Beebom
Rating8
Oppo K14 Plus looks like a gallery piece, but it’s built like an absolute tank. It brings a smooth AMOLED panel, polished software, a good camera, IP69K water resistance, and a battery that keeps going. The performance is enough to get by, but gamers might be disappointed. But it's an unshakeable midrange phone that proves its prowess in an unstable smartphone market.
Pros
- Durable build
- Sharp and responsive AMOLED screen
- Almost two-day battery life
- Smooth OS experience
- Consistent day and night shots from the camera
Cons
- Performance could be better
The Oppo K14 Plus arrives with a massive battery and a sharp AMOLED display, two things that the current midrange segment is obsessed with. It also brings a polished software experience and a build that feels more premium than its price. But is it different enough to stand out from the competition? I spent a week with it to find out, and I will answer whether or not it is the right pick for you in this Oppo K14 Plus review.
Oppo K14 Plus Unboxing
Here is everything that comes in the box with the Oppo K14 Plus:
- Oppo K14 Plus smartphone
- Pre-applied screen protector
- 45W SuperVOOC power adapter
- USB-A to USB-C cable
- Transparent protective case
- SIM ejector tool
- Paperwork
Before diving into the detailed review, do take a look at the key specs of the Oppo K14 Plus.
Oppo K14 Plus Key Details
Note: Our testing, opinion, and rating for this review are based on the phone's launch price. We recommend checking the current price before making a purchase decision.
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Design and Build
- 8.4 mm thickness, 207 grams weight
- Plastic frame and back panel
- IP 66/68/69K rating for dust and water protection
I have been using the Star White colour variant of the Oppo K14 Plus for this review. It looks elegant, thanks to its design, which is mostly covered in this marble-like finish. The rest of the phone has a smooth surface, and this combination is surprisingly clean for what could have easily looked gimmicky.
The in-hand feel is reassuring, and that marble finish does more than look good. The matte-like texture offers a grip that makes the phone feel planted in my palms. At 207 grams, it has some heft, but I never felt uncomfortable carrying the device or clutching it in my hands for long periods.
The buttons are tactile and responsive, and the overall build quality feels sturdy and durable, especially since it has a plastic frame and back, but it doesn't feel cheap whatsoever.
If that's not enough, Oppo has also added IP66, IP68, IP69, and IP69K ratings stacked on top of each other. So you can take the phone with you for a bath without worrying about it getting damaged.
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Display and Audio Quality
- 6.78-inch (1272 x 2772) 1.5K AMOLED flat display
- 144 Hz refresh rate, 10-bit support
- 3,600 nits peak brightness (claimed by the brand)
The display is what grabbed my attention, and I held on to it the most. There is a sharp 1.5K AMOLED panel, offering a rich and immersive viewing experience.
During my Oppo K14 Plus review period, I spent a good chunk of it watching Daredevil: Born Again and some YouTube videos, and the screen never disappointed.
The blacks appear deep, which benefits dark scenes, as I could still make out details within them, and the overall colour reproduction has that vibrant, punchy quality that AMOLED panels are known for.
The display also gets bright enough under direct sunlight that I never had to squint or shield the screen with my hand to see what was on it.
The stereo speakers complement the screen well. I played a mix of rock and pop during my testing, tracks like Emptiness Machine by Linkin Park and Espresso by Sabrina Carpenter, and the output was loud, clean, and genuinely enjoyable.
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Performance Tested
- MediaTek Dimensity 7360 Max
- Up to 8 GB LPDDR4X RAM + 256 GB UFS 3.1 storage
The Oppo K14 Plus runs on the MediaTek Dimensity 7360 Max processor, which is a decent midrange chipset. But given that I have only seen it in very few devices, I was concerned about the performance. But after running a few benchmarks, I started to see what this chipset is capable of.
In daily use, the processor held its own better than I expected. App opening and closing animations ran smoothly, the general navigation felt fluid, and I did not run into any particular stutter or hiccup throughout my Oppo K14 Plus review period.
RAM management is generous enough to keep more than 6 apps open in the background without aggressively closing them.
But gaming is not its strongest suit. BGMI supports 60 FPS on Smooth graphics, and the experience was reliable, as the phone stuck to that number without any major drops. CoD: Mobile can go up to 90 FPS on Low graphics, but it showed noticeable frame drops during intense action, dipping from 90 to around 70 FPS from time to time.
