Realme 14 Pro Series First Impressions

Realme launched the latest iteration of its number series, the 14 Pro series, in India today, consisting of two smartphones -- the mid-range Realme 14 Pro and the flagship-leaning Realme 14 Pro Plus.

One of the key selling points of both of these smartphones is their temperature-sensitive colour-changing design that changes the colour of the back panel. More about it later in the article.

With these devices, Realme plans to expand itself in the mid-range segment but it faces challenges with several rivals. To find out everything about these phones, we tried the Realme 14 Pro and 14 Pro Plus and here's everything we feel about them. 

What we liked

Realme has introduced some standout features in the 14 Pro series, leaving a positive impression. The smartphone feels premium in the hands, especially the Pearl White colour option. This year, Realme has flooded the 14 Pro series with several colour options including two India-exclusive colours: Bikaner Purple and Jaipur Pink. 

The cold-sensitive colour-changing design is a highlight, as the back panel transforms from Pearl White to Ocean Blue when exposed to temperatures below 16 degrees Celsius, adding a unique and premium touch. This adds a nice touch to aesthetics but does it matter in real-life usage? 

Additionally, the quad-curved AMOLED displays on both models make it comfortable to hold the devices. They also offer a premium experience and immersive viewing experience. I also like how Realme has almost reduced the bezels to 1.6mm around the display. It is a large 6.83-inch AMOLED display with 1.5K resolution, 120Hz refresh rate and 3840Hz PWM dimming frequency. 

Realme is the only brand in the sub-INR 30,000 segment that provides a periscope telephoto lens in its smartphones. The brand said that it has reserved the periscope lens only for its flagship, GT series and number series devices. The 50-megapixel Sony IMX882 sensor makes it easy to capture portraits without losing any details. It also supports 120x digital zoom but that’s unusable. The triple-LED lights, referred to as MagicGlow, are a good addition to throw lights on subjects in low-light conditions. 

The Realme 14 Pro series packs a large 6,000mAh battery with the Pro Plus supporting 80W fast charging and the Pro offering 45W fast charging. For an average user, it should be more than enough to use it all day. 

What could have been better

While the Realme 14 Pro series has a lot going for it, there are a couple of areas that could have been improved.

The processor choices feel like a missed opportunity, as the Snapdragon 7s Gen 3 on the Pro Plus and MediaTek Dimensity 7300 on the Pro seem underwhelming compared to the competition in this price range. The Snapdragon 7 Gen 3 on the OnePlus Nord CE 4 Lite performs way better and comes at a low cost. The Realme GT 6, powered by a Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 chipset, is also available at INR 34,999 and performs way better. 

Additionally, the Realme UI 6 software experience feels slightly cluttered, and there is room for optimisation. 

Pricing and availability

The Realme 14 Pro series has been priced aggressively in India. The Realme 14 Pro starts at INR 24,999 for the base model with 8GB RAM and 128GB storage, going up to INR 26,999 for the 256GB variant. 

Meanwhile, the Realme 14 Pro Plus starts at INR 29,999 for 8GB RAM and 128GB storage option with the top variant priced at INR 34,999. The smartphones will be available for purchase on Realme’s official website and Flipkart starting January 23 with an INR 2,000 bank discount. 

How it compares to its rivals

Realme likes comparing its flagship number series to the Ultra and Pro Max phones from Samsung and Apple respectively. We are not going to do that.

We are comparing the 14 Pro Plus with its closest competitor, the Redmi Note 14 Pro Plus

Both devices sport premium designs but Realme’s cold-sensitive colour-changing back gives it a unique edge. Meanwhile, the Redmi Note 14 Pro Plus sticks to a more traditional but equally premium glass back. Realme’s quad-curved AMOLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate offers a more immersive viewing experience compared to the flat AMOLED screen on the Redmi Note 14 Pro Plus. 

Realme’s focus is on providing a premium experience with the periscope telephoto lens on the Realme 14 Pro Plus whereas the Redmi Note 14 Pro Plus focuses on a high-resolution 200-megapixel primary sensor. 

However, Redmi has gone with the MediaTek Dimensity 9200 chipset which provides a performance advantage over Realme’s Snapdragon 7s Gen 3, especially for gaming and multitasking. Both devices feature 6,000mAh batteries but Realme’s 80W fast charging on the Pro Plus is slightly outpaced by Redmi’s 120W charging. 

Another closest competitor of the Realme 14 Pro series is the OnePlus Nord 4 which offers a 100W fast charging, metal unibody and a faster Snapdragon 7 Plus Gen 3 processor. 

That said, these are on-paper comparisons and the actual results may vary in real-life testing. 

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