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realme 14X 5G review – Tough budget phone with Google Gemini tested
Not everyone needs the Formula 1 equivalent of a smartphone which is why budget Android phones remain a popular category especially for younger buyers or those on a tight budget but they typically cut quite a few corners to keep things affordable.
The new realme 14x 5G is a rather unusual budget offering that prioritises durability, endurance and AI over other concerns. After acquiring a sample and taking it for a spin, here’s our realme 14x 5G review where we share if their latest budget phone is worth your money.
realme 14x 5G review – Build and Design
Table of Contents
When it comes to budget phones, realme’s latest offering the 14x is an interesting offering as it emphasises three important criteria over others – durability, endurance and AI capabilities. In keeping with many of their prior entry-level offerings, our realme 14x 5G review is built tough from the ground up with a MIL-STD-810H rating and an IP64 dust and splash resistance rating.
Based on realme’s official literature, the realme 14X 5G integrates their Armorshell Protection design which involves reinforced corners on the chassis, internal airbags around critical components and a toughened aluminium structure that allows it to resist modest drops. The IP64 rating means that the phone is able to resist dust ingress and survive exposure to raindrops, sprays and splashes of water but which means that it still won’t survive a dunking in water for any length of time.
Oddly, there’s no official statements on what kind of protective glass is protecting the display, if any, so you’ll still need to handle the phone with a measure of care. On the bright side, they’ve pre-installed a screen protector to the display to protect it against nicks and scratches.
In terms of build and design, our realme 14x 5G review unit comes in a shade that they’ve designed as Peridot Green which works out to a light teal finish with the aluminium sides left in its original metallic grey shade.
The backplate is done up primarily in this colourway with a squarish camera housing that houses what ostensibly is a triple camera array. Oddly enough, the phone only has one 50MP rear camera in its specifications with the two other camera housings seemingly acting as window dressing if aught else.
The right side has the customary power button and volume rocker while the left interestingly hosts a hybrid nano SIM card and microSD card tray that allows users to expand onboard storage as needed. The base of our realme 14x 5G review unit holds another curiosity – a 3.5mm audio jack for wired headphones along with a USB-C port and a grille for the mono speaker. The top of the phone is otherwise unremarkable.
Up front, our realme 14x 5G review unit has a 6.67-inch LCD display with HD+ resolution which works out to a rather modest 1,604 x 720 pixels which is somewhat low by circa-2025 standards but is power efficient. The display also has a 120Hz refresh rate and an 84% NTSC colour gamut. In a single punch hole up top, you get a single 8MP selfie camera. Oddly, the bottom bezel is rather thick though the side and top bezels are fortunately relatively slim by current standards.
Overall build quality for our realme 14x 5G review unit is solid without any creaking or noticeable defects out of the box though the backplate does feel rather plasticky. On the bright side, they’ve thrown in a generous array of extra accessories with the phone including a soft protective case, a charger, a USB-C cable and the usual paperwork as well as a SIM eject pin.
realme 14x 5G review – Performance and benchmarks
In terms of hardware, our realme 14x 5G review unit runs on the same chipset powering the realme 13 that we previously tested – the midrange MediaTek Dimensity 6300 processor paired with 8GB RAM and 256Gb of expandable storage.
Where it differs is that the realme 14X has expandable storage in the form of the aforementioned microSD card and also gets a bump up to the more current Android 15 with realme UI 6.0 overlaying it that has support for Google Gemini as well as a smattering of other AI features. The phone also gets the option to expand RAM by assigning up to 10GB of virtual RAM off the onboard storage.
On paper, the realme 14x 5G is slated to offer 2 years of OS updates and 3 years of security updates which keeps it updated all the way to Android 17 and secure all the way to 2028.
Combined, this set of hardware lends the realme 14x 5G a mission profile more appropriate for an entry level phone. Here’s how our realme 14x 5G review sample for the Malaysia market stacks up on paper:
Price | RM1,099 |
Display | 6.67-inch Eye Comfort HD+ LCD, 1,604 x 720 pixels, 120Hz refresh rate, 84% NTSC colour gamut |
Processor | Dimensity 6300 5G |
OS | Android 15 w/ ColorOS 15 |
Memory | 8GB RAM / 256GB + micro SD card |
Camera | 50MP f/1.8 camera [rear] / 8MP [front] |
Battery | 5,000mAh w/ 15W charging |
Size/Weight | 165.7 x 76.22 x7.94mm / 190g |
When subjected to the usual round of benchmarks, our realme 14x 5G review unit with 10GB of virtual RAM expansion got the following scores:
3D Mark Steel Nomad Light | 152 |
3D Mark Steel Nomad Light Unlimited | 153 |
3D Mark Wild Life Extreme | 385 |
3D Mark Wild Life Extreme Unlimited | 372 |
Geekbench AI CPU | 1,015 |
Geekbench AI GPU | 216 |
Geekbench 6 Single core | 782 |
Geekbench 6 Multi Core | 1,984 |
Geekbench 6 OpenCL | 1,414 |
Geekbench 6 Vulkan | 1,423 |
PC Mark 10 Work 3.0 Performance | 10,476 |
PC Mark Battery Life | 23 hours, 28 minutes |
Compared to the prior realme 13, our realme 14X 5G has similar results for the most part in most benchmarks which are indicative of a midrange chipset with generally similar benchmark outcomes though it had the added benefit of being able to run 3D Mark Steel Nomad and Geekbench AI benchmarks.
