Samsung Galaxy A51 Review: For The Budget Minded Person
March 8, 2020Performance: Exynos 9611, 6GB RAM
Display: 6.5-inch AMOLED (1080 x 2400)
Storage: 128GB
Battery: 4000mAh
Camera: 48MP wide, 12MP ultra-wide, 5MP Macro, 5MP depth sensor
Rating: 7/10
Current A series phones aren’t what they used to be – slow, mediocre and devoid of productivity features. The older phones’ underwhelming hardware coupled with touchWiz’s resource hungry demands, made for an infuriating user experience.
But as technology advanced over the years, and Samsung worked up the courage to abandon TouchWiz for a more streamlined UI, things improved dramatically. The A50 is proof of this – though it wasn’t the first device to feature One UI, it was one of the first phones to make a meaningful impact on the budget minded consumer.
A year later, the A51, takes things a step further – it has an Infinity-O display, punch hole front camera, sleek curves and a multicolored rear panel. A few years earlier, such attributes would have been reserved for the higher-end phones – such is progress! And for that, I have to tip my hat to Samsung, they’ve really stepped up their game in the past couple of years.
The Performance
The A51 is a solid contender at its price point. There’s a sense of fluidity to the menu transitions, responsiveness of apps and multitasking abilities. Where the A50 hesitated when prompted to complete a task, the A51 is far more eager to comply.
The 6.5-inch 1080p screen is a marked improvement over that offered on the A50. The colours feel a little more vibrant and the lack of a teardrop shaped front camera, provides for a more immersive viewing experience. Granted, it’s no match for its bigger brothers, but it’s able to hold its own at the lower end of the smartphone market.
Evidently, the A51 is narrower than the A50, the bezels are less pronounced along all 4 corners, which provides it with a more pleasing look. At first glance, the vibrant colors, crystal clear display and general cooperativeness would lead one to believe that the phone is of flagship calibre.
And that’s the main selling point here. Samsung was able to mask the phone’s shortcomings impressively well. In fact, it feels like I’m doing it a disservice by referring to the phone as a ‘budget’ device. The A51 is leaps and bounds better than what Samsung used to offer at its price range.
The Camera
That said, the camera is average at best. It captures a decent amount of detail but the contrast levels are set a little high. However, a welcomed attribute is the AI’s ability to inform you of the best focal point to achieve optimum results. It does help improve picture quality, but not by much.
The same is true of capturing shots in low lighting conditions. The results are acceptable, but is nothing to write home about. If you don’t need crispy clear night shots or impressively detailed photos taken during the day, then this phone will suit you just fine.
Should I buy one?
Well, that depends on a few factors. If you own an A50, then no. The A51 is merely an incremental upgrade over the former. But, if you are in the market for a relatively affordable device that can handle general smartphone tasks with ease, then you can’t go wrong with the A51.
It has relatively few compromises for a budget device and offers just enough to make it a favorable choice for those who aren’t into mobile gaming, professional photography and high-resolution displays.
