With a price tag of just under 300 euros, the Realme X50 5G does not give you an overly expensive smartphone. But what do you actually get for that amount? Well, a lot more than you might think in advance. But the smartphone is not perfect, not even in this segment.
Realme X50 5G
MSRP € 299, –
Colors Blue and green
OS Android 9 (Realme UI)
Screen 6.67 inch LCD (2400 x 1080, 120 Hz)
Processor Snapdragon 765G
RAM 8 GB
Storage 128 GB
Battery 4200 mAh
Camera 64, 8, 2 and 2 megapixels (rear), 16 and 2 megapixels (front)
Connectivity 4G (LTE), Bluetooth 5.1, WiFi, GPS, NFC
Weight 202 grams
Other Fingerprint scanner in power button
Website www.realme.com/eu/ 7 Score 70 
- Pros
- 120Hz screen
- Powerful processor
- Gorilla Glass protection
- Negatives
- No micro SD card slot
- Old software
- Not all cameras are equally good
At first glance, you don’t feel like you’re dealing with a budget phone. The Realme X50 5G looks quite futuristic, thanks to an almost psychedelic pattern on the back that reflects light in a cool way. In addition, there are four cameras and it is noticeable that the phone also feels high-quality. Both the front and back are made of reinforced Gorilla Glass. As a result, the phone does not easily get scratched. Neither is the screen, since the manufacturer includes a screen protector as standard. The smartphone is a fingerprint magnet.
The phone feels great in your hand, but it is also quite large and wide. When you hold it, it feels like an average high-end smartphone from China. The plastic edges really do feel different from the rest of the case. In addition, the phone is also not waterproof. Furthermore, you have to take into account that there is no headphone connection (which is standard in this segment) and that the fingerprint scanner is on the side. It is in a great place, so you can reach it with your right thumb. Otherwise, your middle finger on your left hand will immediately fall when you hold the Realme X50 5G with your other hand.
Snapdragon 765G on board
It is clear that Realme likes to compete against the big boys. The young brand of less than two years old shows this in the design, but that philosophy is also reflected in the internal hardware. This is one of the cheapest phone with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 765G on board. This may not be a high-end processor, but it is a very solid processor that you will not easily find in smartphones with this price. In addition, there is 8 GB of RAM and 128 GB of internal memory. More than 100 GB of this is available.
Again, you have to take into account that it is not the fastest memory, but you will not notice it during daily use. The phone is more than capable of light tasks such as emailing, calling, WhatsApp and playing games. In fact, the processor was made with gamers in mind, so you can play fine on it. Do you often play mobile games and are you in the market for a new device? Then the Realme X50 5G can meet that need just like that. The battery with 4200 mAh can easily last a day and a half, sometimes two days, and is fully charged within an hour. That is a concession that you have to make if you get this device at home.
Since this is a 5G device, you should keep in mind that the results may differ with your use. 5G chips consume more energy. Compared to, for example, the OnePlus Nord (OnePlus and Realme share a parent company), the Realme X50 5G takes less time with the available energy. Even then it should be possible to get through the day, but do not expect the same battery life as users who still use the 4G network.
The Realme X50 5G has a special screen. That display is 6.57 inches in size, has a resolution of 2400 by 1080 pixels (and therefore a sharp pixel density of 401 pixels per inch) and a screen refresh rate of 120 Hertz. Especially the latter is very nice, because it makes the phone always feel fast and responsive. Competitor Realme 7 Pro has to make do with 60 Hertz, for example, and you notice that difference – especially when you put the devices next to each other. It is a shame to see that this is an LCD screen, and not OLED, but for those 300 euros you do not have to expect miracles. The color reproduction is otherwise okay; we don’t encounter strange things.
