This company has beaten Samsung in releasing stable Android 14 for its phones

Xiaomi’s flagship smartphones pack impressive hardware and deliver excellent imaging performance. But software support remains the company’s Achilles Heel, with Xiaomi phones getting new OS updates months after other flagship Android phones. The Chinese smartphone maker recentlypromised four OS updates and five years of security patches for the Xiaomi 13T series, indicating it was getting serious about its software policy. But what’s the point of the update if it arrives months after a new Android version drops? In a move that will surprise many, Xiaomi has commenced theAndroid 14rollout for some of its flagship phones.

In a post on X, the company confirmed that MIUI based on Android 14 is now available globally for theXiaomi 13 Pro, 13, and, surprisingly, theXiaomi 12Tfrom 2022 (viaAndroid Authority). Interestingly, the Xiaomi 13 Ultra’s name is missing from the list, which is the company’s current flagship camera phone.

Nonetheless, Xiaomi has beat Samsung and OnePlus in rolling out the latest Android release to its premium phones. Given how slow the company has traditionally been in this area, such a quick turnaround time for Android 14’s release is commendable. The build has dropped less than 24 hours after Google rolled out Android 14 for compatible Pixel phones.

Xiaomi has been running an MIUI 14-based Android 14 beta program for these devices since July. So, it’s possible the program played a vital role in the company getting the update out so early. The OTA will roll out in stages for the mentioned phones over the coming days and weeks.

If you are a part of the beta program, your phone is among the first to get the stable Android 14 build. Based on the early feedback that it receives, Xiaomi will expand the update’s availability to the general public. Given how heavy MIUI is, you are unlikely to notice any immediate changes after upgrading your phone to the latest Android release. Xiaomi’s official change log for the update is also light on what’s changed.

Android 14 primarily focuses on usability and privacy improvements, with features like a redesigned system share sheet, enhanced PIN security, sideloading restrictions, and more. But again, Xiaomi may not have added some of these features to its Android 14 release due to MIUI.

Besides Xiaomi, Samsung and OnePlus have been running Android 14 beta programs for their flagship devices for the last few months. They should commence the stable rollout for the public sooner than later.