Xiaomi Redmi Note 14 Pro 4G review

Display

As we mentioned, Xiaomi typically delivers quite a lot in the display department. The Redmi Note 14 Pro 4G is no exception. Sure, compared to the Pro 5G model, the 4G one lacks some bells and whistles like HDR certification and 12-bit color. Still, it is an excellent OLED panel with a 120Hz refresh rate.

Xiaomi advertises a 1,800 nit max brightness, which is notably less than the whopping 3,000 nits advertised for the Redmi Note 14 Pro 5G. However, our testing found that the Redmi Note 14 Pro 4G manages sustained brightness figures better than its 5G counterpart.

We measured 541 nits by maxing out the slider and a very impressive 1,500 nits by using sunlight mode and auto brightness.

Refresh rate

The display supports up to 120Hz refresh rate, and there are two refresh modes - Custom (choose between 120Hz or 60Hz refresh ceilings) and Default (automatic switching behavior).

The screen supports fixed refresh rates at 60Hz, 90Hz and 120Hz. There is no adaptive or dynamic refresh rate. That hasn't made its way to the affordable Redmi line quite yet.

The adaptive refresh rate works as expected - it drops down to 60Hz when the screen shows static content. All streaming apps are capped at 60Hz for UI and streaming, too. And, of course, incompatible HFR apps such as the Camera app and Google Maps are always rendered at 60fps.

We tried some high refresh rate gaming and succeeded with most titles we tested. Just lock your refresh rate to 120Hz and go from there.

HDR and streaming

The Redmi Note 14 Pro 4G comes with Widevine L1 DRM support, and Full HD streaming with HDR10 and Dolby Vision support is available across popular platforms, including Netflix.

Battery life

The Redmi Note 14 Pro 4G has a hefty 5,500 mAh battery on board. This is quite the upgrade coming from the 5,000 mAh pack of last year's Redmi Note 13 Pro 4G. It is also better than the 5,110 mAh found inside the global version of the Redmi Note 14 Pro 5G and the Poco X7.

In our testing, the Redmi Note 14 Pro 4G managed a solid Active Use Score of 12:07 hours. While not chart-topping in any way, it is still good enough to get most users through a full day. Just don't expect to do a lot of gaming on the handset since that is the area it did the worst in.

Charging speed

The Redmi Note 14 Pro 4G supports 45W Xiaomi HyperCharge. We got the charger in the box, but the EU markets we checked don't get the charger bundled.

The phone doesn't charge particularly quickly, unlike its siblings like the Redmi Note 13 Pro 5G, Redmi Note 13 Pro 4G and 5G and the Poco X7. The previous generation of phones used 67W fast charging, meaning that 45W this year is technically a downgrade. As for the Redmi Note 14 Pro 5G and Poco X7, we assume those two have faster charging speeds due to their smaller batteries.

Speakers - loudness and quality

The Redmi Note 14 Pro 5G has a stereo speaker system. It is a proper one, too, with two speakers on either side of the device, not a hybrid affair. As a result, the setup is very well-balanced.

The sound it produces is nice and clear. Plus, there is support for the Dolby Atmos enhancement, and it's ON by default.

The Redmi Note 14 4G managed a "GOOD" loudness rating in our testing. It is a bit quieter than the Redmi Note 14 Pro 5G and the Redmi Note 14 Pro 4G. It's just a bit quieter, though, not by much. The sound quality is very good - the vocals are great, the high frequencies are well presented, and there is some minor bass presence.

Turning OFF the Dolby Atmos makes a little difference - it offers a slightly richer but less balanced output.

Use the Playback controls to listen to the phone sample recordings (best use headphones). We measure the average loudness of the speakers in LUFS. A lower absolute value means a louder sound. A look at the frequency response chart will tell you how far off the ideal "0db" flat line is the reproduction of the bass, treble, and mid frequencies. You can add more phones to compare how they differ. The scores and ratings are not comparable with our older loudspeaker test. Learn more about how we test here.

Connectivity

As the name suggests, the Redmi Note 14 Pro 4G is an LTE device. It supports two Nano-Sim cards simultaneously. Unfortunately, there is no eSIM support.

The phone has GPS, GALILEO, GLONASS, QZSS and BDS support for location. Local connectivity is handled by dual-band Wi-Fi ac and Bluetooth 5.3 with LE support. Unfortunately, these are a bit older standards than the Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.4 on the Redmi Note 14 Pro 5G. Some regions get NFC support. There is also an IR blaster on the top frame of the device. The phone has a 3.5mm audio jack, which is more than the Redmi Note 14 Pro 5G can claim. You also get an FM radio receiver.

The Type-C port on the Redmi Note 14 Pro 5G is backed up by a simple USB 2.0 data connection, which means theoretical max transfer speeds of up to 480 Mbps. There is USB OTG/Host support, but nothing fancy beyond that, like video output.

In terms of sensors, you are looking at an st lsm6dsv accelerometer and gyroscope combo, a qst qmc6308 magnetometer and compass combo, an ams tsl2522 light sensor and an Eliptic Labs hardware ultrasonic proximity sensor. The latter only works when the phone is in a vertical position, but it does seem to be a proper hardware sensor, unlike a virtual one. There is no barometer on board.