Although smartphone manufacturers spend the majority of their resources promoting their flagship devices, the mid-range segment is where they face some of the most fierce competition. On the surface, Samsung’s first smartphone of the year, the Galaxy A14 5G, appears simple and unassuming. However, given that the top, 8GB + 128GB variant costs Rs 20,999 and can be had for less after discounts and offers, we have to say that the smartphone has the potential to be one of the best 5G devices under Rs 20,000. There is also a 4GB + 64GB and a 6GB + 128GB variant, both of which are less expensive.

What Samsung has achieved with the Galaxy A14 5G may be that they have focused on what truly makes a good budget smartphone and checked off the majority of the boxes that they could. The Galaxy A14 5G has the hand feel of a far more premium device, which would cost around Rs 35-40,000, but for nearly half the price.

The Galaxy A14 5G is loaded with features, has some solid specifications, and is genuinely a good phone for those who want something that gets the job done without too many distractions. There are, however, a few flaws. So, how does the Galaxy A14 5G fare, and, more importantly, is it worth your money?

Design

The Samsung Galaxy A14 5G has a simple but elegant appearance. Our test unit was a light green model that looked particularly stylish thanks to the device’s textured back. The back panel, which is made of plastic, has a shimmery effect that looks particularly premium when the light hits it at an odd angle. The textured back panel prevents smudges and fingerprints from adhering to it. Aside from green, you have two more options: dark red and black.

When it comes to the display’s front, the first thing you’ll notice is that the device has some noticeably large bezels. The bottom chin, in particular, is prominent. Although the device has a 6.6-inch display, the bezel makes the screen appear slightly smaller. On the front part, the front-facing camera is hidden behind a teardrop notch.

Connectivity

The volume rockers and power button can be found on the right. The power button serves as a fingerprint scanner as well. The left side has no buttons and houses the sim tray, as well as a microSDXC slot. A speaker grille houses one of the speakers, as well as the USB Type-C port, at the bottom. Surprisingly, the device includes a 3.5mm jack. It has WiFi, Bluetooth 5.2, and USB Type-C 2.0 ports. We also like that the device has a 3.5mm port, which users will require.

Display

The display bezels of the Samsung Galaxy A14 5G will lead you to believe that the display is nothing to write home about. That couldn’t be further from the truth. The Samsung Galaxy A14 features a 6.6-inch FHD+ PLS LCD display with a resolution of 10802408 pixels and a 20:9 aspect ratio. The display has a refresh rate of up to 90Hz, providing users with a buttery smooth experience.

The HDR10-certified display is vibrant, sharp, and very clear, even in direct sunlight. We had no trouble reading off the screen or playing games even in direct sunlight, though the dark portions of videos were difficult to deal with.

Camera

The Samsung Galaxy A14 5G has three cameras on the back. The primary camera has a 50MP sensor, a f1.8 lens, and shoots wide. The other two cameras are both 2MP, one for macro and one for depth. The main camera has PDAF (Phase Detection Auto Focus) and takes some amazing photos, especially in daylight. When they have adequate lighting and take photos with lots of details, the photos are vibrant and crisp. The photos showed a little too much processing in some situations, especially when the lighting was poor.

The front-facing camera has a 13MP sensor. Considering the price, the device produced some decent shots. The fixed-focus camera captures a lot of detail, and the colours are accurate. The front-facing camera has a tendency to overexpose the face in order to brighten it up, but that’s a problem with almost all smartphone cameras at this price point.

Performance, Software and UI

The Samsung Galaxy A14 is a capable smartphone, thanks to its octa core Exynos 1330 processor and Mali-G68 MC4 GPU. The SoC has been properly optimised for the Galaxy A14, resulting in a rather snappy performance in day-to-day tasks. Our test unit came with 8GB of LPDDR4X RAM and 128GB of UFS 2.2 storage. We also get RAM Plus, which allows us to expand the physical memory by an additional 8GB RAM. Furthermore, there is a dedicated microSDXC slot, so storage will not be an issue.

The Samsung Galaxy A14 is powered by OneUI 5, which is built on Android 13. That you get Android 13 right out of the box is a huge plus. As divisive as OneUI can be, OneUI 5 is undoubtedly one of the better versions, and with the Galaxy A14, you’re getting the best features the UI has to offer, barring flagships like the S22 Ultra or the Galaxy Fold 4.

Battery Life

When it comes to battery life, we can only say positive things because we were thoroughly impressed. The Galaxy A14 comes with a 5000mAh battery. We get a pretty impressive battery life because we’re using an LCD panel and the CPU isn’t that power-hungry. At 70% brightness, you’ll easily get more than 8-10 hours of screen time and more than 14 hours of usage time. The Galaxy A14 supports 15W wired charging if you have a charging block that supports it. The device does not include a charging brick, only a USB-C to USB-C cable.

Verdict

Given that the Samsung Galaxy A14 costs around Rs 20,000 or even less, depending on offers and discounts, it checks a lot of boxes, particularly for someone looking for a budget smartphone from a reputable as well as established brand. Yes, there are numerous options from other manufacturers at this price point that offer significantly more features and slightly better hardware.

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