The mid-price range smartphone segment in India, ruled by China-based Xiaomi, recently saw some competition from South Korean Samsung which, after introducing its budget-friendly "India-first" Galaxy M series, has now refreshed the mid-ranged "A" series with a new device -- "A50".
Priced at Rs 19,990, the 4GB RAM and 64GB internal memory variant has some interesting features.
With rounded corners, the device sports a glossy back body which reflects light beautifully in rainbow patterns. The company did not specify whether the material was plastic or polycarbonate.
The Samsung logo is placed at the back, below the 25MP+5MP+8MP vertical triple rear camera set-up, and the flash.
The camera app brings along Panorama, Pro, Live Focus, Slow-mo and hyper-lapse features along with camera settings including HDR, grid lines and location tags.
The volume rockers are positioned on the right followed by the lock button.
On the left edge, the device houses a SIM slot that opens into a tray with space for two SIMs as well as a memory card that allowed us to expand the 64GB internal memory to 512GB with ease.
Featuring a waterdrop notch, "A50" comes with an impressive 6.4-inch FHD+ Super AMOLED screen with what Samsung calls its Infinity-U display.
The big screen shows images in vivid and punchy colours, hence watching videos and playing games on this device is a visual treat.
Within the notch lies a 25MP selfie camera that comes with a Live Focus option for selfies and offers "Bokeh" effect.
The missing notification LED on top of the phone interfered with keeping tabs on missed calls, messages and device charging status.
Galaxy A50 has the company's latest Android 9 One user interface (UI) that brought along artsy icons and stylish animations.
At this price point, the Exynos 9610 processor worked alright. However, the phone did tend to mildly heat up during long calls and charging. Galaxy A50 houses non-removable 4000mAh battery.
The battery lasted almost a day on heavy-to-moderate usage. The bundled USB-C charger facilitated fast charging.
The in-display fingerprint sensor in "A50" is slow and repeatedly fails to identify the registered touch. The face recognition feature took over two to three seconds to unlock the device in daylight.
Conclusion: The "A50" offers a near premium experience at a mid-ranged price point. Since users are accustomed to one-touch or one glance snappy unlock methods, adjusting back to drawing patterns and punching pins is a bit annoying.
(Radhika Prashar can be contacted at radhika.p@ians.in)