Xiaomi Redmi Note 14 Pro+ 5G

The Redmi Note 14 Pro Plus impresses with its massive 6,200mAh battery, offering long-lasting power and efficient usage, but it does not come without a few trade-offs in performance. Despite its impressive battery capacity, the phone feels sleek and compact, dispelling any initial concerns about bulkiness. The Sand Star Green variant boasts a stunning shimmering back design, paired with a squircle camera module that enhances its premium feel. The Gorilla Glass Victus 2 on both the front and back adds durability, though the plastic frame feels a bit cheaper. On the front, the 6.67-inch AMOLED display with a 1.5K resolution and 120Hz refresh rate offers vibrant colours and excellent brightness. HDR 10+ and Dolby Vision support make it ideal for content consumption, providing great visibility in bright environments without reflections hampering the viewing experience. The display delivers deep blacks and vivid colours, making it perfect for watching movies and videos. However, audio quality is less impressive, with the stereo speakers providing loud bass but lacking in separation. The 6200mAh battery supports high-energy silicon-carbon technology, and even with continuous use, including gaming and video streaming, it performs well. The phone easily lasts 2+ days on moderate usage, and its 90W fast charging allows it to go from 50% to 100% in about 15 minutes, which is a great convenience. However, the Snapdragon 7s Gen 3 processor is a letdown for a “Pro Plus” model. Despite its power efficiency, the chipset offers disappointing performance, with benchmark numbers falling short as compared to last year’s Dimensity 7200 Ultra. Gaming performance is similarly average, with games like BGMI and COD Mobile capping out at 60 FPS, and more demanding games like Genshin Impact showing significant frame drops.

The phone comes with 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage, but both are paired with LPDDR4X RAM and UFS 2.2 storage, which are outdated compared to last year's LPDDR5 and UFS 3.1 configurations. This affects the device’s multitasking and storage performance, with occasional RAM management issues and stuttering during intensive tasks. As for the camera, the 50MP Omnivision Light Fusion 800 sensor performs decently in daylight, capturing good detail, but with over-saturated colours. The 8MP ultra-wide sensor suffers from a lack of detail, while the 50MP telephoto sensor provides better colour accuracy but still struggles with consistency across the three sensors. Low-light performance is poor, with noisy images and a lack of detail. The selfie camera also underperforms, producing washed-out skin tones and lacking finer details, making it subpar for portrait shots. In summary, the Redmi Note 14 Pro Plus stands out for its massive battery and sleek design, but the Snapdragon 7s Gen 3 and outdated memory/storage configurations limit its overall performance. While it excels in battery life and display quality, the camera struggles and the gaming experience could be better, making it a mixed bag for users seeking high-end performance.

Hands-on article by Jagadisa Rajarathnam