Realme Narzo 50 Review: What’s with the Portraits?

Last month, Chinese manufacturer Realme launched Narzo 50 in Nepal. The Narzo 50 is a budget smartphone announced in February 2022.

The Realme Narzo 50 price in Nepal is Rs. 22,999 for the 4/64GB variant and Rs. 26,499 for the 6/128GB variant. The device is available at Realme authorised stores across Nepal.

This is the third Narzo smartphone to launch in Nepal. However, this phone is not something we have not seen before. It is the same phone that Realme released in 2021. I am talking about the Realme 8i, which we reviewed last year.

But the good thing is that Narzo 50 has made a couple of welcome changes and it also costs slightly less than the Realme 8i. The Narzo 50 has a patterned back design and supports fast charging.

Anyway, if you’re to buy the phone, it should not matter much if the phone is rebranded or not. What should matter is whether purchasing the Narzo 50 in 2022 is a good decision.

In this review of the Realme Narzo 50, I will go through all the details one needs to know before buying the phone.

Realme Narzo 50 Review

Design

• 164.1 x 75.5 x 8.5 mm
• 194 g
• Dual SIM (Nano-SIM, dual stand-by)
• Plastic frame and back

As said earlier, the design of the Narzo 50 is the same as the Realme 8i. The only difference here is the finish on the back.

One thing I hated about the Realme 8i was how fingerprint magnet the glossy back was. The Narzo 50 has solved this problem. I have the Speed Blue colour and the back of it does not show any fingerprint smudges.

The kevlar design on the plastic back is also more attractive, but it does not cover the entire back. It simply covers the centre part and fades out to the sides. If the design had spanned the entire region, I would have liked it even more.

With its curved sides, the phone is easy to hold. The width and weight of the phone are also not uncomfortable. The back has a rectangular glass-like transparent plastic island that has four circles.

Moving to the sides, there is a fingerprint sensor on the power button located on the right side. The fingerprint sensor works fast and is reliable. The front of the Narzo 50, like every other Realme smartphone, has a punch-hole cutout in the top left corner for the selfie camera.

For the bezels, the side and top bezels are thin and symmetrical. The bottom bezel, on the other hand, is somewhat thicker, which is common in all phones from budget to mid-range.

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Display

• 6.6-inch IPS LCD
• FHD+ Display (1080 x 2412)
• 120Hz refresh rate

The display measures 6.6-inch diagonally. The display can refresh at up to 120Hz. Only a few smartphone displays in this price range support a 120Hz refresh rate. Otherwise, almost all similarly-priced phones support only 90Hz.

The display supports six levels of refresh rates, ranging from 30Hz to 120Hz. Setting the refresh rate to “High” will set the display to 120Hz. From scrolling to UI navigation, the 120Hz is really smooth.

The refresh rate drops to 60Hz when gaming or opening certain apps such as the Camera app. Likewise, when playing videos on YouTube or Netflix, the refresh rate fluctuates between 48Hz, 50Hz, and 60Hz.

When the refresh rate is set to “Auto select,” the device chooses the refresh rate for an app automatically. It keeps the refresh rate at 90Hz most of the time, but it can shift to 48Hz, 50Hz, or 60Hz depending on the app. It drops to 30Hz when not in use.

Realme has provided an IPS LCD display on the Narzo 50. Its display may not be as good as the Redmi Note 11‘s AMOLED panel, but it is definitely better than the Samsung Galaxy A23‘s PLS display.

The display is great for an LCD screen in this price range. The colours are pleasing to look at, and watching movies is also enjoyable. The device’s brightness is sufficient for outdoor use as well.

Performance

• MediaTek Helio G96 (12nm)
• Octa-core (2×2.05 GHz Cortex-A76 & 6×2.0 GHz Cortex-A55)
• Mali-G57 MC2
• 4GB RAM 64GB storage, 6GB RAM 128GB storage

Almost every budget phone in 2022 so far has come equipped with the underwhelming Snapdragon 680 4G processor. Fortunately, the Narzo 50 is powered by a more powerful MediaTek Helio G96 chipset.

Currently, the Helio G96 is one of the best SoC you can get in this price bracket. The Helio G96 has the same octa-core CPU as the Helio G95, with two Arm Cortex-A76 (2.05GHz) and six Arm Cortex-A55 (2GHz) cores.

The G96’s Mali G57 MC2 GPU also delivers far better graphics performance than the Snapdragon 680.

I am using the 6GB RAM variant which comes with 128GB storage. There is also the 4GB RAM and 64GB variant.

In my usage, the phone felt very responsive. The phone performed smoothly without any noticeable performance issues.

Running CPU benchmark on Geekbench 5, the device managed to score over 500 single-core points and around 1850 multi-core points. Likewise, on 3DMark (Wild Life), the phone got an overall score of over 1000.

