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It is already August, and the annual "new machine wave" is about to arrive with the release of two flagship processors. If nothing unexpected happens, in the next two months, a large number of flagship models equipped with the fourth-generation Snapdragon 8 and Dimensity 9400 will be released.

The good news is that these flagship models will definitely bring better performance and more new features, but the bad news is that their prices will definitely not be very affordable. For those who want to change their phones recently but don’t have enough budget, they may still have to consider buying the previous generation of products. Fortunately, our old friend Redmi did not disappoint us.

(Photo source: @Digital Chat Station)

Several bloggers revealed that the Redmi Note 14 series has officially obtained network access permission. Like previous generations, they are divided into three models: Redmi Note 14 standard version, Redmi Note 14 Pro and Redmi Note 14 Pro+, and will meet us at the end of August at the earliest.

So, as one of Redmi's "signature products", can this year's Note series still bring us surprises in terms of configuration and price?

Redmi's new generation of thousand-yuan phone?

Since it is a product line positioned as the ultimate cost-effective, the biggest highlight of the Redmi Note14 series must be its hardware configuration, and I believe Redmi will not disappoint everyone.

(Photo credit: Lei Technology)

First of all, in terms of processors, all three products in the Note 14 series are equipped with three different processors.

The highest-end Note 14 Pro+ will be the world's first to launch the Dimensity 7350 processor, which is built based on TSMC's second-generation 4nm process technology. It has a CPU architecture of 2×3.0GHz Cortex-A715 large cores + 6×Cortex-A510 small cores, and a Mali-G610 MC4 GPU.

Judging from the parameters officially displayed, its performance should be comparable to Qualcomm's third-generation Snapdragon 7 processor, in other words, it is around the level of Snapdragon 870.

(Photo credit: Lei Technology)

The Redmi Note 14 Pro is also equipped with a brand new processor, namely Qualcomm's newly launched third-generation Snapdragon 7s, which is also built based on TSMC's second-generation 4mn process technology. It has 1x2.5GHz Cortex-A720 large core + 3x2.4GHz medium core and four 1.8GHz energy-efficient cores.

But what’s interesting is that it has made a huge improvement in GPU compared to the previous generation. In the past, Qualcomm usually only equipped the 7 series processors with Adreno 7/6 series, but on the third-generation Snapdragon 7s, Qualcomm used Adreno 810, which means it has a good performance in graphics processing.

The Redmi Note 14 is likely to be equipped with the second-generation Snapdragon 7s processor, which is also the processor used in the previous generation Redmi Note13 Pro. Its performance is basically the same as that of the Snapdragon 778G. It is a processor that takes into account both performance and energy consumption.

(Photo credit: Lei Technology)

In terms of other configurations, Redmi still equipped it with a 1.5K resolution hyperbolic screen, which also supports 120Hz refresh rate and high-frequency eye protection dimming technology. Although the 1.5K resolution curved screen is nothing new in the 2,000 yuan price range, and the neighboring vivo, Honor, and OPPO have already decentralized this configuration, but if the entire Redmi Note 14 series can use this high-specification screen, it can still greatly enhance its product strength.

However, don’t have too high expectations for imaging. Limited by the cost, the imaging system of the Redmi Note 14 series is estimated to remain at the level of "satisfying photography". However, users who generally choose the Redmi Note series will not care too much about photography.

Finally, regarding the price that everyone is most concerned about, Xiao Lei speculates that the price of the Note14 series will remain the same as the previous generation, that is, the starting price of the standard version is 1,099 yuan (8+128G version), the starting price of the Pro version is 1,399 yuan (8+256G version), and the starting price of the Pro+ version is 1,899 yuan (12+256G version).

When will Redmi’s cost-effectiveness myth reappear?

In the early days, the market's impression of Redmi was basically "price butcher", "the only true god of thousand-yuan phones", "if you don't know what to buy, buy Redmi", etc. Indeed, the previous Redmi K series and Note series were difficult for other manufacturers to achieve in terms of cost performance, but cost performance is the least technical, and in terms of price war, other manufacturers can naturally catch up quickly, with the main slogan "If you are cheaper than me, then I will be cheaper than you."

It is precisely in this situation that Redmi is no longer the "only true god" in the thousand-yuan segment. According to data released by Weibo user @SP Observation Diary, in the 0-2000 yuan price segment of the domestic mobile phone market in the first half of 2024, Honor had the highest market share, reaching 21.85%. The second place was vivo, which lost to Honor with 21.75%. Xiaomi ranked third with a share of 19.77%.

