Redmi Note 14 & Buds 6 – Tech on a Budget
Fast Facts
Redmi Note 14 & Buds 6 by Xiaomi
Great Build Quality
Excellent Battery
108MP AI Camera
120Hz Display
Active Noise Cancellation (Buds 6)
Dual Microphone (Buds 6)
Website: https://www.mi.com
RRP: £179 (Note 14) / £32.99 (Buds 6)
The products were provided for review purposes
Budget Friendly Tech
With the cost of living on the rise and the price of tech ever-increasing, affordable smartphone and earbud technology is becoming a more and more desirable option. Xiaomi have done exactly that with the Redmi Note 14 & Buds 6.
With the ability to purchase both of these products for under £220 (versus the iPhone Air at £999), it’s an absolute steal. Both the phone and buds feel premium with the materials used and have a good weight to them – light enough to not be a burden, but heavy enough to not feel cheap. Both devices come with nice packaging and include charging cables. I was very pleasantly surprised to find a case for the Note 14 in the box too. This is a great move since finding cases for lower priced phones can be a challenge.
I must say that while I love the design and the feel of the devices, the mint green colour leaves something to be desired. I’m sure there’s someone out there thought that would love it!
How Do They Perform?
I’ve been a Pixel user for a fair amount of time, so am very used to the raw version of android. The Redmi Note 14 uses a version of this so is very familiar to me. Unfortunately the device comes with a LOT of bloatware, some of which you can’t remove/disable (such as their web browser). This can be very frustrating when you get notifications for applications you don’t want. Despite this, the handset was fairly speedy when doing day-to-day activities and even under strain running things such as Fortnite. This means it’s a good option for a responsive phone. The Camera was something I was keen to check out too but unfortunately it just doesn’t stand up against my Pixel 7a. Images felt dull, blurry and just generally lower quality.
When it comes to the Buds 6, I was neither thrilled nor disappointed. They are relatively comfortable for short to mid stints, but I wouldn’t want to wear them for hours at a time. The sound and microphone quality are fairly average too, but that is to be expected for a low budget set of ear buds. I was pretty disappointed with the ability to pair them to other devices – they really struggled to create the connection which was incredibly frustrating.
Who’s it for?
Now of course the simple answer to “Who are these devices for” is “Anyone”, but it is a particularly good choice as a starter phone for young people. With a robust design, great battery life, fairly good performance and an excellent price point, I’d recommend it to any parent looking to get a first Smartphone and Earbuds for their child – especially with the free screen replacement for the 1st 6 months!
I wouldn’t however look to purchase this for someone elderly. Being the family tech guy, i’m used to setting up phones for my grandparents. Somehow they never fail to accidentally download things or make changes that they didn’t mean to. With the device’s copious amounts of bloatware, they’d likely get confused, concerned or frustrated with the handset. I’d also recommend over-ear headphones for this age bracket.
Redmi Results
While the Redmi Note 14 & Buds 6 perform well for their low price point, I wouldn’t personally rush to recommend them to purchase with the amount of options on the market. If I was stuck and needed an affordable handset in a pinch however, I’d likely pick this up and not have many issues with it. On the whole, a good option for those on a budget who aren’t particularly concerned about the features being lower end.
Rapid Reviews Rating
2.5 out of 5
2.5
You can buy the Redmi Note 14 & Redmi Buds 6 on their website
If you found this review useful, why not check out our other tech reviews here?
