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The best Xiaomi phones in 2024

We've tried and tested the best Xiaomi phones, looking at gaming features, battery life, cameras, and value for money to help you decide.

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The best Xiaomi phones might not be as recognizable as devices from brands like Apple and Samsung, but they’re just as powerful and elegantly designed. In this guide, we’ve listed the top Xiaomi phones we’ve tried and tested ourselves, so you can make an informed decision when picking up your next smartphone.

The lineup of handsets gets updated several times a year, and the 14 Ultra currently sits at the top for price and features. Still, getting a Xiaomi handset from previous years can be a great option to find value, and the humble Redmi range gives you some great budget options. However, keep in mind that Xiaomi doesn’t officially import phones to the US, so you may need to purchase them from third-party sellers, and the best cell phone providers may not have warranties to cover them.

Why you can trust our advice ✔ At Pocket Tactics, our experts spend days testing games, phones, tech, and services. We always share honest opinions to help you buy the best. Find out how we test.

Xiaomi 14

The best Xiaomi phone for most.

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Xiaomi 14 specifications:
Display 6.36-inch 120Hz LTPO AMOLED (1200 x 2670 pixels)
Battery 4,610 mAh
Chipset Snapdragon 8 Gen 3
RAM 12GB
Storage 256GB / 512GB
Reasons to buy
  • Incredible cameras
  • Rapid charging
  • Stellar performance
Reasons to avoid
  • Unintuitive OS
  • Excess bloatware

While its big brother the Xiaomi 14 Ultra might be the most expensive Xiaomi phone of the current gen, we think the Xiaomi 14 is the best for most. With fantastic cameras, a sleek design, and a much lower price point than the 14 Ultra, this thing is a very impressive bit of kit.

While the fantastic triple 50 MP camera set-up allowing you to capture extremely high-quality photos is the main draw of the Xiaomi 14, it’s also an incredibly rapid charger, going from 0-100% in under half an hour. That’s ridiculously fast, even by today’s standards, and it holds its charge just as well, so you can concentrate on taking fantastic snaps for your social media.

It’s hard to find a downside to the Xiaomi 14, though there are a couple of things to point out. For one, Xiaomi’s HyperOS operating system takes a bit of time to get used to, especially if you’re usually an iOS user. Secondly, there’s a bit too much bloatware for our liking, though this is nothing an app-deleting spree can’t sort out. For the in-depth lowdown, see our Xiaomi 14 review.

Xiaomi 13T Pro

Best last gen Xiaomi phone.

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Xiaomi 13T Pro specifications:
Display 6.67-inch 144Hz CrystalRes AMOLED (2712 x 1220 pixels)
Battery 5,000 mAh
Chipset MediaTek Dimensity 9200+
RAM 12GB / 16GB
Storage 256GB / 512GB / 1TB
Reasons to buy
  • Great cameras
  • Long-lasting battery
  • High-performance gaming
Reasons to avoid
  • No SD card slot
  • Clunky OS
  • Basic design

Despite swapping out the Snapdragon chip of the regular Xiaomi 13 series for a MediaTek 9200+ alternative, the Xiaomi 13T handles games like a champ and is easily capable of running popular games like Honkai Star Rail, Asphalt 9, and more. Combine this with a gorgeous AMOLED screen offering extremely vivid visuals, and gaming is a real treat on the 13T, with streaming just as good.

Still, the real stars of the show here are the cameras. The 13T Pro is a perfect showcase for the Xiaomi and Leica co-engineered cameras, offering incredibly detailed shots even when compared to big hitters like the Google Pixel 7 Pro. The picture editing software isn’t as developed as Google’s, but from a capture quality perspective alone, this smartphone is one of the best.

It’s hard to suggest any caveats here, but it is worth mentioning that we’re not massive fans of the MIUI 14 Android skin, which can make navigating your phone feel a little clunky. Still, it’s worth keeping an eye on the brand in that regard, as a replacement is coming soon in the form of the HyperOS software, which promises to offer a more fluid experience. Like many modern Androids, there’s no headphone jack, so you’re going to need Bluetooth headphones to listen to audio.

To find out more, read our Xiaomi 13T Pro review. Alternatively, the Xiaomi 13 is still a very powerful phone with great performance for a slightly lower price point – though you do miss out on a few of the flashier features. It all depends on how much you want to spend.

