
Editor’s note: We have updated our review of the Redmi Note 14 Pro 5G after re-testing its global variant that launched in Nepal. It has a slightly different camera setup and a slightly different battery compared to the Indian/Chinese unit. And in the context of Nepal’s smartphone market, we found it to be an excellent value. |
So this is Xiaomi’s new Redmi Note 14 Pro 5G that I have in for review today, which launched alongside the Redmi Note 14 Pro+ 5G (review), Redmi Note 14 5G, and Redmi Note 14 4G (review) last week. It’s a bit more expensive than last year’s Redmi Note 13 Pro 4G (review) but considering all the upgrades you’re getting, I think this thing makes for a fantastic upgrade. Let me tell you what I mean.
Redmi Note 14 Pro 5G review: Specifications
- Design and Build: 162.33 x 74.42 x 8.4 mm, 190 gm, IP68 rating
- Display: 6.67-inch AMOLED panel, 1.5K resolution, 120Hz refresh rate
- Chipset: MediaTek Dimensity 7300-Ultra (4nm mobile platform)
- Memory: 8/12GB LPDDR4X RAM, 256/512GB UFS 2.2 storage (non-expandable)
- Software & UI: Android 14 with Xiaomi HyperOS 1.0 on top
- Rear Camera: Triple (200MP primary, 8MP ultrawide, 2MP macro)
- Front Camera: 20MP sensor (hole-punch)
- Security: Fingerprint sensor (optical in-display)
- Connectivity: Dual-SIM (Nano), WiFi 6, Bluetooth 5.4, USB-C, NFC, 5G
- Sensors: Accelerometer, Ambient light, E-compass, Gyroscope, IR blaster, Proximity
- Battery: 5110 mAh with 45W fast charging (45W adapter in box)
- Price in Nepal: NPR 39,999 (8/256GB) | NPR 44,999 (12/512GB)
- Check the full specifications of Redmi Note 14 Pro 5G here
Redmi Note 14 Pro 5G review:
Design and build
- 162.33 x 74.42 x 8.4 mm, 190 grams
- Gorilla Glass Victus 2 front, plastic frames, plastic/PU leather back
- IP68 dust/water resistant
And as always, I wanna start my review with the things I’ve liked about the Redmi Note 14 Pro 5G. And the one thing that immediately stood out to me the moment I held it in my hands was the design itself. I know its curved aesthetics is a complete 180 from that bold, flat design we saw on the Redmi Note 13 Pro 4G but I don’t mind this. I don’t mind this at all.
The Note 14 Pro 5G feels so damn comfortable to hold and come on Xiaomi… I think you know you’re cheating with this purplish… lavenderish finish ‘cause it’s one of my favorite colors. So no way was I gonna hate how it looks. Even this redesigned camera cutout complements the overall vibe so well so yeah… the Redmi Note 14 Pro 5G is visually stunning.
A truly “A+” stuff from Xiaomi.
It also feels great in hand, like I just said. Not only because of the curved sides but because of the vegan leather back that Xiaomi went with this time as well. Although I should tell you that its “Titan Black” color option has a plastic back unlike the other two.
IP68 rating
The Redmi Note 14 Pro 5G even bags all kinds of IP rating now. Including IP66, IP68, and IP69. Which means it can survive everything from high-pressure water jets to high-temperature water jets. And it can also survive being completely submerged in water of course. Then again, since Xiaomi Nepal brought the global variant of this guy, the one available in Nepal only has an IP68 rating. Not really a dealbreaker but that’s something you need to keep in mind.
So the only little blemish to the Note 14 Pro 5G’s otherwise fantastic design is that it no longer has a headphone jack. I guess complaining about the lack of a headphone jack on a phone these days is like screaming into the void but I thought I should point it out anyway.
Display
- 6.67-inch 1.5K AMOLED panel
- 120Hz refresh rate, 3,000 nits peak brightness
Like the design, the display on the Redmi Note 14 Pro 5G is fantastic too.
I mean… you could actually mistake it for a proper flagship screen if I just read you some of its specs. Ready? So this is a 12-bit screen with 100% DCI-P3 colors, a 120Hz refresh rate, 3,000 nits of peak brightness, a 1,920Hz PWM dimming, and both HDR10+ and Dolby Vision certification. Also, take a look at those tiny bezels man!
Still not convinced? What if I told you this display is protected by Corning’s second-gen Victus glass as well? Yeah, the same Victus glass that you’ll usually only find on flagship phones that cost three to four times as much.
All this is to say that I absolutely love the Note 14 Pro 5G’s display. For everything.
Whether that’s just scrolling through my Facebook feed, streaming all my Netflix favorites, catching up on my messages out on a bright sunny day, or some late-night gaming sessions while I’m wrapped under a warm blanket in this cold weather. It’s a big, bright, fast, smooth, and responsive screen — and that’s pretty much all I’m looking for really.
A flagship display in all but name
Yes, it misses out on an LTPO panel for that ultimate flagship punch, but you know what? That’s fine by me. And I also wanna give a quick shoutout to the speakers on this thing ‘cause the Note 14 Pro 5G’s speakers are some of the best I’ve seen (or heard) on a midrange phone. It gets plenty loud, it sounds quite full, and I love how none of this comes at the expense of clarity or details either.
Its haptic feedback is much better too. Xiaomi has used an X-axis linear motor here instead of a buzzy z-axis one on the Note 13 Pro 4G, so that upgrade to sharp, strong feedback is quite something.
Battery
- 5,110 mAh battery (45W wired charging)
- 45W adapter in the box
Anyway, the battery life is another thing I love about the Note 14 Pro 5G.