(Photo source: Weibo user @SPObservationDiary)

Here I would like to focus on Honor. The reason why it was able to suddenly emerge and surpass OV to take the first place in China is that they understand too well what kind of mobile phone users need.

Take Honor's best-selling model, the Honor X50, as an example. Its sales have exceeded 10 million units. This result is quite impressive not only in the domestic market, but also in the world.Although its configuration and performance are quite satisfactory, it is enough to provide a stable user experience for its target users. Moreover, it has a major selling point that most consumers want: drop resistance.

(Image source: Honor official)

Xiao Lei once tested the Honor X50 and after going through multiple "simulated" scenarios, only the plastic frame had some traces of bumps, and the most important thing was that there was not even a scratch on the screen, which in disguise reduced the user's usage cost.

(Photo credit: Lei Technology)

In other words, products in this price range do not need to be too outstanding in any aspect. After all, the target audience is usually elderly people in their 60s and 70s, migrant workers, or minors studying in school. For them, besides being cheap, the most important thing about a mobile phone is smooth operation. Cameras and screen designs are not considered by these groups.

The main feature of Redmi's Note series has always been balance. It may indeed be the first choice for us digital enthusiasts to buy a mobile phone, but its less outstanding advantages may also lead consumers to not pay too much attention to it.

Therefore, in Xiaolei's opinion, the Redmi Note series can pay more attention to daily use, such as anti-fall, long battery life, eye protection, and smoothness are the points that consumers care about most. As for performance and cost performance, Redmi's K series and Turbo series can be perfect substitutes.

Has the market for thousand-yuan phones come to an end?

In fact, since 2023, Xiao Lei has been curious about a question: how can the mid-range and thousand-yuan machine market continue to grow? In the past two years, you can see that various configurations that were previously only equipped with flagship phones, such as curved screens, high-power fast charging, and AI camera algorithms, have been transferred to the mid-range and even thousand-yuan machine markets.

Although this is related to the increasing maturity of the corresponding industrial chain leading to cost reduction, the overall manufacturing cost is still rising, and the high-profit flagship phones are destined to have far lower sales than mid-range and entry-level phones. Just as Lu Weibing said at the Redmi launch: "Thousand-yuan phones are the products that best reflect the manufacturer's conscience."

Nowadays, the configuration of thousand-yuan phones is constantly evolving, but the price has to remain around 1,000 yuan, which means that the profit from selling 10 thousand-yuan phones may not be as high as buying a flagship phone.

(Photo credit: Lei Technology)

However, even in this situation, manufacturers still have to consider how to improve the competitiveness of their products. After all, unlike the arms race of flagship phones where all the components are piled up, the thousand-yuan phones have to control their own production costs while further improving their product competitiveness, which is a dilemma.From a certain perspective, brands that can do well in this market are the super players who truly master “how to balance the market and technology”.

But manufacturers have to compete. According to relevant data, about 50% of users in the domestic market use mid-range phones, which are also the basic market of the domestic mobile phone market. It can be said that whoever loses the mid-to-low-end mobile phone market will not be able to gain a foothold in the mobile phone market. Therefore, mobile phone manufacturers now choose to start from the mid-to-low-end market, choose to directly enter the market in a cost-effective way, and constantly stimulate the market. In Xiaolei's opinion, this strategy is feasible.

What other surprises can the Redmi Note14 series bring us? Can it help Xiaomi return to the top two in the mid-to-low-end market? This question can only be answered by time.

In the first half of 2024, the technology circle is surging.
Big models are being put into practice at an accelerated pace, with AI applications emerging in an endless stream, including AI mobile phones, AI PCs, AI home appliances, AI search, and AI e-commerce.
Vision Pro is now available in China, setting off a new wave of XR spatial computing;
HarmonyOS NEXT is officially released, and the mobile OS ecosystem has changed;
Automobiles have fully entered the "second half", and intelligence has become a top priority;
Competition in e-commerce is increasingly fierce, with low prices and even lower services;
The wave of going overseas is surging, and Chinese brands are embarking on the journey of globalization;

In the hottest month of July, Lei Technology's mid-year review is launched, summarizing the brands, technologies and products worth recording in the first half of 2024 in the technology industry, recording the past and looking forward to the future. Please pay attention.