realme 14 5G Review: A Budget Gaming Phone That Doesn’t Feel Budget At All

When I first picked up the realme 14 5G, I wasn’t expecting much—mid-range phones usually cut corners somewhere. But after using it for a bit now, I have to say, this phone surprised me in more ways than one. It’s aimed at the affordable segment, but it honestly doesn’t feel like a budget phone at all. It’s not just a phone for your everyday messaging, scrolling, and TikTok or IG reels. realme’s clearly aiming at gamers, and given it’s approved by MLBB (Mobile Legends:Bang Bang) as MAL (MLBB Academy League) Official Gaming Phone, you can clearly expect they do have some substance packed into this device.

So here’s my honest take on the realme 14 5G—what’s good, what’s okay, and whether it’s worth your money.

Mecha Design Meets Victory Halo

The design is eye-catching. realme calls it the “Mecha Silver“ and honestly, it does stand out with that futuristic robot armour vibe—especially in a market where most phones look like minor variations of the same thing. The “Victory Halo” syncs with your in-game triumphant moments, like your multi-kills and victories, giving you that additional esports vibes, though you won’t be able to witness it. Some people may not care about how a phone looks, but for this price range, it does stand out from the usual plain and boring designs.

The back is plastic, yes, but it doesn’t feel cheap. It’s light but still feels solid in the hand. It’s thin too—just 7.97mm, so it's pretty easy to hold. Typing with one-hand wouldn't be a problem at all. It weighs at around 196g, which is fairly light for a phone with a 6000mAh battery inside, and we’ll talk more about later.

World’s First Snapdragon 6 Gen 4

This is the first phone to use the Snapdragon 6 Gen 4 chip, and this is not just another mere spec bump. At first I wasn’t expecting much from it, but In actual usage, this new chip handles multitasking way better than many other phones within this price range. With an AnTuTu Benchmark score above 780k, it's one of the best performing chips within its segment.

My unit comes with 12GB RAM + 256GB storage, and realme allows for another 14GB Dynamic RAM Expansion, which is more than enough for most people. realme claims that together with the Dynamic RAM it can support up to 40 active background apps, but come on, who really does that? As much as I was testing out some productivity apps with music and games running alongside, switching between apps is really smooth.

I also hardly noticed any lag or stuttering in both fast-paced games like MLBB or graphics heavy games like Genshin Impact. It doesn’t feel like a budget processor at all. The 4nm process also means it’s efficient—less heat, less battery drain. So yeah, the chipset might not sound sexy on paper compared to the bigger gaming flagships, but realme really did tune it well.

GT Boost

And since the realme 14 5G is a gaming phone, it just makes sense to have realme’s signature GT Mode in order to optimize the gaming experience. It gives a massive boost to the processor performance and touch sampling rate.

You can think of it like a turbo boost for your games—turn it on and you’ll get more speed and better performance. I tried playing MLBB and did some Genshin dailies with GT Mode on, and noticed smoother gameplay and much better touch response. It’s not night and day, but you can feel the difference. In casual use it might not be noticeable but in competitive matches where every split millisecond counts, it’s helpful.

And since it’s approved by MLBB as the MAL Official Gaming Phone, you can be rest assured that this is definitely not gimmicky. And if you’re a serious gamer, especially MLBB, the next part is for you.

MLBB MAL Certified

realme 14 5G is officially MLBB MAL Certified, meaning that it has been tested to give you esports level gaming performance. And in fact, it has been tested to meet 10 challenges and we have personally tested it out as well so 100% legit on that.

I played about an hour of MLBB, around 4 matches back-to-back, at the official standard settings required by MLBB. As expected, it runs smoothly and steadily at around 90FPS without noticeable lag or frame drops. In fact it can even support up to 120FPS so you can definitely enjoy your gaming sessions at top graphics and top FPS settings.

More importantly, touch response is excellent. The 120Hz AMOLED display really helps here (more on that later). It felt fast and responsive, and I could feel the phone was keeping up with my fingers.

I also tested the slightly heavy Genshin Impact on the realme 14 5G. You’ll get slightly better performance at medium settings. Higher settings are still playable, but you’ll feel a bit of frame drops at times. But overall the graphics are pretty decent, combat and exploration are smooth as well.

Genshin Impact at Highest Settings 60FPS

Of course you cannot compare it with those top tier flagship gaming phones, but for a phone in this price range, it gives way better-than-expected gaming performance. Even casual and mid-core gamers can get that esports gaming experience without needing to break the bank.

Bionic Cooling System

Cooling is always one of the biggest concerns when it comes to gaming, especially when it comes to esports, we are expecting hours and hours of back to back matches. And this part, realme really did well.

The realme 14 5G has what they call a Bionic Vapor Chamber Cooling System, with graphite and copper layers to spread the heat. Paired with its Biomimetic Neuron Temperature Control, it offers 10 times more heat dissipation capacity compared to its mid-range competitors. And this is why it’s able to keep cool throughout our 10 tournaments standard challenge.

