While we're all eagerly awaiting the arrival of the Galaxy S23 series in just a few weeks, Samsung isn't waiting around to kick off its phone launches for 2023. As announced at CES last week, the Galaxy A14 5G is the company's latest ultra-affordable smartphone, one that looks to be as impressive and capable as its predecessor. It's hitting store shelves today, providing an impressive option for budget-conscious shoppers as we head into a new year.

As promised, the Galaxy A14 is now available directly through Samsung for $200, unlocked and ready for your carrier of choice. The company didn't rock the boat this year, retaining the same MediaTek processor, 4GB of RAM, and camera lineup as last year's phone. That's understandable — for a budget device, the A13's performance was more than adequate, and delivering additional power would likely result in a price increase.

Instead, Samsung improved the design, ditching the curved plastic of last year's phone for something that looks a lot less janky, now more in line with the Galaxy S-series. The display also received an overhaul, moving from a middling 720p panel to a 1080p screen without dropping its 90Hz refresh rate. Both of these changes should make the A14 a much better daily driver candidate, all while lowering the price by $50 compared to the A13.

In his hands-on at CES, AP's Taylor Kerns noted how much nicer it felt in his hand than any of Samsung's recent A-series devices, thanks to its flatter edges and a reinforced chassis. Unfortunately, despite other markets getting a ton of fun colors, US buyers are stuck with basic black.

Samsung has the Galaxy A14 5G in stock and ready to ship through its website, either as an unlocked model or ready for use on any of the big three US carriers. Verizon and T-Mobile also have the device listed on their respective sites, with the latter offering it free with a new line.

It's not the only A-series smartphone planned for an early launch this year. Before Samsung takes the stage at Unpacked on February 1st, it'll launch the Galaxy A54 on January 18th. It's shaping up to be as excellent a phone as last year's A53, with a refined design, a revised camera lineup, and more. It'll be more expensive than the Galaxy A14, but the improved experience it provides might be worth the extra cash upfront.