Xiaomi's 14T Pro is a masterclass in recycling

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The concept of “China speed” is somewhat cliched, but it applies to the country’s smartphone production cycle as much as anything. Apple and Google might only put out a handful of phones a year, for example, most of which start their development years in advance. But Chinese manufacturers have much greater control of their own supply chains, which allows them to be far more flexible.

The latest example is the new Xiaomi 14T Pro, which Xiaomi is announcing today in Berlin. It’s a mishmash of other Xiaomi phones, combining prior components to create a midrange device that’s nevertheless quite compelling and differentiated in its own right.

The basic blueprint for the 14T Pro is the Poco F6 Pro, itself an iteration on the Redmi K70 Pro. The chassis is near-identical; even with some differences in specs, all three phones weigh in at exactly 209 grams.

There are two significant design changes for the 14T Pro. The camera bump is no longer a glossy rectangle that spans the width of the phone; it’s now a more conventional squircle with a brushed-metal finish. The F6 Pro’s matte marblesque texture has also been replaced with frosted glass in colourways that seem more than a little inspired by the titanium iPhone 15 Pro line; my review unit comes in “Titan Gray”, despite the phone being made of aluminium.