realme Note 50 Unboxing, First Impressions, and Camera Samples

The very first realme Note smartphone is now official and it is called the Note 50. In the Philippines, it is priced at just PHP 3,599!

realme Note 50

The new Note 50 has a 90Hz 6.74-inch LCD screen with a 1,600 x 720 resolution. Other features include 4GB RAM, 64GB of internal storage, microSD card expansion, and a 5,000mAh battery with 10W fast wired charging via USB-C.

At the back of the phone is the 13MP main camera and the monochrome secondary camera while in front is the 5MP selfie camera.

Other features include a 3.5mm headphone jack, an IP54 water and dust resistance rating, and a mono speaker.

For the price, this device has the chance to be the king of ultra-budget smartphones early this year.

Let's dive in.

Unboxing/Accessories

realme Note 50's outer packaging

It comes yellow and black box with the realme branding and a diagonal line pattern. Around the box are the key specs, features, and regulatory information.

realme Note 50's box inclusions

Inside the box are the realme Note 50, documentation, bumper case, SIM ejector tool, USB-A to USB Type-C cable, and the 10W wall charger.

There are no included earphones inside the box.

Build Quality/Design

realme Note 50's rear design

The body of the phone is made of polycarbonate which makes it lightweight but solid to hold. It even has an IP54 rating for dust and water splash resistance and that is rare for budget phones.

There is no info if its display has some sort of protection. Thankfully, it has a pre-installed clear case shields the display against unwanted scratches.

IP54 rating for less!

From afar, you immediately notice the eye-catching dual-textured finish where one-third of the phone is matte gray while the last third is reflective gray with glittery effects. Around the three camera protrusions are chrome trims that help them stand out. Lastly, there is minimal realme branding at the bottom corner.

iPhone-like look, budget price tag!

It will come in either Sky Blue or Midnight Black.

realme Note 50's front screen

The screen is a large 6.74-inch LCD screen with a 1,600 x 720 resolution, a 90Hz refresh rate, a 180Hz touch sampling rate, and a 560 nits peak brightness. 

Around the panel are slim side bezels with the chin bezel thicker than the rest. On the upper left part of the display is the notch that houses the selfie camera. Above it is the super slim earpiece. This phone also supports realme's Mini Capsule UI (Apple-like Dynamic Island).

With its 560 nits peak brightness, it produces decently bright images with acceptable sharpness, detail, and crisp text.

realme Note 50's top and bottom sides

On top of the phone is a smooth surface while at the bottom are the speaker grill, USB-C port microphone hole, and the 3.5mm audio jack.

Left and right sides

On the left side is the power button/fingerprint scanner and volume tocker while on the right is the SIM tray.

realme Note 50's SIM tray

The SIM tray can carry up to two nano-SIM cards and one microSD card slot. There is no rubber gasket but the phone is supposedly IP54 water and dust resistance rated.

realme Note 50's rear cameras

At the back of the phone are the 13MP main camera and the black and white secondary camera with an LED flash. While in front is the 5MP selfie camera.

The stock camera app's modes include Photo, Video, Portrait, Pro, Night, Timelapse, Pano, and QR code.

The Pro mode allows for controls of ISO (100-1600), Shutter Speed (1/60-1/1000 sec), EV (+-3), Focus, and White Balance.

First Camera Samples

realme Note 50's rear main camera

The daylight images have decent sharpness but somewhat struggle with the white balance with the warm setting sun. The leaves of the trees are dulled in color too.

realme Note 50's close-up shot

When shooting close-ups, the main rear camera's depth of field is wide enough to keep the majority of the subject in focus. The image taken is sharp and detailed with vibrant color. And even though the warm indoor lighting was there, the white balance was able to compensate.

Daylight selfie

Selfie portrait

For the price, the daylight selfies and portrait selfies have good sharpness and detail. The skin tones were not accurate while the edge detection of the bokeh mode struggled with the ear section. 

Better than a lot of sub-PHP 4K budget phones we have tried in the past so far!

Currently, the results from both the rear and front cameras are inconsistent. We hope the results will be consistent once we do more testing. 

Other key features of the phone include a side-mounted fingerprint scanner, 4G, WiFi, Bluetooth 5.0, GPS, a single speaker, and a 3.5mm headphone jack.

realme Note 50 Specs

Display: 6.74-inch LCD (IPS) w/ 90Hz refresh rate, 180Hz touch sampling rate, HD+ 1600 x 720 resolution at 260 ppi

CPU: 1.82GHz 12nm UNISOC T612 octa-core processor

GPU: Mali-G57

RAM: 4GB

ROM: 64GB expandable via microSD card slot up to 2TB (dedicated)

Back Camera: 13MP w/ AF + B&W + LED flash

Selfie Camera: 5MP

Battery: 5,000mAh w/ 10W charging

OS: Android 13 w/ realme UI T Edition

Connectivity: WiFi (2.4GHz/5GHz), 4G LTE, Bluetooth 5.0, OTG, GPS, dual SIM (nano)

Sensors: Accelerometer, light, orientation, proximity, gyroscope, sound, magnetic

Others: Side-mounted fingerprint sensor, IP54 water and dust resistance, USB-C, Colors: Midnight Black, Sky Blue

Dimensions: 167.7 x 76.67 x 7.99 mm

Weight: 186 g

Price: PHP 3,599

As of the moment

realme UI

At PHP 3,599, this is also the company's first sub-PHP 4K release in years and they didn't skimp on the craftsmanship department despite its low cost.

We love the lightweight body and the unique and eye-catching design of the realme Note 50. For me, this is more attractive-looking than a lot of similarly priced devices. 

What surprised us was the IP54 water and dust resistance rating with a slim body.

Even at 720p resolution, the screen is bright with vibrant color and it even has a fast 90Hz refresh rate and a 180Hz touch sampling rate. 

It even has a large 5,000mAh battery but only comes with 10W USB-C fast charging. 

There are no earphones in the box, but it has a decently loud mono speaker and a slot for a 3.5mm audio jack for aftermarket buds or headphones.

Hopefully, the 13MP rear camera and the 5MP selfie camera can produce more consistent results with more intensive testing.

Moreover, its overall specs and actual performance are pretty impressive at this price point.

We will have to do more testing with the phone and its cameras to find out whether or not more upgrades aren't seen on paper.

For our full review: realme Note 50 Review - Entry-level king of early 2024?