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Redmi Note 14 5G : test / review

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Published on: 02-02-2025 / Modified: 02-02-2025
I've been testing the Redmi Note range since the 5th generation, and I still have a Redmi Note 5 that works perfectly. I remember that at the time, the launch of a new Redmi Note was always an event that resulted in staggering sales figures. All the sites would flock to test the new model and take part in the surreal hype. Today, competition is tougher and Redmi has slowed down a little. In fact, I'm a few weeks late with the launch - I simply hadn't seen that the 14th generation was available.

The Redmi Note 14 comes in two versions, a 4G version and a 5G version. I'm going to test the 5G version, which has some of the same features as the Redmi Note 13 and the Poco M7 Pro. Redmi has become a champion of recycling, so it remains to be seen whether this new generation brings enough new features to justify its purchase.

That's what you'll find out in my full review of the Redmi Note 14 5G.

Manufacturer web site:

https://www.mi.com

Structure of my tests

I test the phones according to a pre-established structure (see below) to provide you with as much information as possible. Unfortunately, this takes a long time. Some tests like network performance tests take several days and for photo tests I sometimes have to wait until the weather is suitable to take pictures in good conditions. I am therefore obliged to publish the tests step by step, so I invite you to come back if the test is not complete at the time of your visit.

Price Redmi Note 14 5G

The list below shows the prices for the Redmi Note 14 5G from more than 50 sites around the world. If you are not satisfied with any price, you can subscribe to a price alert to be the first to be notified when the price drops.

Timeline

January 27, 2025: purchase of the Redmi Note 14 5G

January 31, 2025: phone received, testing can begin.

Unpacking

I often say that all boxes look the same, and it's true, except that for this new generation, there's a change in size. The box is indeed smaller than the previous one, but this is the first Redmi to come without a charger. The box contains the phone, a soft silicone shell, a manual, a needle to open the sim drawer and a charging cable

Finish

The Redmi Note 14 5G follows the same broad lines as the Redmi Note 13. The phone has almost the same dimensions, measuring 162 mm by 75 mm, with a thickness of 8 mm. The layout of the photo block at the rear is also very similar, but with a slight difference where the photo sensors are encapsulated in a rectangular block.



The photo block stands out quite strongly, so it will cause an imbalance when you put the phone on its back. The soft silicone shell supplied in the box will help mitigate this effect

The back of the Redmi Note 14 is made of plastic with a slight textured effect. I find here that Redmi is taking a small step backwards in terms of finish, the previous model had a back that resembled a layer of glass and it gave it a more premium look.



The perimeter is also made of plastic. The power and volume buttons are in their usual places, so there's nothing new here.



On the top, there's a jack-type audio output, an infrared transmitter, a sound sensor and a speaker output.



On the bottom, there's the other audio output, another sound sensor, the USB Type C port and the sim drawer, which can hold 2 sim cards in duplex mode. You'll have to make do with 128 or 256 Gb of memory, as you won't be able to add a memory card



The 6.67-inch screen occupies around 87% of the phone's front surface. Borders are visible, but they're average for a phone in this price range. The screen is probably the same as on the Redmi Note 13.

So there's no great novelty in terms of finish, and I even feel that this Redmi Note 14 takes a step backwards in terms of finish quality, as the previous model had a more refined aesthetic.

Specifications

The information below comes from the Device Info HW application. The application provides detailed technical information about the tested phone. I tested the 5G version with 8 Gb RAM and 256 Gb storage. There's also a 4G version that uses a completely different (and less powerful) configuration, and is priced lower than the 5G version. If price is your priority and you don't need 5G, you could opt for this lighter version. The main camera is identical in both versions.

I took screenshots of the 5G version's specs and didn't notice anything out of the ordinary.