Poco X6 Pro

The best value Xiaomi phone.

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Poco X6 Pro specifications:
Display 120Hz 6.67-inch AMOLED (1220 x 2712 pixels)
Battery 5,000 mAh
Chipset Mediatek Dimensity 8300 Ultra
RAM 8GB / 12GB
Storage 256GB / 512GB
Reasons to buy
  • Great value
  • Solid performance
  • Crisp display
  • Good battery
Reasons to avoid
  • No wireless charging
  • Mediocre camera

The Poco X6 Pro is an excellent value option capable of keeping up with some of the top dogs. A dedicated gaming phone targeted at wannabe pro mobile gamers, the Poco X6 Pro is powered by the Dimensity 8300 Ultra chipset, resulting in super speedy load times and buttery smooth performance, even in the most demanding games.

Of course, to live up to this performance, you’ve gotta have a good display, as well – and the Poco X6 Pro delivers here, too. With fantastic resolution (1,220 x 2,712px) and the unexpected but welcome addition of Dolby Vision, its 6.67-inch is extremely bright and crisp. This means you can enjoy all your favorite movies, tv shows, and games in high detail, regardless of whether you’re on your couch or out in the sun.

Unfortunately, the Poco X6 Pro’s camera falls a little short, with 64MP main, 8MP ultrawide, and 2MP macro back cameras and a 16MP front camera, so don’t expect it to snap any award-winning photos. But if you’re just hoping to catch a cute picture of your pet or a couple of selfies with friends, you’ll be fine.

In terms of juice, the Poco X6 Pro has a sizeable 5,000 mAh battery and a hyper-fast charger, meaning it can go from 0% to 100% in just under 50 minutes, and that battery can last for several days depending on use. For example, if you’re just using the phone for calls and messages along with the odd photo, it can easily last about two or three days without a top-up, and, from our testing, it can last at least four hours of non-stop gaming without needing a charge.

However, one of the main downsides of the Poco X6 Pro is that it isn’t compatible with wireless charging, so if that’s a deal breaker for you, you’ll have to look elsewhere. For more details on this device, be sure to check out our full Poco X6 Pro review, where we dive into all the specifics and our experience with it.

Poco C65

The best budget Xiaomi phone.

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Poco C65 specifications:
Display 90Hz 6.74-inch IPC LCD (720 x 1600 pixels)
Battery 5,000 mAh
Chipset MediaTek Helio G85
RAM 6GB / 8GB
Storage 128GB / 256GB
Reasons to buy
  • Cheap
  • Solid camera
  • Decent performance
  • Good display
Reasons to avoid
  • Slow to charge
  • Outdated chipset
  • Lots of bloatware

If you’re looking for a solid budget Xiaomi phone, look no further than the Poco C65. This affordable little gem boasts an impressive camera, solid battery life, and decent performance, as well as one of the best builds we’ve seen on a budget device, with it feeling surprisingly high quality in your hand.

One of the highlights of the Poco C65 is its impressive battery life. Even if you’re spending a couple of hours gaming on it, it can easily last 24 hours without needing some extra juice, and even longer if you’re only using it for browsing, texting, and calls. This is welcome, because, unfortunately, the charging speeds are somewhat disappointing, with it taking around two and a half hours to get to 100%. It doesn’t support wireless charging, either, but considering the price, that’s to be expected.

The biggest surprise with the Poco C65 is its 50MP primary camera. While it definitely isn’t going to change the world, in our experience, it’s one of the best cameras we’ve seen on such a budget device, especially when shooting landscapes and buildings. The 2MP macro camera is also decent, allowing some pretty detailed shots, and its 8MP selfie camera is more than capable of snapping Instagram-worthy shots of you and your friends. Things aren’t great in low lighting, but that’s pretty standard when it comes to budget phones, too.

The Poco C65 has a 90Hz 6.74-inch IPS LCD display with a brightness of 600 nits. While this might not be the most impressive calibration for any tech heads out there, it’s really not bad for the price. You can certainly enjoy crisp visuals in casual mobile games and watch HD videos on YouTube or Netflix without any issue, and its brightness is pretty standard for this price point. However, as it’s an LCD screen rather than OLED, it’s not quite as vivid as mid-range competitors, and its brightness may not be the best on a sunny day.

