Incredibly good and cheap

Review: Xiaomi Redmi Note 14 Pro - Especially Affordable

A low price combined with essentially most of the features you need. Xiaomi Redmi Note 14 Pro offers an extremely good smartphone for the money.

Erik Mörner

Published 31 January 2025 - 14:00

As I write this, Xiaomi has a temporary introductory price for the Redmi Note 14 Pro. Instead of the regular price of 5000 kronor, the price is 4000 kronor until February 23. This is a sharp contrast to today's mobile flagships that can cost up to 20,000 kronor.

Despite its low price, this phone meets most of the demands for a smartphone today and has also borrowed some features from significantly more expensive phones. This is part of the Redmi Note 14 family and takes somewhat of a golden middle path. Looking first at the exterior and a first impression, this is, like the sister model Pro Plus, a thin phone and the screen, which is of the OLED type with a fast refresh rate and fine color reproduction, has slightly curved edges on the long sides so that the screen image extends over almost the entire front of the phone. At the same time, the curved edge is so subtle that it does not cause any mispresses. The edge is also curved on the back of the phone, and this makes the phone sit well in the hand and perhaps feel even a little thinner than it is. You get a protective rubber case with it, and with that on, the protruding camera lenses on the back become less prominent.

The camera module in the Redmi Note 14 Pro consists of three cameras, with the main camera being 200 megapixels. In addition, we get a wide-angle lens and a macro camera, but no telephoto lens. However, the 200 megapixels in the main camera are sufficient for zoom images with good detail reproduction in daylight up to about 10 times zoom. The slider in the camera app goes all the way to 30 times zoom, but then the quality becomes significantly worse.

Even in slightly more challenging situations, I get good pictures from the camera. I try taking pictures in a restaurant with dim lighting and get really good pictures even then.

The main camera saves the experience

In this phone, there are no traces of Xiaomi's collaboration with Leica, which is reserved for the more expensive flagship phones, but the pictures from the Redmi Note 14 Pro are still of high quality and handle most situations. The wide-angle camera needs more light to take good pictures, and the macro camera with a meager two megapixels seems mostly to be there for show and does not contribute to the functionality. It is the main camera that ensures the experience of the Redmi Note 14 Pro as a camera phone.

At the launch of the phone, Xiaomi announced a range of new AI services that would come in an update on January 30. That update has arrived on my test unit, but despite the features appearing in the interface, none of them have worked when I tested them, so I have not been able to evaluate them. I have reported the issue to Xiaomi, who is investigating whether it is isolated only to the test phones we have borrowed.

Redmi Note 14 Pro comes with Android 14, so not the latest version, and on top of that Xiaomi's interface Hyper OS. It adds few real advantages and can be described as somewhat cluttered. Xiaomi's switch from MIUI to Hyper OS was mainly a name change and has not renewed the interface in the way we have long requested and hoped for.

Xiaomi promises three years of system updates, which must be considered minimal, especially since the phone does not come with Android 15, which was released in October last year.

Good flow and performance

In terms of performance, the phone, even though it is not equipped with a flagship chip, has enough power to drive the system and make usage pleasant. The Redmi Note 14 Pro is equipped with the MediaTek Dimensity 7300-Ultra, and when we use the phone, it always responds quickly, and the interface flows smoothly. Particularly impressive is the battery life, where the chip does a good job of conserving resources.

Whether you find the Xiaomi Redmi Note 14 Pro at a promotional price or at the regular price of 5000 kronor, it is an extremely good value smartphone.

Questions and answers

What differentiates it from the others in the Redmi Note 14 family?

This phone, like the sister model Pro Plus, has an IP68 rating, but the Pro Plus supports faster charging. Redmi 14 Note 5G has simpler cameras, lower screen resolution, and poorer performance.

How is the fingerprint reader?

It is fast and located in the screen. Facial recognition also works well.

Is there wireless charging, always on display, included charger?

No, no, no. There is no support for wireless charging, active standby is available (what is called Always on display), but it is not always on, instead it turns off after ten seconds. You also do not get a charger in the box, but you do get a case in gray rubber.

An alternative

Motorola has several similar phones, Edge 50 is a bit more expensive, Edge 50 Fusion as well.

Camera example

Despite the lack of true optical zoom, the 200 megapixels in the main camera can let you get closer to the subject while still achieving good detail richness.