Hands-On

Redmi 14C: Look further or look elsewhere?

You simply get what you pay for

Published

October 21, 2024

Vincenz

Redmi (or Xiaomi) has launched some extravagant midrangers in their home-turf — the Redmi Note 14 Pro and 14 Pro+ to be very precise. But at the other side of the Asian continent comes a new budget phone. It’s none other than the Redmi 14C.

Shining, shimmering, splendid

Gone are the days of cheap-looking phones.

While circular camera islands used to be limited to flagship and midrange Android models, manufacturers were able to bring such design language to the budget smartphone segment as well. The Redmi 14C is a testament to that.

Personally, I like the subdued elegance in its massive hump. The grid pattern complements the concentric texture and iridescent gradient along those set of circles that house its camera and flash.

All that in a chassis that managed to be just around 8.2mm thin.

The Midnight Black plus Dreamy Purple model I have with me weigh at 211 grams. Meanwhile, Sage Green is lighter at 207 grams while Starry Blue is the lightest at only 204 grams.

Graphics by Vincenz Lee | GadgetMatch

Regardless of the minor differences in heft, the Redmi 14C feels nice when held with its smooth aluminum-like plastic frame.

It’s then sandwiched by glass in both front and back (except for that one colorway with eco-leather backing). Buttons also provide enough clicky-ness.

It’s also a nice touch to include a side-mounted fingerprint sensor instead of relying on the old-fashioned pattern/PIN unlocking or the never thief-proof Face Unlocking.

Lastly, there’s a 3.5mm audio jack living on top of this smartphone — a feature that used to be exclusive to Pro phones.

Big and smooth

Who would have thought budget phones would reach this point? Redmi has managed to do something that Apple can’t even do with their latest base iPhone 16 models.

The headlining feature of the Redmi 14C is its massive 6.88-inch IPS LCD panel that can display a buttery-smooth 120Hz refresh rate.

For the 720p resolution it offers, of course it’s not the sharpest but it should be legible enough for reading and/or consuming content.

In harsh sunlight conditions, it can achieve between 450 nits of peak brightness to 600 nits in HBM (High Brightness Mode).

It’s also nice to note that the display offers eye-care protection features certified by TÜV Rheinland. Those include constant DC dimming, low blue light, dark mode, and a flicker-free panel altogether.

Lastly, its “Dot Drop” display sticks with the dated notch and thicker bezels over the punch-hole cutout and slimmer bezels of some affordable contenders.

HyperOS with less hyper hardware

The Redmi 14C packs a MediaTek Helio G81 Ultra SoC. My unit comes with 4GB of LPDDR4 memory and 128GB of eMMC 5.1 storage.

For the simplest apps and basic tasks, the Redmi 14C should run fine.

Easy-peasy games should run as well but power-hungry titles, whether it is FPS or MOBA, simply wouldn’t make you a gaming champ. For that purpose, you really have to look elsewhere.

Its 5160mAh battery can last enough for a day or more than 2-3 days when casually used.

And unlike the Xiaomi 14T series excluding a charger in its box, Xiaomi still managed to bundle a 33W charger and USB-C cable in Redmi 14C’s box.

Albeit, charging speeds are limited to just 18W. So, expect that battery to be filled up longer than other budget smartphones with a higher price tag.

Adequate shooter

Despite that massive camera bump I praised earlier, it offers nothing grand.

The right circle is where its 50MP f/1.8 main camera lies. On the parallel side, there’s an auxillary lens.

Top circle houses the flash unit while the bottom circle is just there to complete the overall aesthetic.

For this price point, I have nothing against its output. You get fair shots with the right amount of light.

The large megapixel count also means the Redmi 14C can also take 2x zoom photos by sensor cropping.

I assume that the “Auxillary Lens” I mentioned earlier might just be for that portrait mode bokeh.

Thanks to filmCamera, you can apply built-in filters in its camera app to level up the look of both your photos and videos.

Up front, there’s the 13MP f/2.0 camera for casual selfies — or for Meet / Zoom calls.

Speaking of, both the front and rear camera maxes out at 1080p Full HD at 30fps when video recording.

Deal with the compromises

Of course, a sub-PhP 5,000 (US$ 100) phone should be expected with compromises.

If you’re a power user, this is by no means, meant for you.

This smartphone is more ideal for students who are looking for a capable budget phone (minus the gaming part). Its cameras are enough for taking black/whiteboard notes, PowerPoint or Canva presentations, or just taking random snaps of their day-to-day life as a hardworking student.

It’s also ideal for TNVS riders who mostly uses their phones for ride-hailing apps, tuning in to Waze and Google Maps, and scrolling through TikToks while on a scorchy hot afternoon break.

It can also be a gift for your parents or grandparents that aren’t into tech. This is a good turning point from people who are still using “dumb phones” or the older feature phones with the classic keypad arrangement.

Believe it or not, such type of users still exists. And it’s not always about the hardware packed inside, rather the usability it gives to people who barely need that crunch.

Is the Redmi 14C your BudgetMatch?

In the Philippines, Xiaomi’s Redmi 14C comes in three configurations:

4+128GB = PhP 4,999 (US$ 87)
4+256GB = PhP 5,999 (US$ 104)
8+256GB = PhP 6,999 (US$ 122)

For what it’s worth, you simply get nothing more than what you pay for. But competition-wise, its closest competitor is none other than the Smart ZTE Blade A75 5G.

Not only they both possess the same amount of memory, storage, 18W charging support, and 120Hz display, their battery capacities as well as camera hardware and design are quite alike. Admittedly, the Blade A75 5G has one standout spec — 5G support.

