realme 14 5G Review: Gaming Beyond Its Mid-Range Price

realme has just introduced the latest members of the realme 14 Series 5G, namely the realme 14 5G and its sibling, the realme 14T 5G. The duo is said to deliver Performance Beyond Limits.  

Just how does a PHP 20K device do that? We checked whether it actually performs beyond limits. And spoiler, I’m actually impressed and surprised with how well it delivers with day-to-day use and more so with gaming. 

Before I get to my full review, I shared my first impressions of the device recently. You can read that here.

Here’s my experience with the realme 14 5G. 

realme 14 5G Review

Full Specifications

Build and Design

The realme 14 5G is built around a 6.67-inch FHD+ AMOLED panel with a 120Hz refresh rate. Size-wise, it’s quite average in 2025. We were given the Mecha Silver color option, which has the most gamer-aesthetics among the three color options. 

I generally don’t like the stereotypical gamer design despite being one, but the mecha-inspired design of the back panel is pretty eye-catching. One downside, though, especially with the Mecha Silver option, is that it is a fingerprint magnet. I found myself wiping it so many times during my time with it, and more so when I shot the photos of the device. 

Of course, this could be solved by slapping on the included silicone case, but because it is translucent rather than fully transparent, you lose the metallic sheen of the back panel. Which is why I mostly used it without the case despite the fingerprints.  

Another thing that I liked about the Mecha Silver option is the subtle orange accents on a thin piece to the right of the camera module and on the power button. It just helps bring a pop of needed color to the device. 

The rest of the device is pretty standard. The bottom features the speaker grille, USB-C port, microphone, and SIM tray. The sides are flat but round into the back panel and display. 

Hands-on Experience and Performance 

The realme 14 5G is powered by the Snapdragon 6 Gen 4, and the first device to use the new Qualcomm midrange chipset, coupled with 12GB RAM and 256GB storage. 

Here is how it performs in AnTuTu, Geekbench, 3DMark, and PCMark compared to other midrange phones we’ve reviewed: 

The Snapdragon 6 Gen 4 and the 12GB RAM onboard work together to deliver a smooth everyday use. For me, that means going through social media, watching a ton of YouTube videos, checking emails, and messaging friends throughout the day. 

Speaking of RAM, the device offers RAM expansion of up to 14GB for a total of 26GB of RAM! This, of course, will use up your storage. If 14GB is too much, you can opt for 4GB or 8GB RAM expansion or just turn it off entirely. I suggest checking if you have it on from boot. 256GB storage is pretty average in 2025, and it may be eating away at it without you knowing. Although, 12GB is more than enough for everyday use.

The realme 14 5G also features a Pulse Light on the right side of the camera island. At a quick glance, you can easily mistake it as an LED flash, but there’s more to it. It can be turned to tell you when there’s an incoming call, notifications from apps, to jam with music, and for game events like entering the game and getting kills. 

I preferred using the Pulse Light for notifications and calls. Its gaming implementation, though, while pretty cool, really does nothing for me because I don’t get to enjoy seeing it blink when I play. I suppose this is a feature that is better appreciated when you’re out with friends and have mobile gaming sessions.

Camera 

I think the camera system of the realme 14 5G is where the company had to cut back to maintain its price. It has a 50MP main camera and a 2MP depth sensor. The latter isn’t ideal, but I’d definitely prefer a depth lens over a macro. 

The 50MP main snapper delivers good photos, especially in good light. It doesn’t stand out, but I think the quality and color reproduction of the photos are good enough to be used on social media. 

You, clearly, can’t use the 2MP depth sensor on its own like, say, an ultrawide lens, but I’d like to think that it helps the device capture even better portrait shots. Here are some portrait samples:

You can see the realme 14 5G struggles, though, and that’s with night or low-light photography, like when going around in the city. It’s decent, but it doesn’t quite process movement well enough in low light. I hope this is something that can be addressed via a software update. 

The 16MP front camera isn’t the best, but it isn’t the worst either. Like the main snapper, selfies with the front lens are just good enough to post updates on social media. 

Gaming Experience

As it is positioned as a gaming-focused phone, I’ve decided to separate my gaming experience. Spoiler alert, I was pleasantly surprised with its performance. 

The company partnered with three massive games – Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, Honor of Kings, and PUBG: Mobile for their implementation with its Pulse Light. Working with the developers also helps you unlock features like the highest graphical settings, and I assume optimization was in play as well. 

Unsurprisingly, MLBB and Honor of Kings were a breeze to play on the device. I was more impressed with its performance while I played Honkai Star Rail and Genshin Impact. Both, pretty hardware-intensive, and yet, the Snapdragon 6 Gen 4 and realme 14 5G handled them. Of course, I didn’t use it at Highest settings, but you can play it at the Highest settings. 

I can’t forget to mention the GT Boost technology, which includes the performance booster – GT Mode. GT Mode requires more power, meaning faster battery drain, but in turn, you get smoother performance in games. I also appreciate that you can toggle on and off the status display to track FPS, CPU usage, and GPU usage. 

Battery

The realme 14 5G boasts a large 6000mAh battery and support for 45W Fast Charge. Before I get to my experience, here are the results of the PCMark battery test, which runs the device through a simulation of everyday use that includes video editing, scrolling through photos and social media, and more. 

Yes, you saw that right, 21 hours for 60Hz. Sure, I didn’t use it at all at 60Hz, but for those that want to save battery, I like that there’s an option that allows you gets you through almost an entire day.

Even at Auto Select refresh rate mode, which automatically switches refresh rate depending on what’s going on your screen, it’s still quite long-lasting. I used this mostly, and even with a couple of MLBB games, the Pulse Light on, and the ever essential scrolling through social media, it still lasted pretty close to the 15 hours that it clocked on PCMark. 

Even if you end up burning through the large battery, charging it is pretty fast thanks to its 45W Fast Charge support.

Software

The realme 14 5G runs on realme UI 6.0 on top of Android 15 out of the box. And one downside is that it boots with quite a lot of bloatware. It isn’t the biggest of deals, but personally, I prefer it as barebones as possible when I first use it. 

It makes up for it in customization options. There’s quite a lot you can change, like icon shape, Always On Display features, fonts, and even the fingerprint scanner animation. 

I’ve already mentioned features like GT Boost and GT Mode in the gaming section, but as it is part of software, I must mention it again, and yes, it is quite a feat. One that a gaming device definitely helps to have. 

Overall, realme UI 6.0 is among my favorite softwares. Its similarities to ColorOS and OxygenOS make it very familiar. 

Verdict

The realme 14 5G is a pretty solid device, especially if you’re into mobile gaming and games like Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, Honor of Kings, and PUBG: Mobile. Priced at under PHP 18,000, it can be a pretty reliable daily driver. 

One downside, though, is that if you’re looking for a smartphone that focuses on the camera, this is just average. Not to mention, there is no ultrawide lens, which I’ve grown to appreciate as someone who enjoys walking around and taking photos. 

However, if you’re just looking for a solid device to use for day-to-day and for a bit of gaming, this is worth checking out.

Ram Ronquillo

Social Media Lead and Content Editor | Website

Ram found his love and appreciation for writing in 2015 having started in the gaming and esports sphere for GG Network. He would then transition to focus more on the world of tech which has also began his journey into learning more about this world. That said though, he still has the mentality of "as long as it works" for his personal gadgets.