realme Narzo 50A Prime smartphone review - Full HD and fast memory for little money
Possible competitors in comparison
Rating | Date | Model | Weight | Drive | Size | Resolution | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 76 % v7 (old) | 08 / 2022 | Realme Narzo 50A Prime T7225 (T612), Mali-G52 MP1 | 192.5 g | 64 GB UFS 2.2 Flash | 6.60" | 2408x1080 | |
| 74.8 % v7 (old) | 07 / 2022 | Realme Narzo 50i Prime T7225 (T612), Mali-G52 MP1 | 182 g | 32 GB UFS 2.2 Flash | 6.50" | 1600x720 | |
| 75.8 % v7 (old) | 07 / 2022 | Samsung Galaxy M13 Exynos 850, Mali-G52 MP1 | 192 g | 64 GB eMMC Flash | 6.60" | 2408x1080 | |
| 76.6 % v7 (old) | 07 / 2022 | Xiaomi Redmi 10C SD 680, Adreno 610 | 190 g | 64 GB UFS 2.2 Flash | 6.71" | 1650x720 |
Case and features - Angular exterior
The realme 50A Prime is the sister model of the realme Narzo 50i Prime which we recently tested. The dimensions of both devices are very similar, but realme has reduced the thickness of the Narzo 50A Prime by a few tenths of a millimeter; the weight is a bit higher at 192.5 grams.
Looking at the characteristics, it quickly becomes clear that the Narzo 50A Prime is the significantly better-equipped phone in the family: with 64 GB of mass storage, a Full HD display, and WiFi 5, it is clearly above the Narzo 50i Prime. What is still missing, however, is NFC, so no mobile payment apps can be used either.
The SD card reader is in addition to the two SIM slots and proves to be a bit slower than in comparable smartphones, for example, in the copy test with our reference card Angelbird AV Pro V60.
The casing is, as in the 50i Prime, rather angular. The back is covered with a reflective glass panel and features a "Kevlar Speed Texture Design" underneath, which is reminiscent of carbon fibers but is of course made of simple plastic. The area around the camera module is visually separated and refracts the light for a special effect. Interestingly, the color "Flash Black" looks rather dark blue; a light blue is available as a second color variant.
The smartphone looks high-quality for its price range, but it strongly attracts fingerprints. The edges are partly quite noticeable, but the Narzo 50A Prime still feels quite comfortable in the hand. The smartphone can hardly be twisted and does not creak.
| SD Card Reader - average JPG Copy Test (av. of 3 runs) | |
| Xiaomi Redmi 10C (Angelbird V60) | |
| Average of class Smartphone (7.7 - 77, n=75, last 2 years) | |
| Samsung Galaxy M13 (Angelbird V60) | |
| Realme Narzo 50i Prime (Angelbird V60) | |
| Realme Narzo 50A Prime (Angelbird V60) | |
Cross Platform Disk Test (CPDT)
Communication, software and operation - No 5G, but fast WLAN
You have to do without 5G capabilities in this price range, but the Narzo 50A Prime at least offers some 4G frequencies. It is not enough for international use worldwide, but you can use the mobile Internet without problems in Central Europe. The reception is rather on a low level during our test, but never completely breaks down.
The phone comes with WiFi 5 and can thus compete with other phones in its price range, such as the Galaxy M13 or the Redmi 10C. The transfer rates are also quite stable in our test with the reference router Asus ROG AXE11000.
Realme's UI R-version is reduced in some functions, for example, there is no gaming mode. The system of the Narzo 50A Prime is still based on Android 11, although Android 13 is already in the starting blocks. Our test device received an update to the latest security patches from July 2022 within the test period, although quite recent patches from June 2022 were already installed before. Realme thus seems to at least bring its updates to the phone quickly.
The touchscreen can be operated reliably, but it does not feel as smooth as faster screens due to the 60 Hz frame rate. The fingerprint sensor is integrated into the standby button on the right side of the case. It unlocks the phone quite quickly and reliably even from standby. 2D face recognition is also possible, but you should make sure that the surroundings are well-lit.
| Networking | |
| iperf3 transmit AXE11000 | |
| Realme Narzo 50A Prime | |
| Samsung Galaxy M13 | |
| Xiaomi Redmi 10C | |
| Realme Narzo 50i Prime | |
| iperf3 receive AXE11000 | |
| Samsung Galaxy M13 | |
| Realme Narzo 50A Prime | |
| Xiaomi Redmi 10C | |
| Realme Narzo 50i Prime | |
Cameras - Actually a single camera
On paper, the real Narzo 50A Prime offers three camera lenses on the back, but in reality, you will probably only use one of them most of the time: the main camera with 50 megapixels usually only take pictures with a quarter of the resolution, but is still much more accurate than, for example, the macro camera with only 2-megapixel resolution. Sure, it is sufficient for a cursory glance at the phone's screen, but the extreme close-ups are hardly useful beyond that. The third lens is only intended to support blur effects and cannot be used for own pictures anyway.
