Xiaomi’s iPhone 15 rival could come with Qualcomm’s most powerful chip
Following up on the excellent Xiaomi 13 and 13 Pro, the company is currently thought to be preparing the Xiaomi 14 and 14 Pro, and one new report indicates that these handsets will come equipped with Qualcomm’s next-gen Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset. Xiaomi is expected to announce these upcoming phones in November, with an initial release in China followed by Europe; assuming similar patterns to previous years.
The report comes from prolific Chinese tipster Digital Chat Station on the Chinese Twitter-style social platform Weibo. Xiaomi has often been among the first Android manufacturers to adopt Qualcomm’s latest chips, notably, the Xiaomi 13 series was one of the first to feature the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, resulting in impressive performance as we noted in our Xiaomi 13 review and our Xiaomi 13 Pro review, and leading these devices to sit amongst the best Xiaomi phones
Looking at other rumors, the Xiaomi 14 is said to boast several other noteworthy specifications, especially in the battery department where the phone will reportedly sport a 4,860mAh battery, 90W fast charging, and 50W wireless charging. Meanwhile, the Xiaomi 14 Pro is rumored to surpass these figures, featuring a 5,000mAh battery and 120W wired fast charging. Wireless charging is said to be the same.
While Qualcomm has not yet officially announced the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, it is likely to do so before Xiaomi’s phone reveal. The company has set the date of its next Snapdragon Summit and it’s earlier than usual (it typically takes place in November or December) from October 24 to 26, preceding the rumored Xiaomi 14 November announcement.
Power and efficiency rise across the board
Both power and efficiency are expected to see improvements with the 8 Gen 3. Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 brought increased efficiency to the best Android phones, rivaling iPhones with the likes of the Samsung Galaxy S23, OnePlus 11, and of course, the Xiaomi 13.
Apple has historically led in battery efficiency, since the iPhone 12 and 12 Pro Max, but the tides are slowly turning. With the rise of ultra-fast charging, combined with Qualcomm’s efficiency gains and larger batteries, Android phones could see themselves becoming as or even more efficient than the best iPhones; benefiting buyers with the heightened competition.