Realme Narzo 50A Review – This is the best budget camera phone

Realme’s Narzo range of smartphones is super affordable. The Narzo 50A smartphone is the successor to the Narzo 30A, which was released in February of this year. Realme Narzo 50A features a design that is both familiar and unique. It has a waterdrop notch, slightly thick bezels, and a noticeable broad chin on the front, all of which we’ve seen on smartphones of this kind before. The device is priced starting at Rs 11,499 for the 4GB+64GB variant, and it rivals a few similar smartphones in the already competitive budget sector.

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In this review, we’ll discuss the Narzo 50A’s overall performance, compare its specifications to those of its predecessor, and see what’s new to offer. So let’s get right into it to know more about the phone.

Realme Narzo 50A price in India starts at Rs 11,499 for 4GB of RAM and 64GB storage, and goes up to Rs 12,499 for 4GB RAM + 128GB storage.

The Narzo 50A is available in two colour options: Oxygen Green and Oxygen Blue, and it can be purchased on Flipkart.

The box of Realme Narzo 50A includes the following:

• Narzo 50A device
• 18W Adapter
• USB Type C Cable
• SIM Card Tool
• Screen Protect Film
• Quick Guide

Before we talk in detail about the Realme Narzo 50A, let’s see what the on-paper specs look like:

• Display: 6.50 inches HD+ IPS LCD
• Chipset: MediaTek Helio G85
• RAM & ROM: 4GB/64GB, 4GB/128GB
• Software: Realme UI 2.0 based on Android 11
• Rear Camera: 50MP Primary Sensor + 2MP Depth + 2MP Macro
• Selfie camera: 8MP Selfie Shooter
• Battery: 6000 mAh
• Weight: 207 grams
• Dimensions: 164.5 mm x 75.9 mm x 9.6 mm

The backside of the Narzo 50A is made of matte polycarbonate with a diagonal stripe design underneath the camera bump. The back of the phone has a huge rectangular camera module that lies on the top left. Surprisingly, the fingerprint scanner on the back is merged with the camera module, which increases its size. The power button and volume rocker are both located on the right side of the device. While the power button is comfortably accessible with both hands, the volume rockers need some fiddling. Although the overall device design is fairly robust and strong, the volume rocker button feels slightly weak.

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The overall construction may appear solid to some, but it is bulky and does not offer the most comfortable grip. The fingerprint scanner, on the other hand, can be accessed with both the left and right hands’ index fingers. With this device, the single-handed operation is very much possible.

The 6.5-inch display on the front has a tear-drop notch that houses the selfie camera. Now that we’re not in 2018, we’re in 2021, and we have a wide range of options for FHD+ displays in the 10,000 to 12,000 range.

Purchasing an HD+ display at Rs 11,499 might be illogical. Despite the fact that the phone boasts a high-quality LCD display, HD+ does not justify the Rs 11,499 price tag.

The IPS LCD has a 60 Hz display, which is a disappointment in addition to the lack of AMOLED displays. The bezels stand out, especially around the chin.

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Unfortunately, the phone lacks WideVine L1 certification, which appears to be a huge drawback for viewing HD material on OTT platforms. The brightness output is kind of average, and the ambient light sensor that automatically adjusts them is inconsistent. Realme’s failure to include a faster refresh rate also appears to be a major mistake.

The screen display is bright enough to be used outside without difficulty. The shade palette has been optimised for individuals who like easy-on-the-eye shade tones; nevertheless, the shade temperature can be manually adjusted on the user side. Because it has an LCD panel with only a 60Hz refresh rate, touch latency is a little slow, resulting in occasional ghosting after a touch. Even though there were no hitches, the display on this smartphone was only average for media consumption and gaming.

The Narzo 50A is driven by a MediaTek Helio G85 SoC and runs on Realme UI 2.0, which is based on Android 11. The phone has 4GB of RAM and up to 128GB of internal storage, which can be expanded to 256GB with the use of a microSD card.

The MediaTek Helio G85 is a good SoC, but it’s not worth 12,000. Realme is demanding extra money for nothing because the same processor is found in 10k and even 9k handsets.

By the way, no problems will arise while playing games or using a smartphone. There are no performance drawbacks because I was able to complete all of my daily activities without lag. It’s also quick to open multiple Chrome tabs and switch between demanding apps like Instagram or Spotify.

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Let us discuss gaming performance now. You’re limited to reduced graphics and a slightly choppy frame rate when playing GPU intensive games like playing BGMI. The device, on the other hand, can play for an extended period of time without overheating. On the Narzo 50A, I enjoyed playing Battlegrounds Mobile India and COD: Mobile. You will definitely face some minor lags and FPS drops while playing heavy games like BGMI. The chipset is capable of handling almost any task, however, keep in mind that this is a budget chipset, so don’t expect too much.

