Consumer pressure on smartphone brands to keep churning out new devices and models is relentless. In a dynamic market where brands are fighting smaller battles in every micro-segment or niche, brands need to keep innovating. That’s one reason why Samsung has already launched an update for its Galaxy A50 that debuted barely six months ago. The A50S drops straight into the competitive Rs 20,000 – 25,000 price band.
The A50S ticks the style box. We tested the Prism Crush Violet colour variant that’s styled elegantly. Samsung opts for a unique dual-tone prism pattern that lends it a premium vibe. At a touch under 170 gm, Samsung gets the form factor right too; this one feels good in your hands. One of the brightest spots of the A50S’ predecessor (Galaxy A50) was its 6.4-inch Super AMOLED display. That’s been carried forward with the A50S. You get the same vibrant colours (1080 x 2340 pixels / 19.5:9 aspect ratio / 403 PPI) in an immersive display with a screen: body ratio that is just under 85%. The 4000 mAh battery is the other feature that stays constant and will please most average users. We sailed through a day with camera usage and over an hour of video playback.
There are two significant enhancements in the A50S; the first is the Exynos 9811 processor. We saw a marked improvement in performance, especially while gaming. This improvement was underscored by the results in the AnTuTu benchmark tests where the A50S registered a score of 150876, a significant improvement over its predecessor. We checked out the 6GB/128 GB variant; there’s also a 4GB/128GB option; both devices offer expandable memory (up to 512GB). Samsung’s game booster is a clever touch too. This improved performance didn’t quite impact the in-display fingerprint sensor that occasionally needed an extended press to respond.
Samsung has been playing up the camera capabilities of some of its mid-rangers, the A50S is no exception. The primary lens triple rear cam setup gets a big upgrade with a 48MP sensor. This combines with an 8MP ultra-wide lens and a 5MP depth sensor. Camera results are significantly better but the gains in the lowlight department are not a big leap despite the presence of a dedicated Night Mode that stitches up multiple images. The improved selfie cam (32MP) also fares better than its predecessor.
Style and performance matter in equal measure in this price band, the Samsung Galaxy A50S seems to have addressed both these parameters with a good looking device that doesn’t disappoint with its hardware. The A50S is a solid upgrade and one of the better smartphones under Rs 25,000.
The Samsung Galaxy A50S comes in three colours - Prism Crush Black, Prism Crush White and Prism Crush Violet and two variants 4GB/128 GB (Rs 22,999) / 6GB/128GB (Rs 24,999).
Ashwin Rajagopalan writes extensively on Gadgets & Trends, Travel & Lifestyle and Food & Drink. He owns and manages Brand Stories, a creative Content outfit and www.bytesize.in, a premier lifestyle blog with a focus on short-format content. Instagram: ‘ashwinpowers’)