For comparison, the Snapdragon 680 processor found on the Samsung Galaxy A23 and the Redmi Note 11 scored below 400 single-core points and around 1500 multi-core points on Geekbench 5. And on 3DMark (Wild Life), it only scored around 415.

The gaming experience on the Narzo 50 is equally impressive. I played PUBG Mobile on it. Under Smooth Graphics and Ultra Frame Rate, the device delivered an average of 40fps with no stutters.

On HD Graphics and High Frame Rate, the device averaged 30 frames per second, and frequent small stutters were noticeable.

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Camera

• Rear Camera: 50 MP, f/1.8, 26mm (main), 1/2.76″, 0.64µm, PDAF
  • 2 MP, f/2.4, (macro)
  • 2 MP, f/2.4, (B&W)
  • Video: 1080p@120/30fps
• Front Camera: 16 MP, f/2.1, 26mm, 1/3″, 1.0µm

On the back, there are three cameras, although only the 50MP primary camera is useful. The other two are the macro and B&W cameras, both of which are 2MP. Realme should have given an ultrawide camera instead of the macro and B&W cameras.

NORMAL PHOTOS

The phone captures 12MP images by default. I like the colours of the photos the main camera takes. The device struggles to maintain the highlight and the shadow, but the overall image looks pleasing.

But when it comes to taking photos of a person, the skin tone appears reddish and the person is also not exposed properly. It, for some reason, under-exposes the person, resulting in a dark image.

Photos taken in 50MP mode have comparatively better details and clarity, but the photo consistently comes out darker than the 12MP photos.

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NIGHT PHOTOS

For the price, the night photos are good. Taking photos in Night mode exposes the photo better. The details are also good.

Moving subjects, however, appear blurry, as they do on any other phone. I am satisfied with the overall low-light images it takes.

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PORTRAIT PHOTOS

The Portrait mode on the Realme Narzo 50 is a complete letdown.

Taking portraits in default mode alone was unimpressive. The Portrait mode is even disappointing as it makes the photo even darker and skin tone reddish.

It’s not that the camera is not capable of exposing the subject properly. Sometimes, it exposes the subject correctly, but the majority of times, the photos come out terrible.

It underexposes the subject which makes the photos look very unnatural and dark. The update may fix this issue in the future, but for now, the phone’s portrait capability is a huge disappointment.

The background blur is satisfactory. The edge detection does a decent job of separating the subject.

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MACRO PHOTOS

The macro photos are also not very useful. The macro photos lack good details and clarity. I suggest you use the main camera for those shots.

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FRONT CAMERA

The selfies are fine with good details. The skin tone appears slightly red at times, but the overall photos are great.

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VIDEO

The phone can shoot 1080p videos at 30 frames per second. Users can also shoot slow-motion videos in 1080p or 720p resolution. The video quality is average. It lacks good clarity and details.

The exposure would occasionally fluctuate, which was annoying. The stabilisation is decent, but it catches footsteps. There is an option to use Ultra Steady mode, but I found it to be ineffective.

Battery

• 5000mAh battery
• Fast charging 33W
• USB Type-C

The Narzo 50 has a 5000mAh battery. The battery provided me 7-8 hours of screen-on-time on a single charge, which is great.

One complaint I had with the Realme 8i was the slow charging speed. That is not a problem on the Narzo 50 as it now supports 33W fast charging. The provided charger takes approximately 1.25 hours to fully charge from 2%.

Software and Others

• Android 11
• Realme UI 2.0

The phone runs on Android 11 topped with Realme UI 2.0. The Realme UI feels fast and responsive. But it comes with a ton of bloatware and third-party apps. Thankfully, the majority of it can be uninstalled.

It also shows ads on the lockscreen, but users can disable it by turning off the “Glance for realme” from the settings.

There is a single-bottom firing speaker. The speaker quality is average. It sounds slightly distorted at high volumes and also lacks bass.

Should You Buy Narzo 50?

The Narzo 50 is the same as the Realme 8i, but it’s even better. The kevlar finish on the back is attractive, and it resists fingerprint smudges.

The Narzo 50 performs admirably. It also boasts a good display and battery life, as well as support for 33W fast charging. For all of these reasons, the Narzo 50 is an excellent phone for the money.

However, I find it difficult to suggest this phone because it consistently shoots poor portrait shots in both regular and portrait modes. Selfies and typical photos without a person, on the other hand, are good.

This was not an issue with the Realme 8i. I believe the update will resolve the issue on the Narzo 50. So, before you buy, make sure the problem has been resolved. Otherwise, this is a great purchase.

ALSO READ: Realme Mobiles Price in Nepal: Features and Specs

What do you think of the Realme Narzo 50? Let us know in the comments!

Also, watch our review video of the Realme Narzo 50 in Nepali.