realme 14 Pro Plus Review: Choosing a new smartphone in 2025’s crowded market can feel overwhelming, especially with brands constantly releasing new models. The Realme 14 Pro Plus enters this competitive space with promising features like a color-changing design, a 6,000mAh battery, and a Snapdragon 7s Gen 3 processor.
While these specifications look impressive on paper, the real question is whether they translate into actual value for your money. This detailed review examines every aspect of the device, from its unique design elements to real-world performance, helping you make an informed decision about your next smartphone purchase.
Design and Build Quality: Premium or Just Pretty?
The Realme 14 Pro Plus showcases a remarkable collaboration with Valeur Designers, known for their work with Bang & Olufsen, resulting in a distinctive esthetic approach. The phone’s sleek design features glossy edges paired with a glass back panel, though this combination makes the device notably slippery.
Color-changing technology: Gimmick or innovation?
The Pearl White variant introduces an intriguing colour-changing technology that transforms the back panel into vibrant blue when exposed to temperatures below 16°C. This feature incorporates cold-sensitive fusion fibres and natural shell powder, creating unique patterns for each device.
Additionally, the finish includes micro-crystal shell powder that produces a pearlescent shine with silky halos. Nevertheless, this colour-changing effect has a limited lifespan, expected to last approximately 12 months under normal usage conditions.
Durability factors: IP69 rating and Gorilla Glass 7i
Beyond esthetics, the Realme 14 Pro Plus boasts impressive durability credentials. The device carries IP69, IP68, and IP66 certifications, offering comprehensive protection against water and dust. Furthermore, the phone demonstrates remarkable water resistance, functioning normally even after 48 hours of submersion at 2-meter depths.
The front display benefits from Corning Gorilla Glass 7i protection, complemented by Realme ArmorShell Protection. These protective features have earned the device both TÜV Rheinland Rugged Smartphone Certification and Military Grade Shock-Resistance Test approval.
Ergonomics and daily handling
Despite housing a substantial 6,000mAh battery, the realme 14 Pro Plus maintains impressive ergonomics. The Pearl White variant measures 163.51 x 77.34 x 7.99mm and weighs 194g, while the Suede Gray version is slightly thicker at 8.29mm and weighs 196g. The quad-curved back cover enhances grip comfort, particularly during extended use.
The device features symmetrical ultra-thin bezels that create a frameless appearance, setting it apart from competitors in its price segment. The circular camera housing protrudes approximately 3mm from the back panel, surrounded by a premium metal bezel. The phone incorporates dual stereo speakers and dual-mic noise cancellation for enhanced audio performance.
The Realme 14 Pro Plus comes in three distinct finishes: Pearl White, Bikaner Purple, and Suede Gray. The Suede Gray variant features a vegan suede leather finish that provides both a refined appearance anda luxurious touch. For added protection, the phone includes a protective case in the box.
Display Performance: How Good Is the Viewing Experience?
The realme 14 Pro Plus boasts a substantial 6.83-inch OLED display that sets new standards in its segment. The screen features an impressive 1.5K resolution (2800 x 1272 pixels) and maintains a screen-to-body ratio of 93.8%, creating an immersive viewing experience with ultra-narrow 1.6mm bezels.
Brightness and outdoor visibility limitations
The display offers a typical brightness of 600 nits with a global maximum of 1200 nits and a local peak brightness reaching 1500 nits. However, this marks a step down from its predecessor, as the Realme 13 Pro+ delivered 2,000 nits peak brightness. Consequently, outdoor visibility, specifically under direct sunlight, can be somewhat challenging.
The screen incorporates advanced PWM high-frequency dimming at 3840Hz, which automatically activates during low-brightness conditions. Additionally, the display features an AI eye protection algorithm that intelligently detects eye fatigue and adjusts colour temperature accordingly.
120Hz refresh rate in everyday use
The 120Hz refresh rate, coupled with a 240Hz touch sampling rate, ensures smooth scrolling and responsive touch interactions. The display demonstrates excellent responsiveness in daily tasks, maintaining fluid animations across various applications.
This high refresh rate particularly enhances the user experience when navigating through social media feeds, browsing websites, or switching between apps.
Media consumption quality
For multimedia enthusiasts, the display delivers impressive specifications with 1.07 billion colors and 100% DCI-P3 color gamut coverage. The screen offers five customizable color profiles:
- Vivid (default setting)
- Natural
- Pro
- Cinematic
- Brilliant
The display supports HDR10, although this feature currently functions exclusively with YouTube content. Other streaming platforms, including Netflix, are limited to FHD resolution playback.
Still, the viewing experience remains engaging thanks to excellent viewing angles and the complementary dual speaker setup, which provides stereo sound with minimal distortion at maximum volume.