The main camera takes quite passable pictures in itself, whose detail sharpness does not turn out bad at all. At the same time, the color reproduction in the surrounding image is quite strange: the sky looks heavily desaturated and quite grainy in large areas. In very low light, hardly any details are visible in dark areas.
Videos can be recorded in 1080p and 30 fps at most, and you can only use a digital zoom. The light meter works quite accurately, while the autofocus needs a bit now and then to set the right focus.
The front-facing camera offers a resolution of 8 megapixels. It takes passable selfies in good light, but you should not enlarge them too much or details will be lost.
Image Comparison
Choose a scene and navigate within the first image. One click changes the position on touchscreens. One click on the zoomed-in image opens the original in a new window. The first image shows the scaled photograph of the test device.
Main cameraMain cameraLow Light
Display - Full HD with good brightness
A Full HD screen is also offered by others in this price range but by far not all phones. With its 528 cd/m² on average, the display of the realme Narzo 50A Prime is also quite bright and offers a decent contrast ratio of 1385:1, which makes colors and dark tones look bit richer and deeper.
We did not notice any PWM flickering, but a slight blue cast is visible in the grayscale. The color accuracy measurement shows that blue tones are displayed most inaccurately.
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Brightness Distribution: 93 %
Center on Battery: 540 cd/m²
Contrast: 1385:1 (Black: 0.39 cd/m²)
ΔE Color 4.39 | 0.5-29.43 Ø4.88
ΔE Greyscale 4.7 | 0.5-98 Ø5.1
99.8% sRGB (Calman 2D)
Gamma: 2.261
| Realme Narzo 50A Prime IPS, 2408x1080, 6.6" | Realme Narzo 50i Prime IPS, 1600x720, 6.5" | Samsung Galaxy M13 PLS, 2408x1080, 6.6" | Xiaomi Redmi 10C IPS, 1650x720, 6.7" | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Response Times | -25% | 5% | -30% | |
| Response Time Grey 50% / Grey 80% * | 30 ? | 34 ? -13% | 27 ? 10% | 33 ? -10% |
| Response Time Black / White * | 14 ? | 19 ? -36% | 14 ? -0% | 21 ? -50% |
| PWM Frequency | ||||
| Screen | -22% | -13% | 15% | |
| Brightness middle | 540 | 365 -32% | 481 -11% | 511 -5% |
| Brightness | 523 | 354 -32% | 444 -15% | 478 -9% |
| Brightness Distribution | 93 | 83 -11% | 85 -9% | 84 -10% |
| Black Level * | 0.39 | 0.45 -15% | 0.43 -10% | 0.42 -8% |
| Contrast | 1385 | 811 -41% | 1119 -19% | 1217 -12% |
| Colorchecker dE 2000 * | 4.39 | 4.58 -4% | 4.55 -4% | 1.51 66% |
| Colorchecker dE 2000 max. * | 6.65 | 8.81 -32% | 7.86 -18% | 2.53 62% |
| Greyscale dE 2000 * | 4.7 | 5.2 -11% | 5.5 -17% | 2.9 38% |
| Gamma | 2.261 97% | 2.28 96% | 2.233 99% | 2.266 97% |
| CCT | 7597 86% | 7929 82% | 7969 82% | 6443 101% |
| Total Average (Program / Settings) | -24% /
-23% | -4% /
-9% | -8% /
6% |
* ... smaller is better
Display Response Times
| ↔ Response Time Black to White | ||
|---|---|---|
| 14 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined | ↗ 9 ms rise |  |
| ↘ 5 ms fall | ||
| The screen shows good response rates in our tests, but may be too slow for competitive gamers. In comparison, all tested devices range from 0.1 (minimum) to 240 (maximum) ms. » 31 % of all devices are better. This means that the measured response time is better than the average of all tested devices (20.8 ms). | ||
| ↔ Response Time 50% Grey to 80% Grey | ||
| 30 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined | ↗ 16 ms rise |  |
| ↘ 14 ms fall | ||
| The screen shows slow response rates in our tests and will be unsatisfactory for gamers. In comparison, all tested devices range from 0.165 (minimum) to 636 (maximum) ms. » 36 % of all devices are better. This means that the measured response time is similar to the average of all tested devices (32.6 ms). | ||
Screen Flickering / PWM (Pulse-Width Modulation)
| Screen flickering / PWM not detected |  | ||
In comparison: 53 % of all tested devices do not use PWM to dim the display. If PWM was detected, an average of 8549 (minimum: 5 - maximum: 343500) Hz was measured. | |||
Performance, emissions and battery life - The fast memory does the trick
The Unisoc Tiger T612 is used in many of realme's low-priced cell phones and offers good performance rates for the class, especially in the processor area. Meanwhile, the graphics unit falls a bit behind, especially on the high-resolution screen. The system basically runs smoothly in everyday use as long as you do not have too many apps running in the background. However, you have to reckon with occasional stutters.
