Which budget phone is right for you?

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  Samsung Galaxy A53

  Worth the extra

  The Samsung Galaxy A53 is a mid-range phone, so you’ll pay more than the A14 5G; but the extra money comes with great perks like a better camera system, more power and RAM, and a better screen.

  Pros

  • Better screen
  • More powerful
  • Better cameras

  Cons

  • More expensive
  • There is no headphone jack

• 

  Samsung Galaxy A14 5G

  A good budget option

  Great value but less power

  The A14 5G is slightly inferior to Samsung’s mid-range lineup in every category. Still, if you’re on a budget and want a phone that isn’t fully rooted, we like the value the Galaxy A14 5G offers.

  Pros

  • Headphone jack
  • Cheaper
  • Still does all the basics well

  Cons

  • Worse screen
  • Lower camera performance
  • Not so powerful

Buying a new phone and saving money don’t always go hand in hand; however, it doesn’t have to be if you don’t mind sacrificing these premium features for something more affordable. There are tons of phones that are much cheaper than today’s flagships, and Samsung makes some of the best budget Android phones on the market.

The Samsung Galaxy A53 and Galaxy A14 5G offer great value for those looking to save; However, comparing the two phones head-to-head is a glaring mismatch (as you can see in the spec sheet above), as they are two very different price points. Still, you might be wondering if the A53 is worth the extra cash, or if you can get away with the new A14.

Price, availability and connectivity

Samsung does a pretty good job of making their phones accessible to most people in the US, so you shouldn’t have too much trouble regardless of what network you’re on. 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.

While the A14 has 5G in the name, both phones can take advantage of sub-6 and some mmWave 5G bands, making the devices pretty great 5G phones to own if you’re on a budget.

The A14 5G has a starting price of $200 (cheaper than its predecessor), making it $250 less than the A53; however, you can usually find the A53 for less than $450 at launch, so the price difference may be a bit smaller.

Hardware and design

Source: Samsung

Looking at the two phones, you can see that their design is very different. On the Galaxy A14 5G, you’ll see larger bezels around the screen, a teardrop selfie notch at the top, and a completely flat back with no camera bulge except for the lenses themselves. It’s definitely not a cutting-edge design, but it’s still a leap forward from the A13 5G that came before it.

The A53 looks a bit more like Samsung’s high-end flagship Galaxy S series devices, with an almost edge-to-edge display and a small cutout for the selfie camera at the top of the screen. It has a camera bump that protrudes from the plastic back.

As for the peripherals of both the devices, both have USB-C ports which you will use to charge the device as there is no wireless charging. However, the Galaxy A53 will charge the 5000mAh battery a bit faster, as it can charge at 25W, while the A14 5G will charge at 15W. However, the A14 5G still has a headphone jack, which is quite rare among phones today, so you don’t have to worry about wireless headphones to listen to your favorite tunes. The cheaper phone also has a fingerprint sensor in the power button on the side of the device, instead of under the display like the A53 does.

Although both phones are made of plastic, the Galaxy A53 has an IP rating, which means it has been tested for water and dust resistance. An IP67 rating means the A53 can withstand light rain; if you accidentally drop it in some water, it should come out intact. Also, its protection against dust and particulate matter is pretty good, so fluff in your pocket shouldn’t be a problem. A14 5G has no rating; make sure you handle it with care.

Cameras

On paper, the Samsung Galaxy has the better cameras, with a 64MP f/1.8 primary shooter compared to the A14 5G’s 50 f/1.8. However, the cameras are actually quite similar when it comes to performance.

In the right light, both main shooters will take a pretty decent photo, with the Galaxy A53 able to capture a bit more sharpness thanks to the lens’s optical stabilization rather than the digital stabilization offered by the A14 5G. Still, these aren’t the kind of cameras that will get phone photographers all that excited, but they’ll do just fine if you’re just trying to capture social media-worthy shots.

In low light, both phones struggle to maintain image quality, especially when there’s movement. And while both devices have extra depth and macro — 5MP sensors on the A53 and 2MP sensors on the A14 5G — we don’t think their photos are particularly good. The front camera is much better on the Galaxy A53, so if you like taking selfies, the A14 is not for you.

The video recording capabilities of the two devices are quite different, with the A53 capable of recording in 4K at 30fps or 1080p at 60fps. The A14 5G can only record 1080p at 30fps, which is pretty low for video recording these days.

Software and performance

Keeping with the theme of this comparison, there’s no doubt that the Samsung Exynos 1280 in the Galaxy A53 beats the MediaTek Dimensity 700 powering the A14 5G. How much you notice this difference depends on how much you push your device to the limit. For heavy gaming and productivity work, you’ll likely notice better performance from the A53, but you won’t usually notice too much of a difference in everyday tasks. Expect the odd stutter here and there or slightly longer app load times on the A14 5G.

When it comes to long-term software support, the devices are pretty close because of Samsung’s commitment to support its devices. Of course, since the A14 5G is slightly newer (launching in 2023, not 2022), it technically has longer support, as it will receive two major OS updates and four years of security updates. The same goes for the A53, but since it’s older it will end support a bit earlier than the A14 5G, but that’s probably not a huge deal breaker for most people.

Which one is right for you?

Since the Samsung Galaxy A53 is a mid-range phone and the Galaxy A14 5G is a budget phone, it shouldn’t come as a surprise when we say the A53 is the better phone of the two. It performs better in almost every category, and its hardware and design are much more modern, giving it a long life.

Even with the A53 you can find on sale right now, the A14 5G can be much cheaper, making it an attractive option for people who really want to save as much money as possible. Also, if there’s a headphone jack, you won’t need to buy new headphones to use with the Galaxy A53.

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Samsung Galaxy A53

As a mid-range phone, the Galaxy A53 outperforms the A14 5G in almost all metrics; however, you have to pay a few hundred more for the added benefit.

Samsung Galaxy A14 5G

The Samsung Galaxy A14 5G isn’t as durable or powerful as the A53, but the headphone jack and much cheaper price make it a worthy contender if saving money is a priority.