The screen maintains a remarkable contrast ratio of 5,000,000:1, ensuring deep blacks and vibrant colors across various content types.
The combination of these display specifications, along with the flagship screen packaging technology, creates an engaging visual experience suitable for both casual users and multimedia enthusiasts.
Camera Capabilities: Beyond the Megapixel Count
Triple camera setups have become standard in mid-range phones, yet the realme 14 Pro Plus stands out with its impressive Sony sensor combination. The device features a 50MP Sony IMX896 main camera with OIS, paired with a 50MP Sony IMX882 periscope telephoto lens, plus an 8MP ultra-wide shooter.
Main camera performance in various lighting
The primary 50MP Sony IMX896 sensor, equipped with an f/1.8 aperture and optical image stabilization, captures detailed 12.5MP photos in daylight conditions. Images showcase vibrant colors and commendable dynamic range, albeit with slightly warmer tones compared to competitors.
In low-light situations, the main sensor produces less grainy images than its rivals. The phone’s MagicGlow Triple Flash system, featuring three adjustable LEDs spaced 120° apart, aids in capturing better-exposed night portraits.
Moreover, the automatic night mode significantly enhances image quality, delivering photos with outstanding dynamic range and minimal noise.
Telephoto and zoom capabilities
The 50MP periscope telephoto camera emerges as a standout feature, offering 3x optical zoom with an equivalent focal length of 73mm. The telephoto shots exhibit impressive detail retention, natural colors, and excellent dynamic range. Interestingly, this lens can focus from 60cm away, enabling detailed close-up photography.
The camera system supports digital zoom up to 120x. Nevertheless, anything beyond 3x optical zoom relies on digital magnification, resulting in decreased image quality at higher zoom levels.
AI photography features: Useful or unnecessary?
The Realme 14 Pro Plus incorporates several AI-powered features, including AI Eraser and AI Ultra Clarity. Additionally, the device introduces an AI HyperRAW Algorithm for enhanced image processing. The camera app includes eye-tracking autofocus, ensuring sharp focus on subjects’ faces.
For underwater photography enthusiasts, the phone offers exclusive algorithm optimization combined with its IP69 rating. Furthermore, the device includes a unique “Photo + Video” feature that simultaneously captures both a photo and a quick video with a single tap.
Video recording quality
Video capabilities on the Realme 14 Pro Plus are comprehensive, supporting 4K recording at 30fps on both main and telephoto cameras. The ultrawide and selfie cameras can record at 1080p@30fps, maintaining consistent quality across different lenses.
Electronic stabilization works across all cameras and resolutions, significantly improving upon its predecessor’s performance. The 4K footage from the main camera delivers bright exposure and excellent color saturation. Similarly, the telephoto camera produces detailed 4K videos with faithful color reproduction.
For creative videography, the device offers various recording modes:
- Slow-motion capture at 720p@240fps/120fps and 1080p@120fps
- Cinematic mode at 3840×1644@30fps
- Time-lapse recording at 4K@30fps
- Dual-view video at 1080p@30fps
The front-facing 32MP camera, equipped with autofocus and eye detection, records impressive 4K selfie videos with excellent detail, sharpness, and accurate colors. This marks a significant improvement over competitors, eliminating the risk of blurry faces commonly seen in other devices.
Performance and Gaming: What Can the Snapdragon 7s Gen 3 Handle?
Under the hood, the realme 14 Pro Plus packs Qualcomm’s latest mid-range processor, the Snapdragon 7s Gen 3. This 4nm-based chip features an octa-core CPU configuration with one 2.5 GHz Cortex-A720, three 2.4 GHz Cortex-A720, and four 1.8 GHz Cortex-A520 cores.
Benchmark results vs. real-world experience
The device demonstrates impressive benchmark scores across various testing platforms. On AnTuTu v10, it achieves a total score of 796,785. Breaking this down further:
- CPU Performance: 280,349
- Memory Score: 152,720
- GPU Performance: 197,675
- UX Test Score: 166,041
In addition, the phone scores 1,198 in Geekbench single-core tests and 3,232 in multi-core performance. Yet, beyond these numbers, the real-world performance tells a more practical story. The device handles everyday tasks like browsing, social media scrolling, and email checking without any noticeable hiccups.
Gaming performance and thermal management
The Realme 14 Pro Plus stands out as the first device in its class to support 120 FPS gaming across three major global titles. The phone runs BGMI at 60 FPS on the lowest graphical settings with minimal frame drops. Likewise, Call of Duty: Mobile maintains stable 60 FPS performance.
