Announced last January, Samsung’s Galaxy A14 and A14 5G are finally arriving in France. They are already available to reign over the entry level.
How to storm the smartphone market around 200 euros without compromising on quality? This is the bet that Samsung is trying to take up with the newcomers to its Galaxy A range, this range intended “for everyone” and therefore for all budgets, even the tightest.
Without really diving into the entry-level, Samsung still has its Galaxy A1X category to offer a no-frills summary of its know-how, without selling off its smartphones. The new Galaxy A14s are there to catch the eye of those who don’t want to invest too much, but are still looking for essential quality (battery, design, camera).
The Galaxy A14 and A14 5G now make up this mid-range entry for the Asian manufacturer. They both sport the same 6.6-inch TFT LCD screen, of very good quality (FHD + with a refresh rate of 60 Hz for the A14 and 90 Hz for the A14 5G), with a 13 Mpx selfie sensor wedged in a bubble notch. The look is a little less slender than on the Galaxy S23, the smartphone slightly thicker, but it fits well in the hand.
Both models have a fingerprint sensor on the right side. It is perhaps a little too deep to unlock it instinctively, but its location falls perfectly under the finger. There is also a headphone jack on the bottom edge, a mono speaker, but support for Dolby Atmos.
The two devices have an identical autonomy of almost two days, but with a 15 W charger for the first, 25 W for the second.
Versatile smartphones that get to the point
On the back, Samsung has treated the finish. The Galaxy A14 stands out from its counterpart with a ridged back, while the Galaxy A14 5G seems adorned with microdots. These are the only visible differences as the photo blocks are similar, also taking up the idea of the Galaxy S23. If we find a main sensor of 50 Mpx on the two devices, the two are different: an ultra wide-angle of 5 Mpx and a macro sensor of 2 Mpx for the A14; a 2MP portrait sensor and a 2MP macro sensor for the A14 5G. The promise of betting on an excellent basic camera, but, logically for the price, not enough to promise mountains and wonders.
The performances also look different with a MediaTek Helio G80 processor for the first and Dimensity 700 for the second which looks faster. This should be more than enough to run smartphones well, especially in mobile games. On the lifespan side, Samsung promises that its Galaxy A14 and A14 5G will get two years of OS updates (they ship Android 13) and four years of device security updates. .
Note that they both benefit from the possibility of carrying two SIM cards or a card and a microSD card allowing storage to be increased up to 1 TB.
Samsung Galaxy A14 prices and availability
The Samsung Galaxy A14 is announced at 219 euros (64 GB of storage and 4 GB of RAM).
The Samsung Galaxy A14 5G goes on sale at 249 euros for the version with 64 GB of storage and 4 GB of RAM, at 299 euros with 128 GB of storage.
Both smartphones are already available in the same three colors (black, silver, lemon lime).
