Redmi is a subsidiary brand of Xiaomi that was made to signify lower-end entry-level and mid-range Android smartphones while the Xiaomi brand would be reserved for higher-quality designs. So Redmi devices are going to be in the around $400 and under range, but that doesn’t mean they can’t make something that looks good and still works pretty nicely. The Redmi Note 14 Pro+ 5G is the latest flagship style Redmi Android phone that still has a nice affordable price tag. Just so you know, another phone with the exact same name was released in India in 2024, and it looks exactly like this one, but the cameras are different. You’ll see the Indian version has “50Mp OIS 1.16-2.2/15-60” written on the camera bump while this one (the European version) has “200Mp OIS AI Camera” written on it. So let’s take a look at how this version of the Redmi Note 14 Pro+ 5G works.
Specifications
The Redmi Note 14 Pro+ 5G has a Snapdragon 7s Gen 3 Octa-core 2.5Ghz processor with Qualcomm Adreno GPU, 8 or 12 GB of LPDDR4X RAM, and 256 or 512GB of UFS 2.2 storage. It runs Xiaomi HyperOS 1.0 on Android 14 behind a 6.67″ CrystalRes AMOLED 2712×1220 pixel resolution screen with 12-bit DCI-P3 color, 120Hz refresh rate, and 3000 nits peak brightness. There’s in-display fingerprint scanning and front-camera facial recognition for unlocking the phone too. The dimensions are 162.53mm x 74.67mm x 8.85mm for the Lavender Purple version while the other colors are 0.1mm thinner. The weight for the Frost Blue and Midnight Black versions is 210.14g while the Lavender Purple version is 5g lighter at 205.13g. All are IP68 dust and water resistant as well. Of course we’ve got dual SIM support (two nano SIMs or one nano SIM and eSIM), Bluetooth 5.4, NFC, and 5G bands n1/2/3/5/7/8/12/20/26/ 28/38/40/41/48/66/77/78. The battery is 5110mAh with 120W HyperCharge charging.
The Redmi Note 14 Pro+ 5G even comes with a black rubber case to protect it.
Hardware
The hardware design is pretty gorgeous, especially the Lavender Purple color. It’s kind of a faux leather texture as well with little fake seams on the edges. I like it a lot. It feels great in the hand and the texture is not slippery so it feels more secure. It also doesn’t attract fingerprints at all, so that’s another huge plus. Although the camera lens does attract fingerprints which interfere with the photos, so just be sure to feel for the camera hump and not put your fingers on that.
On the right side is the power button and volume rocker. They’re raised up well enough to feel with your fingers, but as you can see in the photo, they’re tiny sliver buttons on a very thin curved edge.
On the bottom we have some more speakers grill holes, a USB-C port, and the SIM card tray slot along with a microphone hole.
The top edge has more speaker and microphone holes along the shiny metallic casing. You can also see how much the camera hump protrudes from the rest of the phone at this angle.
Camera
For the camera array, we’ve got a 200Mp camera with optical image stabilization, f/1.65 aperture, 2.24μm 16-in-1 pixel binning, a 1/1.4″ sensor size, and 7P lens. There’s also an ultra-wide lens camera with an 8Mp sensor and f2.2 aperture, and the 3rd one is a 2Mp macro camera with f/2.2 aperture.
The squircle shaped rounded square camera bump is very nice looking, but I personally would have preferred the 55mm perfect circle with smooth ledge camera bump that the Xiaomi 13 and 14 Ultra has because that’s the perfect shape for a 55mm slip-on lens cover to protect the camera array from scratches and fingerprints.
The camera software has all of the usual features of Xiaomi’s other devices. It nicely supports RAW DNG output for the main camera and the ultra-wide camera, but not the macro or front-facing camera.
The main 24mm equivalent 200Mp pixel-binned to 12Mp camera is pretty nice. It’s not Xiaomi Ultra 50Mp quality, but it’s good. I prefer to shoot in RAW on all of my cameras and the 12Mp DNG output is nicely sharp and flexible with the color balance & exposure. Though you may notice some color aberrations and fringing around the highlights in the above photo probably due to an inexpensive lens component.
The main camera with its 200Mp sensor really only outputs 12Mp in the RAW files, but the 200Mp mode doesn’t appear to be just an upsampling of the 12Mp photos. Above you can see the 200Mp mode on the left compared to the regular photo mode on the right. The right side was enlarged in Photoshop to match the scale, while the left side is 1-to-1 100% pixels cropped on a center part of an image.
