Realme 14 Pro+ review

Design, build quality, handling

The Realme 14 Pro+ comes with special attention to design, which is a product of Realme's collaboration with the Danish industrial design studio Valeur Designers, which has worked on Bang & Olufsen products for many years. The two companies have developed a process of making the seashell back panels of the phones unique and what's even more, they have cold-sensitive fibers that change color when exposed to temperatures under 16C.

Realme has a long history of collaborating with popular industrial designers like Naoto Fukusawa, which has resulted in some really unique-looking smartphones - the so-called Master editions. Even the Realme 11 Pro+ had a stand-out design inspired by Swiss watchmakers craftsmanship.

Realme GT Master • Realme GT2 Explorer Master • Realme 11 Pro+ • Realme 13 Pro+

However, in real life, the Realme 14 Pro+ does not have that stand-out look as it hardly looks radically different from the Realme 13 Pro+. The unique Pearl White seashell back cover is something that can easily get lost among all the recent phones that have marble-inspired back panels with decors resembling natural stone.

Where the Realme 14 Pro+ does stand out is its in-hand feel and look. The front and back have quad-curves towards the frame, making the phone feel slimmer in hand than it really is (and it is a very thin phone). And that, coupled with the symmetrical ultra-thin bezels, creates a frameless look that punches above the price segment. The top and bottom bezels are incredibly thin compared to something like the Redmi Note 14 Pro+, for instance.

The Realme 14 Pro+ is also the first of the number series to feature complete water protection. It is IP66-rated for dust and water jets and IP68-rated for water submersion for up to 30min in up to 1.5m deep water. Realme claims that in their own testing, the phone was good to survive up to 48h underwater in 2m depth.

It also comes with IP69 rating, meaning it can survive even high-pressure water jets.

And if that is not enough, there is also US MIL-STD-810H compliant shock resistance thanks to reinforced internal components and chassis.

The Pearl White panel we have for review here is made of plastic and is smooth to the touch. It hides fingerprints very well.

The other available color is Suede Grey, which has a back covered in vegan Suade - a material, which reminds of vegan leather but has a much finer texture and is smoother to the touch.

Taking the undersea theme further, when the thermometer dips below 16°C (61°F), vibrant blue swirls appear on the seashell-like back of the Realme 14 Pro+. Once it warms up, they quickly change back to off-white. Note that Realme considers this a "bonus feature" - this effect will fade over time as sunlight causes it to degrade. It is expected to last around 12 months under normal use.

On the front, the Realme 14 Pro+ has a Gorilla Glass 7i front glass. The thin frame is made of plastic and has a glossy finish.

Let's take a closer look at the Relame 14 Pro+.

The 6.83-inch OLED screen takes up most of the front, leaving room for impressively thin and symmetrical bezels. It has a small punchhole on the screen for the 32MP selfie camera.

There is an optical under-display fingerprint sensor, which works great.

Almost invisible to the naked eye is the earpiece above the screen, which also doubles as a stereo speaker.

The circular camera housing is on the back, naturally, centered in the top half. It is jutting out of the beautiful back panel about 3mm and it's surrounded by a expensive-looking metal bezel.

This big black circle contains the 50MP primary, 50MP 3x telephoto and the 8MP ultrawide, plus a triple LED flash that Realme claims is world's first.

The flash has three LED flash modules arranged in a circle and spaced 120° apart. Realme calls this system "MagicGlow" and it is used as a fill light for night-time portraits where you can control the warmth of the light and its brightness to seamlessly blend your flash light with the ambient light.

The Realme 14 Pro+ has a dual-SIM tray, but it also supports eSIM.

The Realme 14 Pro+ may not feature fancy metals or expensive Victus glasses, but it seems protected very well. Furthermore, it feels thin and lightweight, and it looks incredibly good. We easily give it an Excellent mark for design, build and looks.