The screen supports 3 frequencies (60, 90 and 120 Hz), the battery has a capacity of 5110 mAh with a 45-watt charge. The memory type also appears to be identical. The wifi and gps chips are new ones that I haven't yet had a chance to test, but I'll come back to these points later in the test. The main camera is the same as on the Redmi Note 13, the secondary sensors are different, so we'll see if this change brings an improvement

CPU / GPU Performance

The Redmi Note 14 5G uses a MediaTek Dimensity 7025 CPU, while the 4G version uses a MediaTek Helio G99 Ultra, both of which are entry-level CPUs with sufficient performance for basic use. I just think it's a shame that we didn't make a little effort in this area. Even if I'm not a fan of the performance race, the Redmi range is starting to lag behind the competition.

For graphics, this phone relies on an IMG BXM-8-256 GPU. I haven't yet had the chance to test this GPU, but as with the CPU, we're talking entry-level here. So don't expect incredible performance for demanding games. But that's not a big problem, given that this phone isn't aimed at a gamer audience.

Benchmark Antutu/3DMark

I obtained a score of 372631 points with Antutu v8, which is a fairly average level of performance that's even a little lower than the previous model (5G version). It's a performance level that's quite comparable to the Samsung Galaxy A25. So you won't be able to play demanding games with the level of detail at maximum, you'll have to make concessions to make the game playable in good conditions.






Gaming

To test the performance in game, I download the mobile PUBG game and evaluate the in-game experience, graphics level and depth of vision. This game is quite demanding and should help you evaluating the performance of a phone.Not yet available / tested

Mobile network sensitivity

To test the sensitivity to the mobile network, I use a probe which measures the quality of the mobile signal 24 hours a day (eg: cell id, rssi, rsrq, snr, frequency,...) for more than 3 years. I then measure the phone signal under the same conditions to compare them to the probe's reference signal.

Phones tested:



Not yet available / tested

Wifi performance

To test a phone's ability to receive the network properly, I take measurements near my router and then remotely (and always at the same place). This gives me an average in dBm where a value of -90 dBm indicates poorer performance than a value at -30 dBm.


Wifi signal

To test wifi sensitivity, I took 293 wifi signal measurements to obtain an average signal of -18.07 dBm. The signal is very stable over all the measurements, the signal level is good, but it's clearly not top of the class, and this will certainly be felt in areas where your wifi signal is weaker.



Download/Upload speed

To test the speed in Wifi, I connect to my router in 2.4Ghz and 5Ghz (if available) and use the Ookla application to measure the speed.

GPS performance

To test the accuracy of the GPS signal, I use two positioning applications to evaluate the difference between the actual position and the position indicated by the phone. This test is done outdoors with nothing to obstruct the signal. An accuracy level of up to 3 meters can easily be corrected by an application (e.g. Google Maps).



To test the accuracy of the GPS signal, I use two measurements. First, there's the accuracy calculated by the phone, which corresponds to the blue line on the graph. Then there's the accuracy I've calculated between the latitude/longitude detected by the phone and the phone's actual position. I took 1,706 measurements to analyze the accuracy of the signal for these two calculation methods:

In both cases, we can see that the level of accuracy is not good in the first few seconds, but this is quite normal. The accuracy calculated by the phone is just under two meters in a few seconds. If I calculate the actual accuracy, I get a higher result with an accuracy level just under 3 meters. I also see that the accuracy level calculated by the phone fluctuates at certain times, even though the phone has not moved during the entire test. I don't know why this happened, it's the first time I've seen this. The accuracy level based on my calculation seems more reliable, as it doesn't move at all during the entire test

The average accuracy level with my calculation is 2.57 meters. This is a good level of accuracy, in fact it's the best among the few phones I've tested with this new test protocol. With this level of accuracy, your gps application will have no trouble matching you to the road. There remains the question of the phone's performance, which could pose a problem in the event of rapid changes

For frequencies, it's single-band like L1, E1 or B1, with support for Galileo, Baidu and Glonass.

