Samsung Galaxy A50 review: Slim bezels, high brightness and sturdy build make this smartphone a hit

Price: Rs 19,990 (4+64), Rs 22,990 (6+64)

Rating: 3.5 stars

Specs: 6.4-inch super amoled Infinity U display, 2,340 x 1080 pixels, Exynos 9610 processor, 4/6GB RAM, 64GB storage, dedicated microSD slot, triple rear camera: 25MP f1.7 + 8MP f2.2 ultrawide+ 5MP f2.2 depth sensor, 25MP front camera, in-display fingerprint scanner, dual band WiFi, Bluetooth 5.0, USB Type-C, Android 9.0, 4,000mAh battery, 166 grams


Pros: Beautiful large amoled display, stylish design, good camera performance in daylight, great battery life with fast charge support, fast face unlock

Cons: Laggy interface, weak low light camera performance, slow fingerprint scanner, glossy back prone to smudge and fingerprints, plastic body, uses older Gorilla Glass 3

Samsung is on a roll these days - apart from their excellent flagship S10 series, they have introduced a series of mid-range A series phones. Thanks to the increased competition, Samsung is also getting really aggressive with pricing and this is why the A50 starts at Rs 19,999.

This is the company's first mid-range offering with an in-display fingerprint scanner. But hold on to your excitement - it doesn't use the S10's ultra-sonic fingerprint scanner but the more conventional optical scanner that most other brands (like OnePlus, Vivo, Oppo use). While the competition is using fourth generation in-display sensors, the A50's fingerprint sensor feels like first gen technology. It is slow to recognize the fingerprint and fails to work about 50% of the time. Samsung has pushed out a software update to improve the speed/accuracy but we only saw a marginal improvement. In comparison, the face unlock works smoothly - much better than what we have seen on the M series smartphones.

The A50 has a gorgeous 6.4-inch, super amoled full HD display with the Infinity U style notch. The screen is a joy to consuming content on and impresses with slim bezels, high brightness and deep blacks. However, it uses older Gorilla Glass 3 for screen protection which is a letdown. We liked the sturdy build quality of the device despite the polycarbonate back panel. The back panel is super glossy and reflects light in all colours of the rainbow. As usual, the glossy finish is prone to smudges and fingerprints.

Performance is where the phone confused us. It has Samsung's octa-core Exynos 9610 processor coupled with 4/6GB RAM and 64GB storage. Our review was the 4GB RAM variant and it could play games like PUBG and Asphalt smoothly. However, when it came to performance, we were surprised to see random lags and sluggishness. This was true of basic tasks like swiping left to the Bixby screen, switching between running apps, editing photos and even closing apps to go back to home-screen. This becomes more visible if there are more than 10 apps running in the background - our theory is that is no optimization between the new Exynos chip and the operating system. Battery life is the strong point of the phone - we were able to get close to a day and half backup regularly. Plus, there is support for fast charging and a fast charger is provided in the box.

The Galaxy A50 features a triple camera setup on the rear which delivers great results in daylight. Photos have good amount of details and the camera interface is zippy. There is a wide-angle lens which is great for shooting landscapes and architecture. The third lens is a depth sensor which helps with live focus and offers good edge detection. Portrait photos turned out great with a good amount of bokeh but there are phones with much better camera available in this price segment such as the Poco F1. Trouble is that in low light, the photos suffer from soft details and we often ended with blurry photos. We also didn't like the fact that video recording is limited to full HD resolution in the default camera app and that you cannot switch between the standard and wide-angle lens while shooting. The front facing 25MP camera also perform the same as rear camera - great photos in daylight but lacking in detail when used in lowlight.

Some of the other features that we liked about the phone include dedicated microSD slot for storage expansion, loud output from the external loudspeaker and Dolby Atmos for audio. However, at Rs20k, the Samsung Galaxy A50 is a tough sell. The Poco F1 offers much better performance with its Snapdragon 845 processor at the same price and even scores high on camera and battery performance. The Redmi Note 7 Pro delivers a better processor, premium glass design, excellent 48MP dual rear camera and similar battery life at just Rs 13,999. If you are stuck on the Samsung brand, you can get the Galaxy M30 at Rs 14,999 with a similar super amoled display, triple camera setup and a large 5,000mAh battery.