Xiaomi Redmi Note 14 review: Solid all-rounder phone

It is available in three configurations-- 6GB RAM + 128GB storage, 8GB RAM + 128GB storage and 12GB RAM + 256GB storage-- with prices starting at Rs 18,999 in India.

Xiaomi, earlier this month, launched the new line of Redmi Note 14 series in India. It comes in three variants-- Redmi Note 14, 14 Pro and 14 Pro+.

All the models come with a big upgrade in all aspects over the predecessor. I have received the standard Redmi Note 14 for the review. Here are my thoughts on the latest mid-range phone from the house of Xiaomi.

Design, build quality and display

Unlike the radically redesigned Note 14 Pro models, the regular Redmi Note 14 retains the design elements of its predecessor Redmi Note 13 (review) series.

It has a curved square module housing three camera islands with LED flash at the top left corner. The rest of the back panel is covered with glass-like material. It is very sturdy and manages to survive daily wear-and-tear issues like scratches.

Xiaomi Redmi Note 14 5G.

Our review unit is aptly called the 'mystic white'. It has a visually beautiful wavy pattern like a marble stone. It reflects multiple colours when looked at from different angles.

The company also offers the device in two other colours--phantom purple and titan black. They too are amazing.

Also, most importantly, it does a fantastic job repelling the sweaty fingerprint smudges.

Xiaomi Redmi Note 14 5G.

And, the cover panel beautifully blends with the sturdy mid-rail around the edges. The frame is flat and offers a really good grip for the fingers to hold the device.

With such a design, there is very little chance of the device slipping out of your hands. Even if you have butterfingers and drop it while sitting on a chair, the device's glass can survive the fall. The company has incorporated Corning's Gorilla Glass 5 shield to protect the display.

Also, it comes with an IP64 dust-and-waterproof rating, meaning it can survive water splashes too.

It features hybrid dual-SIM slots (nano SIM-1 + nano SIM-2 or microSD card) at the base with a type-C port, a microphone and a single-grille speaker.

On top, it has another speaker along with a microphone and an infrared sensor. It is one of the very few phones to feature a 3.5mm audio jack.

Xiaomi Redmi Note 14 5G.

The stereo speakers on the Redmi Note 14 are amazingly great. It manages to deliver crisp and clear audio output without any distortion even with volume put to the max. It has a special feature to boost the volume by 300 per cent and yet, maintains less distortion.

On the front, the device sports a fantastic 6.67-inch full HD+ (1080×2400p) super AMOLED display. It supports variable (60/90/120Hz) refresh rates to deliver a smooth scrolling experience while browsing the web and when playing graphics-heavy games.

It supports up to 2,100 nits peak brightness and has a pixel density of 394 ppi (pixels per inch). It is great to consume multimedia content for hours outdoors during a long journey. It also has an eye protection mode to control the emission of harmful blue light to lessen the strain on the eyes while using the phone to read long-form news articles or read e-books at night.

The in-display fingerprint sensor of the Redmi Note 14 is super quick in terms of recognising the finger impression and unlocking the screen.

Performance

It houses a 6nm class MediaTek Dimensity 7025 Ultra octa-core processor with IMG BXM-8-256 GPU and 6GB/8GB LPDDR4X RAM with 128GB / 256GB UFS 2.2 internal storage (expandable).

The device is an absolute beast in terms of performance. It supports most of the popular battle royale games and never once showed any sign of lag-ness as such.

Xiaomi Redmi Note 14's CPU performance score on Geekbench app.

It runs Android 14-based Xiaomi HyperOS. It is clean and way better than the MIUI 14 seen in its predecessor.

However, it has some bugs that surface at random times, particularly when using the camera. The night mode failed to take off a few times, but this is not a deal breaker. I tried rebooting once and since then, there hasn't been any issue yet. I am sure, the device will only get better over time, as the company is scheduled to roll out the latest Android 15-based HyperOS 2 soon.

The device is guaranteed to get at least two OS updates (up to Android 16) and additional year of security software support (up to 2027).

Xiaomi Redmi Note 14 5G.