Battery range

To test battery life I developed an application that measures the battery level minute by minute until the battery is empty. This application consumes about ten percent of the phone's resources and I do a test with 100 brightness. This test aims to reproduce a contemplative use of a phone (e.g. surfing the internet, reading articles, spending time on social networks). These results are not valid for intensive gaming/streaming use.
Charging speed



I measured the charging speed with my UGREEN 100 watt charger and it took me 110 minutes to go from 2% to 100% battery. As you can see from the graph, charging speed is fairly linear over the first 80 percent, taking 79 minutes to reach 80%. The last 20 percent alone takes 31 minutes. This slowdown is present on almost all phones, so there's nothing unusual here.

With 45 watts of fast charging, the Redmi Note 14 does better than the previous model, which was limited to 33 watts. It's not the fastest phone for charging, but this level of speed is quite reasonable. This phone does even better than Samsung's top-of-the-range range, which frankly lags behind in terms of charging speed

Battery autonomy



I obtained an autonomy of 692 minutes with maximum brightness and 1687 with brightness at 50%. This is almost a 1-in-3 ratio, where screen consumption is not at all linear. Autonomy, on the other hand, is very similar to what I obtained on the Redmi Note 13, and that's not surprising because the screen is probably the same and the performance of the two phones is similar. With this kind of autonomy and normal use of the phone, you should be able to get 2 days of autonomy

Energy efficiency



To evaluate the energy performance of a phone, I put it through a load test where I successively push each component to the maximum to measure the consumption at each stage. This allows me to measure computing power more reliably than an Antutu-type test, and also to see how the phone behaves in extreme situations.

On the graph, you can see in succession the maximum consumption in watts of the CPU, then the GPU, followed by the FPU and ending with the combination of all three at full power at the same time. The CPU consumes just under 5 watts, the GPU just under 2 watts and the FPU around 4 watts. When I push everything to the max, consumption doesn't exceed 5 watts, at 4.35 watts to be precise

I notice two things with this test. Firstly, the computing power is very similar to that of the Redmi Note 13, except that for the GPU, performance is lower. So this new GPU, which I hadn't yet tested, doesn't sparkle. Maximum power consumption is fairly limited, which is good enough for autonomy, but doesn't allow you to take advantage of the phone's maximum performance. This is often the case and here I'm at around 70% of its potential.

With this extreme test, I can calculate a theoretical autonomy for madmen of 4h34, but it's highly likely that the phone will end up overheating before reaching the end of the battery.

Photo camera test

To test the quality of photos produced by a phone, I do a technical test (resolution, sharpness, chromatic aberration,...) in studio (identical conditions) to evaluate the technical part objectively. From the second half of 2020, I built my own laboratory to take completely objective technical measurements. I then take pictures in real conditions to see how the camera performs. I then evaluate these photos according to my criteria but I publish the photos so that you can evaluate the result according to your criteria.

Hardware

The Redmi Note 14 5G uses the same main sensor as the Redmi Note 13, a 108-megapixel Samsung S5KHM6. Don't be too quick to be impressed by the number of pixels - it's not very useful unless you want to zoom inside the image. On the face of it, photo quality should be the same as on the previous model. So it's not the main sensor that will decide between these 2 phones.

The secondary sensor for ultra-wide-angle photos is an 8-megapixel SmartSens SC820CS. I've never tested a sensor from this brand, nor had I ever heard of it. I don't see any other phones using this sensor at the moment either, so it'll be a novelty for me. The macro sensor is also a 2 megapixel Smartsens sensor

And finally, for the selfie sensor, the Redmi Note 14 is equipped with a 20 megapixel Omnivision OV20B40 like on POCO's F range

Photo quality

Photo quality (indoor/studio)

The studio test is carried out under the same conditions so that the results can be compared on an equal basis. I calibrate my lighting for each test to obtain the same brightness and colour temperature. This test is a preliminary analysis of the technical qualities of a camera. Most phones fail this test, so you should also read the results of the other tests in the following paragraphs.