The good news is, even after prolonged gaming sessions and extended camera use, the phone barely got warm to the touch. That's mostly thanks to the 5,000 mm² vapour chamber inside the K14 Plus.
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Software and Updates
- ColorOS 16.5 based on Android 17
- 3 years of software updates + 4 years of security patches
Oppo K14 Plus runs ColorOS 16.5, but I didn't expect it to come out of the box with Android 17. As a result, this version of ColorOS feels a lot closer to the upcoming ColorOS 17 update, and I got to try out some of the new changes early here.
There are small but noticeable refinements everywhere, from the more rounded toggles in quick settings to the new Phone app and the subtle changes to the lockscreen and settings app. And what surprised me the most is the fact that it runs this well on a midrange Dimensity chipset.
The little animations when opening apps, pulling down the notification shade, or switching between tasks all feel smooth and refined.
However, the bloatware situation is bad, and I mean properly bad. The phone came loaded with over a dozen pre-installed apps that I had to manually uninstall one by one and disable Hot Apps and Hot Games services during my Oppo K14 Plus review period.
This is not a midrange issue, as I have complained about the same in my Oppo Find X9 Ultra review too, which is a premium flagship phone.
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Cameras Reviewed
- 50 MP (main), f/1.8, OIS, video recording up to 4K @ 30 FPS
- 16 MP (selfie), f/2.4, video recording up to 4K @ 30 FPS
- 2 MP monochrome camera
The Oppo K14 Plus features a 50MP main lens with OIS, a 2MP monochrome camera, and a 16MP front shooter. I do miss the lack of an ultrawide lens, especially at this price. That said, let's take a look at the image samples I took from the device during my K14 Plus review period.
Main Camera
The 50 MP main camera shines in daylight photography. Photos come out sharp, the highlights are well controlled, and the overall output has an immaculate quality to it that I did not expect going in.
There is a slight tendency in the processing to crush and sometimes even wipe out shadows in certain parts of the image, which is something I also pointed out in my Oppo Find X9 Pro review, but in general, the quality is pretty solid for the price.
Night shots hold up well too, as OIS comes into play and does a great job of keeping things stable. There's little visible noise in some darker regions. The level of detail also goes a little soft compared to daylight shots, but the images are serviceable and perfectly usable for social media or casual sharing.
Front Camera
Selfies come out with natural skin tones and a good level of facial detail. There is a very slight skin-smoothing effect applied by default, which isn't quite noticeable unless you look closely enough. Portrait shots from the front camera are good, with decent edge detection for the background blur cutout.
Video Quality
Video recording tops out at 4K @ 30 FPS from the main camera as well as the front camera, and the footage is smooth for the most part thanks to OIS keeping things stable.
I did notice a slight jerk that creeps in when stopping a recording, which is a minor annoyance but worth mentioning since it can affect the tail end of a clip.
Battery Life and Charging
- 8,000 mAh battery capacity
- 45W wired charging support
- 0-100% charge in 1 hour 35 minutes
This is where the Oppo K14 Plus shows its biggest strength. The 8,000mAh battery got me through an entire day, and I was not being gentle with it. I averaged around 10.5 hours of screen-on time across my Oppo K14 review period. This includes gaming, watching movies, scrolling Instagram, and even using the phone as a Wi-Fi hotspot from time to time.
The supplied 45W charger took the phone from 0% to 100% charge in about 1 hour and 35 minutes. It is not the fastest in the segment, and phones like the Realme P4 Power with its 80W charging will get there noticeably quicker, even though they have a larger battery.
Oppo K14 Plus Review Verdict: Should You Buy It?
The Oppo K14 Plus is a solid option in the midrange segment. The 10.5-hour screen-on time, the gorgeous 1.5K AMOLED panel, and the buttery-smooth ColorOS 16.5 make a compelling package, and the sturdy build with IP69K resistance adds peace of mind on top.
The performance is a little disappointing, especially for gamers. But in day-to-day use, it gets you through your tasks, which is what matters. And the cameras are generally decent for the most part.
There are also stronger options in specific areas: the Motorola Edge 70 Fusion offers a better chipset and faster storage, and the Realme P4 Power edges it out on raw battery capacity with its 10,001mAh cell. But if your priority is long battery endurance paired with a sharp display and a genuinely refined software experience, all in one device, then the Oppo K14 Plus is a solid option to consider.
