Realme is scheduled to announce its latest flagship smartphone — the Realme X50 Pro 5G — on February 24 at the upcoming Mobile World Congress or MWC 2020 in Barcelona, Spain. It will be the company’s second 5G phone after the Realme X50 5G, which was released earlier this year in China.
SEE ALSO: Realme biggest winner in PH smartphone market in Q4 2019
Although nothing is known about the Pro’s availability just yet, for obvious reasons, the regular X50 will likely make its way into other markets soon, including the Philippines. Yes, it should be arriving in local stores, too, unless there’s an unforeseen change in Realme’s plans, and pending the adoption of the much-buzzed-about 5G standard by mobile network operators in the country.
How can we be sure? Well, we already have a review unit in for testing. And to give you a quick overview of what to expect, here’s our hands-on of the Realme X50 5G.
Familiar, but better
The standard Realme X50 features a metal-like build that will be familiar to those who own a mid-tier device from the brand, such as the Realme XT, and sees Corning Gorilla Glass 5 topping the front and back of the handset. It’s surprisingly lightweight considering the premium materials used for its construction. That said, most users shouldn’t have a problem using it with one hand, and slipping it in a pocket will result in no noticeable weight gain.
Most users shouldn’t have a problem using the Realme X50 5G with one hand
The front of the phone has two selfie cameras in a pill-shaped cutout on the upper left. The extra front-facing camera uses an ultra-wide lens to let you capture a whole bunch of people in one shot. The bezels around the screen are slim and asymmetrical, except on the bottom edge where the mono speaker and USB-C port for charging and data transfer are located. No, you won’t find a headphone jack anywhere on the device.
There are two selfie cameras in a pill-shaped cutout on the upper-left side of the Realme X50 5G’s screen
Speaking of ports, the Realme X50 supports 30-watt fast charging using the bundled power brick with the latest VOOC Flash Charge 4.0 standard. Realme says it can bring the battery to about 70% capacity after just 30 minutes plugged in, but, unfortunately, we haven’t had the time to test it yet.
The Realme X50 5G has a nice metallic finish that lends a premium vibe to the glass back
Meanwhile, the rear panel includes a four-lens camera array in a vertical position, with Realme’s signature yellow accent on the main lens. It also has a nice metallic finish that lends a premium vibe to the glass back, and feels good to the touch. Both sides are slightly curved for a more ergonomic grip. Since the back is made of glass, it does feel slippery, though we haven’t come close to dropping the smartphone so far.
The right-hand side houses a power button that doubles as a physical fingerprint reader
The right-hand side houses a power button that doubles as a physical fingerprint reader, just like on the Huawei Nova 5T. It’s convenient and reliable, and the placement also allows you to quickly unlock the Realme X50, regardless of whether it is facing down or up. The left side is home to separate volume keys that feel clicky and satisfying to press.
What’s inside the box
- Realme X50 5G
- Clear case
- 30-watt VOOC 4.0 charger
- User guide
- SIM-eject tool
Super-fast 120Hz screen
The display on the Realme X50 is another key attraction. It’s LCD, runs at 2,400 x 1,080 resolution with a 20:9 aspect ratio, and has a super-fast refresh rate of 120Hz. That means it is taller than your traditional smartphone screen, while the high refresh rate is important when playing online games that require as little input lag as possible. We’re talking about games like Mobile Legends, Call of Duty: Mobile, and PUBG Mobile, to name a few.
The Realme X50 5G screen’s high refresh rate of 120Hz is important when playing online games that require as little input lag as possible
But even if you’re not serious about mobile gaming, the X50 delivers a smooth experience as you navigate the screen and swipe through apps. Indeed, the benefits of a higher refresh rate extends beyond frames per second when gaming. It helps, too, that the handset runs the latest Realme UI software on top of Android 10, which brings improved smoothness and performance on the X50.
The picture quality is great, with accurate color reproduction, pleasing saturation and contrast, and wide viewing angles. Additionally, the screen can get bright enough for most indoor and outdoor scenarios.
Quad cameras with a 64MP sensor
On the back of the X50, you get a quad-camera setup, where the primary sensor is a 64-megapixel Samsung Isocell Bright GW1 unit, and sits behind f/1.8 aperture lens. It’s the same sensor as the one in the Realme XT, so that’s promising. By default, 4-in-1 pixel binning is used to produce high-quality 16-megapixel photos with vibrant detail, even in low light.
The secondary cameras include a 12-megapixel sensor for zoom, an 8-megapixel sensor for ultra-wide shots, and a dedicated 2-megapixel macro shooter that can focus at objects near the camera lens. Here are some sample pictures taken with the Realme X50 5G.
Resized pictures shot on the Realme X50 5G. 1-2: Food shots; 3-4: Ultra-wide vs 1x daytime shots; 5-9: Ultra-wide, 1x, 2x, 5x, 10x; 10-11: Ultra-wide in night and auto modes; 12-13: 1x in night and auto modes; 14-15: Ultra-wide vs 1x night shots; 16-19: Selfies in portrait and auto modes
Now, what about 5G?
Under the hood, the X50 packs a Qualcomm Snapdragon 765G that integrates a 5G modem directly in the chipset. This is a different setup compared to what the Snapdragon 865 has, as the Qualcomm flagship doesn’t have an integrated 5G modem. Having said that, the 765G should offer better power efficiency than the 865, but the latter is capable of faster theoretical speeds.
READ ALSO: Globe launches first 5G phone in the Philippines
Sadly, we can’t test the X50’s 5G capabilities yet, because there are few areas in the Philippines where 5G is available. Still, we’ll try our best to try the service out, so check back for updates to this story every now and then. Both Globe Telecom and Smart Communications will roll out 5G nationwide, and we’re told that the X50 is compatible with the bands that will be adopted locally.
First impressions
The Realme X50 5G is a promising piece of hardware that might hold the key to wider 5G adoption since it’s priced on the decent side compared to many other 5G handsets released so far.
In China, the price starts at ¥2,499, which translates to about $358 or P18,132 in local currency. It might be a bit expensive when it arrives in the Philippines because of taxes.
But even without the ability to connect to super-fast 5G networks at the moment, the Realme X50 is still an excellent phone that has plenty to offer, especially on the gaming front.
Realme X50 5G specs
- 6.57-inch LCD display, 2,400 x 1,080 resolution, 120Hz refresh rate, 20:9 aspect ratio, 90.4% screen-to-body ratio, Corning Gorilla Glass 5
- Octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 765G processor, SA/NSA dual-mode 5G
- 6GB/8GB/12GB RAM
- 128GB/256GB storage
- Quad rear cameras: 64MP (main, Samsung GW1 sensor), 8MP (ultra-wide, 119 degrees field of view), 12MP (telephoto), 2MP (macro)
- Dual 16MP (main), 8MP (ultra-wide, 105 degrees field of view) front cameras
- Fingerprint sensor (side-mounted)
- 4,200mAh battery with 30-watt USB-C fast charging (VOOC Flash Charge 4.0)
- Realme UI based on Android 10
- Color variants: Glacier and Polar
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