For thermal management, the device incorporates a 6000mm² VC Cooling System that targets main heat sources. Throughout extensive gaming sessions:
- Temperature increase: 19.5 degrees Celsius after 90 minutes of gaming
- Sustained performance stability: 88% on CPU stress tests
- GPU stability rating: 99% during intensive tasks
The device utilizes GT Mode, a gaming-focused feature inherited from the realme GT 7 Pro, which optimizes performance for enhanced gaming sessions. The UFS 3.1 storage delivers twice the read/write speeds compared to competitors, ensuring faster app launches and game loading times.
Multitasking capabilities
The realme 14 Pro Plus comes equipped with up to 12GB LPDDR4X RAM, further expandable through virtual RAM technology. The device offers configurations of:
- 8GB + 128GB
- 12GB + 256GB
In terms of endurance, the device demonstrates impressive multitasking stamina:
- Gaming sessions: 10.8 hours
- Music playback: 90.8 hours
- YouTube streaming: 17.08 hours
- Standby time: 27.1 days
The Snapdragon 7s Gen 3’s 4nm TSMC process technology ensures efficient power management even during intensive multitasking. The combination of high-speed RAM and optimized processor architecture enables smooth transitions between apps, maintaining responsiveness throughout extended use periods.
The realme UI 6.0, based on Android 15, complements the hardware capabilities with smooth animations and practical features like ‘Share with iPhone.’ Nevertheless, the presence of pre-installed applications such as Hot Apps and Hot Games slightly impacts the otherwise clean software experience.
Battery Life and Charging: Does It Last a Full Day?
Power-packed performance demands robust battery life, and the realme 14 Pro Plus delivers with its massive 6,000mAh Titan Battery. This cutting-edge battery utilizes advanced packaging technology to achieve an ultra-high density of 804Wh/L.
6,000mAh battery performance in different scenarios
The device demonstrates impressive endurance across various usage patterns. In PCMark’s battery test, the phone achieved a remarkable score of 16 hours and 10 minutes. Throughout testing, the battery showed exceptional efficiency in video streaming, consuming merely 3% charge during a 30-minute YouTube session.
Yet, intensive tasks paint a different picture. Under heavy usage, the battery drain increased to 19%, indicating that power-hungry applications can impact battery life more significantly. Even so, the actual rated capacity stands at 5,860mAh, ensuring reliable performance throughout extended use.
80W fast charging: Claims vs. reality
The realme 14 Pro Plus comes equipped with 80W SUPERVOOC charging technology, promising swift power restoration. Initial testing reveals that the device can charge from 1% to 50% in approximately 24 minutes. For a complete charging cycle from 20% to 100%, users can expect around 45 minutes.
The phone includes several charging features:
- Smart rapid charge option for faster charging speeds
- USB Type-C port for universal compatibility
- 80W charging adapter included in the box
Interestingly, the smart rapid charge feature, designed to boost charging speeds at the cost of increased heat generation, showed minimal impact on overall charging times.
Battery health features and longevity
Perhaps most impressive is the device’s commitment to long-term battery health. According to realme labs’ simulations, the battery maintains over 80% capacity retention even after 4 years of daily full charge cycles. This remarkable longevity stems from several advanced battery protection features.
The battery health guarantee extends across multiple aspects:
- Advanced battery packaging technology
- Comprehensive battery health monitoring
- Optimized charging algorithms
The device incorporates sophisticated battery management systems that adapt to user charging patterns. Based on realme labs’ testing, which simulated typical user behaviour with one full charging cycle per day, the battery demonstrates exceptional durability.
The Snapdragon 7s Gen 3’s efficiency initially raised concerns, as the Active Use score showed only marginal improvements over its predecessor, the realme 13 Pro+ with its 5,200mAh battery. Nonetheless, the overall battery performance surpasses competitors like the global Redmi Note 14 Pro+ (5,110mAh) that uses the same chipset.
Initial firmware updates have significantly enhanced battery performance, with testing revealing a 50% improvement in runtime after software optimization. This improvement underscores the importance of regular system updates in maximizing battery efficiency.
Conclusion
The realme 14 Pro Plus stands as a compelling mid-range option, though it comes with both strengths and trade-offs. While the 6,000mAh battery delivers exceptional endurance and the Snapdragon 7s Gen 3 processor handles daily tasks smoothly, certain aspects like peak display brightness fall short of class leaders.
The device excels particularly in durability and camera capabilities. Its comprehensive IP69 rating and military-grade protection ensure lasting reliability, while the versatile triple camera system, especially the 50MP periscope telephoto lens, captures impressive shots across various scenarios.
The colour-changing design certainly catches attention, yet practical features like 80W fast charging and efficient thermal management make this phone more than just a showpiece. Though the realme UI 6.0 includes some bloatware, the overall software experience remains fluid and responsive.
Considering its comprehensive feature set and performance capabilities, the realme 14 Pro Plus offers solid value for users seeking a reliable daily driver with premium touches. The phone successfully balances innovation with practicality, despite minor compromises in specific areas.