Realme 14 Pro series: First impression

Realme on Friday (January 17) showcased the newly launched Realme 14 Pro series at Bengaluru.

I spent a few minutes with the latest premium mid-range Android phones. Here are my initial thoughts on the Realme 14 Pro series.

Design and display

At first, you won't notice any big difference between Realme 14 Pro and other phones in the market. But, they have so many hidden features, which can only be experienced while holding them.

The series is touted to be the world's first cold-sensitive colour-changing phone. Both models—Realme 14 Pro and 14 Pro Plus, particularly the Pearl Design variant—can change colour when exposed to temperatures below 16 degree C.

Realme 14 Pro Plus Pearl Design variant.

As you can see in the pictures (above), the phone transitioned from pearl white to blue shades. The company has incorporated thermochromatic technology to achieve this feat.

The magical colour transition is sure to draw the attention of the youth.

The company also offers a vegan suede leather variant, another first in its segment. The Suede grey variant comes with a skin-friendly touch and tactile texture, offering good grip for the fingers to hold on to the device.

Realme 14 Pro Plus also comes in exclusive Bikaner Purple colour. And, the Realme 14 Pro is available in Jaipur Pink.

From left to right: Realme 14 Pro (Jaipur Pink) and Realme 14 Pro Plus (Bikaner Purple).

Both the devices come with an in-display fingerprint sensor, a type-C port, and dual-SIM slots (type: nano), and have an IP66/68/69 water-and-dust resistant rating. They can withstand high water jet pressure and can survive a fall in a swimming pool up to a depth of 1.5 metres (around five feet) for close to 30 minutes.

On the front, the Realme 14 Pro model features a 6.7-inch full HD+ (2412×1080p) curved AMOLED screen with a 120Hz refresh rate, offering up to 4500 nits peak brightness.

Realme 14 Pro series.

The Realme 14 Pro Plus sports a 6.83-inch 1.5K(2800 x 1272p) curved AMOLED screen with 120 Hz refresh rate and 1500 vnits peak brightness

Processor configuration

The standard Realme 14 Pro houses a 4nm class MediaTek Dimensity 7300 Energy octa-core processor, Mali-G615 MC2 GPU, Android 15-based Realme UI 6.0, 8GB LPDDR4X RAM with 128GB / 256GB (UFS 3.1) storage and a 6,000mAh battery with 45W charger.

The top-end Realme 14 Pro Plus comes with 4nm class Qualcomm Snapdragon 7s Gen 3 octa-core with Adreno 720 GPU, Android 15-based Realme UI 6.0 OS, 8GB / 12GB LPDDR4X RAM with 256GB / 512GB (UFS 3.1) storage, and a 6,000mAh battery with 80W charger.

Realme 14 Pro series.

Both the devices were swift in terms of app loading and operating the camera. However, I am not sure how they will perform when they are pushed to the edge, like while playing graphics-heavy games.

Photography hardware

Realme 14 Pro features a dual-camera module—main 50MP (with 1/1.95-inch Sony IMX882, f/1.8 aperture, OIS: Optical Image Stabilisation)and a 2MP (f/2.4) monochrome camera with LED flash—and a 16MP (f/2.4) front camera for selfies and video calling.

On the other hand, Realme 14 Pro Plus boasts of triple camera module—main 50MP (with 1/1.56-inch Sony IMX896 sensor, f/1.88, OIS) with an 8MP (f/2.2) ultra-wide camera and a 50MP (with Sony IMX882 3X periscope telephoto lens, 6X in-sensor zoom, up to 120x zoom, f/2.65) with LED flash.

Realme 14 Pro series.

On the front, it comes with a 32MP (with Sony sensor, f/2.45) for selfies and video calling.

Both the Realme 14 Pro variants support several Artificial Intelligence features such as AI stabilisation, AI Audio Zoom, AI Smart Image Matting, AI Pure Bokeh, AI Snap Mode and many more modes to enhance the photography experience.

They take pretty good photos indoors with controlled light conditions. But, it needs to be seen how they fare outdoors and at night.

Initial thoughts

With an innovative design language, the Realme 14 Pro series will surely succeed in attracting young college students.

They also come with good camera hardware and powerful processors and promise to deliver smooth performance. But, we need to check out how well they fare with gaming and other heavy-duty tasks to offer the final verdict on Realme's latest Android devices.

Realme 14 Pro comes in two variants—8GB RAM + 128GB storage and 8GB RAM + 256GB storage—for Rs 24,999 and Rs 26,999, respectively.

Realme 14 Pro Plus comes in three variants—8GB RAM + 128GB storage, 8GB RAM + 256GB storage and 12GB RAM + 256GB storage—for Rs 29,999, Rs 31,999 and Rs 34,999, respectively.

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