Smartphones & Tablets | April 25, 2024
Xiaomi is the brand that will debut the new Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 with a very comprehensive and powerful mid-to-high-range smartphone.
After the flagship phones have dominated all the headlines, such as the new Xiaomi 14 Ultra and its arrival, it’s now time for models that occupy a step below; phones that are not as expensive but still offer access to the latest hardware.
This mid-to-high-range segment will gain importance in 2024, as it offers new components at a more reasonable price. The star could be the new Qualcomm processor, the Snapdragon 8s Gen 3, which was just introduced this week but is already present in a phone.
This time, Xiaomi has been the one to debut the new Snapdragon chip. The 8s Gen 3 was designed to bring AI technologies to cheaper phones from brands like Redmi, Honor, and Realme, but without costing as much as a regular Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 used by the Galaxy S or the Xiaomi 14, for example.
The Xiaomi Civi 4 Pro is the first phone announced to use this new processor. The Civi brand is not well known, but in China, it is a reference for those looking for a phone with a good value for money. Sometimes these phones arrive as the ‘Lite’ version of the corresponding Xiaomi phone, so there is a possibility that this will be the Xiaomi 14 Lite, although the company has not officially confirmed it.
If confirmed, it would be good news because the Xiaomi Civi 4 Pro represents a significant leap compared to past generations in terms of technical specifications; and not just because of the new processor, although that will help as much as the up to 16 GB of RAM with which it can be configured.
The screen also delivers, with a size of 6.55 inches and a resolution of 2750 x 1236 pixels, with a refresh rate of 120 Hz and a touch sampling rate of 240 Hz; moreover, the maximum brightness is 3,000 nits. The panel is protected by Gorilla Glass Victus 2, and the front punch-hole is pill-shaped like the iPhone; the reason is that, in reality, there is not just one front camera but two, both 32 MP but for different tasks. The main one is a conventional camera with an aperture of f/2.0, and the secondary one is a wide-angle with a 100-degree angle and an aperture of f/2.4, ideal for group photos.
The rest of the photographic aspect holds fewer surprises, with a setup that we have already seen in other Xiaomi models. The main camera is 50 MP, accompanied by a telephoto lens with a two-times optical zoom also 50 MP; finally, the wide-angle is 12 MP. Concluding the technical aspect, the battery is 4,700 mAh, with 67W fast charging.
The Xiaomi Civi 4 Pro comes with the new HyperOS out of the box, based on Android 14. It will be available in two different finishes, a basic one and a limited edition with half of the back covered in vegan leather. The starting price is 2,999 yuan, approximately 382 euros at the exchange rate.