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Realme uses its RealmeUI 2.0 skin, which is based on Android 11 and is one of the most elegant Android UI skins on the market. Live wallpapers, icon shapes and sizes, dark mode, eye comfort, and other customization options are available in the UI.

Amazon, Prime Video, Josh, Dailyhunt, and Snapchat are among the pre-installed apps on the phone. Except for Realme’s system apps like Calculator, Compass, Clone Phone, HeyTap Cloud, and others, you should be able to remove most unnecessary applications.

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Bloatware is still an issue, but the skin is otherwise extremely user-friendly, with regular software updates coming.

One of the most significant aspects of smartphones is the camera, and interestingly, we have an upgrade here over its predecessor. A 50MP primary sensor is accompanied by 2MP depth and 2MP macro sensors, while the selfie camera has an 8MP resolution. Again, those 2MP+2MP sensors are simply for show; don’t expect much. When it comes to the 50MP sensor, the image quality is good, but Realme still needs to improve it. Regardless, the photographs taken with this camera are beautiful. In photographs that I will discuss below, I absolutely love the sharp edges of leaves as well as other objects.

The 50MP lens offers fine details with a wide dynamic range when used in daytime photography. The colours appear to be quite natural, but with a slight mutated appearance, and the exposure on the photos is nicely balanced. Although the shutter speed is fast, the focusing has a slight lag. The macro sensor makes decent clicks, but only when there is enough light.

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I took some samples shots in 50MP mode and found the images to be better than the normal mode. This is because the sensor is good and boosts the colours of the images.

While taking shots from the macro camera, the colours were a little washed, but the sharpness was on point. It is not the best but pretty decent. I’m not sure why a macro camera would be preferred over an ultra-wide-angle camera. Instead of 2MP+2MP sensors, an ultra-wide lens would have been a preferable option.

I took some shots of my dad in normal mode and I found that the image has great details and colour saturation. The skin tone was pretty natural and the colour of the clothes were also very good.

After this, I took some pictures of plants. The colours were a little bit boosted which would look pleasant to the eyes and the detailing was good as well. If you like to take images having sky in the background, you won’t be disappointed as the camera won’t whitewash the sky and retain its true colours.

While taking some portrait shots, I could tell that portrait mode offers good edge detection and again the skin tone seemed pretty natural. The selfie camera quality is pretty average. The saturation level in selfies was good with good details. I could see my beard hair and moustache details very well. Though the skin tone was shifting to a light side as with every budget smartphone. 

The camera features 50MP mode, Night mode, Portrait mode, Ultra-Macro, Panoramic view, and Pro mode, which allows users to modify the white balance, ISO, autofocus, and click photos like a pro. You can only record 1080p video from both the front and back at 30 frames per second. The image stabilisation is not great but acceptable. 

Realme has also added night mode and all of the other filters to the camera app, although this is a budget device, so don’t expect outstanding night photography. Even with the night mode turned on, computerized photography leaves behind a few fuzzy edges and distortions in the image.

The battery is one thing you can’t complain about. With a 6,000mAh battery, you can expect to get roughly 10 hours of screen time when gaming, streaming or surfing social media applications. Depending on how much you use it, it can easily last two days. The Helio G85 processor of the Realme Narzo 50A has a very compact structure, which contributes to less battery consumption and longer battery life. Because it consumes far less power than an AMOLED panel, the LCD display also helps to keep power consumption in check.

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Realme Narzo 50A supports 18W fast charging, which takes somewhere around 2.5 hours to charge completely.

At last, you’ll be more than satisfied with the battery; even if you’re a heavy user, it should last longer than a day.

Dual-SIM support, 4G VoLTE, 5G, dual-band Wi-Fi, Bluetooth v5.1, a 3.5mm audio jack, and a USB Type-C port are among the phone’s connectivity options. The single bottom-firing speaker isn’t particularly loud, but it delivers good sound. In addition to GPS, there are sensors such as a light sensor, proximity sensor, magnetic induction sensor, and acceleration sensor.

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Realme Narzo 50A has a face unlock and a snappy fingerprint scanner on the back, which adds to its overall performance.

Pros

• Good daylight photography
• Big 6000 mAh Battery
• Decent performance with Helio G85
• Huge screen size
• Innovative Design
• Dedicated Memory card slot

Cons

• Pre-installed bloatware
• No AMOLED display
• Low refresh rate
• No Ultra-Wide Lens
• No WideVine L1 certification