Unfortunately, the Poco C65’s performance can be a bit of a mixed bag due to its older MediaTek Helio G85 chipset. It has no issues keeping up with your standard day-to-day use, be it browsing the web, making calls, sending texts, or playing casual games like Candy Crush. However, it just can’t keep up with its more expensive competitors when it comes to more demanding games like Wuthering Waves or Genshin Impact – though you can improve the experience a little by turning off the default refresh rate in the settings and changing it to 60Hz.

Overall, while the Poco C65 isn’t going to stand up against mid-range counterparts, it’s still a very solid budget phone for a very good price. If you want to know more, head over to our in-depth Poco C65 review.

Xiaomi Redmi Note 11

The best Redmi phone.

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Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 specifications:
Display 90Hz 6.43-inch AMOLED (1080 x 2400 pixels)
Battery 5,000 mAh
Chipset Snapdragon 680
RAM 4GB / 6GB
Storage 64GB / 128GB
Reasons to buy
  • Sleek design
  • SD card slot
  • Sharp display
Reasons to avoid
  • No 5G support
  • Mediocre camera
  • Slow charging

The Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 is an entry-level workhorse that has a AMOLED display better than some mid-range devices we’ve tested. It also boasts 6GB of working memory and 128 GB of internal storage, plus a slot for a Micro SD card, meaning you’ve got plenty of space for all your favorite photos and apps.

It houses a Snapdragon 680 processor, which allows it to perform well for everyday tasks and it can comfortably run most mobile apps and games, though you’ll have to put up with longer loading times at launch.

The Xiaomi Redmi Note 11’s quad camera is typical of mid-range and budget handsets. It captures sharp pictures in daylight, but its ultra-wide angle photos often come out blurry and we find that it struggles in low light.

The charging speeds could be better, and the Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 doesn’t offer 5G support, but if you’re looking for an affordable device that can meet most of your everyday needs, it serves this purpose very well.

Xiaomi 14T Pro

The best new Xiaomi phone.

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Xiaomi 14T Pro specifications:
Display 6.67-inch 144Hz AMOLED (1220 x 2712 pixels)
Battery 5,000mAh
Chipset Mediatek Dimensity 9300+
RAM 12GB
Storage 256GB / 512GB / 1TB
Reasons to buy
  • Fantastic cameras
  • Top tier performance
  • Stylish build
Reasons to avoid
  • No charger in the box
  • Some haptics issues

The Xiaomi 14T Pro is a fantastic device for anyone looking for an elite flagship without spending upwards of $800. Like the original Xiaomi 14, it has fantastic cameras, solid gaming performance, and an iPhone-like build that is very comfortable in the hand.

Still, where the 14T Pro really shines is its battery life and charging speeds. This thing can easily power through a day of intensive use with enough battery left to get you through the night, and when it comes time to charge, you can juice from flat back up to full in as little as 30 minutes. That’s much quicker than anything we’ve seen from other flagships, including both the iPhone 16 Pro Max and Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra.

There aren’t really any downsides to the 14T Pro, it’s an impressive all-rounder, but it sadly doesn’t include a charger in the box like previous Xiaomi devices. It’s also worth mentioning that, during our testing for our Xiaomi 14T Pro review, we had some issues with the haptics, but the tech brand may be able to patch that out in a future software update.

Xiaomi Redmi Note 12 Pro Plus

A great runner-up Redmi

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Xiaomi Redmi Note 12 Pro Plus specifications:
Display 120Hz 6.67-inch OLED (1080 x 2400)
Battery Li-Po 5000 mAh
Chipset Mediatek Dimensity 1080
RAM 8-12GB
Storage 256GB
Reasons to buy
  • Gorgeous display
  • Fast charging
  • Headphone jack
Reasons to avoid
  • Lots of bloatware
  • Lacking software support

If you’re looking for a mid-range phone, the Xiaomi Redmi Note Pro+ has a fantastic AMOLED display, great cameras for the price, and super-fast charging. Its MediaTek Dimensity 1080 processor finds a balance between stable performance and efficiency, while its hefty 5,000 mAh battery and 120W ultra-fast wired charging makes sure you’ve always got juice. That battery size is in line with other flagships, but the Note Pro+ is more efficient with its usage, while 120W charging speeds are rapid, well in excess of that on offer from even flagships like the Google Pixel 8 and Samsung Galaxy S24.

