Realme Narzo 50 A Review

As its name depicts, Realme Narzo 50 A mobile is launched by Realme, a demanding brand providing affordable mobile phones like Realme C33, Realme C25, etc. Realme Narzo 50 has become demanding due to this attractive design, tight pricing, and durable quality. These are the factors that are often considered by users in the mobile market, be it low-end, mid-end, or high-end phones.

Realme Narzo 50 A is available at the affordable price of Rs. 11499 approximately, with 4GB RAM and 64 GB storage. Apart from this, the phone also comes with a 128 GB storage option. The mobile is attainable in two primary color options, i.e., Oxygen Blue and Oxygen Green. It has good features and an attractive design which attracts customers, especially those who are looking for a budget phone or secondary phone.

Specifications

Packaging: Unboxing the 50A

The packaging of the Narzo 50A is simple. The device comes in a bright blue box with a big Narzo text and logo. Besides this, there is a small box inside the big one where one will find the paper documents and the SIM ejector tool. After opening the main box, one will see a handset with pre-installed screen protection. Under it, there is the 18W quick charging power adopter and a USB-A to USB-C charging cable. Unfortunately, it doesn't come with any earphones.

Design and Build Quality

As mentioned earlier, the design and build quality are attractive and fascinating. Realme Narzo 50A's backside is matte polycarbonate with a diagonal stripe. The back of Narzo has a big rectangular Camera on the top. The fingerprint scanner at the back is merged with the camera module, giving it a quite unique look. The power button and volume rocker are placed on the right side of the mobile. The power button is easily accessible with both hands, whereas the volume button needs a little more effort. Also, the volume button seems weak due to the plastic finish. The fingerprint scanner is easily accessible with the index finger of either the right or left hand due to its unique placement style. So, the overall build is solid but a bit heavy, hence it does not provide a comfortable grip.

Display

Realme Narzo 50 A contains a display of 6.5 inches on the front with a tear-drop notch. The screen display is bright that can be used during the day as well. The shade palette is also provided for individuals who prefer easy-on-the-eye shade tones. The shade temperature of the Narzo 50 A can be adjusted depending on the user's preference, as it contains an LCD panel with a 60Hz refresh rate. The display is average for media consumption and gaming. However, it would have been nice to have an AMOLED display instead of the usual HD+ LCD in-cell display.

Performance and Software

When we talk about the performance of Narzo 50 A, it's pretty satisfactory. A MediaTek Helio G85 Soc drives it quite perfectly. The base variant Narzo 50 A's RAM is 4GB, and internal storage of 128GB. The MediaTek Helio G85 is quite a good Soc, but it is not worth it according to price. Despite this, this phone demands extra money while the same processor is already available in many 10k and 9K INR handsets.

Realme Narzo 50 A uses Realme UI 2.0 skin, one of the market's most elegant Andriod UI skins. It is based on Android 11. The phone's performance is quick and snappy even when multiple Chrome tabs are opened, thanks to the Realme UI which is well-optimized. Multiple apps like Instagram or WhatsApp can be easily switched. The icon shapes, sizes, eye comfort, and dark mode are readily available in the UI. One will find some pre-installed apps like Amazon, Josh, Prime Video, and Dailyhunt on the mobile phone, but they can be deleted whenever the user desires.

Simply put, the overall performance is good as no problem will occur while playing casual games or using the mobile for day-to-day tasks.

Camera Support and Stability

Talking about the most sought-after feature by the audience, i.e. Camera, the Narzo 50 A packs a 50MP primary camera sensor on the rear and an 8MP selfie camera on the front. If we talk about the rear Camera or primary sensor on the back side, the image quality is good though it needs improvement. The photographs taken with this Camera are primarily beautiful and detailed in daylight. The colors of the image appear natural and bright. Although the fine detail it provides in the daytime is commendable, it struggles in low light.

The 50MP camera provides fine details of images with a wide dynamic range when used in daytime photography. The focus of the image is not satisfactory. The macro sensor takes good clicks only in enough light. It could be a cherry on the cake if there were an ultra-wide-angle Camera instead of 2MP Portrait and 2MP Macro sensors. Talking about portrait shots, it offers good edge detection and natural skin tone.

Besides this, Camera features dedicated modes for professional clicks, including the 50MP mode, Ultra-Macro, and Night mode. These are good features as they allow users to modify the white balance and take pictures accordingly. One can record 1080p video from both the front and back cameras. The image stabilization is acceptable but could be better. Though Narzo 50 has added night mode and filters to the Camera to take filtered photos, one can't expect outstanding images as it is a budget device.

Apart from this, the quality of the selfie camera is average, with a good saturation level and good details.

Coming to the conclusion, the mobile camera is excellent considering its price and it delivers great details, but the autofocus feature needs to be more satisfactory. Though the Camera is good, it requires ample storage on a person's mobile. The low-light shots are above average only when supported by outside lights. The focusing speed is also slow, and the images' frame edges are soft or blurry. Night mode uses computational photography but lacks noise reduction.

Battery Capacity and Life

The battery of the device is something that one can't complain about. It is 6000mAh and provides 10 hours of screen-on time while using casual applications, gaming, or streaming social media. The battery's performance depends on the user's usage; it can last up to 2 days if used normally. The good battery life of Narzo 50 is also due to its Helio G85 processor, which is of compact structure and contributes to less battery consumption. Realme Narzo 50 A supports up to 18W fast charging, which takes about 2.5 hours to fully charge the 6000mah battery. One would be satisfied with the battery provided as it would last for more than a day even if one is a heavy user.

Audio, Connectivity, and Biometrics

The device's connectivity options include Dual-SIM support, dual-band Wi-Fi, 4G VoLTE, and a 3.5mm audio jack. The single bottom-firing speaker is a little quiet but delivers an audible sound in quiet environments. Along with GPS, we also find LED light, proximity, and acceleration sensors in its device. The device has Face Unlock support and the fingerprint scanner is placed at the back, which directly adds to its security.

Verdict

Realme Narzo 50A is an affordable phone, and its design is familiar and unique. Despite all its good qualities, it does have some flaws. Firstly, its exterior body includes a polycarbonate design which has been present in the Narzo's lineup since its inception. The camera bumps look quite different, and the sensor could have been better. The fingerprint sensor placed at the right sides bottom of the camera housing looks good but lacks the sensor's utility. The mobile's battery, i.e., 6000mAh, makes the phone slightly thick but feels balanced. The volume button of the device is quite flimsy.

Overall, Realme Narzo 50A is affordable and a good device for regular use, but it's not worth it as per price. There are many better options available at the same price, and Narzo 50 is only demanding because of its camera performance and decent hardware performance. Even though this device has a good camera, it lags behind Xiaomi or any other popular brand when it comes to other features in that price segment. It would have been great and highly recommended if the Narzo 50A had launched at Rs 9999, but at Rs 11499, it is not worth it in this competitive market.