Samsung Galaxy A50 Review: Flagship Looks At A Mid-Range Price

Samsung Galaxy A50 review 

Samsung Galaxy A50 price in Bangladesh BDT. ৳22,990 (4/64GB) and in India Rs. 18,999 (6/64GB). Highlighted features of Samsung Galaxy A50 

● 6.4 inches super AMOLED Infinity-U display 

● 25MP Camera 

● 4000 mAh battery 

●Exynos 9610 (10nm)

The Samsung announced the Galaxy A50 here in India for Rs. 18,999 (6/64GB), while taking advantage of its wide-lens camera large 4000 mAh battery and even an on-screen fingerprint reader, something unusual in an midrange model. In our hands-on some topics have questioned whether there is any catch by considering the price "fair" for the set offered. Well, find out in this analysis if this mistrust is justified.

■ Display and Design 

The age of plastic smartphones is back. The A50 is yet another Samsung launch. The glossy finish gives the impression of being glass, which drifts away from the appearance of a "cheap cell phone" found in many midrangers out there. Something that surprised for its price is the presence of the on-screen biometric reader – while the Galaxy S10e, which is a flagship smartphone, does not have this technology. You might even get excited about the idea of unlocking the cell phone by just touching the screen, but the reader is not very good here. It takes time to read the fingerprint and until you learn to put the finger in the right place, you will face many flaws. As we saw at the MWC19 in Barcelona, the A50 is one of the first of Samsung's to bring the traditional notch at the top. The front part recalls many recently released Chinese cell phones Like the Redmi Note 7 Xiaomi, for example. 

To reduce costs, the water protection, present on the older A series models, has been removed. At least the screen remains Super AMOLED, as some Samsung releases this year arrived with basic TFT screen. The thin edges make the A50 sport a larger screen than rivals, but even more compact than some. The panel used has good quality and reaches a good level of brightness, which allows you to use the A50 comfortably in any type of environment. The colors are vibrant and will conquer you for the beautiful images displayed. At the bottom we have a single speaker that even delivers a decent power, but the sound quality disappoints in clarity and detail.

■ Camera 

This Samsung midranger brings triple camera on the rear - the main one shoots the image up to 25 MP. The secondary one has ultra-wide lens for you to take wider photos and the third one blur the background of the scenes. By default, the camera is set to capture 12 MP photos if you opt for maximum resolution, you'll have to give up HDR; in addition, the photos lose sharpness and you get the impression that the focus failed when capturing the image. But this also happened with the Galaxy A9 we tested earlier. In open, well-lit environments, the A50's camera has good color and even exposure. Many cell phones in this price range tend to let the sky bursted, which is not the case for this model. The HDR, both automatic and manual, tends to make the photos darker - the shadows have their details destroyed, so we recommend leaving it off. 

Indoors the HDR works better and records clearer photos with wider dynamic range. The ultra-wide camera does its job and lets you record much more of the scenery in the photos. The quality of the images does not change much compared to the main camera. At night is when we see the biggest difference between the two; the more opened lens loses a lot of details and creates blurred photos with a higher noise level. We recommend that you use the main camera in low light conditions. The third camera is the real highlight here - it blurs the background very efficiently, surpassing even some top-of-the-line phones. Of course, the result is not always perfect, but it's way above what handsets at this price range deliver in Portrait Mode. For selfies, the A50 also does it well - no bursted sky in photos taken outdoors or many noises in pictures taken indoors. Of course, do not expect excellent selfies at night - even more so if there is a light source behind you. One thing to note though is that both front and back cameras can even record in an odd 2336 x 1080 which is a 19:9 video and photo mode that utilizes the entire screen. We can also record slow motion video on here at up to 120 fps and we can shoot a hyper lapse which is more like, for lack of a better word, fast motion. Ultimately Samsung's cell phone is also good at capturing videos and its stabilization system is quite efficient.

■ OS and Hardware 

The A50 debuts Samsung's Exynos 9610 chip, a powerful solution that lies just below the flagship platforms of the company. Benchmark performance is similar to Snapdragon 710 but the A50's GPU is weaker than the Snapdragon 660's. When opening apps, it managed to be slower than the rivals – and even cheapest phones from Samsung. Is it due to the One UI's lack of optimization? In games it also disappointed in performance - some titles ran at full speed but for such hardware, we expected all games to deliver flawless fluidity.

