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.