Samsung Galaxy A50 Unboxing and First Impressions
Samsung recently disrupted the market with the Galaxy M20 but it looks like the Korean giant isn't done yet with the release of the A30 and A50!
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| Meet Samsung Galaxy A50 |
The South Korean is making a statement with the release of highly spec'd phones for their price that started with the Galaxy M20 and now with the Galaxy A30 and A50.
Today we are looking at the bigger A50 with its triple rear cameras, 10nm Exynos 9610 octa-core processor, 6GB RAM, 128GB internal storage, 4,000mAh battery with fast charging via USB-C for only PHP 17,990!
Today we are looking at the bigger A50 with its triple rear cameras, 10nm Exynos 9610 octa-core processor, 6GB RAM, 128GB internal storage, 4,000mAh battery with fast charging via USB-C for only PHP 17,990!
These are our thoughts!
We speculate that the A50 is mostly made of 3D glass-like material with a hardened polycarbonate frame. But, it is lightweight but solid feel in the hands. It has a 2.5D curved glass on top. It wasn't mentioned whether or not it is Gorilla Glass protected.
The A50 comes in three colors: blue, white and black. We got our hands on the blue one and it is a bright shade of blue that stands out especially from the back side. You will find the triple rear camera set up at the top left side along with the LED flash. At the middle is the Samsung branding.
On the front, it has 6.4-inch AMOLED display with tall 19:5:9 screen aspect ratio and tiny Infinity-U (Vivo halo notch like) display. Like the M20, the A50 has over 90 percent of screen-to-body ratio. It has a near full screen design.
On top, there's a single microphone hole. At the bottom is the USB-C, speaker grill, microphone and the 3.5mm headphone jack.
At the left side are the volume rocker and the power button while the right side has the SIM card tray.
Surprisingly there is no sign of the Bixby button.
1. The Galaxy A50's checks outs most of what you expect from a modern phone with a high screen to body ratio that is built with materials that look and feel premium even when glass, polycarbonate and glasslike materials were used. The 6.4-inch display is big and it has a crisp 2340 x 1080 resolution from a Super AMOLED Infinity-U display.
It is the best display found on a smartphone in its price range. Before it was unthinkable that a Samsung mid-range phone has a Super AMOLED display. Now both the A30 and the A50 have them and both are under PHP 18K.
2. Under the hood, it is powered by the 10nm 2.3GHz 64-bit Exynos 9610 octa-core processor that is paired with Mali-G72 MP3 GPU.
Being built on the 10nm process means it has some similarities with former 10nm processor from flagships from a year ago. We will update this section once we are able to get our unit and run benchmarks.
The variant that we have to get in the PH is the 6GB RAM/128GB ROM with a huge 4,000mAh battery capacity that supports 15W fast charging via USB-C!
This means that the A50 is one of the few smartphones with a price of under 18K to have USB-C.
We were only given 30 minutes with the smartphone itself without its packaging so we can't share our thoughts on them nor were we able to run benchmarks with the new A50.
Stay tuned for our full review once we get our hands on a review unit.
3. The Galaxy A50 runs on Android 9 Pie with One UI on top. We've reviewed One UI written in this article here. In short, we like it and it is a huge improvement over the previous Samsung Experience UI with more focus on one-handed use, easier navigation, and lightweight software.
4. At the back are the rear triple camera set-up made of a 25MP f/1.7 standard wide camera, an 8MP f/2.2 ultra-wide angle camera and a 5MP depth sensor camera with autofocus and LED flash.
The selfie camera, on the other hand, is a 25MP f/2.0 that is in the middle of the Infinity-U display.
In our short 30 minute time with the phone, the shots from the rear and front facing camera look good but we will need more time with them to see what it truly is capable of.
5. The fingerprint sensor is under the display but the demo unit we used had the fingerprint and other biometric settings (like face unlock) disabled. This is typical of demo units so we will just have to wait for a full retail unit for review.
Unboxing/Accessories
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| Inside the A50 box |
The phone comes in a matte textured box with the picture of the A50, the Samsung branding and the regulatory information.
Inside the box is the A50, SIM ejector tool, jelly case, earphones, USB-A to USB-C cable and 15W fast charging brick.
Build Quality/Design
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| Sleek back with the bright blue colorway |
We speculate that the A50 is mostly made of 3D glass-like material with a hardened polycarbonate frame. But, it is lightweight but solid feel in the hands. It has a 2.5D curved glass on top. It wasn't mentioned whether or not it is Gorilla Glass protected.
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| Top |
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| Bottom |
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| Left |
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| Right |
The A50 comes in three colors: blue, white and black. We got our hands on the blue one and it is a bright shade of blue that stands out especially from the back side. You will find the triple rear camera set up at the top left side along with the LED flash. At the middle is the Samsung branding.
Big bright screen with over 90 percent of screen-to-body ratio!
On the front, it has 6.4-inch AMOLED display with tall 19:5:9 screen aspect ratio and tiny Infinity-U (Vivo halo notch like) display. Like the M20, the A50 has over 90 percent of screen-to-body ratio. It has a near full screen design.