Smart ZTE Blade A75 5G | 2024

If you’re looking for a basic phone with blazing-fast internet speeds that can also serve as your mobile hotspot, ZTE would honestly be the better deal. That’s not to say it also has a cleaner-looking punch-hole display.

The only good thing I can say about the Redmi 14C over the Blade is its microSDXC support — but that’s a cover-up for the lackluster eMMC 5.1 standard over Blade’s faster and more power-efficient UFS 3.1 protocol.

itel S24 | 2024

There is also one brand you may not have ever heard of but itel S24 is also a worthy opponent.

It might sound like a downgrade with its smaller 6.6-inch 90Hz display. But for an additional PhP 700, you get twice the LPDDR4X RAM, eMMC 5.1 storage, and more camera megapixel count at 108MP.

It also runs MediaTek’s Helio Ultra chip but with a different number (G91 Ultra vs G81 Ultra of the Redmi 14C). Charging speeds and battery are barely different at 18W and 5000mAh.

Hands-On

OPPO Reno15 F 5G hands-on

More question marks than exclamation points?

Published

March 6, 2026

Manila Connoisseur

The OPPO Reno15 Series 5G made its way to the Philippines last month, and reception has been pretty great so far.

With a powerful camera package, AI, and a slew of upgrades, there’s a lot to love and not much negative to say. But that’s with both the standard and Pro models.

On the other hand, with the Reno15 F 5G — the series’ supposed budget-friendly “lite” variant —there were more question marks than exclamation points.

I attack this piece once more from a consumer standpoint: shelling out PhP 23,000 to PhP 26,000 for a midrange smartphone that feels and performs like it’s a few notches below its segment doesn’t sound too pleasant.

Performance

With a Snapdragon 6 Gen 1 processor, the OPPO Reno15 F performs pretty much like any sub PhP 20,000 mid-ranger. It’s acceptable, but does not punch above its weight as expected.

No major hiccups for light and casual usage. But performance struggles a lot for demanding video games.

It also heats up significantly just 10 minutes into a title like Honkai: Star Rail. This is a stark contrast to the marketed 25℃ and up to 10 hours straight of smooth gameplay.

Although, the experience was still enjoyable with several wins and MVP runs in Call of Duty Mobile. It only means the F variant remains a more camera-centric phone rather than an a hard-hitting all-arounder.

As with other devices, the 7000mAh battery with 80W SUPERVOOC is a strong suit. You’re fueled from dawn ’til dusk, with much to spare. Recharging takes a breeze, too.

Display

The OPPO Reno15 F has a 6.57-inch 120Hz display, with a 92.8% screen-to-body ratio. At least, that allows you to focus on content on the screen.

Content leans more towards the cooler tone, so you’ll have to adjust it manually if you want a warmer or more vivid look.

The 397ppi pixel density is fine to ensure sharper visuals, while the 1400 nits peak brightness is helpful outdoors.

Camera

The device’s 50MP main camera captures decent quality. The color science leans on being natural anew, without being too dull nor washed out. You can pull off smooth portraits too.

I hardly used the phone for stills as I focused on videos, but here are some samples, on the occasions I was able to take the handset with me:

The 50MP front camera is an intriguing add-on, as it is capable of up to 4K video and a wide 100° field of view.

What this does is it essentially removes the need to flip your phone for the popular “0.5” shots. And the quality doesn’t get compromised given the pixel count.

Here are some selfies from different focal lengths:

To its credit, filming with the back camera at 60fps does look and feel smooth, although it can be improved.

Same with the front camera; and the zoom range can be switched from 0.6 to 2x without cutting the recording.

Although, it’s still best to use a selfie stick or small tripod if you’re just after talking head videos.

Speaking of which, here are a few I’ve made with just this device:

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But for travel and on-the-go captures, as OPPO markets for the series in general, even the Reno15 F can cover a lot of background along with your or your groups’ faces.

Make no mistake, there are some useful AI editing features here. In particular, AI Portrait Glow gives your raw capture an effect to make it look it was taken with flash.

I do not recall the device heating up as well when taking many photos or videos, so you can say it’s more optimized for that task rather than gaming.

Connectivity issues

Meanwhile, AI LinkBoost 3.0, as in the case of the OPPO A6 Pro, doesn’t seem to punch above its weight either.

Once, I also played Mobile Legends: Bang Bang and the session opened to a jittery start despite being on Wi-Fi and having a stable connection. I don’t know what triggered this.

Design, feel

We got the Aurora Blue variant which does kind of resemble the northern lights when you tilt the phone a certain way and when light hits its back panel.

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The cursive “Reno” on the large, protruding camera island gives it more style.

However, it’s all just aesthetics. On the downside, the phone is all sorts of slippery.

I couldn’t hold it properly without think of it slipping away from my hands; nor could I put it on my lap with confidence.

So I guess it’s good that it has structural integrity and waterproofing, because you’ll need that.

oplus_16

The 6.57-inch body does have a good balance between being too compact and too large, like ultras and pro maxes.

It has a squarish body and has already adapted to the premium, aluminum frame look from the sides.

Is this your GadgetMatch?

Sadly, the OPPO Reno15 F 5G is a Swipe Left unlike its bigger, more capable siblings. There are plenty of plus points for the camera package but take that away, and I don’t see much difference between the Reno15 F and something like the A6 Pro.

Granted, the asking price of this phone will drop significantly in a few months. But throw in a little more, and you’ve got a legitimate mid-ranger that’s more on the premium side rather than the cheap end of the spectrum.