Xiaomi went with a silicon-carbon battery for both the Note 14 Pro 5G and the Pro+ in the Indian/Chinese model this year, although the global one has the same ol’ lithium-ion battery. Anyway, the Redmi Note 14 Pro 5G brings a big 5,110 mAh battery to be precise, and I’ve been easily getting 7 – 8 hours of screen time here. Even under a fairly heavy usage pattern.
I would have loved to show you those stats from the settings itself but… Xiaomi has made this simple thing so needlessly complicated that it no longer shows screen time data. And I gotta use some third-party apps like “AccuBattery” to get those numbers.
The charging speed has also gotten slower for some reason. Down from 67W to 45W, but it still gets me 60% battery in half an hour — or 100% in an hour — so that’s not a big deal.
Performance
- MediaTek Dimensity 7300-Ultra (4nm)
- 8/12GB RAM, 256/512GB storage (non-expandable)
- Android 14 with Xiaomi’s HyperOS 1.0 on top
- 3 years of OS and 4 years of security updates
Okay.
So far, I’ve talked about its design that I love, its display that I love, and its battery life that I love as well. All the good stuff basically. And that continues on as I discuss its performance. ‘Cause the Dimensity 7300-Ultra is a fantastic upgrade over the Note 13 Pro 4G’s Helio G99-Ultra. Whether that’s in the CPU or in the GPU department.
And as you’d expect, I found that the Note 14 Pro 5G is also the much better gaming phone of the two. In literally all the games I tried. In terms of both the fps it can push and the temperature it hits.
But the software side of things isn’t too embarrassing here, right? …right?
New phone, same old mistakes
You see, Xiaomi has somehow managed to repeat the same mistake as last year by launching next-gen hardware with last-gen software. So instead of the new Android 15-based HyperOS 2.0, the Note 14 Pro 5G runs on Android 14-based HyperOS 1.0. There are 3+4 years of updates to its name and I’m not saying HyperOS 1.0 is unusable or anything… but wasn’t “HyperOS” supposed to take away all of our complaints with Xiaomi’s software game?
What happened to that?
And Xiaomi is trying to compensate — or maybe distract — us from this with a couple of AI features that honestly feel pretty basic at this point.
Like “Circle to Search” which used to be exclusive to Samsung phones, on top of a couple of AI-based image editing features. So by now, I’m just looking forward to the HyperOS 2 update for this guy which actually has a bunch of cool and useful AI features. On top of a couple some new customization options.
Cameras
- Triple camera setup at the back
- (200MP main, 8MP ultrawide, 2MP macro)
- 20MP selfie camera (hole-punch cutout)
The Redmi Note 14 Pro 5G’s cameras are… pretty great though. It’s actually using the same 200MP HP3 sensor as the one on the Note 13 Pro 4G, but there’s such a night and day difference in their optimization. That upgraded image signal processor (ISP) on the Dimensity 7300-Ultra is really working its magic it seems.
Redmi Note 14 Pro 5G | Redmi Note 13 Pro 4G |
200MP ISOCELL HP3 main sensor, 1/1.4”, f/1.65 aperture | 200MP ISOCELL HP3 main sensor, 1/1.4”, f/1.65 aperture |
8MP Sony IMX355 ultrawide sensor, f/2.2 aperture | 8MP Omnivision OV08D10 ultrawide sensor, f/2.2 aperture |
2MP macro sensor, f/2.4 aperture, fixed focus | 2MP macro sensor, f/2.4 aperture, fixed focus |
As expected, photos from both of them have that classic “Redmi” aesthetics with slightly punchy colors.
But whether when I was shooting in the middle of a bright sunny day or during the dark of night, the Note 14 Pro 5G managed to take better photos almost 99% of the time.
Especially with five things: contrast, highlights, dynamic range, white balance, and glares.
I don’t know why but the Note 13 Pro just tends to lift the exposure across the entire frame for some reason. Both from the main and the ultrawide lens, making everything look flat and unnatural.
You should know that the new guy struggles to process shadows in particularly challenging conditions, so I hope this is something Xiaomi can patch with a couple of software updates.
Selfies, portraits
And when I want to capture a selfie or a portrait, I mostly prefer what the Note 14 Pro 5G manages as well.
There’s a little bit of variation in how they handle the skin tones — where one has slightly pale and the other has slightly orangish skin — but yeah.
Oh and by the way, this thing also has an option for a more close-up portrait for better subject focus. But since all it’s doing is cropping on the main sensor, those portraits don’t have a lot of details.
Videography
Plus, although the Note 14 Pro 5G is technically the superior one when it comes to videos, I can’t say I’m all that impressed. Yeah… it can record at up to 4K 30 fps now (something that’s not possible on its predecessor) but the videos have such a noticeable movement jitter. It’s the same with its 1080p ultrawide and selfie videos so yeah… quite mediocre cameras for videos.
Redmi Note 14 Pro 5G review: Conclusion
Alright, so I better wrap up my review of the new Redmi Note 14 Pro 5G now. And as you’ve probably already guessed, there’s just so much to love about it. Everything from its design, display, performance, and battery, to even the cameras are top notch for the price.
I really, really, really wished Xiaomi had managed to ship it with the latest software — aka HyperOS 2.0 — but other than that, the Redmi Note 14 Pro 5G is a terrific phone for some 40,000 rupees in Nepal. Matter of fact, I don’t even think there’s any other phone remotely as balanced as this thing right now.
- Watch our video review of Redmi Note 14 Pro 5G
Redmi Note 14 Pro 5G review: Pros and Cons
Pros
Cons
• Great value for money
• Still on Android 14
• A+ durability
• Not that good at shooting videos
• An almost flagship-level display
• No more headphone jack
• Good performance
• Takes pretty good photos
• The battery easily lasts a couple of days