 – Cloud White, Night Black, and Coral Green
- Buds 6 Pro: RRP: £64.99 – Glacier White and Space Black
- Redmi Watch 5: RRP: £89.99 – A selection of 5 strap options
Beyond that, I was able to get a hands-on with each device and thought they were quite appealing with respectable built quality and choice of materials. The performance seemed to be as good as anything from the bigger brands often seen in our region of the world though a proper breakdown of features and usability will be talked about in the upcoming reviews.
At the end of the event, I was able to take the Note 14 Pro+ 5G, as well as the Watch 5 and Buds 6 Pro away to review.
Finally, and of course, AI was mentioned a whole bunch of times throughout the event, though thankfully the AI stuff is optional. The phones all come with Google Gemini out of the box, as well as Xiaomi’s own AI backend within a few of their own apps. The camera apps have AI features built in, too, though you can opt in to use them, such as AI erase when editing and more.
The review of the Note 14 Pro+ 5G is due in coming days, stay tuned!
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