Samsung Galaxy A50s
RM1,299.00
Pros
- Upgraded camera is good
- Upgraded SoC is better
- Good battery life
- AMOLED display
- Affordable
Cons
- Design can be better
- Fingerprint magnet
In April 2019, I did a review on the newly launched Galaxy A50 to which I think is a good mid-range device by Samsung that is capable of handling heavy tasks for daily use. Fast forward to October 2019, Samsung launched an upgrade to an already capable device by adding an “S” to its name. And now here we have, the Galaxy A50s for review.
First Look and Design
My first impression of the new Galaxy A50s is that it’s exactly the same as the previous Galaxy A50. I mean, really identical. Except that it’s a tad slimmer by 0.2mm which doesn’t seem like it made any difference at all. Also, it’s slightly heavier by 3 grams…only. So overall external look of the A50s is exactly the same as the A50.
It comes with a brilliant AMOLED display to which we all love in Samsung devices. Screen size is the same at 6.4″ with 1080p resolution. At the top of the front screen is the waterdrop notch to place the upgraded front selfie camera. More on that later. There is also an optical fingerprint sensor under the display at the bottom part.
Now, trouble with using an optical sensor is that it’s quite slow to respond. Sometimes you need to place your finger a little longer for it to scan or to unlock the phone. They should be using the ultrasonic sensor just like the S10+ and Note10 from here on. That will be a good upgrade.
The placements of the buttons and ports are also the same. On the right side is the volume rocker and power button which on the left is the SIM/MicroSD slot. There’s only a tiny microphone hole at the top while having the usual USB type-C, headphone jack, speaker and another tiny mic hole at the bottom.
Here’s the rundown on the Galaxy A50s specifications:
- SoC: Exynos 9611 Octa-core (4×2.3 GHz Cortex-A73 & 4×1.7 GHz Cortex-A53)
- GPU: Mali-G72 MP3
- OS: Android 9.0 (Pie) with Samsung One UI
- Memory: 4GB/6GB RAM with 64/128GB ROM
- Expansion: MicroSD card support up to 512GB
- Display: 6.4 Inch Super AMOLED Display
- Resolution: 1080 x 2340 pixels, 19.5:9 ratio (~403 ppi density)
- Protection: Corning Gorilla Glass 3
- Main Camera: 48 MP f/2.0, 26mm (wide) + 8 MP, f/2.2, 13mm (ultrawide) + 5 MP, f/2.2, (wide) depth sensor with LED Flash
- Selfie Camera: 32 MP, f/2.0, 25mm (wide)
- Connectivity: 4G VoLTE, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5, Dual SIM
- Battery: 4000mAh
- Colours: Prism Crush Black, Prism Crush White, Prism Crush Green, Prism Crush Violet2
So if you’re wondering what are the upgrades you will get with the Galaxy A50s, I can tell that you will feel better about your selfies. That’s right. The selfie camera has been bumped up a little higher on the megapixel count, same goes with the main triple camera shooter. We’ll talk about the cameras later on. Another upgrade is the SoC which now runs on Exynos 9611 as opposed to Exynos 9610 on the A50. This upgrade doesn’t sound like much but it does made a difference in performance.
Performance and Usage
Talking about performance, I will now dive in to how the A50s handles my daily tasks including some gaming. The 4000mAh Li-Po battery does wonders by lasting the whole 24 hours even after I did some heavy social media tasks and multi-tasking. The upgraded SoC is pretty snappy showing no signs of lagging. The unit that I received for review comes with 128GB of space + 6GB of RAM, making it a very reliable companion to have around.
On heavy usage, the A50s able to run smoothly without breaking a sweat. And during my heavy PUBG mobile gaming sessions, the A50s doesn’t slow down or showing any signs of lags. The A50s doesn’t even heat up during the long gaming hours, which tells me that this device is capable of any heavy duty tasks thrown at it.
And I did a benchmark as usual with Antutu. The result is basic. I mean, it’s basic for a mid-range device so don’t expect to get high marks like the flagships. But having said that, the Antutu benchmark score is higher than the previous Galaxy A50, proving that the small bump in the SoC upgrade does make a lot of difference.
So if you’re looking for a mid-range device that can keep up with your daily tasks while not breaking too much of your piggy bank, you should consider this Galaxy A50s.
Camera and Photography
Now we’re back to the camera department. Like I said, one of the main upgrade that the A50s got is the camera. In the previous A50, the main camera setup is 25MP + 8MP + 5MP respectively. Now the main camera module has been upgraded to 48MP + 8MP + 5MP, keeping the secondary and depth sensor camera the same.
The selfie camera also receives an upgrade in the megapixel count, up from 25MP to 32MP in the A50s. I see that the camera lens is a little larger this time so my guess is that the quality should be better.
Does the upgraded megapixel count in the main and selfie camera does justice to the A50s? Let’s have a look.
Normal shot in bright daylight is wonderful. Seriously, I think most camera can’t get this one wrong unless the device is very old with only 2MP camera. But overall for this kind of photo is delightful.
When we move indoors, it is actually not that bad. I didn’t notice any noise level near the dark areas and the dark areas are not that dark as well. We can still see the details so the balance is quite good.
A focus on a subject indoor is good as well. Details are there and the autofocus works quickly.
Taking the ultrawide angle indoors are good. The distortion around the corners are well managed by the camera software so it doesn’t look too weird. However, the image details near the corners are a little bit out of focus (blurry).
The ultrawide angle works really well while outdoors and in bright daylight. Pictures above shows from the ultrawide angle, normal wide angle and pinch-in zoom image which I was testing out. Even the pinch-in zoom photo looks quite okay.
Again, another comparison between the normal wide angle and the ultrawide angle shots in a well lid indoor lobby.
I find that the Galaxy A50s indoor shots are quite good. I am pleased by the overall image quality. The bump in the megapixel count does make a good difference.
And of course, who doesn’t like taking photos of food for that perfect Instagram photo right? The details in this shot makes me hungry all over again.
Conclusion
What do I think of the new Galaxy A50s? It is certainly a good upgrade from the older version and the additional megapixel count for the camera really does help.
First, the overall performance is slightly snappier than the previous A50. It looks the same on the outside, but it’s a bigger monster on the inside. The small upgrade on the SoC made me smile while gaming and the battery can last me the whole day.
Secondly, the camera upgrade is good. That’s just my own opinion after what I’ve seen it does. Noise is kept to a minimum especially in low light. Ultrawide angle is my favourite setup when taking photos and this A50s doesn’t disappoint.
Will this be a good upgrade? Well if you already have the Galaxy A50, you don’t need to unless you have the extra cash to splurge. If you’re coming from another mid-range brand then this will be a breath of fresh air.
The new Samsung Galaxy A50s is available now from Samsung’s official page for RM1,299.00.
