Redmi’s latest phone reminds me of the Galaxy S8, but with a modern twist

Redmi, a phone maker owned by Chinese electronics giant Xiaomi, has recently released its latest batch of mid-tier smartphones. At the top of the pack is the Note 14 Pro+ 5G, which throws a ton of hardware into a stylish and relatively affordable package.

The Note 14 Pro+ 5G ships with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 7s Gen mid-range processor and a 5,110 mAh battery pack. Camera-wise, it features a 200-megapixel main shooter, an 8-megapixel ultra-wide lens, and a 2-megapixel macro sensor.

The device comes with a 6.7-inch 2712 x 1220 pixel resolution AMOLED display panel, which can reach up to a refresh rate of 120Hz, and up to 3,000 nits of peak brightness.

Unfortunately, the Note 14 Pro+ 5G isn’t readily available for purchase in the US. While you can find the device listed on e-commerce sites like Alibaba and AliExpress, you won’t find the product at your local carrier store or big box retailer.

The Note 14 Pro+ 5G is available in midnight black, lavender purple, and frost blue colorways, and with a choice between 12GB or 16GB of RAM, and 256GB or 512GB of internal storage. Cost-wise, the phone is listed for a price of £350 (roughly $444) for the base variant, and £400 (roughly $507) for the more expensive configuration.

1 The Redmi Note 14 Pro+ 5G reminds me of the Galaxy S8 days

Who could forget the era of ‘waterfall’ and ‘edge’ smartphone displays

The first thing I noticed when I unboxed the Redmi Note 14 Pro+ 5G, is that it features a striking waterfall-style display. This immediately brought back memories of the Galaxy S8 days, when edge panels were becoming all the rage in the premium phone scene.

While flagship-tier smartphones have largely walked away from the curved-front-glass trend, it’s exciting to see that a once expensive manufacturing process can now be pulled off in a mid-range phone without any major downside.

Whether you personally prefer a flat phone screen panel or a curved one is highly subjective — I still haven’t fully decided which of the two styles I prefer. In any case, the Note 14 Pro+ 5G’s curvature adds a flair of personality to the mix, and it feels excellent in the hand.

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2 The Note 14 Pro+ 5G charges up unbelievably fast

The phone benefits from Xiaomi’s 120W wired HyperCharge standard

Perhaps the most impressive aspect of the entire Note 14 Pro+ 5G package is its blazing-fast top-up speeds. The phone is capable of charging at up to 120W, though it requires the use of a proprietary Xiaomi HyperCharge power brick to do so.

Most phones available in the US, including the most premium models that command a $1,000+ price tag, top out at around 45W of charge capability. Redmi has managed to outdo this by a pretty massive margin, all in a device targeting the mid-range market.

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3 You can use the Note 14 Pro+ 5G with wet fingers

Every smartphone should come with some variant of ‘wet touch technology’

Back when I reviewed the OnePlus 13, I was delighted by its Aqua Touch 2.0 technology. In short, the feature allows you to use your phone’s screen even when it’s wet, which is particularly useful when ambushed by a surprise rainstorm.

Redmi has outfitted its Note 14 Pro+ 5G with a similar ‘wet touch technology,’ and in my testing, the feature works as advertised. The phone is IP68 water and dust resistant, too, and so the ability to operate it while in aquatic conditions is a genuinely great quality-of-life addition.

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4 The Note 14 Pro+ 5G comes with an IR Blaster

IR Blasters are a rare sighting in most flagship-tier smartphones

A few years ago, flagship smartphones in the US inexplicably stopped shipping with built-in IR blasters. When incorporated into a phone, an IR sensor unlocks the ability to use the device as a dedicated universal TV remote, or to control other IR-powered appliances and tools.

Perhaps the feature is simply too niche for broad appeal, but I personally miss having an IR blaster at my disposal. With its Note 14 Pro+ 5G, Redmi has included the hardware addition near the top section of the device’s side frame, and I personally couldn’t be happier.

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