realme just launched its latest Narzo series smartphone in India, the realme Narzo 50 is the latest smartphone from the Narzo 50 Series and is the budget midranger priced at ₹12,999. The primary features of the smartphone are its 120 Hz display, MediaTek Helio G96 octa-core SoC, and 33W Dart Charge fast charging for a 5,000 mAh battery. Here’s what the realme Narzo 50 has to offer, let’s see in our realme Narzo 50 review.
realme Narzo 50 Specifications
- Display: 6.6-inch IPS display, Full HD+ resolution, 120 Hz adaptive refresh rate
- Software: realme UI 2.0, Android 11
- CPU: MediaTek Helio G96 octa-core SoC clocked at 2.05 GHz
- GPU: ARM Mali-G57 MC2 Graphics
- Memory: 4 GB OR 6 GB LPDDR4x RAM
- Storage: 64 GB OR 128 GB UFS 2.2 internal storage, microSD slot up to 1 TB
- Main Camera: Triple cameras (50 MP primary + 2 MP macro + 2 MP portrait/depth)
- Selfie Camera: 16 MP
- Others: Side-mounted fingerprint scanner
- Cellular: 4G LTE, dual SIM, dual standby
- Battery: 5,000 mAh battery
- Charging: 33W Dart Charge fast charging
- Price: ₹12,999 (4 GB + 64 GB), ₹15,499 (6 GB + 128 GB)
- Availability: 3rd March 2022, realme.com, Amazon India, and other retail stores.
Design, Display, & Build
The realme Narzo 50 is an upper variant of the Narzo 50A in its Narzo 50 Series and it’s also the latest smartphone in the realme Narzo lineup. The major differences we noted are its 120 Hz display, a newer CPU (Helio G96), upgraded cameras, and some design changes compared to the Narzo 50A and Narzo 30. The realme Narzo 50 competes with its recently released competitor Redmi Note 11S with similar features.
What’s in the Narzo 50 design? The backside has a slightly matte finish Kevlar Speed Texture with racing-like patterns as you can see in the images below, and the surface that reflects when light falls on it. The overall design of the Narzo 50 looks great and feels great given the price. You will see a triple camera setup on the top left side and Narzo branding at the bottom. The phone comes in two color variants – Speed Blue and Speed Black, we got the Speed Blue.
On the front side, the realme Narzo 50 comes with a 6.6-inch IPS display with Full HD+ resolution and a fast 120 Hz refresh rate for a smoother UI and app experience. The smartphone has a 50 MP primary camera and a 16 MP selfie camera, as well as stereo speakers for a better multimedia experience, and a side-mounted fingerprint scanner is also present and is embedded on the power button for locking and unlocking the phone.
The right side has a power button that doubles as a fingerprint scanner while the left side has volume keys and a triple-slot SIM tray that supports dual 4G SIM cards and a dedicated microSD card slot. No 5G support since the processor doesn’t come with a 5G modem, this makes the Narzo 50 falls behind the 5G competition.
The bottom side has a USB Type-C port and 3.5 mm audio jack as well as one microphone, and stereo speakers (one at the earpiece). The top side has nothing aside.
Software & User Interface
The realme Narzo 50 boots with the older realme UI 2.0 which is based on the Android 11 operating system. Several realme smartphones already offer the realme UI version 2.0, however, a newer version of the operating system already exists, a few realme smartphones have already received the realme UI 3.0 update and we would like to see it on the Narzo 50. realme says the Narzo 50 would receive it soon, and all that we can say is wait for the update until it arrives.
The new realme UI 3.0 is loaded with features, it was released a few months ago and a handful of realme smartphones have already received the update, you can see the list of supported devices, the Narzo 50 is on the list. The realme UI 3.0 brings a new look and new Fluid Space design, UI personalization, smoother animations, custom Always-On Display, new privacy features, and more.
The realme Narzo 50 has Android 11 with a security patch dated 5th January 2022 that seems to be the latest. About the realme UI 2.0, it has been seamlessly optimized for Android 11, with over 100+ customizations including theme color, dark modes, icon packs, and more. Due to its 120 Hz display, the realme UI 2.0 feels smooth and light in weight.
