Xiaomi Redmi Note 24117RN76L Ocean Blue 256GB

Big beautiful screen, surprisingly decent camera, but the battery and processor are stuck in 2022. It's a $205 media machine, not a daily driver.

The Helio G99-Ultra is the elephant in the room. It's an 8-core chip clocked at 2.20GHz, and in our database it lands in the 39th percentile for performance, which is a polite way of saying it's slow. Apps open fine, but you'll feel the lag when multitasking or playing anything beyond casual games. The 8GB of RAM helps, but it can't fix an aging processor. What surprised us is how well the 108MP main camera holds up despite the weak silicon. The in-sensor zoom and RAW domain night processing do real work, and photos look better than the spec sheet suggests.

Against the Google Pixel 10a, the Redmi loses on camera consistency, software updates, and performance, but wins on raw screen size and price. The Nothing Phone (4a) Pro is a more interesting budget pick with better design and cleaner software, though it costs more. The Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra and iPhone 15 Pro aren't really in the same conversation, they're three to four times the price and in a completely different league. If you're cross-shopping those, you're lost.

At $205 USD, this is a lot of screen and camera for the money. But you're paying for those two things and not much else. The battery ranking in the 9th percentile is a real problem, and the lack of 5G means this phone will feel outdated fast. If you just want a big screen for media and light photography, it's a decent deal. If you need a phone that lasts all day or handles heavy apps, spend a bit more elsewhere.

The Redmi Note 14 4G is Xiaomi doing what Xiaomi does best: cramming a big, bright AMOLED screen and a 108MP camera into a phone that costs less than a night out. The 6.7-inch 120Hz panel is the star here, and at 1800 nits it gets bright enough to actually use outdoors. But the Helio G99-Ultra inside is a budget chip from 2022, and it shows. This is a phone for people who want a huge screen and decent photos without spending real money, not for anyone who cares about speed or longevity.

If you need a phone that lasts all day on one charge, this isn't it. Go get a Pixel 10a or a Nothing Phone (4a) Pro instead. If you care about 5G or future-proofing, skip this entirely. And if you're a gamer, the Helio G99-Ultra will make you sad.

The Redmi Note 14 4G is a one-trick pony, but it's a good trick. That screen is lovely, and the camera is better than it has any right to be at this price. But the weak processor and terrible battery life make it hard to recommend as a daily driver. Buy it as a media device or a backup phone, not as your main squeeze.