The Realme Narzo 50A, launched in October 2021, positions itself as a budget-friendly smartphone boasting impressive battery life. At Rs. 11,499 for the 4GB RAM and 64GB storage variant, it promises value for money. However, in the fast-paced world of budget smartphones, several other players like Infinix and Redmi have emerged with compelling offerings. This raises the question: Does the Narzo 50A still hold its ground against the competition, or is it merely a decent option for those seeking a basic, long-lasting device?
Realme Narzo 50A Price in India
The Realme Narzo 50A comes in two color options: Oxygen Blue and Oxygen Green. You can choose between two variants: the 4GB RAM with 64GB storage priced at Rs. 11,499, or the 4GB RAM with 128GB storage priced at Rs. 12,499. Interestingly, the 128GB storage variant offers a more competitive value proposition compared to some rivals, particularly the Redmi 10 Prime, whose 6GB RAM and 128GB storage variant is notably more expensive at Rs. 14,499.
Realme Narzo 50A Design
True to Realme’s design language, the Narzo 50A adopts a simple yet practical approach. The polycarbonate back panel boasts a fine groove-like texture for enhanced grip, a welcome feature considering the device’s substantial weight of 207g. The rear camera module extends towards the center, encompassing the fingerprint reader. However, its barely recessed design makes the fingerprint reader a bit difficult to locate.
The matte finish of the plastic body effectively minimizes smudges, but the phone’s overall thickness makes it feel chunky in everyday use. The 6.5-inch display features a waterdrop-style notch, which, unfortunately, attracts smudges that prove challenging to wipe clean.
Realme Narzo 50A Specifications and Software
Under the hood, the Narzo 50A is powered by the MediaTek Helio G85 SoC, coupled with 4GB of LPDDR4X RAM, standard across both storage variants. It includes a dedicated microSD card slot for expandable storage (up to 256GB). In terms of connectivity, it offers Wi-Fi ac, Bluetooth 5, and multiple satellite navigation systems.
Running Realme UI 2.0, based on Android 11, the Narzo 50A presents a familiar visual experience. The UI places emphasis on customization, offering a wide range of options. It also comes pre-loaded with numerous third-party applications, most of which can be uninstalled. While these pre-installed apps didn’t trigger intrusive notifications (unless explicitly enabled), the Theme store consistently pushed one or two promotional notifications daily. Notably, ads even appeared within the default File Manager app, which was a surprise to many users.
Realme Narzo 50A Performance and Battery Life
The Narzo 50A delivered 55fps and 16fps in GFXBench’s T-Rex and Manhattan 3.1 tests, respectively. It further achieved scores of 356 and 1,352 in Geekbench’s single and multi-core tests.
Gaming performance is decent for casual titles, but demanding games struggle to run smoothly. Call of Duty: Mobile was playable at the default Low graphics and Medium frame rate settings, but the phone quickly heated up, leading to a decline in performance. Asphalt 9: Legends performed slightly better but still experienced frame skips and lag, particularly during action-packed moments. If you prioritize a budget gaming device, the Infinix Hot 11S emerges as a superior alternative.
The waterdrop-style notch, while a tad outdated compared to hole-punch displays in competitors, doesn’t detract from the visual experience. The 6.5-inch display, boasting an HD+ resolution, surprisingly delivers sharp text and icons. Viewing angles are acceptable, and the display provides sufficient brightness for outdoor use.
However, the Narzo 50A’s Widevine L3 certification restricts video streaming to SD playback quality. Streaming services like Amazon Prime Video and Netflix lack sharpness at this resolution. The absence of stereo speakers is a minor drawback, but the single speaker provides adequate volume and clarity for watching movies and making calls. If you frequently use your phone for video consumption, the Redmi 10 Prime stands out with its superior full-HD+ display and Widevine L1 certification, enabling HD playback quality.
The Narzo 50A’s impressive 6,000mAh battery easily lasted for two full days under regular use, including photo capture and casual gaming. With light usage (calls and messaging), it extended to three days on a single charge. The HD video loop battery test recorded an impressive runtime of 30 hours and 12 minutes, exceeding expectations even for such a large battery capacity. Unfortunately, charging remains unchanged, and the included 18W charger takes approximately 3 hours and 5 minutes to charge the phone from fully drained to full capacity.
Realme Narzo 50A Cameras
The Narzo 50A boasts a 50-megapixel primary camera, accompanied by a 2-megapixel portrait lens for depth calculation and a 2-megapixel macro camera. Selfies are handled by an 8-megapixel front-facing camera. The camera interface remains consistent with previous Realme phones. Video recording is limited to 1080p at 30fps for both front and rear cameras.
Daylight photos exhibited a lack of resolved detail, revealing flat textures upon magnification. Dynamic range proved decent, while colors appeared neutral. Selfies captured good detail and dynamic range, but looked slightly over-sharpened.
Edge detection during portrait mode was less than stellar, occasionally giving the subject a virtual haircut or blurring their ears. The 2-megapixel macro camera produced underwhelming results, showing over-sharpening and an excessive contrast.
The level of detail further diminished indoors and in environments with artificial lighting. Night mode effectively reduced the glare of bright street lamps in low-light scenarios, but these images lacked depth and sharpness.
Videos showcased satisfactory detail but were prone to shakiness due to the absence of stabilization. Low-light videos suffered from blown-out highlights and excessive noise with hazy details.
Verdict
Despite its shortcomings, the Realme Narzo 50A remains a viable option if your primary need is exceptional battery life and basic app usage. However, the competition offers compelling alternatives with improved performance and hardware at comparable prices.
The Infinix Hot 11S, priced at Rs. 10,999, brings a full-HD+ 90Hz refresh rate display, smooth software, and dual speakers to the table. Alternatively, the Redmi 10 Prime, available for Rs. 11,999 for the 4GB RAM and 64GB storage variant, provides a superior video streaming experience with Widevine L1 support, stereo speakers, four rear cameras, and a 6,000mAh battery.
In conclusion, the Realme Narzo 50A is a decent entry-level smartphone with a focus on battery life, but it faces stiff competition from devices offering a more well-rounded experience in the same price bracket.
