The Realme Narzo 50A is a decent phone and has some great battery life and daylight camera performance. However, it does not offer certain metrics that might help you decide if this is the right phone for you.
The newest addition to the Narzo series is a device that boasts everything but the kitchen sink- it’s got a quad-core processor, 4GB RAM, and 64GB of storage. This device is very much suited for users who are looking for productivity and efficiency with their budget, as well as those who want an all-rounder in one smartphone. The 50a is meant for your entertainment and productivity needs. Its MediaTek Helio G85 chipset is the same as that of the Redmi 10 Prime (review) and its primary camera has a 50MP sensor. Will this make for a reasonable choice when it comes to small-budget phones?
This camera is made of unibody polycarbonate, with a textured look that’s been around in the Narzo lineup since its inception. The difference here is that the camera bump looks different. I’m not a fan of the sensor placement. In my opinion, it could have been better near the side of the camera housing and with a look down on the fingerprint. I like the design of this phone. The USB C port is great to use with external hard drives and speakers while also offering both a 3.5mm headphone jack and a speaker grille around the bottom of the device. The 6,000mAh battery allows it to run for up to three days on just one charge! The volume rocker button feels flimsy, and the way it is built makes it a bit more brittle than it should be.
The Realme Narzo 50A is a budget smartphone. the phone is intended to be a budget device for the masses.
The Realme Narzo 50A has an 18:9 screen that offers an immersive experience for watching videos and playing games. It also has a Snapdragon 636 processor with 4GB RAM and 64GB storage that ensures smooth performance with no lag or stutter in games or apps. In addition to this, the phone has a 13MP + 5MP dual-camera setup with f/1.8 aperture and 1-micron pixels which captures sharp images even in low light conditions.
This budget smartphone is available on Flipkart, Amazon India, and offline stores across Canada
Display
The display is a 6.5-inch HD+ IPS LCD panel with a 60Hz refresh rate and a waterdrop-notch speaker rig surrounding the sides. The bezels are on the small side but don’t detract from the overall viewing experience. Despite the price of the phone, Realme has released some decent displays. I was excited when they finally came out with a screen size of more than 5 inches because my previous phone couldn’t. When I saw that this one had a better-looking screen, I got excited and bought the device in the first place. A slight shift in color representation is a normal occurrence on LCD panels, but many different color temperature settings could adjust this. Unfortunately, the phone doesn’t have Wide Vine L1 certification for viewing HD content on OTT platforms which seems like a big miss. The brightness levels are average & the ambient light sensor adjusts them automatically is iffy as well. Realme initially designed its handset with a display that didn’t support HDR displays, which doesn’t make sense considering its market.
The Galaxy XZ3 camera has a total of 50MP in its primary sensor, which uses a big 1/1.74″ sensor (the same size as the Galaxy S9 and Google Pixel 3). It also comes with two secondary depth sensors- one on either side of the main cam. The front cam has an 8MP lens, but can also pump out up.
- The daylight performance on this camera is pretty great for this price. The images come out a little fuzzy and the colors are dull but that may be okay if your main goal is natural shots. The autofocus seemed to work alright and I had no issues with blurring or anything of the like. Using the 50MP mode in your device will bring a lot of details to a shot. However, you must have enough storage available if you want to take shots of this quality.
- Low light shots typically offer good levels of detail, but they do not appear so prominently until supplemented with lighting from nearby street lights. There is a dedicated Night mode that uses computational photography to add finer details and more exposure but does very little to reduce noise in the shot. Focusing speeds are slower though, too much as far as I’m concerned. Selfie cameras produce high-quality images that make great selfies, but the picture process isn’t exactly up to snuff. For video recording, however, the iPhone X’s 1080p videos are captured at 30fps rather than 60fps.
- MediaTek recently launched its G85 SoC for budget smartphones that offer great performance and efficiency. Its processing capabilities rival those of much higher-priced chipsets, so there are no performance-related issues to worry about. While opening a few Chrome tabs, you may notice the device’s performance getting slower and that gameplay of certain heavy games, like Bolt Gunner MI, is a little choppy. However, there are always ways to optimize something – even if it is a little difficult to do with this particular device. The phone comes with 4GB of RAM with up to 128GB of storage that can be upgraded to 256GB using a microSD card.
The fingerprint sensor is fast & convenient to use and has stable performance. It is a little awkward reaching it at the top due to its placement, but because of the bottom-firing speaker, the sound quality is crisp & clear. There are no issues with Jio networks or their phones. The speaker and microphone work seamlessly and allow for clear sound without any problems. even if the UI is made for old software, the skin of Realme is quite nice. There is still bloatware to be found, but that’s not too big a problem. The skin itself is easy-to-use, so you’d think it’ll be fun to use this phone!
The battery on the device is a massive 6,000mAh cell that can push the phone easily through two days of normal usage. I generally used the phone to browse my social media accounts, watch YouTube videos, and play an hour or two of BGMI and I ended the day with close to 40 percent battery. There is an 18W charger provided with the box that takes over 2 hours to juice up the phone, which is pretty average.
Final verdict
Realme not only relies on its camera but also on the user interface. It is a strong point providing an advantage over competitors to continue their market-leading position. The camera isn’t great but the rest of the device is quite nice. The display has a low refresh rate and lacks WideVine L1 certification- it might be a dealbreaker for some, but it won’t affect your experience too much in everyday use. That said, the Acer Aspire E series laptops are comparatively affordable options. It has a satisfactory performance and long battery life, making it also a better option for many who have limited budgets.