The device houses a 5,110mAh battery. It consistently delivered a full day under normal usage. It always had more than 28 per cent before I retired to the bed.

Also, with 45W charging speed, it can reach from zero to 100 per cent in under 50 minutes.

Xiaomi Redmi Note 14 5G's camera sample.

Photography

The Redmi Note 14 features a triple-camera module-- main 50MP (1/1.95-inch Sony LYT-600 sensor, f/1.7, OIS: Optical Image Stabilisation) camera with an 8MP (f/2.2) ultra-wide camera and a 2MP (f/2.4) macro camera with LED flash on the back.

Xiaomi Redmi Note 14 5G's camera sample.

The triple camera model of the new Xiaomi is great. It takes sharp and crisp photos without any issues. Also, the subjects such as human faces and colourful flowers become a little more vibrant than they usually look through our eyes. They are great for getting good photos for DPs on social media platforms.

Xiaomi Redmi Note 14 5G's camera sample.

The ultra-wide angle works fine; manages to capture a wide area of the landscape without any software tricks to bend tall structures just to squeeze them into the frame.

Xiaomi Redmi Note 14 5G's camera sample with ultra-wide angle mode.

Xiaomi Redmi Note 14 5G's camera sample with normal 1X mode.

It supports up to 2X optical zoom without any issue of loss of quality. It also digitally zooms up to 20X. The photo quality remains good up to 10X, but beyond that, the pictures begin to accumulate grains and become blurry.

Xiaomi Redmi Note 14 5G's camera sample with 2X optical Zoom mode.

Xiaomi Redmi Note 14 5G's camera sample with 20X digital zoom mode.

As far as portrait mode is concerned, it takes amazing photos with a bokeh blur effect in the background.

Xiaomi Redmi Note 14 5G's camera sample with portrait mode on.

As I mentioned in the performance section, the phone's camera too had a bug. The night mode on the device didn't work as promised. As you can see in the sample image below, it took raw images of the agriculture field with the night sky in the background.

Xiaomi Redmi Note 14 5G's camera sample with night mode (before reboot).

Xiaomi Redmi Note 14 5G's camera sample (night mode).

But, after the reboot I tried the night mode again near my office. The trick worked and the device's camera was able to draw more light from the surrounding light sources to get a nice picture.

Xiaomi Redmi Note 14 5G's camera sample.

It also supports Artificial Intelligence-powered Erase (object eraser) and AI Magic Sky (sky background changer). As advertised, they work well too. The Redmi Note 14 is one of the very few in its class to boast such features.

Xiaomi Redmi Note 14 5G's camera sample.

With the AI Erase feature, users can remove unwanted objects or people from the background of the subject. It comes in very handy when taking photos in popular tourist places.

Xiaomi Redmi Note 14 5G's camera sample.

And, with AI Magic Sky, users can seamlessly change the colour of the sky with numerous artistic effects.

Xiaomi Redmi Note 14 5G's camera sample.

On the front, the Redmi Note 14 houses a feature-rich 20MP front camera for selfies and video calling. For its price range, it takes pretty good selfies in almost all light conditions.

And, like all the Redmi series phones, the new device too houses several superficial beautification features to turn a dull-looking face in to photogenic.

Xiaomi Redmi Note 14 5G's camera sample.

Both the front and the back cameras support up to 1080p (full HD) video recording. The quality is really good for a phone, which costs less than Rs 20,000.

Final thoughts

Though the prices of the Redmi Note series have risen steadily over the decade, it continues to set new benchmarks for value-for-money phones.

Xiaomi's latest Redmi Note 14 phone ticks all the boxes, particularly, in terms of the build quality, the display and the performance and it has exceeded my expectations.

Xiaomi Redmi Note 14 5G.

Now, it sits at the top of my recommendations list of high-quality phones under Rs 20,000.

The new device is available in three colours--mystique blue, phantom purple and titan black. It comes in three configurations-- 6GB RAM + 128GB storage, 8GB RAM + 128GB storage and 12GB RAM + 256GB storage-- for Rs 18,999, Rs 19,999 and Rs 21,999, respectively.

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