Even when gaming at 120 FPS, the phone temperature has never gone beyond 40°C . You can feel it getting warm but never hot. Nothing uncomfortable. That’s thanks to the large 6050mm² cooling area, which is something you’d normally see in more expensive phones. Pretty sure this helps the chipset to maintain stable performance over time too. So if you’re the type to grind ranks with your party for a few hours non-stop, the realme 14 5G can definitely take the heat.

6000mAh Titan Battery + 45W Fast Charge

The battery here is massive—6000mAh. At medium usage, including social media, casual gaming, YouTube, messaging, the realme 14 5G can last nearly 2 full days. For heavier use (lots of camera, GPS, gaming), it still can last a full day easily. At heavier usage with GPS, hotspot on, and snapping around on the camera alongside some heavy gaming sessions, it still lasted the whole day. During our 10 tournament standards challenge, an hour of MLBB consumed 10% of battery, and I’d say that's pretty impressive.

Charging is 45W SUPERVOOC. It’s not the fastest out there, but considering having such a huge battery inside such a slim device, it’s decent. You won’t feel like you’re stuck waiting forever. And since it supports bypass charging, you can charge while gaming with ease without needing to worry about battery life deterioration.

IP66 + IP68 + IP69 Water and Dust Resistance

This one slightly surprised me—realme 14 5G has triple IP ratings: IP66, IP68, and IP69. To explain simply, IP66 means it can withstand strong water jets, like rain or splashing; IP68 means can withstand submersion up to 1.5m water; and IP69 means it can take high-pressure, high-temp water like cleaning sprays

Of course I didn’t dunk my phone into the pool or anything that extreme, but I did rinse it under the tap to clean it off. No issue at all. For Malaysians who are always caught in random unpredictable rainstorms, this adds a nice layer of protection. Not many phones in this price range can offer both durability and performance at this level, so realme definitely deserves credit here.

120Hz AMOLED Esports Display

The screen is a 6.67” FHD+ AMOLED panel with 120Hz refresh rate, and gaming on it is really a feast. The colours are bright, vibrant and sharp, enhancing not only your gaming sessions but also your binge-watching moments. Peak brightness goes up to 2000 nits, meaning it’s usable even under the sunlight.

The 120Hz refresh rate makes everything smooth, especially during gaming—it’s a noticeable difference compared to a standard 60Hz screen. You also get 1500Hz instant touch sampling rate, which is probably why the response during games felt so snappy. Even casual stuff like swiping through photos or typing felt smoother.

As we have mentioned in the 10 tournament standard challenge video, it also comes with AI Eye Protection to help prevent eye strain during longer sessions, as tournaments always last through the day.

50MP OIS AI Camera

Let’s be real—this phone isn’t made for photography. You can’t get the best of every world in one single device. But still you can see realme is giving the best possible setup within the segment. The 50MP main camera with OIS still does a pretty decent job.

Daylight shots have good details. Colours look natural. are sharp and clear. Dynamic range is okay. Not flagship quality, but more than enough for gamers to do some daily social media updates.

The 16MP selfie cam is basic, nothing much to shout about, but it gets the job done. There are also some AI features to let you play around with, like AI Eraser and AI Clear Face, some common ones for your daily editing needs.

Clean and Snappy realme UI 6.0

realme UI 6.0 based on Android 15 is quite clean this time. The UI looks more direct and natural, and the interaction is smoother than ever. Some other AI features are included under what realme calls NEXT AI, like AI Recording Summary which records your voice and video calls to generate key info summaries, AI Smart Loop 2.0 which learns your pattern over time and intelligently recommends relevant apps to eliminate the tedious multi-step operation, and of course, the Circle to Search (pretty sure I need not further explain this). Nothing groundbreaking, but handy quality-of-life stuff.

Verdict

If you’re a mobile gamer looking for a phone under RM1300, this one should be on your list. The realme 14 5G is priced at RM1,299 and also there is a telco exclusive 8+256GB variant which is RM1,199. The performance is solid, battery life is amazing, and it doesn’t overheat even during long intense gaming sessions.

It’s not trying to be everything, but still giving its best. The camera is decent, and the charging isn’t the fastest. But the strengths—gaming, screen, battery, cooling, and durability—make it a very well-rounded choice.

For students, budget-conscious gamers, or anyone who just wants a phone that works, the realme 14 5G punches way above its price. So yeah, it’s not perfect. But for what you’re paying, it delivers where it matters.

TL;DR

What You’ll Like:

Smooth gaming with Snapdragon 6 Gen 4
Massive 6000mAh battery
Durable with triple IP ratings
Clean UI and helpful AI tools
Great AMOLED 120Hz display

What’s Just Okay:

Camera is decent
45W charging is not the fastest

If gaming is your priority and you’re on a budget, this is one of the best options right now.