Motorola Moto e14 review: Super cheap but not without compromises

Motorola has been busy recently, creating a good selection of phones for those who want something decent on a tight budget. I’ve already reviewed the Moto G04 which was a ludicrously low £89, and now the company is going for something even cheaper at £69.99 for the Moto e14!

So, is it money saved or should you move up to a more expensive device? I put the Moto E14 through its paces to find out. 

Design & Build

• Neat and tidy design
• Hard plastic body
• Not waterproof (but water resistant)

Motorola has developed quite a sleek and modern aesthetic for its budget devices of late, and the e14 benefits from the same kind of construction as its siblings. The body is made from Polymethyl Methacrylate (PMMA) which is a synthetic polymer that you can basically call hard plastic.

It has a matt texture though, making it quite pleasant to hold and somehow it manages not to feel cheap. My review model comes in a fetching Pastel Green livery, but there are also Graphite Grey and Pastel Purple if you fancy something a little less bright. 

Gone are the days when budget phones betrayed their humble origins with ugly designs and questionable design, as the e14 proves

The 163.49 x 74.53 x 7.99mm dimensions make it a tall device that can be a little cumbersome in the hand (made worse by there being no TPU case included in the package), but a weight of 178.8g means it doesn’t really feel too unwieldy.

If you have smaller hands or are considering this for a younger person, a case would be a good investment, as would instructions to use it with both hands. 

There’s a 6.56-inch display with a punch-hole camera, a single speaker that supports Dolby Atmos, and a 3.5mm headphone jack if you want to crank things up.

The slim camera bump on the rear, similar to the Edge 50 range, is home to a single camera and flash that are laid out in a pleasing twin circular arrangement. Further investigation of the flanks reveals power and volume buttons, along with a tray that can hold two Nano SIM cards or a mixture of one and a microSD card. 

There’s no fingerprint sensor on the e14, which isn’t surprising for a phone at this price, but the facial recognition is decent enough. There are similar budgetary constraints in terms of waterproofing. The e14 has an IP52 rating, which means it should be ok with the occasional spill nearby, but don’t drop the phone into liquids as it is highly unlikely to survive. 

Gone are the days when budget phones betrayed their humble origins with ugly designs and questionable design, as the e14 proves with its looks and handling that feel like a standard, modern device that could easily cost a fair bit more. 

Screen & Speakers

• 6.56-inch IPS panel
• 90Hz refresh rate
• Single speaker

The display seems to be the same or just very similar to the one on the Moto G04. You get a 6.56-inch IPS LCD panel, protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 3, that has a variable refresh rate which moves between 60- and 90Hz.

The 1612 x 720 resolution means this isn’t a Full HD screen but there’s strong colour definition and enough pixels (269 ppi) to make everything look reasonably sharp. 

Motorola claims that a High Brightness mode can kick the panel up to over 500 nits, but I didn’t really encounter that. Instead, I measured the maximum brightness in everyday use at around 340 nits. This is fine for indoor use, but I will admit that it was quite sunny while I was testing the e14 and this did make it difficult (sometimes impossible) to read the screen when I was out and about. 

I had no problem with the responsiveness of the panel though, with everything moving as I’d expect, and typing was as accurate as any device could hope to be when dealing with my gnarly old fingers. 

Sounds come from a solitary speaker on the bottom edge of the e14. It’s not amazing, but as with most things in this review, the price has to be taken into consideration when it comes to components. You can hear things clearly, there’s a tinny, echoey quality to YouTube videos and streaming services, while music lacks any noticeable bass.

Of course, this can all be negated by either plugging some headphones or a speaker into the 3.5mm jack or simply using the onboard Bluetooth 5.0 capabilities to send the audio to a wireless output that will instantly make things better.

The e14 does support Dolby Atmos sound and the app is preloaded on the phone, so you can try different balances for the output – but it doesn’t really help the deficiencies of the onboard speaker. 

Specs & Performance 

• UNISOC T606 processor
• 2GB RAM (can be boosted by 2GB through onboard storage)
• 64GB storage (expandable up to 1TB via microSD)
• Some apps not compatible

It’s a very similar loadout to the G04 again in the specs, but with one notable difference. You still get the same UNISOC T606 processor that comprises 2xA75 1.6 GHz + 6xA55 1.6 GHz octa-core CPU and is aided by the 650MHz Arm Mali-G57 MP1 GPU.

