Samsung Galaxy M14 Review – Pros and Cons, Verdict

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

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

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• Since the battery is one of the most important features of the Galaxy M14 5G, let’s start with it. The phone has a large 6,000mAh battery which provides an impressive backup. The M14 5G should last a few days for average users, especially those who don’t play games or stream. For heavy users, the phone should last at least a day, and then a few charges between charges. In the PC Mark 3.0 battery benchmark, the phone managed a healthy 15 hours, 37 minutes. The Samsung Galaxy M14 5G supports 25W fast charging, which takes between 90-120 minutes to fully charge the device from 0-100 percent with a compatible charger. However, the company only bundles a Type-C to Type-C charging cable with the smartphone so you have to buy the charger separately.

• Now, when it comes to the design, the Samsung Galaxy M14 5G has a clean and simple look with no layer or glass coating on the back panel. Instead, there’s a glossy finish that hides fingerprints and smudges, but makes the phone a bit slippery. The phone comes in three different colors: Berry Blue, Smoky Teal and Icy Silver. I received the IC Silver variant for review, which changes color slightly when lit at an angle. Additionally, the phone has a seamless body where the back panel is integrated with rounded edges.
• Apart from that, the phone looks similar to the Galaxy A14 5G. The Samsung Galaxy M14 5G sports triple rear cameras, which are vertically aligned just like the flagship Galaxy S23 series. For I/O, the Galaxy M14 5G has a USB Type-C port and a 3.5mm headphone jack on the bottom edge next to the speaker grill. The phone has a side-mounted fingerprint scanner that unlocks the device in a snap.

• The Samsung Galaxy M14 5G features a 6.6-inch display with FHD+ resolution and 90Hz refresh rate with Corning Gorilla Glass 5 protection, which is rare in this price range. However, the phone sports an Infinity-V notch, thicker bezels and a noticeable chin, which are more common features in this segment. The weight of the phone is 206 grams, which makes the device a bit bulky to use, and you might get a wrist workout if you use the device for hours on end for streaming and gaming. On the plus side, the display is impressive for the price range. It’s a PLS LCD panel that offers decent brightness for outdoor visibility (except in direct sunlight) and respectable viewing angles. Colors and details are good. Also, the phone is Widevine L1 certified, which enables it to stream web series and movies in FHD definition from sites like Netflix.
• The Samsung Galaxy M14 5G is powered by an Exynos 1330 SoC which can handle normal usage like checking social media accounts, browsing the web and streaming videos. The device can also do some light multitasking with ease. Playing graphically demanding games might not be that much fun, but the device can easily handle some light games like Drive Driving and Subway Surfer without any thermal issues. The base version of the phone is equipped with 4GB of RAM, but heavy multitaskers can opt for the better variant of 6GB of RAM. The phone comes with only one storage variant, which is 128GB, but has a dedicated microSD card slot for storage expansion up to 1TB.

• In terms of optics, the Galaxy M14’s triple rear cameras have a 50MP primary sensor. However, unlike its predecessor, the Galaxy M13 5G, the phone does not have an ultra-wide sensor. Instead, it comes with a 2MP snapper for macro shots and portraits. Like the Galaxy A14 5G, the phone is capable of taking high-quality photos in daylight with enough detail and clear, bright colors. The indoor and outdoor displays aren’t the best, but they’re serviceable. The phone has a dedicated night mode that reduces grain or noise to make photos more attractive. While portrait mode may have minor edge detection issues, the bokeh effect looks very natural. Additionally, macro shots are average at best, but the 13MP front camera takes better selfies with accurate skin tones and facial details in well-lit environments.

• Samsung Galaxy M14 supports 5G network which works on all major bands from Jio and Airtel except n77 high frequency band. The phone also has 4G, dual-band Wi-Fi, Bluetooth v5.2, NFC and GPS. The phone runs on Android 13 OneUI 5.1. Samsung has promised two major Android OS updates and four years of security updates for the device, which is pretty impressive. The Galaxy M14 has its fair share of pre-installed apps, but most of them are non-installable. Additionally, the software is feature-packed and well-optimized to deliver smooth performance.

Final verdict

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

The Samsung smartphone has an unimpressive design and the sound output is excellent. The Samsung Galaxy M14 5G smartphone is a good buy for those who want smartphones with 5G capabilities, long-lasting battery, satisfactory performance and camera setup under Rs 15,000.

Author Rating: 3.5/5

Positive

• Amazing battery life
• Nice photo in daylight
• Adequate performance

Cons

• Heavy boy
• No charger in the box