Realme Narzo 50 Review: Can It Beat Competition?

Specifications

Display: 6.6-inch 120Hz LCD
Processor: MediaTek Helio G96
Memory: Up to 6GB RAM with RAM expansion support
Storage: Up to 128GB storage
Battery: 5,000 mAh
Platform: Android 11 OS with RealmeUI

Like other Narzo smartphones, the new Realme Narzo 50 packs premium features buckled with an attractive price tag. The smartphone offers an immersive 120Hz display that's powered by the MediaTek Helio G96 chipset. As a 4G smartphone, the new Realme Narzo 50 has upped the competition in the Indian market.

The Realme Narzo 50 starts from Rs. 12,999 for the 4GB RAM + 64GB variant, while the 6GB RAM + 128GB model costs Rs. 15,499. This makes the new Realme smartphone highly competitive and aggressive against competition from Redmi, Motorola, Oppo, and other brands in the mid-range segment.

I used the Realme Narzo 50 for a couple of days and it's a pretty impressive device. The large frame, curved edges, game-centric features, powerful battery backup are some of the features that catch the eye. At the same time, the Realme Narzo 50 has a couple of downsides to it, which I've discussed in this review.

Realme Narzo 50 Design: Stylish But Smudges

The Realme Narzo 50 packs a stylish chassis that's pretty and classy to look at. Realme has brought in the Kevlar Speed Design on the smartphone, which is the same that's applied to cars. The idea is to present a premium look and feel, just as that of a speeding car, and Realme has succeeded in doing just so.

The Realme Narzo 50 that I reviewed here is the Speed Blue color that presents a unique glossy finish. When held at an angle, the rear panel looks like it's got a gradient design, making it even more stylish. That said, I found the rear panel to smudge easily. My fingerprints were easily visible, which requires constant cleaning.

The rear panel also houses the cameras along with the LED flash in a squared module. The camera bump hardly disturbs, which is a good point. The left spine includes the volume rockers and the SIM slot whereas the right spine packs the power button embedded with the fingerprint sensor. Below, you get the USB Type-C port, speakers, and audio jack.

Realme Narzo 50 120H Display: The Best Part Of The Phone

One of the best features of the Realme Narzo 50 is the display. The smartphone equips a large 6.6-LCD panel with an FHD resolution and a 120HZ refresh rate. Most phones in this segment stick to a 90Hz display, which gives the Realme Narzo 50 an edge over others. The display supports up to 180Hz of touch sampling rate as well.

The Realme Narzo 50 display includes 480 nits of peak brightness, 90 percent NTSC, a 90.8 percent screen-to-body ratio, and 401PPI. Overall, the display of the new Realme smartphone is simply immersive and great to use. Users can also experience six levels of refresh rate depending on the task at hand, giving them options to save battery.

I used the Realme Narzo 50 for several activities, including video streaming, gaming, and casual browsing. When I used the phone outdoors, the display wouldn't disappoint at all. The 120Hz refresh rate further makes gaming even better and the large screen offers an immersive viewing experience for video streaming.

Realme Narzo 50 Camera: Good, Can Be Better

The Realme Narzo 50 packs a triple-camera setup at the rear with a 50MP primary camera with an f/1.8 aperture. The other cameras include a 2MP macro shooter and a 2MP B&W lens. The rear cameras are precisely the same as we saw on the Realme Narzo 50A.

The cameras pack several features like the Portrait mode, 50MP mode, HDR support, Night mode, AI scene enhancement, dual-video support, Pro expert mode, ultra macro, and so on. I clicked some photos in daylight and outdoors, and found the camera to be quite impressive.

I especially liked the Portrait mode on the Realme Narzo 50, which can provide some in-depth details of the photos you take. I also tried to take some pictures in the Night mode and the results weren't that satisfactory. All in all, the triple-camera setup certainly does a good job and passes the benchmark for regular users.

Realme Narzo 50 Performance: What The Benchmarks Say?

Going under the hood, the Realme Narzo 50 draws power from the MediaTek Helio G96 chipset paired with up to 6GB RAM and 128GB storage. One of the best features of the smartphone is the virtual expandable RAM up to 5GB, which gives an overall of 11GB RAM on the smartphone. The 4GB RAM variants get up to 3GB expansion, providing a total of 7GB RAM.

There's also a microSD card slot on the Realme Narzo 50, which allows users to expand the memory up to 1TB. I ran a couple of benchmarks on the smartphone to determine where it stands. Firstly, I ran the Geekbench 5 benchmark. Here, the Realme Narzo 50 scored 535 and 1845 in the single-core and multi-core tests, respectively.

I also ran the 3D Mark GPU benchmark with the Wild Life test. Here the Realme Narzo 50 scored a total of 1088 with an average frame rate of 6.50. The scores show the Realme Narzo 50 to be a pretty powerful smartphone. The Geekbench numbers show the phone is up in competition with the likes of Poco X3 and so on.

Realme Narzo 50 Real-Life Performance: Good For Regular Use

Benchmarks aside, the Realme Narzo 50 makes a decent phone for regular use. I used the smartphone for various tasks like attending calls, browsing, video playback, and even gaming. Speaking of gaming, the phone comes with a dedicated Game Mode that allows users to set their preferences while playing a game.

For instance, I downloaded PUBG Mobile New State, and immediately the Game Mode preferences popped up. Here, you can set the notifications to silent mode so you can have an immersive gaming experience. The smooth display further makes everything better, especially for intense mobile sessions like playing or watching something on your phone.

That said, the Realme Narzo 50 still runs Android 11 OS out-of-the-box, which is a bit of a disappointment. The OS is coupled with the RealmeUI custom skin on top that comes with preloaded apps. The RealmeUI brings in a couple of additional features like SoLoop, camera features, battery-saver, and so on that further enhance the overall experience.

Realme Narzo 50 Battery: Juice For A Whole Day

The best upgrade that comes to the Realme Narzo 50 is its battery. The phone packs a 5,000 mAh battery paired with 33W Dart Charge fast-charging tech. We've generally seen large 5,000 mAh and even 6,000 mAh batteries in this segment. However, the 33W fast charging support gives the Realme Narzo 50 an edge over the competition.

I found the phone requires about an hour to full charge from 20 percent. Realme claims the phone can reach 100 percent from 0 percent of fuel in 70 minutes. The real-life experience also shows the same. I also liked that you get battery-saver options like super-power saving mode, sleep optimization, app freezer, and so on. These features ensure you never run out of juice with the Realme Narzo 50.

Realme Narzo 50 Verdict: A Premium Mid-Ranger

The Realme Narzo 50 is a premium smartphone that packs powerful features. The 120Hz display, smooth performance, and 33W fast charging support are some of the best features the phone offers. It skips 5G support, which is now commonly available in this segment. Nevertheless, getting the Realme Narzo 50 is a good value-for-money.