While flagships are typically the phones getting everyone’s attention, mid-rangers are the ones playing a much more important role overall, and it’s all because of a very simple reason.
Mid-range smartphones push companies like Samsung to invest aggressively in a mixed package that includes nearly high-end features, premium looks, above-the-average hardware, and, above all, a price tag that makes them compelling products for buyers worldwide.
Most companies know this very well, and the last decade brought a continuously-increasing focus on mid-rangers, especially because these are the models that have a significant contribution in the global market share of each company.
In this context, the Galaxy A50 isn’t just a smartphone that’s supposed to help Samsung expand its product portfolio, but it’s one whose goal is to bring home the bacon. And by bacon I’m referring not just to money, because at the end of the day that’s the most important thing, but also market share, as Samsung needs models like these to remain the world’s number one phone maker.
Like the other mid-rangers out there, the Galaxy A50 uses the recipe mentioned above, and everything starts with the design of the phone.
The A50 comes with a plastic body, but just like in the case of the Galaxy A40, Samsung doesn’t use the term plastic, but glasstic. In other words, it’s plastic that looks like glass, and as I said when I reviewed the cheaper A40, it looks pretty good from certain angles. However, I’m not sure everyone would agree, especially because versus the A40, you pay more money to purchase the A50.
At 166 grams, this is one light smartphone, despite its 6.4-inch Super AMOLED display. With a 84.9% screen-to-body ratio, 19.5:9 ratio and 403 ppi density, it’s pretty clear that Samsung has aimed for a premium mix, and the result doesn’t disappoint at all. While people with small hands might consider this phone too big, I think it’s actually easy to carry around in a pocket.
The A50 has an Infinity U display, so it features just a very small notch in the center of its upper area of the screen. While you could find the notch intrusive in certain apps, it’s nothing like the one of the iPhone X or the Google Pixel 3 XL, which are gigantic as compared to this design.
The Galaxy A50 marks the first time Samsung uses an optical fingerprint sensor embedded into the screen. In other words, you won’t find any physical fingerprint reader on the back or on the side because it’s neatly integrated into the glass, much like the one on the Galaxy S10.
But very important to note is that this is an optical sensor, whereas the one on the S10 uses ultrasonic reading. In other words, it’s not as fast and accurate as the Galaxy S10 fingerprint sensor, and unfortunately, this translates to a really disappointing experience in real life.
How disappointing? Let’s just say that after a week of testing I ended up using the facial recognition system more than the fingerprint sensor.
Scanning a finger to unlock the device is something that only works if you’re lucky. Out of 10 attempts to unlock the Galaxy A50, no less than 7 of them failed because it couldn’t recognize the fingerprint. Errors are very common, not to mention that the reader overall feels painfully slow every time it successfully unlocks the phone.
Unfortunately, the facial recognition system isn’t a full replacement either, as it doesn’t use 3D sensing cameras for face mapping and superior accuracy, but the selfie cameras for basic security.
When it comes to the rest of the hardware, the Galaxy A50 really doesn’t disappoint.
The device is powered by Samsung’s very own Exynos 9610 octa-core chip and a Mali-G72 GPU processor. The device can be ordered with either 4GB or 6GB of RAM, while storage options are 64GB and 128GB, respectively. A microSD card port is also offered for up to 1TB of extra storage.
All of these make the Samsung Galaxy A50 feel rather snappy and responsive most of the time, but it doesn’t mean everything works like on a flagship. I found the device struggling at certain moments when playing games, but otherwise it’s just a good choice for typical tasks like browsing the web, watching videos, or chatting with friends.
It occasionally gets hot, and this could be a sign that the processor is struggling to cope with more demanding tasks. It’s not something that makes it impossible to use, but it’s a sign that you should go for the 6GB version if you’re a hardcore gamer, for instance.
There are three cameras on the back, and they are placed in a vertical layout, something that we’ve previously seen on several other Samsung models, including the 2018 versions of the Galaxy A7 and Galaxy A9.
In fact, the entire camera setup reminds of the one that Samsung used on the Galaxy A7.
First, there’s a 25-megapixel primary lens which you’re going to use for the majority of photos. Then, there’s an 8-megapixel ultra-wide lens with a 123-degree field of view. And last but not least, it’s the 5-megapixel sensor whose purpose is to add the bokeh effect that everyone seems to love these days.
This is nearly the same configuration as on the Galaxy A7, with the only difference being the upgraded main sensor, which has been increased from 24 megapixels to 25 megapixels.
As a result, the camera performance of the two models is more or less similar, with almost the same pros and cons in the majority of scenarios.
What I noticed is that the Galaxy A50 can shoot pretty good photos in perfect lighting conditions, and the device has been optimized for accurate white balance and extra sharpness. On the other hand, the level of color saturation sometimes seems a little bit too high at certain points, but nothing that you can’t fix with a quick edit after taking a photo.
On the other hand, the moment you change the lighting conditions everything gets worse. While overexposure continues to be a problem, just like on the Galaxy A40, the upgraded A50 can’t cope very well with lower light, so it loses color detail in a second. Photos often look washed out and you need a super-steady hand to take a good shot in darkness.
There is no OIS, and once again, you’ll certainly notice this because most of the videos tend to be shaky up to a point when it’s pretty clear that you might eventually give up on recording a clip in motion.
The Galaxy A50 comes with a large 4,000 mAh battery, and it’s without a doubt a good choice for a phone with such a large display. It easily gets you through the day, and my average reached approximately 30 hours per charge with mixed usage. Those who stick with basic tasks could get 48 hours per charge without too much effort.
At the same time, the A50 features Samsung’s 15W fast battery charging, so it’s good to go in approximately one hour and a half. You’re going to need Samsung’s charger for fast charging.
There is just one speaker at the bottom of the phone, and that might be disappointing for gamers, but let’s not forget it’s a mid-range model we’re talking about here.
Galaxy A50 comes with Android 9 out of the box and One UI 1.1, which is the same version that is installed on the Galaxy S10. In case you’re wondering what you get extra in this version, the best example is Google’s Digital Wellbeing feature that helps you monitor your usage patterns.
And speaking of software, one thing that I enjoyed was the lack of a Bixby button. While you can now remap the Bixby key to a different task on the S10 and Note 9, it’s better not to have it in the first place, as I don’t use Samsung’s digital assistant at all. However, Samsung offers the A50 with a gimmick, letting you configure the power button to fire up Bixby Voice. This is a neat touch that comes in handy for those using Bixby on a regular basis.