The main selling point for the Redmi Note 12 Pro+ is its 200MP main camera, which allows well-balanced and sharp daytime photography. Elsewhere, an 8-megapixel ultra-wide lens and 16MP selfie camera are average in this price category but offer some sharp shots nonetheless.

If you want a mid-range phone that offers value for money, the Xiaomi Redmi Note 12 Pro+ is a great choice. It suffers some flaws in terms of software and excessive bloatware, but it’s more than capable of meeting your day-to-day needs.

What’s the difference between Xiaomi and Redmi?

While Redmi phones are also manufactured by Xiaomi, Xiaomi and Redmi phones have some noticeable differences. Xiaomi phones are more premium than Redmi phones, meaning they cost more but they also offer more features. Don’t let the name put you off, though. It’s more important to concentrate on which handset suits your own personal needs and budget, and there are plenty of great options under the Xiaomi, Redmi, and Poco names.

What’s the difference between Xiaomi and Poco?

The best way to think about the relationship between Xiaomi, Poco, and Redmi is that they each occupy a different price point. Poco is in the budget range, Redmi is in the mid-range, and Xiaomi phones are almost always more expensive. There are some outliers, especially as some older Xiaomi phones are now as cheap as some new Poco phones, but for the most part, that’s how to understand the difference between the three sister brands.

Are Xiaomi phones good?

Like any other manufacturer, Xiaomi makes a wide range of phones to suit different budgets and needs. Xiaomi produces highly competitive devices in all brackets, from entry-level to premium. So yes, Xiaomi phones are good and can compete with some of the best names on the market.

The main issue with choosing a Xiaomi phone is that their availability is limited in the US, and they generally run on the Miui OS, which can be clunky, even if you’re used to using Android OS systems.

Is Xiaomi a trusted brand?

Xiaomi is as trustworthy a smartphone brand as any of the other big names in the industry, such as Samsung, OnePlus, and Apple. The reason you can’t get Xiaomi phones in the U.S.A. has nothing to do with the brand’s trustworthiness but rather a clash between the tech giant’s business model and the market in the U.S.A. relying on cell networks to distribute phones. Fortunately, you can import one yourself if you’re keen to get your hands on a Xiaomi.

What is the lifespan of a Xiaomi phone?

The lifespan of a Xiaomi phone depends on which phone it is and how well you look after it. The most recent models, the 14 and 14 Ultra, offer four years of software updates and five years of security updates, so theoretically, you could use them all the way through until 2029. Both of those phones are also IP68 rated, which is almost as good as it gets in terms of both dust and waterproofing. Sure, they’re not quite the best rugged phones, but you don’t have to worry about a quick dunk or a small drop breaking your Xiaomi phone completely.

What’s the latest Xiaomi phone?

The newest flagship Xiaomi phones are the Xiaomi 15 and Xiaomi 15 Pro, both of which released in China on October 29, 2024. Before that came the Xiaomi 14T and Xiaomi 14T Pro, which released on September 26, 2024.

The newest Xiaomi Poco phone is the Xiaomi Poco C75, which released on October 26, 2024. This followed the Xiaomi Poco M6 Plus, which released on August 5, 2024.

The newest Xiaomi Redmi phone is the Xiaomi Redmi A3 Pro, which released in October, 2024, followed closely by the Xiaomi Redmi A4, which launched in India on November 20, 2024. These both followed the Redmi Note 14 series, which released on September 26, 2024. This lined consists of the base Note 14, the Note 14 Pro, and the Note 14 Pro+.

What’s the next Xiaomi phone?

Xiaomi is yet to announce the next Xiaomi phone. There may be a global release upcoming for devices that have already seen a regional release, but beyond that we expect to see upgraded versions of the Xiaomi 15 in the future – likely in the form of the Xiaomi 15+ and Xiaomi 15 Ultra.

However, Xiaomi generally announces phones quite close to their release, and has a pretty fast release schedule with new phones dropping frequently, so there may be some surprises on the horizon. We also have reason to believe that there may be a Xiaomi tri-fold in the works.

Of course, we’re always keeping an eye out for new Xiaomi phones, and are passionate about testing and reviewing all the top products, so you can count on us to add all the best new entries to this list.

That’s all we’ve got in our list of the best Xiaomi phones for now. If you’ve not found the device for you here, we’ve got plenty of other options available, including our top picks for the best flip phones, the best gaming phones, and the best stylus phones.