Xiaomi RedmiBook 14 First REVIEW and Impressions: Should You Buy It?

We all waited for the new Redmi K20 Pro smartphone and its younger version – Redmi K20. Last month, mobile devices were presented at Redmi conference. Another surprise of the conference was the first laptop from Redmi, which was called RedmiBook 14.

Like Redmi K20 and K20 Pro smartphones, the new laptop focuses on the powerful hardware and affordable price.

This is the first review of RedmiBook 14, and we want to talk about specifications and main features of new laptop. Also, we will share first impressions about it.

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RedmiBook 14: Design

As you know, one of the distinguishing features of Xiaomi laptops, such as Xiaomi Mi Notebook Pro or Mi Gaming Laptop, is the lack of company logo on the cover. Moreover, Xiaomi laptops resemble Apple MacBook, but without “Apple” on the cover.

The new RedmiBook 14 is also made of aluminum alloy, like previous Xiaomi laptops, but now it has “Redmi designed by Xiaomi”. Now everyone in Starbucks will know your laptop model.

We were surprised by the weight of this 14-inch laptop – only 1.5 kg. In general, the size of the laptop is standard for this diagonal screen.

The new Redmi laptop received thin bezels around the screen – just 5.75 mm. The screen to body ratio is 81.2%. Of course, this is not full bezel-less display, but 14-inch RedmiBook 14 has the same size as 13-inch MacBook.

RedmiBook 14: Display

If we started talking about display, it has a resolution of 1920 × 1080 pixels, a viewing angle of 178 degrees and a brightness of 250 nits. The screen uses a matte finish that prevents glare in the sun.

To be frank, the color gamut is small and the brightness is quite low, which makes it difficult to use a laptop outdoors. However, if you use a laptop at home or in the office, then do not pay attention to the previous sentence. You will be pleased with the display quality.

Where is The Camera?

By the way, did you notice that RedmiBook 14 laptop does not have a camera? A very unusual decision. For me personally, the camera in the laptop is not needed, but some people regularly make video calls via Skype or Windows Hello.

The camera in the laptop reminds us the front camera in smartphone. It seems that it is not very important, and you can live without it, but sometimes it can be useful and necessary. Xiaomi has not yet released smartphones without a front camera, but why they decided to abandon it in a laptop?

RedmiBook 14’s Keyboard is Like Macbook’s One

The keyboard panel is also made of silver aluminum, while the keys are black, like Apple MacBook.

If you remove Intel logo in the lower right corner, RedmiBook 14 looks very clean and tidy. This sleek design is still very attractive.

We used MacBook Pro for a long time just because of the great keyboard. RedmiBook 14 keyboard is very similar to the old MacBook Pro.

If you like the keyboard of the old MacBook, then RedmiBook 14 keyboard should suit you.

Unfortunately, the first Redmi laptop does not have a keyboard backlight, so if you don’t own blind typing, then start learning.

Of course, the fingerprint scanner is also missing. To protect your laptop, you can only use a password.

There are enough ports!

The set of interfaces is quite rich. RedmiBook 14 offers two USB 3.0 ports and one USB 2.0 port, as well as HDMI port and 3.5 mm headphone and microphone jack.

The manufacturer decided to abandon the slot for SD card. However, perhaps the main disappointment is the lack of charging through USB-C port. Unfortunately, the user will have to carry a special charger with them.

RedmiBook 14: Performance

As for performance, Redmi laptop 2019 comes in three configurations. The difference between the two configurations is in SSD capacity: the younger version has 256GB, the older version – 512GB. The top version is powered by i7 processor and has 512GB SSD.

Another important thing is SATA SSD interface, not NVMe. This should affect the memory speed in synthetic tests, but in practice you will hardly notice a big difference.

Overall, RedmiBook 14 is a typical Xiaomi laptop, only now under Redmi brand. Yes, the lack of a camera and keyboard backlit can scare away many buyers, but this was done in order to minimize the cost.

The manufacturer made a bet on good performance, in particular, i7 processor and various SSD memory configurations.

Should you buy RedmiBook 14?

The main question – should you buy RedmiBook 14 laptop? What are its advantages over other laptops in this price category?

RedmiBook 14 has its own features, but it is difficult to say that this laptop has great advantages over other devices on the market. After all, Xiaomi laptops runs on Windows, and there is no special MIUI shell like on smartphones.

The laptop has only one inscription on the cover, but RedmiBook 14 has become more recognizable. Xiaomi is responsible for the production and design, so we can be sure of the high build quality. Like other Xiaomi laptops, RedmiBook 14 looks and feels awesome.

By the way, we forgot to say about the price! RedmiBook 14 with i5 processor and 8 + 256GB of memory will cost 3999 yuan or about $578. The version with the same i5 processor and 8GB of RAM, but 512 GB SSD will cost 4299 yuan or $622. The most powerful laptop model on i7 processor and 8 + 512GB of memory costs 4999 yuan or $723.

Thus, if you are not afraid of the lack of a front camera, keyboard backlight, NVMe interface, SD card slot, USB-C port, then you can buy RedmiBook 14. The price is very attractive.

And the last question for today is whether an improved version of Redmi laptop will be released with camera, keyboard backlight and other improvements, or will the premium segment remain for Xiaomi laptops? Not yet known.

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Source: mi