what is the best budget smartphone?


Which smartphone to choose with a budget around 250 euros? We offer you a match between two references, the Xiaomi Redmi Note 12 5G and the Galaxy A14 5G.

On the left, the Galaxy A14 5G, on the right the Redmi Note 12 5G. // Source: Frandroid

Do you have a budget of around 250 euros to buy a smartphone? On my left, we find Samsung, the best-selling brand on Android with its reassuring side which presents us with a Galaxy A14 5G. On my right, the tempestuous challenger, Xiaomi, renowned for its entry-level smartphones, which releases a Redmi Note 12 5G. Note that there is a 4G version of these two phones, but with a view to a sustainable and long-term purchase, we have decided to offer you a versus on the 5G versions, which are slightly different.

Technical sheets

ModelSamsung Galaxy A14 5GXiaomi Redmi Note 12 5G
Dimensions

7.8cm x 16.77cm x 9.1mm

7.62cm x 16.58cm x 7.98mm

Manufacturer interface

One UI

MIUI

Screen size

6.6 inches

6.67 inches

Definition

2408 x 1080 pixels

2400 x 1080 pixels

Pixel density

400 dpi

395 dpi

Technology

LCD

AMOLED

SoCs

Mediatek Dimension 700

Qualcomm Snapdragon 4 Gen 1

graphics chip

Mali-G57 MC2

Adreno 619

Internal storage

64 GB

128 GB

Camera (back)

Sensor 1: 50 MP
Sensor 2: 2 MP
Sensor 3: 2 MP

Sensor 1: 48 Mp
Sensor 2: 8 MP
Sensor 3: 2 MP

Front photo sensor

13 Mp

13 Mp

Video recording definition

Full-HD

Full-HD

Wireless

Wi-Fi 5 (ac)

Wi-Fi 5 (ac)

Bluetooth

5.2

5.1

5G

Yes

Yes

NFC

Yes

Yes

Fingerprint sensor

Yes

Yes

connector type

USB Type-C

USB Type-C

Battery capacity

5000mAh

5000mAh

Weight

205g

189g

Colors

Black, Silver, Green

Blue, Green, Gray

Repairability index?

8.8/10

N/A

Price

229 €

269 ​​€

Product sheet See the test

Product sheet See the test

Design: 0 – 0, ball in the center

On the design, the two phones struggle to distinguish themselves. The Galaxy may benefit from a bit more finishing, in particular with a rather pleasant textured back, but it is also heavier (202 g) and thicker (9.1 mm) than its competitor (189 g and 7. 98mm).

Whichever you choose, you’ll get a 3.5mm jack and a dual-SIM smartphone. Similarly, neither of the two phones incorporates IP certification against water and dust, so great care will have to be taken.

Draw therefore on the design.

Screen: it has Redmi the church in the middle of the village

Regarding the screens of our two competitors, the Redmi offers a clearly superior experience to the Galaxy. One word separates them: Oled.

The Redmi has a 120 Hz Oled screen which offers color vibrancy, display finesse, far superior to that of Samsung’s LCD. Even at the level of pure capabilities, the Redmi’s screen is far superior with stronger brightness and wider coverage of colorimetric spectra. The Galaxy is soundly beaten.

Software: two different philosophies

Samsung’s smartphone slightly regains the advantage in the field of the interface. One UI (Samsung side) is more ergonomic than MIUI (Xiaomi side). On the other hand, MIUI is still much smoother than One UI, especially on two fairly underpowered machines like we have here.

Also, neither phone offers more than three years of security patches. This means that after three years of use, your phone will no longer be updated at all. This is not very serious on relatively accessible products like this, which in any case will surely not integrate the latest functionalities of the two brands.

Ultimately, to choose between the two, you will also have to see where you come from. If you’re used to Samsung, switching to Xiaomi may take a little getting used to. But neither of these two interfaces, in this price range, really manages to get ahead of the other.

Photo: the Redmi a bit ahead

In the photo, the two phones offer almost similar technical sheets.

Photo configuration of the Samsung Galaxy A14 5G:

  • A 50-megapixel f/1.8 wide-angle main sensor;
  • a 2-megapixel f/2.4 wide-angle sensor;
  • a 2 MP f/2.4 macro sensor.

Photo configuration of the Redmi Note 12 5G

  • Main camera: 48MP, f/1.8;
  • 8 MP ultra-wide-angle camera, f/2.2, 118°;
  • Macro: 2MP, f/2.4.

We still notice a little more effort on the definition of the ultra wide-angle sensor on the Redmi side, which makes it more usable.

More broadly, the battle between the two is therefore settled in the field of software processing of shots. On this, we want to recommend the Redmi more, which provides a more flattering color palette for slightly more usable shots. Its portrait mode also surprised us with its quality, as did its night mode, which remains correct.

Keep in mind though that neither of these two phones particularly shines in photos. They are correct, nothing more on this point.

Performance: Redmi in force

On performance, the Redmi Note 12 is a class above Galaxy A14. Rather judge it with the benchmarks.

ModelSamsung Galaxy A14 5GXiaomi Redmi Note 12 5G
AnTuTu 9 289749 323620
AnTuTu CPU 86207 129713
AnTuTu GPU 56026 N/A
AnTuTu MEM 70015 99254
AnTuTu UX 77501 94653
PC Mark 3.0 7998 10874
3DMark Slingshot Extreme 2442 N/A
3DMark Slingshot Extreme Graphics 2287 N/A
3DMark Slingshot Extreme Physics 3202 N/A
3DMark Wild Life 1199 N/A
3DMark Wild Life average framerate 7.2 FPS N/A
3DMark Wild Life Extreme 327 N/A
3DMark Wild Life Extreme average framerate 2 FPS N/A
GFXBench Aztec Vulkan/Metal high (onscreen / offscreen) 8 / 14FPS N/A
GFXBench Car Chase (onscreen/offscreen) 12 / 15FPS N/A
GFXBench Manhattan 3.0 (onscreen/offscreen) 21 / 25FPS N/A
Sequential Read/Write 843 / 467 MB/s 531 / 490 MB/s
Random read/write 46833 / 51974 IOPS 42623 / 37370 IOPS

In game on Genshin Impactif the Samsung fails to go higher than the Low graphics presets, the Redmi can go to the Medium side without shaking or overheating.

Battery: a world separates them

Autonomy is undoubtedly better on the Samsung side. This lasted 14 hours and 27 minutes on our ViSer protocol, compared to 10 hours and 40 minutes for the Redmi. Also, we struggled to get past the day’s use without shaking on the Redmi.

On the other hand, Samsung does not provide a charger in the box, the Xiaomi takes on colors thanks to its supplied 33 W charger, which allows you to refuel in a big hour.

Audio and networks

Connectivity-wise, the two spec sheets line up perfectly. Both integrate Wi-Fi 5, Bluetooth 5.1 and an NFC chip.

On audio, both phones play in the same court. And this one is not particularly glorious. Don’t expect better than a sound that is too high-pitched and quite muffled. The presence of a 3.5 mm jack allows at least to connect headphones or earphones.

Which one to choose ?

Here we are at the end of this versus and once is not custom, we have a clear winner. The Redmi Note 12 5G will be advised against the Galaxy A14 5G. If it is better in photos and in performance, we will especially remember its Oled screen which makes the whole experience much more pleasant.

The Galaxy A14 would only be preferred if you absolutely need a very autonomous phone. Otherwise, go your way and opt, at this price, for the Xiaomi.

Where to buy The

Xiaomi Redmi Note 12 5G at the best price?


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