Samsung Galaxy M14 5G review: worth checking out

Name: Samsung Galaxy M14
Item: Samsung Galaxy M14
Rating: 7.5
Author: Ashish Kumar

Published On: May 8, 2023

Review Summary

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The Galaxy M14 5G is a new smartphone from Samsung that has just been launched in India, landing in the affordable segment with a starting price of Rs 13,999. The handset shares many of its features, including the chipset, display, and cameras, with the mid-range Galaxy A14 5G (review) smartphone. The Galaxy M14 5G is more affordable and yet, packs a bigger battery capacity and faster charging support than the A14 5G. This begs the question: is the Samsung Galaxy M14 5G worth its money, and if so, who should buy it? Read this Samsung Galaxy M14 5G review to find out.

Verdict

The Samsung Galaxy M14 5G is a big-battery 5G phone that should last most users throughout the day without looking for a charger. The handset’s performance, cameras, and display quality are respectable. However, the device’s chunky bezels and relatively heavy design make it a bit bulky.

The lowdown

Since the battery is one of the most important aspects of the Galaxy M14 5G, let’s start with that. The handset packs a massive 6,000mAh battery that offers an impressive backup. The M14 5G can last a couple of days for regular users, especially those not too much into gaming or streaming. For heavy users, the phone should last at least a day and then some between charges. On the PC Mark 3.0 battery benchmark, the handset returned with a healthy score of 15 hours and 37 minutes. The Samsung Galaxy M14 5G supports 25W fast charging that takes anywhere between 90-120 minutes to fully charge the device from 0-100 percent via a compatible charger. However, the charger needs to be purchased separately as the company only provides a Type-C to Type-C charging cable with the smartphone.

Now, coming to the design, the Samsung Galaxy M14 5G sports a clean and minimalistic look without any textured finish or glass layer on the back panel. Instead, the handset sports a shiny glossy finish that hides fingerprints and smudges but can make the phone a bit slippery. The phone comes in three colour variants: Berry Blue, Smoky Teal, and Icy Silver. I got the Icy Silver variant for review, which changes its colour slightly when light hits it at an angle. Additionally, the handset has a seamless body where the back panel has been fused with rounded edges.
Besides this, the phone is arguably the same as the Galaxy A14 5G. The Samsung Galaxy M14 5G sports triple rear cameras, which are vertically aligned similar to the flagship Galaxy S23 series. As for the I/O, the Galaxy M14 5G sports a USB Type-C port and a 3.5mm headphone jack on the bottom edge alongside the speaker grille. The handset also features a side-mounted fingerprint scanner that unlocks the device in a jiffy.

The Samsung Galaxy M14 5G boasts a 6.6-inch display with FHD+ resolution, and 90Hz refresh rate, along with Corning Gorilla Glass 5 protection which is a rarity in this price range. That said, the phone comes with an Infinity-V notch, chunky bezels, and a noticeable chin, which are aspects that are quite common in the segment. The handset’s 206-gram weight makes the device slightly bulky to use, and using the device for hours for streaming and gaming may give you a bit of a wrist workout. On the positive side, the display is impressive for the price range. It is a PLS LCD panel, which offers decent brightness for outdoor visibility (except under direct sunlight) and respectable viewing angles. The colours and details also look good. Furthermore, the handset is Widevine L1 certified, enabling it to stream web series and movies in FHD resolution from platforms like Netflix.
The Samsung Galaxy M14 5G is powered by Exynos 1330 SoC, which can handle casual usage such as checking social media accounts, browsing the internet, and streaming videos. The device can also perform some light multitasking with ease. Playing graphically-demanding games may not be fun, but the handset can easily take care of some light gaming, such as Dr Driving and Subway Surfer, without any thermal issues. The base variant of the handset is equipped with 4GB RAM, but heavy multi-taskers can opt for the top-end 6GB RAM variant. The handset comes with only one storage variant, which is 128GB, but there is a dedicated slot for a microSD card to expand storage further up to 1TB.

In terms of optics, the Galaxy M14’s triple rear cameras feature a 50MP primary sensor. However, unlike its predecessor Galaxy M13 5G, the phone doesn’t have an ultra-wide sensor. Instead, it comes with 2MP snappers for macro and portrait shots. Like the Galaxy A14 5G, the handset is capable of capturing good-quality images in daylight with ample details and bright, vivid colours. The indoor and lowlight shots are not the best, but they are usable. The phone has a dedicated night mode that reduces graininess or noise in the images to make them more appealing. While the portrait mode may have slight issues with edge detection, the bokeh effect looks quite natural. Additionally, the macro shots are average at best, but the 13MP front-facing camera takes impressive selfies with accurate skin tones and facial details in environments with ample light.

The Samsung Galaxy M14 supports 5G, which works across all major bands from Jio and Airtel, except for the high-frequency n77 band. The phone is also equipped with 4G, dual-band Wi-Fi, Bluetooth v5.2, NFC, and GPS. The handset runs Android 13-based OneUI 5.1 out of the box. Samsung has promised two major Android OS updates and four years of security updates for the device, which is quite impressive. The Galaxy M14 ships with a fair share of pre-installed apps, but most of them are uninstallable. Additionally, the software is feature-packed and well-optimised to offer smooth performance.

Final verdict

The Samsung Galaxy M14 5G is a more affordable version of Galaxy A14 5G (review), with a bigger battery pack and fast charging solution. Among its competitors is the Redmi Note 12 4G, which features a lovely AMOLED panel and an ultra-wide camera, but lacks 5G support. The Vivo T2x offers 5G support in a similar price range but comes with a smaller 5,000mAh battery when compared to the Galaxy M14 5G.

The Samsung smartphone has an uninspiring design and the audio output could have been better. Having said that, the Samsung Galaxy M14 5G will be a good buy for those who desire a smartphone with 5G capabilities, a long-lasting battery, satisfactory performance, and a decent camera setup under Rs 15,000.