The main difference is that where the G04 came with 4GB of RAM, which at the time I thought was low for 2024, the e14 halves this to 2GB.

Yes, Motorola says the phone can utilise its RAM Boost feature that borrows 2GB of local storage to push the number up, but 2GB does seem a major misstep even for a phone at this price. 

My fears were sadly borne out at times, with the e14 generally being fine to use but occasionally it would struggle to load long lists of options in menus, take a while to process a photo in the camera or scroll through the gallery, but most telling was that it couldn’t run several of the apps I use for testing phones.

One was Geekbench 6, which we use for benchmarking devices, but the other was Asphalt Legends Unite which just isn’t compatible with the e14.

This is a popular game and if you were considering the e14 for your child, then they may be disappointed if some cool titles aren’t available. That being said, plenty of big games work with the e14, so maybe Asphalt is an outlier, and while Genshin Impact wasn’t compatible either, that is a graphically intensive beast which I wouldn’t blame the e14 for not being able to run. 

Storage is tight to begin with, as there’s a lowly 64GB capacity, but you can boost this by up to 1TB if you pop a microSD card into the SIM tray. 

Another consideration, although not quite as important for most people, is that there’s no NFC and therefore no way to make wireless payments with the e14. So, if you’d hoped to use it for tap and pay services, then that won’t be possible.

Again, the price is the reason, as Motorola has to make choices to keep the cost down and NFC is a feature that often gets put to the wayside in cheaper devices. There’s also no 5G, but that’s not surprising either at this price.

Motorola Moto e14 benchmarks 

I did manage to get some benchmarks done though, and you can see below how the Moto e14 compares to some of its closest rivals:

Cameras

• 13 Mp f/2.2 main camera
• 5Mp f/2.2 selfie camera
• Average performance

As this is a phone that costs the same as a curry and a few drinks in any major European capital city, expectations have to be cut to suit the cloth. You’re not going to be blown away by the results you’ll get from the e14, but that doesn’t mean it can’t take some nice photographs.

As I mentioned earlier, the weather was very sunny for the majority of my time with the device, and in those conditions, I captured some lovely images that I would be more than happy to share on social media or maybe send to friends.

Colours popped and only occasionally fell into the over-saturation and sharpness trap that often occurs in budget models. 

I captured some lovely images that I would be more than happy to share on social media or maybe send to friends

As there’s only a single 13Mp f/2.2 main camera, there’s no zoom or ultra-wide capabilities – come on, it’s £70! – and the zoom feature is just cropping into the normal picture, so on no account think of using it. All you get is a pixelated mess.

You do get a few different modes, including Portrait, Time Lapse and QR Code, plus there are settings for frame sizes, HDR and the flash.  

Stick to well-lit scenes and stationary subjects and you could be happily surprised by the results. This could be a downside if you’re thinking of the e14 as a potential festival phone though, as you won’t be able to get many close shots of the bands or well-balanced night shots for the after hours.

Low light photography proved a little more challenging for the e14, with focussing issues beginning to appear. Even when you select the subject, final results often showed that the focussing had picked another area in the frame, leaving images soft. You can get some good, balanced shots, but it can feel like pot luck. 

The front camera is a 5Mp f/2.2 module, which can produce standard selfies for social media posts, although don’t expect too much. 

Video is also usable for social media and such, with a maximum quality of 1080p at 30fps on the main camera and 720p/30fps on the selfie camera. Again, in lower-lit scenes you’re going to have to deal with focus hunting, but for sunny days you should be happy with the footage you can capture. 

Here’s some examples of the photographs I captured with the Moto e14

Battery Life & Charging

• 5000mAh battery
• Supports 15W charging (10W charger included)
• Long battery life

One area where the e14 really shines is battery life.

Motorola equips the phone with a capacious 5000mAh cell, and I think the low demands of the processor and limitations of apps probably contribute the the very impressive performance.

At the end of each day, having used the device for general browsing, messaging, some YouTube viewing, and listening to music, I’d regularly have a large chunk of power still in reserve. This could easily be a two-day phone if you’re not constantly living on Instagram or TikTok. 

one of the most long-lasting devices we’ve tested recently

In our standard PCMark for Android battery test, the e14 scored an excellent 14 hours and 19 minutes which was just shy of the times put up by the Moto g04. This makes it one of the most long-lasting devices we’ve tested recently. 