The realme 14x 5G is not going to break any speed records by any stretch of the imagination but it is able to handle the usual gamut of day to day tasks expected of a budget phone – social media, web browsing and likely Candy Crush – with a measure of competence.
On a lark, we ran the Steel Nomad Light Stress test and the chipset notably aggressively throttles performance with a low 155 best loop score and a 153 lowest loop score while temperatures are kept to between 33°C to 37°C though it does offer exceptional stability at 98.7%. Heavy gaming or video editing on this phone is clearly not its strong suit.
The phone was also able to handle the usual popular games like Call of Duty Mobile and Diablo Immortal on default settings but more demanding ones like Genshin Impact this time around saw noticeably longer loading times and occasional lag . If you keep your expectations modest and stick to casual gaming and general usage, the realme 14X 5G will offer sterling performance.
Where the phone stands out is that it supports Google Gemini, allowing for a modicum of AI assistant support as well as Circle to Search with Google for easier searches. It also has their own AI Smart Loop feature where you can drag and drop text or an image onto a rotating sidebar of compatible apps for sharing or usage. Unfortunately, the phone is chock full of unwanted bloatware though all of this can be deleted to save space.
The provided HD+ LCD display isn’t the brightest or sharpest we’ve seen on test and is somewhat dim when viewed under daylight conditions though it does offer decent viewing angles and fair colour rendition if you stick to using it indoors or under shaded cover. On the bright side, pun notwithstanding, the HD+ resolution does work in its favour as there’s less pixels to push which adds to its endurance significantly.
On the audio front, the single mono speaker at the base is functional at best and isn’t particularly detailed though it is serviceable for a hands-free call or casual YouTube surfing. Fortunately, the phone does have a 3.5mm audio jack, allowing for usage of wired headphones where you’ll likely get much better audio quality.
In terms of battery life, our realme 14x 5G review sample managed to last an impressive 23 hours and 28 minutes in the PCMark battery life test and comfortably enough two days of casual usage sans heavy gaming or movie watching. Unfortunately, charging speeds are rather slow with the bundled 15W charging managing to fully charge the phone from dead zero in about two hours.
realme 14x 5G review – Cameras
Where the realme 14x 5G falters is its camera performance. The sole rear 50MP f/1.8 camera lacks optical image stabilisation (OIS), offering perfunctory performance at best with up to 10x digital zoom and up to 1080p@30fps video capture. Results are best in bright daylight conditions and a very steady hand for snaps as the camera also has quite a bit of shutter lag though you can eke out fair shots if you keep under 2x zoom while and videos are underwhelming at best.
The front 8MP selfie camera offers mug shots and up to 1080p@30fps video but isn’t much to write home about. As you’d likely surmise, this setup is less than ideal for content creators though realme has other more capable, and pricier models for those who prefer better video and stills like their GT 7 Pro.
Should you buy the realme 14x 5G?
If you’re looking for a budget phone with exceptional battery life, access to Google Gemini and a modicum of toughness, the realme 14x 5G is right up your alley. If you can live with the middling camera setup and bloatware, this is worth a look.
Realme 14x 5G review unit courtesy of realme Malaysia. For more details please visit https://www.realme.com/my/realme-14x-5g
realme 14x 5G
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Display
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Performance
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Cameras
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Battery Life
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AI Capabilities
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Value
realme 14x 5G
If you’re looking for a budget phone with exceptional battery life, access to Google Gemini and a modicum of toughness, the realme 14x 5G is right up your alley. If you can live with the middling camera setup and bloatware, this is worth a look
Pros
Surprisingly has a 3.5mm audio jack
Tough chassis with IP64
Has Google Gemini
Sufficient performance for casual users
Good battery life
Cons
Still has a lot of bloatware
Underwhelming camera performance
Screen a bit dim under direct sunlight