Impressive camera system
The Realme X50 5G has a total of six cameras: four on the back and two on the front. Just like the Realme 7 Pro, there is no telephoto lens here either. And that is a shame, because that means that you do not take beautiful photos when you zoom in digitally (optical zooming is not possible). And that can also be seen in the photos. Details are lost, the images look grainy and colors also appear less well. The latter is also the case when we use the wide-angle lens with eight megapixels. The images look a lot darker, so that details are also lost in the shadow. And that is a shame, because the module scores well in other places.
On the back we also encounter a main camera of 48 megapixels, as well as two two megapixel cameras: a macro and depth lens. The main lens in particular convinces enormously. The lens captures a variety of details and presents colors almost lifelike. You can choose to activate the artificial mode, which makes colors splash nicely from the screen. This is not mandatory of course and it does not always lift your photo to a high level, but despite that, we are impressed. In low-light environments, the camera does its best. We can see that it still handles color well, but it should not be too dark. Then the artifacts take over. But it takes a while to get to that point.
The macro camera also takes reasonable photos. You have to portray the object really well, otherwise you will lose some of the details. Then we still have the two front cameras. The system consists of a sixteen megapixel camera and a two megapixel portrait lens. The lenses do not always handle light (sources) well, which makes parts appear overexposed. But if you take a good photo, then the image just looks nice. Enough details are visible and colors come out beautifully. It is not very special; but it is just fine.
Furthermore, the Realme X50 5G can shoot videos in 720p, 1080p or 4K. The first two modes in thirty or sixty frames per second and the 4K mode in only thirty frames per second. Unfortunately, the images are not your own, but fortunately the stabilization was in order. Here too, light sources are not the best friend of the camera system, but in principle you can work around that if you realize this during filming.
Customizable software
The Realme X50 5G also comes with Android 9 on board. Over this is the Realme UI 1.0 software shell. Remarkably, this is a system based on the ColorOS of sister company Oppo. This means that you can adapt everything to the decoration, as that is a core element of the peel. Fortunately, there is also a dark mode and the possibility to add or remove an app drawer.
In addition, it is very nice to be able to simply adjust the layout of the quick menu. Admittedly, this is possible on several Android smartphones; but for phones under personalization it is a very important element. In addition, you can activate experimental functions on your smartphone, if you wish. This gives you access to functions that may become standard in the future (or not, of course). On the X50 5G, there aren’t quite as many features as on the 7 Pro, but that’s because you don’t need a digital equivalent of a higher refresh rate, for example.
Coming back to Android 9. It is not understandable why this device does not have a more modern version of Android. Realme had done at least install Android 10, but Android 11 would have been even better of course. That update has been available for months now. It’s not clear how many Android upgrades the Realme X50 5G will get. It is also not clear about security updates: our device was last updated on May 5, 2020.
Realme X50 5G – conclusion
It is clear that Realme focuses on a certain target group: the people who especially like power and speed, like a game of games and like to walk around with a high-end-looking device. The device scores very well in those three areas. The processor is super fast and there is more than enough RAM for all kinds of games and apps. In addition, the Realme X50 5G has a striking pattern that reflects light very nicely. Unfortunately, this comes at the expense of a few things.
For example, there is no micro-SD card slot, you have to make do with outdated software, there is no headphone connection and not all cameras feel equally well-developed. It is nice that for less than 300 euros you can at least get a phone that is otherwise sturdy, has a high refresh rate, lasts a long time and works on a 5G connection.
If you are looking for a phone that, for example, has a micro-SD card and a headphone jack, then you can get the Realme 7 Pro, for example. That phone also has an OLED screen, but it has to do with a 4G connection and a lower refresh rate. The OnePlus Nord is another model that you can consider, but you immediately pay 100 to 200 euros more for it. That phone also has an OLED screen and 5G on board, but it also has its own drawbacks.
Within this same segment, the Xiaomi Mi 10T Lite is also still worth considering. That phone has the same price and many of the same benefits as the Realme X50 5G, such as a 120Hz display. However, the software on that device could throw a spanner in the works, should this become your first Xiaomi smartphone.
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