Over the years, the popular Xiaomi Redmi series has become a fan-favourite in India’s smartphone budget arena. The series has always strived to democratise premium smartphone features while not being too hard on the wallet. Xiaomi recently launched its Redmi Note 14 series in India which attempts to follow in the footsteps of its beloved predecessors, however, concerns about the rising prices of the Redmi Note series are afloat in the tech space. I got the Xiaomi Redmi Note 14 Pro for review, which at its ₹24,999 price point, seems like a very interesting mid-range option.
Redmi Note 14 Pro Review: Build and Design
With a svelte design, the Xiaomi Redmi Note 14 Pro stands out amidst the crowd at first glance. The curved body, the textured leather back panel, and the distinctive squircle camera module are instantly eye-catching. The leather back panel on my Phantom Purple review unit features a colour block design with shades of lavender adorning the four segmentations which looks pretty neat. The Ivy Green variant also follows a similar design language, but the Titan Black variant sports a single colour on the back.
The leather rear panel, while stylish, feels slightly rough to the touch, especially compared to the softer in-hand feel of Motorola’s Edge 50 Fusion. That said, with a thickness of 8.4 mm and a weight of 190g, the phone offers a comfortable grip and excellent weight distribution. The glass camera module adds a unique visual contrast, enhancing the overall design.
The Redmi Note 14 Pro’s frame may be made of plastic, but it convincingly mimics the look of premium metal. The buttons offer satisfying tactile feedback, and the optical in-display fingerprint sensor impresses with its accuracy. The vibration motor isn’t the best though.
Redmi Note 14 Pro Review: Display
While the Redmi Note 14 Pro’s display specifications remain largely unchanged as compared to its predecessor, this area does see one key improvement – brightness. The Note 14 Pro has the same 6.67-inch AMOLED display with a 1.5K resolution, 120 Hz refresh rate, and HDR10+ and Dolby Vision support. It is still a 12-bit display with support for 68 billion colours. The brightness, on the other hand, has been bumped up to 3,000 nits of peak brightness. However, the HBM brightness stays the same at 1,200 nits.
Now, even though there aren’t many significant differences here, the display continues to be excellent for this price bracket. The colours are vivid, the display is sharp, and the viewing angles are fantastic. HDR content looks sublime with brilliant highlights and deep blacks. In my tests, the display touched 1,182 nits on High Brightness Mode, which is great, so sunlight legibility is amazing.
The Motorola Edge 50 Neo holds a slight edge in the display department, thanks to its support for LTPO technology. This enables it to seamlessly adjust its refresh rate between 1-120 Hz, enhancing battery efficiency. But the Redmi Note 14 Pro does edge out the OnePlus Nord CE4, as it only offers a 1080p display.
How good are the cameras?
Nestled within the glass camera module of the Redmi Note 14 Pro is a triple camera setup featuring one standout sensor and two that barely make the cut. The star here is a 50 MP Sony LYT-600 sensor with Optical Image Stabilisation, accompanied by an 8 MP ultrawide camera offering a 120-degree field of view and a rather uninspiring 2 MP macro shooter. In the competitive landscape, phones like the Motorola Edge 50 Neo, with its versatile telephoto lens, and the Nothing Phone (2a), boasting a larger primary sensor and a higher-resolution ultrawide camera, outshine the Redmi Note 14 Pro in the camera department.
In daylight, the primary camera pulls its weight and outputs some stunning results with good dynamic range and detail. Colour reproduction is a tad vibrant, but it works for those who share pictures on social media without any edits. The natural depth of field in close-up shots looks great too. Portrait photography is another highlight in ideal lighting, with good skin tones and detail retention, however, edge detection isn’t the best in the segment.
Redmi Note 14 Pro Battery Life
With a large 5,500 mAh Silicon Carbon battery, I was expecting the Redmi Note 14 Pro to blow me away with its battery life and efficiency. Unfortunately, that’s not the case. The phone’s battery depleted pretty rapidly with heavy use, especially when gaming or shooting 4K video. I only got about 4.5 hours of screen-on time with heavy use and 5.5 hours with medium use, which is quite disappointing.
In the PCMark Battery Test, the Redmi Note 14 Pro only ran for 622 minutes or 10 hours and 22 minutes. The OnePlus Nord CE4 showcased much better endurance, so if battery life is your primary concern, you are best off looking elsewhere.
The 45 W charging speeds are also pretty slow compared to the competition. The phone charged from 0-100 per cent in 47 minutes. On the other hand, the OnePlus Nord CE4 charges its 5,500 mAh battery in just 29 minutes.
Should you buy the Xiaomi Redmi Note 14 Pro?
The Redmi Note 14 Pro brings several premium features to the mid-range segment, staying true to Xiaomi’s tradition of offering value-packed devices. Its standout design, with an IP68 rating and Gorilla Glass Victus 2 protection, makes it a durable and stylish option in its price range. The primary camera and the vibrant AMOLED display add to its appeal, especially for casual users who prioritise aesthetics and multimedia.
However, the phone faces tough competition from rivals like the Motorola Edge 50 Neo and the OnePlus Nord CE4, which offer cleaner software experiences and slightly better overall performance. While the Redmi Note 14 Pro’s battery and charging speeds are decent for most users, heavy gamers or power users might find alternatives more suited to their needs.
