Samsung Galaxy A14 5G Review: Just Another Affordable 5G Phone

5G is the new big thing in the smartphone world. Most expensive smartphones are equipped with 5G these days. However, 5G is slowly sliding into budget smartphones as well.

Samsung’s budget smartphone, the Samsung Galaxy A14 5G is a brand new budget 5G phone. Samsung Galaxy A14 5G price in Nepal is Rs. 27,999 for the sole 6/128GB variant.

While it’s a good thing that 5G is now available on cheap smartphones, manufacturers are cutting corners elsewhere to pack 5G onto their smartphones. So, should you sacrifice other things to have the 5G feature? Let me explain it in this review of the Samsung Galaxy A14 5G.

Samsung Galaxy A14 5G Review

Boring Design

• 167.7 x 78.0 x 9.1 mm
• 204 g
• Dual SIM (Nano-SIM, dual stand-by)

Samsung is using a similar design on the Samsung A14 that we have seen on its older smartphones like A04e, and A13. There’s a triple-camera setup on the back with an individual camera ring. The back of the phone is made up of plastic and has a nice textured feel. Likewise, the frame is also made up of plastic.

The phone looks pretty good from the back but it’s a different story from the front. The A14 still has the waterdrop notch on the front with big bezels and an ugly chin. For a phone that costs upwards of 200$, this design is simply not good enough.

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Moving on to ports and buttons, the volume button and power button are on the same side with a fingerprint sensor embedded in the power button. The fingerprint sensor is fast and works well. On the other side, it has a dual sim slot. On the bottom, it houses a speaker grill, a type c port, a mic, and a headphone jack.

The A14 is a big device and weighs around 204 g but the weight distribution is nicely done. However, it is not suitable for single-hand use.

PLS IPS Display

• 6.6-inch PLS LCD
• 1080 ×2408 pixels
• 90Hz

Samsung A14 5G is equipped with a 6.6-inch PLS LCD panel. It is a full HD+ panel with a 90Hz refresh rate.

Yes, it has a PLS LCD panel and not even an IPS panel. While Samsung may argue that their PLS panel is as good as IPS, they should be including an AMOLED panel at this price tag. Long gone are the days when Samsung used to have the best panel in budget smartphones.

On a positive note, it is not a bad display. It is more than bright enough for outdoors and the color reproduction is also good. Likewise, the display feels smooth thanks to the 90Hz refresh rate. But, we deserve better for the price. I would rather sacrifice the 5G feature for a good AMOLED panel.

Average Performance

• Exynos 1330 (5nm)
• Octa-core (2×2.4 GHz Cortex-A78 & 6×2.0 GHz Cortex-A55)
• Mali-G68 MP2
• 128GB 6GB, supports microSDXC

Samsung is using its own Exynos 1330 5G chipset on the A14. It is a 5nm chipset with an Octa-core (2×2.4 GHz Cortex-A78 & 6×2.0 GHz Cortex-A55) CPU and Mali-G68 MP2 GPU. Along with it, it comes with 6GB RAM and 128GB internal storage.

The Exynos 1330 chipset is a decent chipset. If you compare it against the Qualcomm Snapdragon 695 5G chipset, the Exynos 1330 is a decent performer. It beats out both Snapdragon 695 and MediaTek Helio G99 in benchmarks. But, the chipset is not well-optimized for games.

The phone feels fast in daily usage when opening apps and navigating. But, I did notice some slowdowns while opening apps a couple of times. Also, the RAM management is aggressive as apps are reloaded far too often even with 6GB RAM onboard.

For games, you can play PUBG Mobile at high fps with a low graphics option. You do not get the extreme fps option on the A14. In the aforementioned settings, PUBG Mobile was running with average fps of 29.9 without any stutters and frame drops.

COD Mobile on the other hand supports the max fps option at the lowest graphics option. In this configuration, it was able to achieve an average fps of 59.3.

Likewise, I played Genshin Impact at the lowest graphics with a 30 fps cap and the A14 was able to achieve average fps of 27.8 in the first 5 mins. But, the average fps dropped to 20.9 after 15 mins of gameplay. Also, the gameplay was not smooth anymore as I experienced lots of frame drops and stutters.

Decent Camera

• Rear Camera: 50MP, f/1.8, (wide), PDAF
  • 2MP, f/2.4, (macro)
  • 2MP, f/2.4, (depth)
  • Video: 1080@30fps
• Front Camera: 13MP
  • Video: 1080@30fps

Samsung A14 5G is equipped with a triple camera sensor but none of them is an ultrawide angle. It has a 50MP main sensor, a 2MP depth, and a 2MP macro sensor.

On the front, it gets a 13MP sensor for selfies.

MAIN CAMERA

The main sensor was a surprise for me. I was not expecting it to be as good as it is. I’m really impressed with A14’s dynamic range and balanced exposure.

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ALSO READ: Realme 10 Pro Plus 5G Review: The Best Midrange Smartphone?

Color reproduction is what we expect from Samsung phones. The photos look saturated and vibrant. Overall, the main camera captures good photos.

PORTRAIT

Moving on to some portraits, it is really bad. The skin tone looks good and the dynamic range is good but the edge detection is one of the worst I have seen.

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MACRO CAMERA

The 2MP Macro camera is almost useless in most budget smartphones. But I found the A14 5G’s 2MP sensor to be the most useful among them. Still, it is decent at best.

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FRONT CAMERA

The front camera performs well in good lighting conditions. The images look sharp and the facial tone is neutral. The HDR also works well to keep the background highlights under control.

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VIDEOS

Moving on to videos, the Samsung A14 5G can capture videos up to 1080 30fps with the main camera.

The video quality is only average for the price tag. It is not as sharp as expected and you can notice noise even in daylight. Likewise, you will notice a constant focus hunt while capturing videos.

Impressive Battery Life

• Non-removable Li-Po 5000mAh battery
• 15W Charging

In terms of battery, Samsung A14 has a 5000mAh battery along with 15W charging.

The 5000mAh battery can provide 7 hours of screen on time in moderate usage. You should be able to get almost 2 days of battery life out of the A14. However, it only comes with 15W charging which takes more than 2 hours to charge the battery from 0 to 100%.

Software

• Android 13
• One UI Core 5.0

Samsung A14 5G comes with One UI 5.0 on top of Android 13 out of the box. It comes with Samsung’s and Microsoft’s apps out of the box. But it also comes with the same features you see on Samsung’s flagship S23 series.

The Android 13 version of the One UI 5.0 brings easier lock screen customization. You can customize the lock screen by long pressing the lock screen itself. You can directly change the widgets and wallpapers from the lock screen. Similar to iOS, you can apply filters to wallpapers that are imported from the gallery.

Overall, Samsung Galaxy A14 has well optimized operating system.

Final Thoughts

If you are searching for a decent 5G phone under budget then Samsung A14 5G is a decent choice.

ALSO READ: Samsung Mobiles Price in Nepal: Features and Specs

However, it is cutting plenty of corners to provide 5G at its price tag. The performance could be better, it could use a better design and better build materials. Likewise, it could come with an ultrawide angle sensor instead of the depth and macro sensor.

Samsung Galaxy A14 5G is not a good option if you are looking for one of the best smartphones under Rs. 30,000. In the case of Nepal, 5G is not important right now. It is gonna take a few years to completely implement the 5G technology. So, you should steer away from A14 5G and look elsewhere.

What do you think of the Samsung Galaxy A14 5G? Let us know in the comments!

Also, watch our review of the Realme 10 Pro Plus in Nepali.