Motorola does state that the e14 supports up to 15W charging, but you only get a 10W charger in the box – still better than with some much more expensive devices with fruit logos. 

Recharging with the provided plug and USB cable returned the e14 from zero to 10% in 15 minutes. A further 15 minutes brought the figure up to 20% and a full recharge ended up taking around 2 hours and 15 minutes.

Software & Apps

• Android 14 (Go Edition)
• Some bloatware
• Only 2 years of security updates

The Moto e14 comes with Android 14 but it’s the slimmed-down Go edition which is tailored for devices that only have 2GB of RAM or less. This does its best to keep things snappy, but it’s fighting a losing battle at times with the bottleneck the memory builds in. 

As mentioned earlier, there are some compatibility issues with more demanding apps, but if you want social media and messaging to be the core of your experience, then the e14 will suit you fine. 

Surprisingly, for a phone which has so little onboard storage, there were actually bloatware apps included, with the system suggesting several more that it wanted me to download. These are quickly removed, but did seem incongruent with the idea of a stripped-back experience. 

The interface itself is standard Android, with the menus and settings you’d expect. Everything is clean and well laid out, while navigating the menus is easy, although you do face the occasional pauses or stutters. 

Motorola hasn’t confirmed if the e14 will get any updates to Android 14 or beyond, and it is probably unlikely. You should still get two years of security updates though, as was the case with the G04. So in essence you’re buying a phone that will become defunct in the summer of 2026, which is something to bear in mind. 

Price & Availability

As I said at the outset, the Moto e14 is a very budget-friendly phone. You can order it from Motorola for £69.99/€109 which is just crazy. Sadly, US customers won’t be getting this particular model. 

You can also buy it at Amazon, Argos, John Lewis and Currys.

There are not a lot of options that are quite as cheap as this, but the most obvious one is actually a stablemate of the e14. Moto’s G04 costs £89.99/€109 and is essentially the same phone as the e14 except for the vital difference that it comes with 4GB of RAM.  

There’s also the Nokia C32 for around the same price that also boasts a larger 50Mp main camera sensor or there’s the Realme C35 but that is nearly double the price. The Samsung Galaxy A15 (4G) is a similar story but worth looking at if you have the money.

Here are the best contract deals for the Moto e14 at the moment:

You can also check out our guide to the best budget phones to see what else we currently recommend. 

Should you buy the Motorola Moto E14?

The Moto e14 certainly can look attractive at its low price point, and you certainly do get some value for your money. The display is good, if a little dim outside, the battery life is excellent, and there is the option for expandable storage all the way up to 1TB. 

On the downsides, the cameras are only good in well-lit areas and performance wasn’t exactly stellar. I put the latter squarely down to the paltry 2GB of RAM, which simply isn’t enough in 2024 and hasn’t been for a few years now.

Sure, if you just want a phone to make calls, look at Facebook, do some online shopping and message your friends, then it can do all of that. The long battery life and low cost also make it a candidate for the role of a festival or travelling phone, but only if you don’t really care about using the camera that much. 

In all honesty, with the Moto G04 so close in price, I don’t really see any reason for the e14 to exist. Save up £20 and buy the G04 instead. It’s the same phone, but the extra 2GB of RAM makes all the difference. 

Specs

• Android 14 (Go Edition)
• 6.56-inch, 90Hz, HD+ IPS LCD display, Corning Gorilla Glass 3
• 20:9 aspect ratio, 1612 x 720 resolution, 269 ppi
• UNISOC T606 processor (2xA75 1.6 GHz + 6xA55 1.6 GHz octa-core CPU) 
• 650 MHz Arm Mali-G57 MP1 GPU
• 2GB RAM (boostable to 4GB using onboard storage)
• 64GB storage
• Dolby Atmos sound
• 13 Mp (f/2.2, 1.12 µm) | PDAF front camera
• 5 Mp (f/2.2, 1.12 µm) selfie camera
• Single dedicated speaker
• 3.5mm headphone jack
• USB-C charging port
• 4G LTE
• Wi-Fi 5
• GPS
• No NFC
• Dual nano SIM
• Bluetooth 5
• IP52 water resistant
• 5,000 mAh battery
• 15W rapid charging supported (only 10W charger included in box)
• Polymethyl Methacrylate (PMMA) construction
• Graphite Grey, Pastel Green, Pastel Purple colour-schemes
• 163.49 x 74.53 x 7.99 mm
• 178.8 g