On top, there's a single microphone hole. At the bottom is the USB-C, speaker grill, microphone and the 3.5mm headphone jack.
Surprisingly there is no sign of the Bixby button.
Initial findings
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| Infinity-U display |
1. The Galaxy A50's checks outs most of what you expect from a modern phone with a high screen to body ratio that is built with materials that look and feel premium even when glass, polycarbonate and glasslike materials were used. The 6.4-inch display is big and it has a crisp 2340 x 1080 resolution from a Super AMOLED Infinity-U display.
It is the best display found on a smartphone in its price range. Before it was unthinkable that a Samsung mid-range phone has a Super AMOLED display. Now both the A30 and the A50 have them and both are under PHP 18K.
2. Under the hood, it is powered by the 10nm 2.3GHz 64-bit Exynos 9610 octa-core processor that is paired with Mali-G72 MP3 GPU.
One of the most powerful for the price?
Being built on the 10nm process means it has some similarities with former 10nm processor from flagships from a year ago. We will update this section once we are able to get our unit and run benchmarks.
The variant that we have to get in the PH is the 6GB RAM/128GB ROM with a huge 4,000mAh battery capacity that supports 15W fast charging via USB-C!
This means that the A50 is one of the few smartphones with a price of under 18K to have USB-C.
We were only given 30 minutes with the smartphone itself without its packaging so we can't share our thoughts on them nor were we able to run benchmarks with the new A50.
Stay tuned for our full review once we get our hands on a review unit.
3. The Galaxy A50 runs on Android 9 Pie with One UI on top. We've reviewed One UI written in this article here. In short, we like it and it is a huge improvement over the previous Samsung Experience UI with more focus on one-handed use, easier navigation, and lightweight software.
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| Triple rear cameras |
4. At the back are the rear triple camera set-up made of a 25MP f/1.7 standard wide camera, an 8MP f/2.2 ultra-wide angle camera and a 5MP depth sensor camera with autofocus and LED flash.
The selfie camera, on the other hand, is a 25MP f/2.0 that is in the middle of the Infinity-U display.
In our short 30 minute time with the phone, the shots from the rear and front facing camera look good but we will need more time with them to see what it truly is capable of.
5. The fingerprint sensor is under the display but the demo unit we used had the fingerprint and other biometric settings (like face unlock) disabled. This is typical of demo units so we will just have to wait for a full retail unit for review.
Samsung Galaxy A50 Specs
Display: 6.4-inch 2.5D Super AMOLED screen w/ FHD+ 2340 x 1080 resolution at 403 ppi
CPU: 2.3GHz 64-bit Exynos 9610 octa-core processor
GPU: Mali-G72 MP3
RAM: 6GB
ROM: 128GB expandable via microSD card slot up to 512GB
Back Camera: 25MP f/1.7 + 8MP f/2.2 ultra wide-angle lens + 5MP depth sensor w/ AF and LED flash
Selfie Camera: 25MP f/2.0
Battery: 4,000mAh w/ 15W fast charging
OS: Android 9.0 Pie w/ One UI
Connectivity: WiFi 802.11ac (2.4GHz/5GHz), 4G LTE, Bluetooth 5, FM Radio, GPS, GLONASS, dual SIM
Sensors: Accelerometer, orientation, proximity, gyroscope, sound, magnetic
Others: In-Display fingerprint sensor, face unlock, USB-C, Colors: blue, white, black
Dimensions: 158.5 x 74.7 x 7.7 mm
Weight: 166 g
Price: PHP 17,990
CPU: 2.3GHz 64-bit Exynos 9610 octa-core processor
GPU: Mali-G72 MP3
RAM: 6GB
ROM: 128GB expandable via microSD card slot up to 512GB
Back Camera: 25MP f/1.7 + 8MP f/2.2 ultra wide-angle lens + 5MP depth sensor w/ AF and LED flash
Selfie Camera: 25MP f/2.0
Battery: 4,000mAh w/ 15W fast charging
OS: Android 9.0 Pie w/ One UI
Connectivity: WiFi 802.11ac (2.4GHz/5GHz), 4G LTE, Bluetooth 5, FM Radio, GPS, GLONASS, dual SIM
Sensors: Accelerometer, orientation, proximity, gyroscope, sound, magnetic
Others: In-Display fingerprint sensor, face unlock, USB-C, Colors: blue, white, black
Dimensions: 158.5 x 74.7 x 7.7 mm
Weight: 166 g
Price: PHP 17,990
As of the moment
The Galaxy A50 is Samsung's way of showing that they are the dominant player and that they can stand toe to toe with the different strategies and the different technologies the competition can muster.
It is clear that even just by looking at the spec to price ratio of the A50 that it is already a winner. The question is how does it stack up in real-world scenarios? We'll just have to find out soon with our full review.
It is clear that even just by looking at the spec to price ratio of the A50 that it is already a winner. The question is how does it stack up in real-world scenarios? We'll just have to find out soon with our full review.
For our full review: Samsung Galaxy A50 Review - One of Samsung's best mid-range phone yet
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