UNBOX PH

Realme X50 5G Review: Gateway to 5G

Duey Guison

photo of a blue Realme X50 5G

Realme X50 5G: A mid-range 5G device you should consider? 

2020 is the year of 5G, and more brands are joining the bandwagon by launching 5G-enabled flagship and mid-range phones. And despite just being three months into the new decade, Realme already has two 5G phones to date, with the mid-range X50 being one of them. Launched in China last January, the X50 comes with a Snapdragon 765G processor, along with compelling features such as a 120hz display, 64-megapixel main rear camera, dual front cameras, and 30w VOOC charging. 

Before Realme makes the X50 official in the Philippines, we got to try the phone out and see what it has to offer.  

Pros 

-120hz display is buttery smooth 

-All cameras deliver great performance 

-Snapdragon 765G a true performer

 Cons 

–Phone is on the heavy and on the thick side 

-5G usability is limited (for now) 

Realme X50 5G Specs and Price Philippines

There’s no official PH price yet for the Realme X50 but based on its SRP in China, expect it to be priced at around Php 21,000 (for the 8GB/128GB variant) when it arrives at our shores. 

 

Thicc and heavy 

Realme is consistent with its design language that you can easily mistake the Realme X50 as a Realme XT at first glance. You get Gorilla Glass 5 protecting the back panel, along with a large camera bump housing the Reame X50’s four rear cameras. Our review unit is in Glacier Blue, and it looks stunning in person with its dark blue-green hue. While the Realme X50’s glossy finish is less of a fingerprint magnet than usual, we advise using the supplied TPU case to protect the surface from smudges and to level out camera bump.

Unlike the Realme XT, the Realme X50 comes with a side-mounted fingerprint scanner and ditches the headphone jack. The SIM card tray is placed at the bottom this time, holding two NanoSIM cards.  

The Realme X50 is almost 20 grams heavier than the Realme XT at 202 grams, thanks partly to the Realme X50 having additional components for 5G connectivity, along with a slightly bigger 4200mAh battery.  

 

120hz refresh rate is lovely 

One of the Realme X50’s unique features is its Full HD+ IPS panel with a 120hz refresh rate. At 120Hz, the Realme X50’s display delivers a buttery smooth user experience at the expense of battery life. If you want better battery life, you can stick to either 60hz or use the X50’s Auto Select refresh rate option.

The display itself is bright enough for outdoor use, and its 20:9 aspect ratio keeps the bezels slim for an impressive 84.93% screen-to-body ratio. The aspect ratio also makes it ideal for watching YouTube videos as well.  

The pill-shaped cutout is located on the left side of the display. While it looks distracting when playing games or watching videos, the cutout keeps essential notifications like signal and battery on the right side of the display.

 

Snapdragon 765G can rival 2018 flagship processors 

Being Realme’s first 5G phone, the Realme X50 comes with a Snapdragon 765G processor and an integrated Snapdragon X52 5G modem. On AnTuTu, the Snapdragon 765G’s score closely matches the Kirin 810 when it is in performance mode and trumps over 2018 flagship processors. 

With other benchmarking apps, the Snapdragon 765G’s CPU performance is at par with the Snapdragon 845. For GPU performance, the Adreno 620 is a bit lower to the Snapdragon 845’s Adreno 630.

On daily use, the Realme X50 feels like a 2018 flagship phone with smooth multitasking and transition between various apps. Gaming with titles like Asphalt 9 and PUBG Mobile is smooth even at the maximum graphics settings possible, without any frame drops or in-game lag. It comes with Android 10-based RealmeOS out of the box, and the whole UI is close to stock Android.

Battery life on the Realme X50 varies on the refresh rate. At 60hz, we managed to clock in almost 16 hours at PCMark. At 120hz, we got a decent battery life of a little over 12 hours. The commendable battery life even at 120hz refresh rate can be credited to the Snapdragon 765G’s 7nm lithography that promises improved power efficiency compared to 10nm processors.

Topping up the 4200mAh battery is done using Realme’s 30w VOOC charging. It takes a little over an hour to charge the battery from zero to 100%. 

 

Versatile quad rear cameras deliver the goods 

The Realme X50’s quad rear camera setup is identical to the Realme XT’s setup except that it swaps the latter’s macro camera for a more versatile 12-megapixel telephoto camera. The 64-megapixel Samsung GW1 main camera delivered stellar shots with lots of detail and a great amount of dynamic range.  

The 12-megapixel telephoto camera is impressive with great photo quality at 2x optical zoom and 5x hybrid zoom.  The same can be said with the ultra-wide-angle and macro cameras, as the Snapdragon 765G’s Spectra 355 ISP does extra work in post-processing images.

 

Both main and wide-angle front cameras gave us decent selfies that give us enough amount of detail. Again, the Snapdragon 765G’s Spectra 355 ISP played a big factor with the improved image processing.

For videos, the Realme X50 can shoot 4K30 and Full HD 60FPS videos, though you are limited to the main camera and telephoto camera when shooting at this resolution. Electronic Image Stabilization is limited only to Full HD video shooting.  

Verdict: The Realme X50 5G is a promising mid-range 5G phone 

While 5G connectivity has yet to commercially launch in the Philippines, the Realme X50 is set to be an affordable alternative to those who want to experience 5G once it becomes official in the Philippines. The Realme X50 slots above the 4G-only Realme XT, and its upgrades are well worth it: 120hz display, dual front cameras, a slightly bigger battery, and a more usable telephoto camera. 

 

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