Main sensor: Samsung S5KHM6 / 108 megapixels



For this first photo quality test, I took a photo of the same scene with all available modes (normal, 108 megapixels, HDR, AI, etc). Focus will undoubtedly vary from one photo to the next, but at this stage, the most important thing to look at is color fidelity and sharpness. Color rendition is quite good, and I used rather warm lighting to create a warmer atmosphere in the photos. On the other hand, I know that this sensor doesn't do so well with colder lighting, where it tends to produce darker images.

If I now turn to the 108 megapixel mode, here's what it looks like:



This photo corresponds to a portion of the photo when displayed at 100%. I've obviously used the image's focus area and the result isn't bad at all. There's a loss of precision in the features and the photo lacks a little subtlety, but don't forget that this is a zoom inside the image. This kind of zoom will never be as qualitative as a true optical zoom. This abundance of pixels will allow you to see a little closer, with a slightly degraded quality.

If I now focus on sharpness, I get this:



Sharpness in the center is good, it degrades a little at the periphery of the image, but you really have to pay attention to see it. The text on the Canadian banknote in the center of the image is perfectly legible, and the same goes for the Hungarian banknote, even if the edges are starting to smooth out

SmartSens SC820CS / 8 million pixel secondary sensor



This is my first contact with this sensor, but I find the usual shortcomings of this type of sensor. There's distortion, of course, but that's to be expected, as this kind of sensor isn't designed for taking photos close to the subject. Sharpness is also much poorer than that of the main sensor, and I've also noticed a loss of color and contrast. These are very common faults with this kind of sensor, so SmartSens has failed to distinguish itself from other brands such as Sony or Samsung.

If I focus on the sharpness of the image, here's the result:



The sharpness is frankly not very good, all contours are blurred and even in the center, the text of the Canadian bill is not even legible. I didn't expect the sharpness of the main sensor to be any better, but I didn't expect it to be this bad either. Other sensors of this type that I've tested generally produce a better level of sharpness. It remains to be seen whether this lack of sharpness will also be noticeable in landscape shots, which is the subject of the next chapter!



Outdoor photo quality

Main sensor: Samsung S5KHM6 / 108 megapixels



New Redmi models are usually released in January, so it's not the ideal time to take photos, but this time I was lucky. The sky was clear with beautiful sunshine and late afternoon orange light. I've added more photos than usual to the gallery so that you can form your own opinion of this phone's photo quality. I think the photos are quite good, colors are well rendered and the exposure level is good.

Here and there I notice a few flaws, such as the tendency to burn bright areas, as is the case with the birch bark in some photos. I can also see that some of the blue in the sky tends towards white or very light blue. This indicates a small gap in the dynamic range. I find that the sharpness processing is a little too advanced, which is particularly noticeable on fine elements such as branches.

The Redmi Note 14 is at the entry-level of the mid-range, and this photo sensor is quite good for this price range. Mid-range phones around €300-400 don't do much better.

The 108 megapixels will also allow you to zoom into the photo with the same restrictions as seen in the studio. Here are a few photos taken at 100% zoom:







As you can see, there is a degradation in quality, but it's frankly acceptable for a phone. You can still make out branches and vegetation, and the sharpening treatment is also visible. This zoom won't allow you to print photos of sufficient quality, but it will be enough to read a sign from a distance



SmartSens SC820CS / 8-megapixel secondary sensor



This type of sensor is much more at home with landscape shots than photos like the ones I took indoors. Distortion is much less noticeable, and the lack of sharpness is less of a problem. Color rendition is good, dynamic range is average, bright areas quickly become overexposed. These are very common shortcomings for this kind of sensor, and this one does no better or worse than the others. This sensor will enable you to take beautiful nature shots in good light conditions.





