This is the first time we're seeing the new Snapdragon 6 Gen 4 on any smartphone. With realme focusing on gaming, the realme 14 5G is shaping up to be a promising contender for mobile gamers who want solid performance without spending too much.
But just what can we expect from its actual performance? Well, better read on as we’ve tested it out on a number of games—and spoiler alert: it’s pretty capable.
What we like:
- Snapdragon 6 Gen 4 goodness
- Vapor Chamber Cooling System
- Gamer design
- Good AMOLED display
- Huge 6000mAh battery
- Expandable storage
- No ultrawide camera
- So-so charging speeds
Design: Subtle, Polished, loaded with gamer vibes
The realme 14 5G doesn’t get the flashy thermochromic or suede back like the Pro series. Instead, this goes for a more streamlined and gamer-inspired look. With clean lines, orange accents, and a bold design approach, it presents itself as a futuristic gaming phone—and honestly, it looks pretty slick.
The unit we have is in Mecha Silver, but it’s also available in Warrior Pink and Storm Titanium. All three give off that gamer vibe, but if I had to choose, I’d go with the silver variant. It just looks clean and stands out nicely.
realme also added a nice touch with the Pulse Light. It is a small ring-shaped light next to the camera that lights up in different patterns to show status changes like incoming calls or new messages. But what's even more interesting is its integration with gaming.
In supported titles like Honor of Kings, Mobile Legends, and PUBG, the Pulse Light responds with different effects—such as a quick flash when you score the first kill or a breathing light when entering a match. It’s subtle, functional, and a pretty cool feature overall.
Like recent releases, the realme 14 5G also comes with IP66, IP68, and IP69 ratings, giving us more confidence that this phone can handle a bit of rough use and even survive a quick dip in water—whether for an impromptu photo or an accidental drop.
Display: Vibrant and smooth
The realme 14 5G is equipped with a 6.67-inch AMOLED with a 120Hz refresh rate. For a relatively affordable device, it’s pretty sharp over all and the colors vibrant that helps elevate the gaming experience.
Scrolling through social feeds and navigating the UI feels smooth, and that 120Hz refresh rate is a welcome inclusion at this price point.
Performance: Lives up to its promise
Making its first commercial appearance, the realme 14 5G gets the Snapdragon 6 Gen 4. It comes with up to 12 GB of RAM with additional 14GB expanded RAM and 256 GB of storage, which can also be expanded using a microSD card—a great option for users who need more space.
Now, how does this chipset compare to the more commonly seen Snapdragon 7 Gen 3? Based on our benchmark results, performance is surprisingly close. The Snapdragon 6 Gen 4 does score slightly higher, but both keeps up well in both synthetic tests and real-world tasks.
For comparison, here are the Antutu Benchmark scores of the Snapdragon 7 Gen 3 and Snapdragon 6 Gen 4 on the realme 14 5G.
- Snapdragon 7 Gen 3: 745090
- Snapdragon 6 Gen 4: 766957
In everyday use, the phone handles web browsing, messaging, photo editing, and pretty much anything else with ease. Multitasking is fluid, and app launch times are quick and responsive.
As you'd expect from the official gaming smartphone for Mobile Legends, the game runs smoothly even at the highest graphics settings, with no slowdowns or stutters.
I’d say it’s one of the smoothest gaming experiences we’ve had on this phone throughout our testing.
For a fast-paced game like Call of Duty: Mobile, the realme 14 5G holds up well in terms of performance. While it may not match the blazing speeds of higher-end gaming phones, it still feels smooth and responsive enough to be enjoyable even at max graphic settings.
To really put its gaming capabilities to the test, we also tried Wuthering Waves—a game known for pushing budget smartphones to their limits. Surprisingly, the realme 14 5G ran this game pretty well at max settings too. While, it was a bit wishful of me to expect it to run 60fps, I'd say it managed a good 30fps for most of my test.
Even after long sessions, the games often stay active in the background. I was able to jump back into Wuthering Waves while still having Call of Duty and Mobile Legends running. This phone definitely holds its own in mobile gaming.
To support sustained performance, the realme 14 5G is equipped with realme’s Vapor Chamber Cooling System. This helps manage heat during intense gaming sessions, keeping the phone cool and responsive. In our experience, it remained consistent, reaching around 41 degrees Celsius during extended play and hovering around 38 degrees for the most part.
Unlocking the phone's full gaming potential, the realme 14 5G also comes packed with a suite of gaming software features. These include GT Mode for high refresh rates and ultra-responsive touch, and Geek Power Tuning, which allows manual CPU and GPU adjustments.
Other helpful tools include Mistouch Prevention and Touch Sensitivity settings, Hyper HDR for enhanced game visuals, and Smart Dual-Channel Network for seamless switching between mobile data and Wi-Fi.
It runs realme UI 6.0 on top of Android 15 out of the box.
Camera: Basic but Capable
Not primarily marketed for its cameras, we're only getting one main sensor on the realme 14 5G. It's a 50MP with optical image stabilization and a 16MP selfie shooter. There’s no ultrawide or telephoto, which might limit versatility.
The main camera holds its own in good lighting. Shots come out sharp, with decent color reproduction that we'd say looks similar to other recent realme releases, including the Pro variants.
Main camera samples:
Low-light performance is good as well, although you do have to hold on a bit longer to get a sharp image as this mostly rely on longer exposures to get in more light.
Low light samples:
The front camera is similarly okay—fine for video calls and selfies under good lighting.
Front camera samples:
The realme 14 5G also features a suite of AI-powered camera tools, including AI Snap Mode, AI Live Photo, AI Eraser 2.0, AI Motion Deblur, and AI Reflection Remover to help users capture cleaner, clearer, and more dynamic photos.
Battery Life: All-Day Ready
With a 6000mAh battery, the realme 14 5G easily lasts a full day of use and possibly even two for light users. To give you a clearer idea of its efficiency, playing three multiplayer matches in Call of Duty from a full charge only brought the battery down to 99 or 98 percent.
It supports 45W fast charging, which isn't particularly fast by today’s standards, but it’s still decent. It can charge from 20 percent to full in about 1 hour and 16 minutes.
Verdict
For PhP 17,999, the realme 14 5G delivers on each of its promises—capable gaming performance, robust battery life, a smooth display, and a design that clearly signals it's built for gaming. It skips a few extras, like an ultrawide camera, but that’s often the case with gaming-focused smartphones anyway.
If you’re looking for a daily driver that can also take you to the top of your game, the realme 14 5G is absolutely worth considering—especially if you manage to grab it with the bundled freebies, which include the TechLife G1 Wireless Gaming Headphones.