There’s an “AI Camera” setting for the main camera, but the only difference I see is a slightly different white balance setting. It is a better white balance setting, so I think I’ll keep that on.
Portrait mode works about as well as anything else, but you still have to find a subject and lighting that fits it well. Flyaway hairs on people are still an issue with the fake background blur filters that everyone has these days.
Being able to use the Macro camera was very difficult. It doesn’t show up as a lens/camera option in the Pro mode at all and there are no “macro” modes in the “more” menu. In fact, it’s only available in “Photo” mode or “Video” mode if you tap the arrow at the top to show settings and then turn on the “Macro” button. I wish there was an easier and consistent way to simply switch between camera/lens combinations.
The macro camera quality is a very low 2 megapixels, but we do have some decent detail. You can see the dust particles on this Xiaomi Mi 11 pretty clearly, though some of that may also be noise from the sensor’s low image quality.
I love having ultra-wide angle lens cameras on phones, so this is great to have on the Redmi Note 14 Pro Plus 5G, but the quality is nowhere near the Xiaomi Ultra series ultra wide angle cameras.
The front facing camera has a 20Mp sensor and f/2.2 aperture. While it’s not as sharp as it could be with a more expensive phone, the front-facing camera quality is certainly tolerable. Things get hazy quickly if there’s any fingerprint grease on the lens though, so be sure to bring a wipe around.
Software
The Redmi Note 14 Pro+ 5G runs Xiaomi’s HyperOS 1.0 on Android 14 and comes with all the Google Apps and services pre-installed. Xiaomi also includes a lot of their own apps such as the Gallery, Weather, Mi Browser, Music, Themes, Mi Video, Game Center, Cleaner, Security, File Manager, Mi Home, Xiaomi Community, App Vault, Calculator, Clock, Recorder, Compass, Scanner, ShareMe, Notes, Mi Remote, Mi Mover, Calendar, Services & Feedback. Some other bloatware is also included like Facebook, Amazon Music, TikTok, WPS Office, Booking.com, LinkedIn, and AliExpress. There are some bundled games as well like: Block Puzzle Guardian, Tile Fun, Bubble Shooter, Word Scenery, Jewel Blast, Dust Settle, Snake Zone, and Block Blast.
There are a few AI features hidden in some of the software too. For example there are AI Interpreter, AI Notes, AI Recorder, AI Subtitles, AI Film, AI Beautify, AI Erase Pro, and AI Image Expansion features, but those last two won’t be available until January 30, 2025 with a software update.
In my DNS server, there aren’t too many crazy server access requests. Just a lot to Xiaomi.com subdomains and MIUI.com subdomains in addition to the usual constant Google connections of course.
Battery life is pretty excellent too. My first test of mostly just running email and a DNS filter VPN got around 150 hours, which is ridiculous. A more likely battery life would be about 26-30 hours.
Pros/Cons
Pros
- Beautiful premium-style hardware design
- Nice 200Mp main camera with optical stabilization
- Fantastic battery life
- Fast 120W charging
- Premium quality at a relatively budget-friendly price
- Textured faux leather backing reduces slipping and fingerprints significantly
Cons
- The 8Mp ultra wide and 2Mp macro cameras are pretty low quality
- Only 2 of the 4 cameras output to RAW DNG formats
- A bit of bloatware software included
Pricing
The Redmi Note 14 Pro+ 5G pricing starts at $449. See Mi.com for more information.
Conclusion
The Redmi Note 14 Pro+ 5G is a really nice looking phone. I love the light lavender fake leather textured backing that has such a calm grippy feel to it. The battery life and extremely fast 120W charging is fantastic too. I loved 120W charging on the Xiaomi Mi 10 Ultra from 5 years ago, so it’s great to see that coming to more devices. It certainly puts the iPhone’s 15W charging to shame. The camera array is absolutely tolerable as well. The main 200Mp camera is, of course, the shining feature while the other cameras are just there for the rare occasion when lighting conditions and subject material is optimal, which is certainly better than not having them. I much prefer the 4 different focal lengths and higher quality lens/sensor combinations on the Xiaomi 14 Ultra, but of course that’s a much more expensive device. The Redmi Note 14 Pro+ 5G is a perfectly decent and great looking midrange Android smartphone.