The realme narzo 50A is the second device released from the popular narzo line of smartphones this year. The handset is dubbed as the "Entry-Level Gaming Champion" and is pegged to bring gaming-class performance in an affordable price standpoint.
realme narzo 50A Review
The narzo 50A delivers an improved camera in the same powerful MediaTek Helio G85 gaming chipset. There's a capable 4GB of RAM and 64GB storage on board. With its Php 7,990 price, will the realme narzo 50A set another distinction as an affordable gaming powerhouse? Let's find out in this review.
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Pros
- Very capable camera
- Solid performance
- Generous battery life
- Cool and trendy design
Cons
- Quite on the heavy side
- No option for bigger storage capacity
What's in the box?
The narzo 50A is packaged in the same sky blue box with white accents. Aside from the main unit, you'll have the same set of items - 18-watt power adapter, USB-C cable, documentations, and SIM card ejector.
As usual, there's no headphones included but that's pretty standard in most entry-level smartphones released in 2021.
Design
The realme narzo 50A dons the signature "narzo" design philosophy that we've seen in the said smartphone series. Yes, we still have the same "Diagonal Stripe Design" which worked well with the previously released narzo 30A. The major visual change on the new handset is the integration of the fingerprint sensor to the camera module which envelops the actual back-mounted sensors in a rectangular section.
I'm not sure how to feel about this change, but I think it gives the narzo brand a more edgier appeal. Also, the new color options are still fun to look at.
Rounding up the ports and buttons, the realme narzo 50A have them in no-nonsense placements. The volume rocker and power button are on the right side; while the SIM tray is on the left side. The bottom side is a home to the 3.5-mm audio jack, USB Type C port, microphone, and speaker grill.
The wide module results to lesser protrusion of the cameras which could be a welcome feature to most users. The “narzo” branding has been slightly flushed upwards, now aligning with the fingerprint sensor.
The back panel is still made up of polycarbonate material and is designed with two sections with different textures that reject fingerprints. The backing also gives a good grip to the handset especially when using it in landscape.
Display
The realme narzo 50A frames a 6.5-inch LCD display with HD+ resolution (at 720 x 1600 pixels). It's bright enough to make texts legible when using it outdoors. Compared to other HD+ LCD panels, this is arguably better.
The panel comes with good contrast and color saturation. Viewing angles are also very welcoming; thus, sharing streaming content with friends and family are very enjoyable with this smartphone. Of course, the narzo 50A also gives a better gaming experience. The slim bezels add to the quality of the panel when you're reading texts or simply browsing through social media apps.
You can also tweak the display with realme UI-enabled software features in the settings app. Personally, I like using auto brightness to save battery. The auto switch to Dark Mode is also very handy, you can even customize the time of shift if you want to.
Just like the narzo 30A, there’s no OSIE vision effect here. But the panel is already vibrant to begin with.
Performance
The realme narzo 50A is powered by the MediaTek Helio G85 processor which makes the handset an entry-level gaming contender. It's coupled by 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage. Gaming with the narzo 50A is such a breeze for those who love to play Mobile Legends or Pokemon Unite. However, running performance-driven games might be a challenge for this handset. It would also be a great idea if realme offered a 128GB ROM variant for this phone.
The speakers are quite loud which actually surprised me; I managed to stream movies on Netflix without the need of using headphones.
In my day to day use, I have not experienced a significant crashing of apps. Multitasking with the narzo 50A is also doable. This reflects in its Geekbench 5's 1337 multi-core and 387 single-core scores. It also tallied 1232 in the OpenCL Geekbench 5 benchmark result.
Cell reception is quite good. There's no 5G here but that's too much to ask for a sub-Php 8K phone, given all the nice features on the table.
If you're using two SIM cards, you'll be delighted by the fact that the phone comes with three card slots. I have no qualms on both the fingerprint sensor and face detection as they are quite zippy.
