Buying a Xiaomi phone: Premium specs at a competitive price

Xiaomi smartphones: Why choose this brand?

Xiaomi is known for its excellent value for money. Whilst with other major brands you often pay for the name, with Xiaomi you’re mainly paying for the hardware.

The key benefits at a glance:

• HyperCharge
  Many models charge fully within 15 to 20 minutes.
• Screen quality
  Even in the mid-range (Redmi Note series), you’ll often get an AMOLED screen with a 120Hz refresh rate.
• Accessories included
  The box often contains extras such as a case.

Which Xiaomi is right for you? The series explained

Xiaomi launches a lot of phones, which can be confusing. We’ve broken down the range for you into three clear categories:

1. The Xiaomi series – High-end & Flagship Killers

Within the main series (formerly ‘Mi’), you’ll find the absolute top-of-the-range devices, but there’s an important distinction to be made between two lines:

• The standard numbered models (e.g. Xiaomi 14 / 15 / 17)
  These are the true premium flagships. They feature the most powerful Qualcomm Snapdragon processors, the most luxurious build quality and the very best camera specifications. For those who want the best of the best.
• The T-models (e.g. Xiaomi 14T / 15T)
  These models often launch a little later in the year. They are slightly more affordable and are seen as the ‘smart choice’. To keep the price down, they have slightly simpler specifications and are often powered by high-end MediaTek processors rather than Snapdragon. You compromise slightly on pure luxury, but get plenty of processing power in return.

Check out the Xiaomi series for the very best models.

2. The Redmi Note series – The King of the Mid-Range

The “Note” models, such as the Redmi Note 14 Pro or 15 Pro, are the brand’s most popular phones. They offer 80 per cent of the features of a flagship model for half the price. Think 5G, good main cameras and large batteries.

Find all Redmi Note series phones here.

3. The Redmi series – Budget

The models without ‘Note’ or ‘Pro’ in the name (e.g. Redmi 15 or Redmi 15C). These are ideal entry-level models. Don’t expect them to be speed demons, but you can expect excellent battery life and a large screen for very little money.

View all Xiaomi Redmi series devices here.

4. The Mix series – Innovation & foldables

The Mix series is Xiaomi’s testing ground, where design and innovation take centre stage. These days, you’ll mainly find foldable phones here. Think of the compact Xiaomi Mix Flip, a stylish clamshell phone that competes with the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip, or the larger Mix Fold models that fold open like a book.

Discover all the Xiaomi Mix models here.

Camera & Software: Leica and HyperOS

Xiaomi currently stands out strongly in two areas. Firstly, its collaboration with Leica on the higher-end models. This ensures photos with a unique ‘look’ and excellent colour reproduction, even in low light.

In addition, Xiaomi is switching from the old MIUI to the new HyperOS. This operating system is lighter, faster and seamlessly connects your phone to other smart devices in your home. And rest assured: all Xiaomi phones you compare via our site still have access to the Google Play Store and all Google apps.

Still unsure about a Xiaomi?

A commonly cited drawback used to be the amount of adverts in the software. In the newer high-end models and with the arrival of HyperOS, this has been significantly reduced. What’s more, with Xiaomi you often get more storage (for example, 256GB as standard) for the same price as a 128GB model from the competition.