When one thinks about a flagship smartphone, you picture a phone with a tall gorgeous display, top notch specs, and premium design. Over the years, display sizes have become taller, making smartphones bigger. But there are still a few compact premium options from some brands. With the iPhone 16 launch, here’s a quick comparison with the Galaxy S24 and Xiaomi 14, which are some of the best small phones in 2024.
1. iPhone 16 vs Galaxy S24 vs Xiaomi 14: Display & Design
The display is the key aspect that decides the size of the smartphone. All three models in this comparison are smaller in comparison to most devices in the market. Even on average, smartphones have a screen, which is over 6.5 inches. But the iPhone 16 sports a 6.1-inch OLED display that offers a 2,556 x 1,179 resolution, 60Hz refresh rate, and a peak brightness of up to 2,000 nits.
On the other hand, Samsung’s Galaxy S24 has a slightly taller screen. It features a 6.2-inch LTPO AMOLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate, 2600 nits peak brightness, and 1080 x 2340 resolution. Xiaomi offers the tallest display with the Xiaomi 14. It sports a 6.36-inch LTPO OLED display with 3000 nits peak brightness, 1200 x 2670 resolution, and a 120Hz refresh rate.
So all three models have a great compact screen, but Apple is still generations behind with the standard 60Hz refresh rate. This is pretty disappointing considering even budget Android phones offer higher refresh rates. All three models blend glass with an aluminum frame, although, Xiaomi 14 also arrives in an eco leather option.
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2. Performance
The Galaxy S24 and the Xiaomi 14 are quite similar in terms of performance since they both feature the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 SoC. However, Samsung ships the Galaxy S24 with an Exynos 2400 chipset in most countries. So Xiaomi clearly has an edge in performance in regions like India. On the other hand, the iPhone 16 takes the lead with the A18 chipset. But regardless, these are all quite capable in day to day use and under intense workloads like mobile gaming.
The Xiaomi 14 also houses the biggest battery with a 4610mAh cell and offers the fastest charging rates. It supports 90W wired fast charging, 50W wireless fast charging, and 10W reverse wireless charging.
3. Camera
Apple released the iPhone 15 with a 48-megapixel primary camera with a 12-megapixel ultra wide angle lens. Meanwhile, Samsung offers a triple camera setup on the rear, which includes a 50-megapixel main sensor, a 10-megapixel telephoto lens, and a 12-megapixel ultra wide angle shooter. While the real world tests for the iPhone 16 aren’t out yet, the Xiaomi 14 seems like the most versatile phone for photography. It features three 50-megapixel sensors for the primary, telephoto, and ultra wide angle.
4. Pricing & Verdict
In India, the Samsung Galaxy S24 starts from 74,999 INR on Flipkart. Apple just announced the iPhone 16 with a starting price tag of 79,900 INR. Xiaomi is the cheapest flagship phone with a 69,998 INR price tag on Amazon despite offering 512GB storage compared to the 128GB on the other two options.
The iPhone 16 is likely the best small phone for you if you’re in the Apple ecosystem, but Xiaomi 14 outclasses the base Galaxy S24 in almost every aspect and is easily recommendable.