The fast UFS 2.2 storage is no longer completely uncommon in the price range, and the Redmi 10C for example, also offers it. Nevertheless, it is nice to see that even inexpensive phones now offer a decent storage speed that shortens loading times.
The case heats up very well even under heavy load and is not alarming with a maximum of 38.4 °C, at least at room temperature.
The small mono speaker on the phone's lower edge struggles a bit to produce a really full sound. It will sound too thin and too treble-heavy for most demands in music and movie sound. Nevertheless, you can basically use it to listen to a piece of music or watch a video. However, speakers or headphones that are connected via a 3.5 mm port or Bluetooth naturally sound better; aptX HD is supported, but the modern aptX codecs are not.
The phone can be charged with a maximum of 18 watts, but a charger is not included with the realme Narzo 50A Prime. It takes a good 2 hours at full charging power to completely fill the 5,000 mAh battery. According to our WLAN test, it does not last quite as long as other phones in this price range, but it is still a long-runner with 14:34 hours that can even survive two workdays without charging.
| GFXBench | |
| on screen Aztec Ruins Normal Tier Onscreen (sort by value) | |
| Realme Narzo 50A Prime | |
| Realme Narzo 50i Prime | |
| Samsung Galaxy M13 | |
| Xiaomi Redmi 10C | |
| Average Unisoc T7225 (T612) (4.7 - 10, n=5) | |
| Average of class Smartphone (5.5 - 166, n=202, last 2 years) | |
| 1920x1080 Aztec Ruins Normal Tier Offscreen (sort by value) | |
| Realme Narzo 50A Prime | |
| Realme Narzo 50i Prime | |
| Samsung Galaxy M13 | |
| Xiaomi Redmi 10C | |
| Average Unisoc T7225 (T612) (5.3 - 5.6, n=5) | |
| Average of class Smartphone (3.4 - 321, n=202, last 2 years) | |
| on screen Aztec Ruins High Tier Onscreen (sort by value) | |
| Realme Narzo 50A Prime | |
| Realme Narzo 50i Prime | |
| Samsung Galaxy M13 | |
| Xiaomi Redmi 10C | |
| Average Unisoc T7225 (T612) (3 - 6.4, n=5) | |
| Average of class Smartphone (0.85 - 144, n=203, last 2 years) | |
| 2560x1440 Aztec Ruins High Tier Offscreen (sort by value) | |
| Realme Narzo 50A Prime | |
| Realme Narzo 50i Prime | |
| Samsung Galaxy M13 | |
| Xiaomi Redmi 10C | |
| Average Unisoc T7225 (T612) (1.9 - 2, n=5) | |
| Average of class Smartphone (1.2 - 129, n=202, last 2 years) | |
| Realme Narzo 50A Prime | Realme Narzo 50i Prime | Samsung Galaxy M13 | Xiaomi Redmi 10C | Average 64 GB UFS 2.2 Flash | Average of class Smartphone | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AndroBench 3-5 | 11% | -63% | 19% | 8% | 198% | |
| Sequential Read 256KB | 852.8 | 658.2 -23% | 264.5 -69% | 927.7 9% | 770 ? -10% | 2009 ? 136% |
| Sequential Write 256KB | 266 | 445.6 68% | 193.5 -27% | 510.2 92% | 399 ? 50% | 1619 ? 509% |
| Random Read 4KB | 145.3 | 161.8 11% | 42.5 -71% | 120.2 -17% | 156.6 ? 8% | 283 ? 95% |
| Random Write 4KB | 212.5 | 189.8 -11% | 30.3 -86% | 195.2 -8% | 177.7 ? -16% | 324 ? 52% |
Temperature
(+) The maximum temperature on the upper side is 38.2 °C / 101 F, compared to the average of 35.1 °C / 95 F, ranging from 21.9 to 63.7 °C for the class Smartphone.
