I’ve reviewed several phones with relatively low price tags that somehow offer a near-premium experience, and they actively make me think, why would I spend more? While the phones I’m referring to above are inexpensive, the Galaxy A14 5G is the cheapest I’ve tested in a long time, and it acts more like its $200 price.
Still, the Galaxy A14 5G sets out to do what any phone can do, and it capably runs apps, makes voice and video calls, takes photos, and does so on a surprisingly smooth and large display. However, those who expect a smoother overall experience, good battery life, and higher-quality photos won’t be smitten.
The Galaxy A14 5G runs on the budget-oriented Mediatek Dimensity 700 processor, and while it’s not in any special rush like a premium phone, it does a solid job of opening and running basic apps and tasks smoothly, like social media, video streaming, shopping apps, and messaging. The biggest noticeable difference compared to a more expensive phone in day-to-day usage is delays and stuttering animations when navigating around the Android operating system, especially when returning to the home screen from an app, or swiping down the notification shade.
The Galaxy A14 5G’s main 50MP camera takes decent photos, but they lack contrast and bright details are overblown. The 50MP main camera captures memories in sharp detail, good color, and high brightness. Still, anything with the color white risks overexposure, and contrast is lacking — it won’t amaze you, but it gets the job done.
There’s also a 2MP macro camera for taking up-close photos of things like pollen on a flower, but it’s virtually pointless. However, those with daily screen times of two hours or more may need to charge the phone during the day, or carry a spare battery. The Galaxy A14 5G supports charging speeds up to 15W, which isn’t very fast, but it’s what I’d expect for this price range.
It’s also quite lightweight for its screen size, which isn’t necessarily a premium trait, but it makes the phone comfortable to maneuver. However, if you’re able to stretch your budget by $100, you can get a phone with better performance in the Android operating system and with significantly better battery life. In that case, we’d recommend either the $300 OnePlus Nord N30 if you like bigger screens, or the $350 Google Pixel 6a, which can often be found for around $300, and offers stellar performance and cameras, albeit with a smaller, 6.1-inch display.
Samsung Galaxy A14
[8][9] The phones have a triple rear camera setup with a 50MP main camera, a 6.6 in PLS LCD display with the 5G model running at 90Hz, and 5000 mAh Li-Po battery. The phones ship with One UI Core 5 on top of Android 13.
Both cameras are capable of 1080p@30fps video,and make use of HDR technology. Both models use the same 13 MP f/2.0 selfie camera that is capable of 1080@30fps video.
Both phones come with the same 5000 mAh non-removeable Li-Po battery, that supports fast charging of 15W (Wired USB-C). Both phones come with a 3.5mm headphone jack, NFC, Bluetooth 5.1 side-mounted fingerprint scanner, GPS, accelerometer, proximity sensor, and compass.
The 5G model also comes with a Bluetooth 5.2 gyro sensor, barometer (USA only), FM Radio (Exynos 1330 only), and 5G The 5G model comes in black, light green, dark red, and silver.
Samsung Galaxy A14 5G – Price in India, Specifications, Comparison (6th December 2023)
The Samsung Galaxy A14 5G runs One UI 5.0 is based on Android 13 and packs 64GB, 128GB of inbuilt storage that can be expanded via microSD card (up to 1TBGB) with a dedicated slot. The Samsung Galaxy A14 5G measures 167.70 x 78.00 x 9.10mm (height x width x thickness) and weighs 204.00 grams. Connectivity options on the Samsung Galaxy A14 5G include Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, GPS, Bluetooth v5.20, NFC, and USB Type-C.
Samsung Galaxy A14 5G vs A14 4G: What’s the difference?
Samsung has no shortage of affordable Galaxy A-Series phones launching this year. On the other hand, the Galaxy A14 has a MediaTek Helio G80 processor paired with up to 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. Even though 5G support provides a little future proofing, it still isn’t widely available, and you shouldn’t buy a phone for 5G alone. Most 4G LTE networks are speedy these days, and you don’t need 100 Mbps to browse social media.
If your carrier has widespread and 5G networks, go for it, but if the infrastructure isn’t quite there, you’ll be more than fine with the 4G LTE version. Both versions come with One UI Core 5 based on Android 13 and will receive two OS upgrades and four years of security updates. The Galaxy A14 LTE version is available unlocked from Amazon starting at $140 and is available in Black, Green, and Silver.
Samsung Galaxy A14 5G review
That hasn’t stopped us from recommending the Samsung Galaxy A13 5G, sight unseen if you’re looking for a handset in the $200 ballpark, but we still felt a more thorough approach was fitting. The US spec has the Dimensity 700 inside, while the one sold in India uses the Exynos 1330 chip, which is a more powerful platform.
That is to say, while a lot of our findings here will apply to all A14 5Gs, some bits will be specific to the Dimensity variant – battery life and possibly image quality, for example. While they may end up being similar between both versions, that won’t be something we can confirm for a fact.
More importantly, the new panel has a 1080p resolution as opposed to the 720p on the older model – that’s an upgrade we can appreciate. Another welcome upgrade hides in the waterdrop notch at the display’s top edge – the selfie camera is now 13MP as opposed to 5MP. Misc: Fingerprint reader (side-mounted); NFC; 3.5mm jack. The Galaxy A14 5G ships in a half-height white package, which consists of a thin paperboard sleeve with a print of the phone on top that holds a paperboard tray with the phone inside.
Samsung Galaxy A14 5G and Galaxy M14 5G appear on Geekbench with Exynos 1330 SoC
The Samsung Galaxy M14 5G, sporting model code SM-M146B, has the same specs – Exynos 1330, 4GB RAM, and Android 13. Geekbench doesn’t include any other specs, but rumors claim the Galaxy A14 5G will come with a 6.8″ FullHD+ LCD, a side-mounted fingerprint reader, and a triple camera setup on the rear headlined by a 50MP unit.
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