Let's be real—buying a phone under BDT 25,000 these days feels like trying to get decent biryani for under 100 bucks. Expectations are high, budgets are tight, and compromises are inevitable. Enter the Xiaomi Redmi Note 14 4G, a phone that doesn't promise the world—but gives you a pretty good piece of it anyway.

First impressions: Feels just right (even if you're planning to chuck it at someone)

Pick it up, and you'll notice the phone is surprisingly lightweight without feeling like you're holding a toy. It's got enough heft to feel solid (read: could double as a weapon in a mild office altercation), yet comfortable enough for long hours of scrolling or gaming.

The matte plastic back avoids fingerprint drama, and that IP54 rating means it can handle the occasional splash from a rickshaw puddle or your panic sprints in Dhaka rain.

Colors? Midnight Black, Mist Purple, Ocean Blue, and Lime Green—aka the usual suspects trying to look premium on a budget.

Display: Smooth and sunshine-proof

This is where the Note 14 4G flexes hard. A 6.67-inch AMOLED screen with 120 Hz refresh rate and 1800 nits peak brightness. Translation? Crisp visuals, punchy colours, and yes—you can actually see your screen in direct sunlight without turning into a squinting goblin.

There's Gorilla Glass 5 on top too, which is a big upgrade over previous models. So no need to panic every time your phone faceplants onto a table. Just maybe don't push your luck with tile floors.

Minor gripe? The bezels are a bit chunkier than you'd expect in 2025. Not a dealbreaker—but it is noticeable and these thick bezels do shave a few points off that "premium feel".

Performance: Smooth moves, unless you're going hardcore on CoD

Under the hood is a MediaTek Helio G99 Ultra chip. For this price, it's a solid performer—day-to-day tasks, multitasking, and casual games run without hiccups. You'll only see minor frame drops if you're really pushing it over extended sessions with intense games like Call of Duty Mobile or other (ahem!) action FPS games that play out over a battleground. 

You get either 6 GB or 8 GB RAM, and storage up to 256 GB with UFS 2.2, which helps with faster app loading and smoother performance.

Running Android 14 with HyperOS, it gives you all the customisation options you want—but yes, the UI has some bloatware and irritating pop-ups. Expect to spend 15 minutes uninstalling things you didn't ask for.

Camera: 108 MP with AI tech to get rid of irritating objects from your photos

The headline feature here is the 108 MP main camera, and it mostly delivers—sharp shots, good color, solid daylight performance. In daylight, shots are impressively sharp, with vibrant colours and enough detail to zoom in and see someone's t-shirt design hanging on the balcony three floors above. 

It handles regular indoor lighting decently too, and the AI enhancements kick in just enough to make your food pics look appetising without turning them into cartoons. But… that's kind of it.

Xiaomi ditched the ultrawide sensor, replacing it with a 2 MP depth lens (aka the "we had to put something there" lens). The 20 MP selfie shooter is an improvement over previous models but still meh in low light. 

Portrait Mode is where the Note 14 4G punches above its weight. Edge detection is clean, background blur looks natural, and skin tones are flattering without overdoing it. What really stands out? The skin tone processing. It's not aggressively beautified, but it does make people look a little fresher, a little more rested—like you drank water and slept 8 hours, even if you were just pulling an all-nighter. 

Xiaomi also throws in some fun AI tools:

• AI Erase (say goodbye to random photobombers),
• Sky Editor (for dramatic Instagram skies),
• And a Gemini-powered voice assistant, perfect when both hands are busy.

Video recording is capped at 1080p—fine for stories and TikToks, but no 4K, which may bug content creators. Still, there's a cool dual-video mode, recording from front and back cams at once—perfect for vlogging, interviews, or your next Traffic Alert post when Dhaka descends into chaos.

Photos taken by Redmi Note 14

Battery life: The real MVP

Here's the part that makes this phone a legit daily driver: 5,500 mAh battery with 33 W fast charging. It easily lasts a full day—even with heavy usages like streaming, social doomscrolling, and even some gaming. You won't be that person in the student lounge begging for a charger. And with just a 40-minute charge, you're back at over 50%. Perfect for the out-and-about, charger-hating Bangladeshi crowd.

Audio, extras, and the stuff you'll use

• Stereo speakers with Dolby Atmos make Netflix or YouTube sessions a treat.
• 3.5mm headphone jack? Still alive. Still useful.
• The fingerprint sensor under the display is fast and accurate. Face unlock exists but... meh, stick to your thumb.
• Dual SIM slot—but using a microSD card takes up one SIM slot. Gotta pick your battles.

The bad bits? Not dealbreakers, but worth noting

• No ultrawide cam (ouch for landscape lovers, but not really a big loss)
• No 4K video
• Pre-installed apps and UI clutter
• File sharing with iPhones is still a mess (why can't we all just get along?)

Verdict: Who should buy this?

If you:

• Relish the smooth scrolling experience of a 120 Hz,
• Want a solid daily driver that won't kill your wallet,
• Spend hours on YouTube, social apps, or casual gaming,
• Care about battery life and bright displays,
• Need a reliable phone for school, office, or side hustles,

Then at BDT 20,999 (6 GB/128 GB) or BDT 23,999 (8 GB/256 GB), the Redmi Note 14 4G is kind of a no-brainer. It's not perfect. But for its price, it's punching way above its weight—and maybe even hard enough to knock out the competition.