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Samsung Galaxy A53 vs.

Galaxy A14 5G: Which budget
phone is right for you?
Battle of the Samsung budget phones
BY LUKE FILIPOWICZ PUBLISHED JAN 25, 2023

Source: Android Police

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Worth the extra

Samsung Galaxy A53

A great midrange option

The Samsung Galaxy A53 is a midrange

phone, so you'll pay more than the A14 5G;
however, that extra money comes with
great perks like a better camera system,
more power and RAM, and a better display.

Pros

 Better display
 More powerful
 Better cameras

Cons

 More expensive
 No headphone jack

$450 at Amazon

Good budget option

Samsung Galaxy A14 5G

A great value, but less power

The A14 5G is a little worse in every

category than Samsung's midrange lineup.
Still, if you have a tight budget and want to
get a phone that doesn't completely suck,
we like the value the Galaxy A14 5G brings
to the table.

Pros

 Headphone jack
 Less expensive
 Still does all the basics really well

Cons

 Worse display
 Lesser camera performance
 Not as powerful

$160 at Samsung

$200 at Verizon

Buying a new phone and saving money don't

always go hand in hand; however, that
doesn't have to be the case if you don't mind
sacrificing those premium features for
something more affordable. There's a wide
range of phones that are much more
affordable than your modern-day flagships,
and Samsung makes some of the best
budget Android phones in the market.

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Samsung
Samsung Galaxy
Galaxy A14
A53
5G

MediaTek
SoC Exynos 1280 Dimensity
700

6.5" 1080p OLED, 6.5" FHD+

Display
120Hz LCD @ 90Hz

RAM 6GB 4GB

128GB, 64GB,
expandable by expandable
Storage
MicroSD (up to up to 1TB
1TB) micro SD

64MP f/1.8 50MP f/1.8

primary, 12MP main + 2MP
Rear
f/2.2 ultrawide, f/2.4 macro
Camera
5MP f/2.4 macro, + 2MP f/2.4
5MP 5/2.4 depth depth

Front
32MP f/2.2 13MP f/2.0
Camera

5,000mAh w/ 5,000mAh
Battery 25W charging w/ 15W
(wired) charging

USB-C,
3.5mm
audio,
Peripherals USB-C
fingerprint
sensor
(side)

IP Rating IP67 N/A

Starting
$450 $200
Price

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The Samsung Galaxy A53 and the Galaxy A14

5G offer great value to those looking to save
money; however, comparing these two
phones directly is an apparent mismatch (as
you see in the spec sheet above) since they
are two very different price points. Still, you
may wonder if the A53 is worth the extra
money or if you can get away with the new
A14.

Price, availability, and connectivity

samsung-galaxy-a53-pink-floral

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Samsung does a pretty good job at making

its phones available to most people here in
the U.S., so you shouldn't have too much of
an issue regardless of which network you're
with. If you get an unlocked version of the
Samsung Galaxy A53 or A14 5G, you'll also
have dual-SIM support, making traveling
much more manageable.

Although the A14 has 5G in the name, both

phones can take advantage of sub-6 and
some mmWave 5G bands, making the
devices pretty excellent 5G phones to have if
you're on a budget.

The starting price for the A14 5G is $200

(cheaper than its predecessor), which makes
it $250 less than the A53; however, you
usually can find the A53 for less than its
launch price of $450, so the price difference
can be a bit smaller.

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Hardware and design

samsung-galaxy-a14-5g-render-colorful-background

Source: Samsung

Looking at the two phones, you can tell

there's a pretty big difference in design. On
the Galaxy A14 5G, you'll see bigger bezels
around the display, a teardrop notch for the
selfie came at the top, and a completely flat
back with no real camera bump except for
the lenses themselves. It's certainly a less
modern-looking design, but still a leap
forward from the A13 5G that came before it.

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The A53 looks a little more like Samsung's

top-tier flagship Galaxy S-Series devices,
with a near edge-to-edge display and a tiny
little cutout for the selfie cam at the top of
the screen. It does have a camera bump that
sticks out of its plastic back.

In terms of peripherals on the two devices,

both have USB-C ports, which you'll use to
charge up the device as no wireless charging
is available. But the Galaxy A53 will charge
up that 5,000mAh battery a little faster since
it can charge at 25W, whereas the A14 5G
tops out at 15W. However, the A14 5G still
features a headphone jack, which is
somewhat rare among phones today, so you
don't need to worry about having wireless
headphones to listen to your favorite tunes.
The cheaper phone also features a
fingerprint sensor in the power button on the
side of the device rather than under the
display like the A53 does.

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While both phones are made of plastic, the

Galaxy A53 does have an IP rating, meaning
it's been tested for water and dust
resistance. The IP67 rating means the A53
can handle a bit of rain; if you accidentally
drop it in a little water, it should come out
unscathed. Plus, it's protection against dust
and solids is pretty good, so your pocket lint
shouldn't be a problem. The A14 5G has no
rating at all; make sure you're careful with it.

Cameras

On paper, the Samsung Galaxy has better

cameras, as the primary shooter is a 64MP
f/1.8 over the 50 f/1.8 on the A14 5G.
However, in reality, the cameras are pretty
similar when it comes to performance.

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In adequate light, both the primary shooters

will snap a pretty decent pic, with the Galaxy
A53 being able to capture a bit more
sharpness thanks to the optical stabilization
of the lens as opposed to the digital
stabilization offered on the A14 5G. Still, these
aren't the cameras that get phone
photographers very excited, but they will
serve you well if you're just trying to capture
some social media-worthy shots.

In low light, both phones struggle to maintain

picture quality, especially when any
movement is involved. And, while both
devices have additional cameras for depth
and macro — 5MP ones on the A53 and 2MP
sensors on the A14 5G — we don't think the
pictures from either are particularly good.
The front-facing camera is way better on the
Galaxy A53, so if you love taking selfies, the
A14 isn't the phone for you.

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The video recording capabilities of the two

devices are pretty different, with the A53
being able to record in 4K at 30fps or 1080p
at 60fps. The A14 5G can only record 1080p
at 30FPS, which is pretty subpar for video
recording these days.

Software and performance

Fitting into the theme of this comparison,

there's no doubt the Samsung Exynos 1280
inside the Galaxy A53 beats out the
MediaTek Dimensity 700 powering the A14
5G. How much you will notice that difference
depends on how much you push your device
to its limit. With lots of gaming and
productivity work, you'll likely notice better
performance on the A53, but you usually
won't notice too much of a difference for
day-to-day tasks. The odd stutter here and
there or slightly longer app loading times on
the A14 5G are to be expected.

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When it comes to software support long

term, the devices are pretty close thanks to
Samsung's commitment to supporting its
devices. Of course, since the A14 5G is a bit
newer (launched in 2023 as opposed to
2022), it technically has longer support as it
will get two major OS updates and four years
of security updates. That's the same
treatment the A53 also gets, but because it's
older, its support will run out slightly before
the A14 5G, but for most people that's likely
not a huge dealbreaker.

Which one is for you?

With the Samsung Galaxy A53 being a

midrange phone and the Galaxy A14 5G
being a budget phone, it shouldn't come as a
surprise when we say the A53 is the better
phone out of the two. It performs better in
nearly every category, and its hardware and
design are much more modern, giving it an
edge in durability.

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