Test photo / night

Not yet available / tested

Video quality

Stabilisation



The Redmi Note 14 has a stabilization mechanism, but it's limited to 1080 and 30 fps. Stabilization is effective for a phone in this price range. Shocks are absorbed and I just see a re-calculation of pixels at the top of the image. Stabilization used to be reserved for top-of-the-range phones, but it's catching on in the lower price brackets. The result is obviously not as good, but this Redmi does as well as some much more expensive phones.

Video normale conditions


The Redmi Note 14 is capable of filming at 1080p and 30 frames per second. I think this sensor should be able to do better, but it's undoubtedly limited by the phone's performance. The result is quite similar to what I'd seen in the photo section, with a burnt aspect in very bright areas. I also noticed a little jerkiness in movements due to the 30 fps and a slight recalculation of pixels. The result is quite decent for this price range. It's a sensor that will produce good videos in good light and when there's not too much movement.

External audio quality

This test is intended to give you an overview of the volume and sound quality during calls and when listening to music through the external speakers.

Not yet available / tested

Audio quality (headphones)

To test the quality of the phone's audio output, I connect the device's audio output to a measuring tool, then play sounds on all frequencies and measure the differences between the original sound and the sound produced by the phone. In this way I measure the phone's ability to correctly reproduce all sounds.


I measure the headphone audio quality of this phone using my usual protocol. Looking first at the fidelity of the sound, I see that the Redmi Note 14 is fairly close to the reference curve but shows a little weakness at the 2 ends of the spectrum. Here, I've compared it to an old Samsung Galaxy S10+. It's not a very fair comparison, but it's the first result I've had. We can see that in the bass and treble ranges, the Redmi deviates from its trajectory more quickly than the Samsung. This deviation will only be perceptible to a very attentive ear

My other measurements also show 2 other things. Firstly, the power of the sound. I did this test with the volume at maximum, but I'm way below what I'm used to testing. The other problem is that, even if the sound is less powerful, it still generates saturation, so you'll have to turn the volume down a notch or two to avoid hearing any saturation. So this phone isn't for those who want to blast their eardrums with loud music. It will suit all others who just want to listen to music at a reasonable volume through headphones

Screen quality

To test the screen, I use a colorimetric probe that measures the color accuracy of a screen, as well as other parameters to see if a screen is able to correctly reproduce an image. I also test the brightness level to determine if the screen will be able to display an image in full sunlight.

Colorimetry



The Redmi Note 14 is configured by default in "vivid colors" mode, and as usual, this mode is not perfectly calibrated for optimal color rendering. I tested the other configurations and obtained a better result, but at the cost of a reduced color space. After a few tests, I obtained a delta E of 2.55 for colors and 2.32 for grays. Getting the same result is very simple. You can keep the "vivid colors" configuration, but you need to adapt the color temperature and choose the "warm colors" option.

Contrast

I also measured contrast and obtained infinite contrast, as is often the case with this type of screen. For some years now, Redmi has been using good-quality screens right from the entry-level range, and this is once again confirmed with this phone. With infinite contrast, you get a black that is truly black.

It's been a few years since the screen became a strength of the Redmi Note, offering good colorimetry, good contrast and an extended color space for playing HDR content in good conditions.



Brightness / Contrast

I measured a brightness of just over 500 cd/m² in normal mode, and by activating adaptive brightness, I measured a brightness of 1276 cd/m². With this level of brightness, you'll be able to use this phone outdoors without any loss of legibility. The difference between normal mode and adaptive brightness is very significant, which also means that battery consumption will be much higher if you expose the phone to strong light.

The brightness sensor is very sensitive and adapts fairly quickly to ambient light, which is another strength to add to this screen.

Accessories Redmi Note 14 5G

Compare Redmi Note 14 5G with the others

Test / Review conclusion

Not yet available / tested

Strengths

Not yet available / tested

Weaknesses

Not yet available / tested

Alternatives to this product

Not yet available / tested

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