Mid-tier smartphones are now pretty powerful and good-looking and have hit the right spot for the price point these days. But to keep the price attractive, they had to sacrifice in the durability department. But that changes today, starting with Redmi Note 14 Pro+ 5G because you now get a durable mid-tier phone.

Redmi Note 14 Pro+ 5G Durability

Xiaomi has the right idea in mind to make sure the device stays protected in the most common situations you will find yourself in. (unlike someone who throws 100s of knives at a phone). These tests we are about to show you are proper day-to-day situations YOU WILL FIND YOURSELF IN and you can see how the Redmi Note 14 Pro+ 5G handles.

IP68 and Wet Touch 2.0 Durability

Starting with my favourite durability feature, IP68. Water and Dustproof is the best thing to have happened to a smartphone. I have been a huge fan of this feature since the first ever flagship Sony devices to do it and to see a “once premium” feature now be available to more affordable devices is a huge win. Spilt drinks on your phone? No problem. Do you want to take the phone for a swim? No problem either. Are you caught in the rain with your phone? No problem as well. Want to take it to the beach? Okay, now that you must not because salt water is electronics’ worst enemy but other than that, the phone is ready to handle water and still be usable. No reason to put in a bag of rice anymore, either.

In general, when your hands are greasy or wet, displays do suck at recognizing your inputs – but with the Touch 2.0 feature – you can still use it under wet situations. So, if you are like me, feel free to change that song and karaoke while you’re in the shower or watch that K-Drama on Netflix.

Corning Gorilla Glass Protection

I genuinely appreciate the Redmi Note 14 Pro+ 5G to use Corning Gorilla Glass Victus 2. It’s tougher and can withstand your everyday situations like throwing it in a bag full of keys and coins, and even withstand accidental drops – because inside the phone, it now has an All-star Armor Structure which helps with absorbing shock as much as possible with the absorbing foam, therefore, better impact resistance.

But don’t lah throw the phone purposely at unrealistically high heights, that makes zero sense – no device will survive. Throughout our time with the phone, we tried it without a case, but there’s nothing wrong with applying a screen protector and getting a case – Xiaomi does include those in the box and protection is always good.

AI Features worth Addressing

Durability aside, the Redmi Note 14 Pro+ 5G is the first mid-tier other than Xiaomi’s flagship to get the “AI” features out of the box. AI is a fancy term to clump all these features together but if it works, that’s alright. Google’s Circle to Search and Gemini AI are available right out of the box. On top of that, Xiaomi has included features like AI interpreter – when you are talking to someone who doesn’t speak the language you do, AI Subtitles – for content where you need it, AI Recorder – my favourite, because you can make the App do the minutes, summary for you and AI Notes. There’s more on the way like the image and photography-centric ones too.

I am happy to report that the Redmi Note 14 Pro+ 5G is a pretty nice device that finally addresses the durability aspect of the phone – and if this is the kind of phone you are looking for, you can head to your nearest Xiaomi outlet to get it. It’s available in two variants: 12GB RAM with 256GB for RM 1,699 and 12GB RAM with 512GB for RM 1,899. Good price point for a premium mid-tier phone if you ask us.

This article and video is brought to you by Xiaomi Malaysia.