Samsung's Latest Smartphone Is Just $199

While CES, the consumer technology event starting in Las Vegas this week, isn’t typically a smartphone-focused show, Samsung is debuting the Galaxy A14 5G smartphone.

It’s a lower- to mid-range handset that aims to trickle down some of the most critical features like long battery life, a solid camera, and a commitment to software upgrades at an affordable $199 price point. 

After all, we’ve seen that with Google’s Pixel 6a and Apple’s iPhone SE that you don’t need to spend a huge amount of cash to get a basic smartphone.

Samsung’s Galaxy A14 5G will be up for preorder on Jan. 12, but you can sign up for more information on the device here. We also know that at least one carrier will offer the device.

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Galaxy A14 5G: What You Need To Know

For just shy of $200, the Galaxy A14 5G is a pretty well-rounded device. Its 6.6-inch FHD+ LCD display has thinner bezels on the left and right with a thicker chin on the bottom. However, it can roll with modern devices thanks to a teardrop notch up-top and a 90Hz refresh rate. The latter will ensure a smoother experience and actually bests the 60Hz rate in the iPhone 14.

Powering the Galaxy A14 5G is a Mediatek Dimensity 700 octa-core processor that is clocked at up to 2.2GHz and that’s paired with 4GB of RAM. We haven’t gone hands-on with this smartphone just yet, but while we don’t expect blazing performance we imagine that chip should be fine for more everyday tasks.

The A14 5G is also running Android 13 with Samsung’s One UX interface on-top. And here’s some excellent news: Samsung is promising two Android OS generation upgrades and four years of security updates.

This way you can have some confidence the device will be supported and working well for a few years. It also comes with 64GB of internal storage and this phone features a microSD card slot.

In terms of photography, the teardrop notch on the front contains a 13-megapixel lens. While on the back there are three cameras: a 50-megapixel main, a 2-megapixel macro, and a 2-megapixel depth. We’re not expecting the macro or depth to provide the clearest shots, but we do have some hope for the main 50-megapixel lens.

Samsung’s Galaxy A14 5G features a 5,000mAh battery which should be plenty for a device with these other features. It also supports up to 15-watt fast wired charging.

The Galaxy A14 5G is also a 5G-enabled smartphone with support for the Sub-6 standard. It won’t be the crazy fast speeds from mmWave or C-Band, but will deliver a stronger performance when you’re in Sub6 coverage. The A14 5G will also support 4G connectivity.

Let’s Recap the Galaxy A14 5G

While this isn’t the flashiest smartphone from Samsung ever, at $199.99 it does carry quite the feature list for the price. We’re also excited to see the commitment from Samsung  (SSNLF)  on two generations of Android OS updates.

Most importantly, it’s another option for those looking for an affordable smartphone, and it undercuts the price of the Pixel 6a and the iPhone SE. Though, if you’re after a phone that excels at photography we’d pick either of those, that may change after we go hands-on with the A14 5G though.

Samsung’s Galaxy A14 5G goes up for preorder on Jan. 12 at $199.99 here. AT&T  (T) – Get Free Report will begin offering the smartphone on Jan. 13 for $2 a month on a device payment plan with no trade-in required. 

Prices are accurate and items in stock at time of publishing.