You will find bloatware on the phone, but that can be removed as long as you don’t need them. The bloatware on the phone includes a handful of third-party apps like Facebook, Josh, Dailyhunt, Booking.com, Moj, Snapchat, LinkedIn, PhonePe, Amazon, and a few more including apps from realme.
Hardware, Performance, & Gaming
On the hardware side, the realme Narzo 50 equips a MediaTek Helio G96 octa-core SoC clocked at 2.05 GHz alongwith ARM Mali-G57 MC2 GPU for gaming, graphics applications, and graphics-intensive tasks.
If we talk about the processor, the Mediatek Helio G96 is a midrange SoC manufactured in a 12nm process consisting of 2+6 core configurations, two high-performance ARM Cortex-A76 cores clocked at 2.05 GHz, and six power-efficient ARM Cortex-A55 cores clocked at 2.0 GHz.
About its RAM and storage options, the Narzo 50 comes in two variants, starting with 4 GB RAM and 64 GB storage as the base variant, 6 GB RAM and 128 GB storage as the topmost variant. The storage can be expanded via a microSD card slot up to 1 TB.
It has RAM expansion technology which extends the RAM up to 5 GB extra i.e. on its top variant 6 GB RAM can be extended till 11 GB (9 GB on 4 GB RAM variant). The price for the realme Narzo 50 starts at ₹12,999 for its base variant 4 GB RAM + 64 GB variant, and ₹15,499 for its top variant 6 GB RAM + 128 GB variant.
The performance of the CPU is quite similar to the Qualcomm Snapdragon 730G. The chip integrates an ARM Mali-G57 MC2 GPU for gaming and GPU-intensive tasks. The performance of the GPU is good and runs many games smoothly on the default graphics settings.
Cameras
Cameras on the Narzo 50 include a triple setup with 50 MP as the primary sensor. There are a total of three cameras on the backside with the 50 MP camera, 2 MP macro camera, and 2 MP portrait/depth camera, no fourth camera is found i.e. ultra-wide-angle or telephoto camera.
The camera setup is very similar to the recently released realme 9i smartphone, a 50 MP main camera, 2 MP macro, and 2 MP B&W. The front camera on the Narzo 50 is 16 MP for selfie needs and video calling.
For its camera features, you can click 2x, 5x digital zoom photos, take ultra macro shots, portraits, as well as Slo-mo videos, dual-view video, Time-Lapse, Panorama, and more. The camera records up to 1080p at 30 fps and no 60 fps and 4K video.
The camera quality appears to be good for this price segment, if you are using it for clicking daylight shots (50 MP), there’s nothing much about to talk about its camera, it performs well given the price. Take a look at these camera samples we took using the Narzo 50’s cameras.
realme Narzo 50 Camera Samples
Battery Runtime & Charging
The realme Narzo 50 packs a 5,000 mAh battery and it can last about 2 days on average depending upon your usage. The 5,000 mAh battery also supports a 33W Dart Charge fast charging which is still faster, if not the fastest in its segment, it takes about 70 minutes to charge from 0% to 100% in a single charge.
Verdict
The realme Narzo 50 offers a fast 120 Hz display, a midrange Helio G96 octa-core CPU, stereo speakers, and 33W fast charging at the price of ₹12,999. Other than that, you can make use of its RAM expansion technology to increase the total RAM. Overall, the realme Narzo 50 offers a good multimedia experience, good gaming performance, and battery life with support for fast charging. At the price of ₹12,999 (base variant), the Narzo 50 is suitable for budget gamers and those who want a midrange smartphone at an affordable price. The realme Narzo 50 is still a 4G smartphone, so if you are looking for a 5G smartphone, look for phones with 5G support.
Strength
- 120 Hz Smooth Display
- 33W Fast Charging Support
- Good Performance
- Good Battery Life
- Dual Stereo Speakers
- Dedicated microSD Card Slot
- 3.5 mm Jack
Weakness
- No 5G Support