 It is one of the first from Samsung to come with the One UI interface based on the Android Pie, while other recent releases of the company still arrived with the old Samsung Experience, based on Android Oreo. A good part of the features that you find on the more expensive models are present here. The interface makes it easier to use the device with just one hand, something very welcomed in a large handset like this. But just like in others of the Galaxy line, Samsung's Android still Has small gags and sluggishness for some tasks. But overall, performance does not disappoint.

■ Battery 

While some models of the M line arrived with generous battery of 5000 mAh, in the A50 Samsung incorporated only a 4000 one. Still, it is a very good capacity and the result is that we have autonomy for the whole day. This is not the company's midrange with the best battery life but stays above competitors - the charger could be more powerful, which would prevent the A50 from being plugged in for almost two hours to charge from 0 to 100%.

■Our Verdict 

Is the A50 better than the Moto G7 Plus or the Redmi Note 7? Well, it is the slowest of the trio. In games we also have somewhat a lower performance. Its battery, however, it yields more than the rivals cited. But a big advantage for the Moto G7 Plus is that the battery recharge is done in half of the time if we compare them two. On camera, the A50 stays on the same level as others - but capturing better selfies. For Rs. 18,999 we expected more from the Galaxy A50, even if it comes with powerful hardware from Samsung itself, it delivers performance below mid-rangers in the Rs. 15000 price range. 

Its big differential, which is the biometric reader on the screen, fails greatly and can sometimes be annoying. The advantages go to the Super AMOLED screen that delivers beautiful images and its battery, that lasts well - the sound is bad for the price charged and the recharge time could be much better. If you take many selfies the A50 is a great option to consider, but the triple camera set in the back disappoints. Overall it is a cell phone full of pros and cons, and we think the Moto G7 Plus and Redmi Note 7, which are found for much lower values, would be better choices.

Samsung Galaxy A50 full Specifications 

● Network
2G bands	GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 - SIM 1 & SIM 2
3G bands	HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1900 / 2100
4G bands	LTE band 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 12, 13, 17, 20, 26, 29, 38, 40, 41, 66, 71
Speed	HSPA 42.2/5.76 Mbps
GPRS	Yes
EDGE	Yes
● OS & Hardware
OS	Android Pie(9.0), Samsung One UI 2.0
Processor	Exynos 9610 (10nm)
Chipset	Octa-core (4x2.3 GHz Cortex-A73 & 4x1.7 GHz Cortex-A53)
GPU	Mali-G72 MP3
● Design
Dimensions	158.5 x 74.7 x 7.7 mm (6.24 x 2.94 x 0.30 in)
Weight	166 g (5.86 oz)
Build	Glass front (Gorilla Glass 3),Plastic back,Plastic frame
Colors	White, Black, Blue
● Display
Type	Super AMOLED capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors
Screen Size	6.4"(16.21cm) FHD+ sAMOLED Infinity-U Display
Resolution	1080 x 2340 pixels (~403 ppi pixel density)
Multitouch	Yes
Protection	Corning Gorilla Glass 3
Sensors	Fingerprint (under display, optical), Accelerometer, Proximity, Compass
● Memory
Card slot	microSD (dedicated slot), up to 512 GB
Internal	64 GB / 128 GB
RAM	4GB / 6GB
● Camera
Rear Triple	25 MP, f/1.7, (wide) 8 MP, f/2.2, (ultrawide)  5 MP, f/2.2, (depth)
Front	25 MP, f/2.0
Features	HDR , Face detection
Video	1080p@30fps
● Multimedia
Music play	Yes
Radio	FM Radio
Games	Yes
Alert types	Vibration; MP3, WAV ringtones
Loudspeaker	Yes
3.5mm jack	Yes
● Battery & Power
Type	Non-removable Li-Ion 4000 mAh battery
Charging	15W Fast charging USB Type C
Fast Charge	Yes
● Expected Price
US Dollor	$256.59
Bangladeshi Taka	BDT. 22,990 (For 4/64 GB varient)
Indian Rs.	Rs. 18,999 (For 6/64 GB varient)