We’re all awaiting the Galaxy S23 reveal at Unpacked in just a few weeks, however the S23 will not be Samsung’s first cellphone launch of 2023. That honor belongs to the budget-oriented Galaxy A14 5G, which matches on sale at this time for a mere $200. It gives just a few significant upgrades over final 12 months’s A13, and it will get a whopping 4 years of replace assist, which is uncommon even for telephones that value a number of instances extra.
The cellphone has considerably bigger bezels than dearer telephones, and there is a tear drop-style notch for the front-facing digicam as a substitute of the much less intrusive gap punch. Because the display is LCD, you may even have a side-mounted fingerprint sensor as a substitute of 1 within the show. On the flip facet, this cellphone nonetheless gives a microSD card slot and headphone jack, each of that are more and more uncommon even on finances telephones.
Finances telephones have suffered from provide chain shortages throughout the pandemic, regressing to lower-cost ARM chips and lower-resolution screens. Whereas the Galaxy A14 would not have a Snapdragon chip, it does have a really succesful MediaTek Dimensity 700. It additionally sports activities a 6.6-inch 1080 x 2408 LCD touchscreen as a substitute of the 720p panel on final 12 months’s A13 and most different equally priced finances telephones. It additionally has a 90Hz refresh for smoother animations.
Samsung guarantees multi-day battery life from the 5000mAh battery, however the 15W most charging pace is slightly gradual by 2023 requirements. You will not have to attend for an Android replace proper out of the field, although. Whereas many finances telephones are nonetheless transport with Android 12, the A14 comes with Android 13 and the newest One UI interface. Plus, Samsung guarantees 4 years of safety patches and two main Android OS updates (Android 14 and 15). That is about all you may anticipate from a finances cellphone, which you may in all probability need to exchange inside of 4 years.
One of many locations you must compromise with finances telephones just like the A14 is the digicam. This cellphone has three lenses on the again, however do not anticipate the identical outcomes as a three-lens Galaxy S cellphone. The first 50MP digicam is nothing to sneeze at, however the 2MP macro and 2MP depth cameras will do little to enhance your cell pictures expertise.
Samsung gives the cellphone unlocked, in addition to branded for all three main carriers. The carriers themselves could have the cellphone of their shops, however Samsung has immediate trade-in gives. If in case you have an iPhone or Galaxy from just a few years in the past, it will in all probability shave $100 off the value tag.