(+) The bottom heats up to a maximum of 38.4 °C / 101 F, compared to the average of 33.9 °C / 93 F
(+) In idle usage, the average temperature for the upper side is 24.7 °C / 76 F, compared to the device average of 32.8 °C / 91 F.
Speaker
Realme Narzo 50A Prime audio analysis
(±) | speaker loudness is average but good (81.7 dB)
Bass 100 - 315 Hz
(-) | nearly no bass - on average 27.7% lower than median
(±) | linearity of bass is average (7.8% delta to prev. frequency)
Mids 400 - 2000 Hz
(+) | balanced mids - only 4.6% away from median
(±) | linearity of mids is average (7.3% delta to prev. frequency)
Highs 2 - 16 kHz
(±) | higher highs - on average 6.8% higher than median
(±) | linearity of highs is average (10.5% delta to prev. frequency)
Overall 100 - 16.000 Hz
(±) | linearity of overall sound is average (25% difference to median)
Compared to same class
» 58% of all tested devices in this class were better, 7% similar, 35% worse
» The best had a delta of 12%, average was 36%, worst was 134%
Compared to all devices tested
» 74% of all tested devices were better, 5% similar, 20% worse
» The best had a delta of 4%, average was 24%, worst was 134%
Xiaomi Redmi 10C audio analysis
(±) | speaker loudness is average but good (79.3 dB)
Bass 100 - 315 Hz
(-) | nearly no bass - on average 32% lower than median
(±) | linearity of bass is average (8.8% delta to prev. frequency)
Mids 400 - 2000 Hz
(±) | reduced mids - on average 5.1% lower than median
(+) | mids are linear (6.3% delta to prev. frequency)
Highs 2 - 16 kHz
(+) | balanced highs - only 2.4% away from median
(+) | highs are linear (5% delta to prev. frequency)
Overall 100 - 16.000 Hz
(±) | linearity of overall sound is average (23.9% difference to median)
Compared to same class
» 51% of all tested devices in this class were better, 9% similar, 40% worse
» The best had a delta of 12%, average was 36%, worst was 134%
Compared to all devices tested
» 69% of all tested devices were better, 7% similar, 24% worse
» The best had a delta of 4%, average was 24%, worst was 134%
Battery life
| Battery Runtime - WiFi Websurfing | |
| Average of class Smartphone (476 - 3244, n=202, last 2 years) | |
| Realme Narzo 50i Prime | |
| Xiaomi Redmi 10C | |
| Samsung Galaxy M13 | |
| Realme Narzo 50A Prime | |
Pros
Cons
Verdict - Good alternative for beginners
If you cannot or do not want to spend a lot of money on your smartphone, you will get a decent overall package with the realme Narzo 50A Prime: a bright Full HD display, sufficient system power for everyday use, fast storage, user-friendly runtimes, and software that is updated quite frequently, at least at the moment.
The mediocre speaker and a slight blue cast on the screen are also found in other inexpensive phones. The fact that no charger is included, the smartphone does not have NFC, and the operating system is still based on Android 11 are points that should be considered in the purchase decision.
The realme Narzo 50A Prime offers a good equipment package at a very low price.
Since the prices of the 50A Prime have already dropped significantly, there is hardly any reason to still go for the Narzo 50i Prime with much worse equipment. The Galaxy M13 comes with Android 12 and NFC but lags behind in terms of performance.
Price and availability
The realme Narzo 50A Prime is available directly from the manufacturer at 170 Euros. At the time of testing, there is a promotion on the website with a 20 Euro discount.
You can save even more at some Internet retailers, for example at our loaner notebooksbilliger.de where the phone is already available for 136 Euros at the time of testing. Also, Cyberport and amazon.de also have smartphone on offer.
Realme Narzo 50A Prime
- 08/02/2022 v7 (old)
Florian Schmitt
Price comparison