Camera
The realme narzo 50A boasts of a 50MP triple camera module. The main sensor comes with f/1.8 aperture and supports PDAF which lets you appreciate its focus speed. Photos in a well-lit environment are good enough for social media use, with ample detail as well as contrast. However, it needs more punch in the saturation department.
There's a 2MP sensor for portrait, or B&W as realme would call it. Likewise, it also comes with 2MP macro lens that can shoot close-up shots if done right; all you need to do is position the sensor 4cm away from the subject. If you opt to shoot in 50MP mode, it will give you more details but will also have a way bigger file size.
The front camera is highlighted by an 8MP sensor which shoots capable photos with good color saturation and detail. However, edge detection under portrait mode is a hit and miss.
Here are the sample photos:
Software
The realme Narzo 50A boots with realme UI 2.0. This skin is based on Android 11. If you have used a realme smartphone, you'll see the familiar rounded icons and clean interface. Most Android skins come with a number of bloatwares and the realme UI 2.0 is not an exception.
The realme UI 2.0 is also a joy to use for first time users. You can take advantage of different gestures and swipe navigation. There are also tons of customizations using the Theme app if the default interface is not your cup of tea. You can change display modes; plus, there's a dark mode and screen color temperature toggles, which to me are very useful.
You can access both notifications and control toggles in the Notifications Shade.
Some of our favorite features include the Focus Mode which helps you clear of distractions while enabling Do Not Disturb Function. You can still use the Dual Mode Music Share which enables you to listen to music or videos using wired headphones and Bluetooth headphones at the same time.
Of course, the Game Mode is a hero software feature which gives tons of helpful customizations for gamers. For one, you can block calls and notifications while using a gaming app. Plus, you can easily slide the interface to adjust your system’s brightness; and select performance modes.
Battery
The realme narzo 50A packs a juicy 6000 mAh battery which lasts almost two days in my real-time use. If you're doing heavy loads of gaming, this would considerably drop to a day of battery life. We tried playing a 30-minute Mobile Legends match with 50% brightness and volume; the battery dropped by 7 percent.
Charging the narzo 50A is not a chore at all. Its 18-watt fast charging support charges the phone from 0 to 100% in 2 hours and 45 minutes. You can also use it as powerbank if you want to charge your other devices thru its reverse charging feature.
Related: realme GT Master Edition Review: The Premium-Affordable Smartphone
Verdict: Should You Buy The realme narzo 50A?
You can get the realme narzo 50A in a cheaper price of Php 6,990 this 11.11 in your favorite e-commerce platforms. But even if you missed this deal, you'd still get a very capable smartphone below Php 8K.
Fulfilling the promise of delivering capable handsets with a very practical price, realme indeed scored another hit. The realme narzo 50A is a refined device from the popular smartphone series. Aside from the fact that it's a worker in terms of gaming, it's also a capable camera phone with the improved 50MP main sensor. That's a solid finish for an entry-level smartphone.
realme narzo 50A Specs
6.5-inch HD+ IPS LCD display
720 x 1600p resolution
88.7% Screen-to-body ratio
Peak brightness: 570 nits (Sunlight Mode)
MediaTek Helio G85 (12nm)
2.0GHz Octa-core CPU
Mali-G52 GPU
4GB RAM + 64GB ROM
microSD support (dedicated slot), up to 256GB
Triple rear cameras:
1. 50MP, f/1.8, Main with PDAF, 10x digital zoom
2. 2MP, f/2.4, Macro Lens
3. 2MP, f/2.4, B&W Portrait Lens
8MP, f/2.0 Front camera
1080p@30/60fps videos (rear)
1080p@30fps videos (front)
Dual SIM (Nano)
4G/LTE
Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac
Bluetooth v5.0
GPS with A-GPS
USB Type-C 2.0, USB OTG
Fingerprint (rear-mounted)
Android 11, Realme UI 2.0
164.5 x 75.9 x 9.6 mm, 207 grams
Li-Po 6000 mAh battery
18W Fast charging
Oxygen Blue, Oxygen Green
Php 7,990 Official Price in the Philippines