The Samsung Galaxy A14 5G.
Samsung
Samsung‘s Galaxy A devices are already affordable compared with most phones, but the company is taking that a step further with the new $200 Galaxy A14 5G. Announced at CES 2023, the new phone is $50 cheaper than the Galaxy A13 5G was at launch, and it adds a higher-resolution selfie camera. The phone otherwise largely retains the same features and hardware as its predecessor. Samsung is expanding its budget phone lineup after inflation took a bite out of phone sales throughout 2022 as people tightened their purse strings.
Samsung may be best known for its Galaxy S phones, which compete directly with Apple’s high-end iPhone line and Google’s flagship Pixel devices. But its cost-conscious A series has found a loyal following. Samsung’s Galaxy A phones were among the top selling devices in countries and regions such as the United Kingdom, India, France, South Korea and Germany, according to Counterpoint Research data from June 2022.
The Galaxy A14 5G has a lot in common with the Galaxy A13 5G, which launched in December 2021. Both phones have similarly sized screens (6.6 inches versus the A13 5G’s 6.5-inch display), 5G, a 90Hz adaptive refresh rate for smoother scrolling, a 5,000-mAh battery, 15-watt fast charging and a triple-camera system that consists of a 50-megapixel main camera, 2-megapixel depth camera and 2-megapixel macro camera. The Galaxy A14 5G runs on a Mediatek Dimensity 700 processor, the same chip that powers budget phones like the TCL Stylus 5G and Moto G 5G.
Among the biggest differences between the new A14 5G and the A13 5G are in the device’s front camera and its price. The Galaxy A14 5G has a 13-megapixel selfie camera, which should represent a notable step up from the A13 5G’s 5-megapixel front camera. The Galaxy A14 5G also starts at $50 less than the Galaxy A13 5G, which launched at $250 and offers the same 64GB storage capacity. Both phones also have a microSD card slot for expanding storage capacity up to 1TB.
The Galaxy A14 5G seems to pack a lot of value for $200. The downside is that it will only receive two generations of Android version updates, while Samsung typically offers up to four generations on some of its more expensive models. The Galaxy A14 5G will also get up to four years of security updates, which is one year shy of the five years Samsung promises for its Galaxy S22 devices. The Galaxy A14 5G will launch with Android 13, the newest version of Google’s mobile operating system.
The Galaxy A14 5G’s arrival is another sign that Samsung is leaning more heavily into the budget smartphone space. It expanded the Galaxy A lineup last year with devices like the Galaxy A23 5G and Galaxy A53 5G. It also kicked off 2022 with a less expensive version of the Galaxy S21 called the Galaxy S21 FE, which debuted during the CES timeframe last year.
Samsung is introducing the Galaxy A14 5G just before its expected to unveil the Galaxy S23 family. The South Korean tech giant typically introduces its new Galaxy S phones in February, and this year’s lineup is rumored to include a new 200-megapixel main camera on the expected Ultra model and Qualcomm’s new Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor.