Samsung really nailed it with this one. I already own a Note 9 but my brother needed a new phone as his old one started to glitch out. I knew Samsung had already been investing towards mid-range models such as the A50 and the M30 so it was only a factor to decide upon which one. After long hard we went with this model and upon opening it up today (4/24/19) it was definitely a joy to use. Comes with a variety of features that are also found on the S10 but without breaking the bank especially for $300 this is a must pick.
I picked this phone up to replace an aging OnePlus 3T and have been very pleased with it so far. I’ll run through a bit of my personal experience with it and some of the specs below.
As a quick note, I use it in the east Tennessee region of the United States on T-Mobile, so I’ll cover band support for those interested as well.
What’s included and ease of setup:
The phone came in genuine packaging which is easy to open. The package included the phone, a 3.5mm audio cable and ear buds, a USB-C charging cable and power brick (two-prong compatible with US outlets), SIM tray tool, 64GB microSD card, and a basic clear TPU case. The phone itself has a screen protector pre-applied, though it’s fairly flimsy and I immediately replaced it with a tempered glass protector. Instructions for multiple languages are included, though the box itself is in Spanish and English.
The phone is unlocked, so I was able to pop my SIM card and the included 64GB microSD card in and use them immediately with no additional hurdles.
Band support:
It was a bit hard to do research on this due to conflicting info online and the presence of different models with varying band support. What I know for sure is that it’s GSM only, meaning that in the US it will only work on carriers such as AT&T and T-Mobile. Based on the FCC certification test report for the model I purchased here (SM-A505G, FCC ID A3LSMA505G), it should support the following LTE bands: 2, 5, 12, 13, 26, 41, 66. On T-Mobile, that covers 4 of their 6 supported LTE bands (2, 5, 12, 66), assuming it’s accurate.
From my personal use, I haven't noticed any difference in signal quality or LTE support compared to my OnePlus 3T, which I know supports the proper bands. Internet speeds are just as fast as they were on the 3T (typically averaging about 60 Mbps down and 11 Mbps up) and I haven't had any trouble with call quality or drops.
Build quality:
The phone looks and feels like a premium offering. The body is an absolute fingerprint magnet, but it features a very attractive (and highly reflective) plastic shell that looks and feels like the glass shell you’d see on something from the Galaxy S series. Great to look at and feels good in the hand. It’s a bit on the larger side, so don’t buy it if you’re wanting something compact.
I’m not entirely sure what type of glass the screen of this phone uses. I’ve seen references to both Gorilla Glass 3 and 5 from different sources. Either way, I’ve already dropped it twice from about counter height onto a hard wood floor and haven’t broken it. To me, that’s a solid plus…though the case and tempered glass protector may have helped.
Wireless support:
This phone supports typical WiFi 802.11A/G/N/AC protocols. As a point of comparison, I’ve run speed tests on both my home PC (which is wired directly to the router) and the A50 on WiFi. On the PC, I typically see speeds in the 115 Mbps down/11 Mbps up range. This phone on WiFi averaged 112 Mbps down/11 Mbps up, so roughly the same speeds.
WiFi Calling is also supported, meaning you can make calls when connected to WiFi instead of using your mobile network. This is useful in areas where you have a WiFi connection but no mobile signal.
Performance and specifications:
The phone uses Samsung’s Exynos 9610 SoC and has 4GB of RAM. In practical terms, this translates to “it runs very smoothly for typical use”. The system UI is crisp and snappy with no notable input lag. The same can be said for web browsing and video streaming. I do notice a small bit of what seems to be input lag between the time I tap a number in my contacts to call and when the phone UI appears on screen, but that doesn’t affect the call itself.
The screen is vibrant and colorful. On full bright I have no trouble seeing clearly with the sun shining directly on it.
As for gaming, this is a mid-range chip, so you won’t be looking at flagship performance by any stretch of the imagination. However, the games and applications I've run on it have seemed to perform well. I don’t do a lot of gaming on my phone, so I’d recommend looking up some performance benchmarks if you want more information on that.
The version I bought has 64GB of storage, though I believe a variant with 128GB and 6GB of RAM also exists.
UI/Software:
The A505G comes with Android 9 Pie installed (running March 1 security patch level as of writing) and uses Samsung's "One UI" interface. This is a very clean and straight-forward interface, though it's a bit limited compared to stock Android. It does have some bloatware preinstalled (such as Facebook and LinkedIn) which cannot be fully removed without rooting the phone. Overall this seems to be fairly minimal, but it’s definitely a downside. It also includes multiple Samsung applications as well as their app and themes store which, again, can’t be removed.
Battery:
This phone is advertised as having a 4,000 mAh battery, though the actual rating is 3,900 mAh. According to AccuBattery averages I collected over a week, that 4,000 mAh figure has typically been accurate. I use the phone fairly heavily during the day at work (web browsing with adaptive brightness and mp3 playback primarily) and typically have anywhere from 50%-60% charge remaining when I get home in the evening. At full charge, AccuBattery estimates a little over 9 hours of charge with the screen on and over 20 hours with screen off. In standby, the battery can last around 3-4 days.
The fast charging feature with the included power brick can get it back up to full charge in about an hour if it’s very low. Due to lack of NFC support the phone doesn’t offer wireless charging, so keep that in mind. I haven’t tried running the screen on full bright for a day to see how that affects things, but I’d imagine it would significantly lower the battery life.
Camera:
To be honest, I don’t feel very qualified to really review this aspect. I don’t take a lot of pictures, so I can’t speak to how it compares to other phones on the market. Visually, the images appear crisper and more colorful than the camera in my 3T did. It has a little trouble focusing in low light, though. For my personal needs, the camera works well and looks good enough.
Security:
The phone offers the option to encrypt the contents of the SD card so that it can’t be read if removed. It also features multiple different methods of unlock: face recognition, an in-screen fingerprint reader, password and PIN.
The face recognition works well in light but is nearly useless in the dark. The in-screen fingerprint reader is a bit fiddly compared to the standard variety, requiring very precise thumb placement and is by no means a fast experience. It works well enough and I prefer it over having a dedicated reader on the rear of the phone, though your mileage may vary.
One absence I did note was the lack of individual app encryption. On the 3T I was able to set each app individually to use the fingerprint for unlocking from the phone settings. Some apps have this support natively and work the same on the A50, but I haven’t seen anything in the UI itself to suggest it supports this same functionality.
In conclusion:
To me, this is an excellent lower cost alternative to the skyrocketing prices of ‘flagship’ smartphones. It has enough horsepower to do the tasks that average users will want without any hiccups and a battery that will get you through the whole day. I was a bit iffy due to the question of 4G LTE band support, but I’ve ultimately been happy with my purchase.
Beats the price of the s10 and swapped up the at@t sim card to get goig right away, easy to set up and a great price vs paying 1k for a phone that does everything this one does.
I first had Samsung A7 and had it for two weeks then found out this had came out and was only $20 extra. The A50 is like the 2019 version of A7 so I returned that and got this. Good phone. Does everything well cept the battery, idk why it came with rapid charging cuz ain't nothing rapid about it. Also had issues with restoring apps. Beyond that, I love it. The screen is big and bright, processor speedy and last, the colors, mine is white, and it is quite stunning. 4.5 stars!
Really a nice phone. Everything is good about it.... except the on screen fingerprint sensor. Usually takes 3-4 attempts before opening. Have tried multiple times to redo fingerprint, but doesn't get any better. Phone is very fast, screen is beautiful. I am using it on Straight talk.... works just fine...4G LTE
Feature Product
- Memory, Storage and SIM: 4GB RAM | 64GB internal memory expandable up to 512GB | Dual SIM (nano+nano) dual-standby (4G+4G)
- Android Pie V9.0 operating system with 2.29 Ghz Exynos 9610 Octa Core Processor
- 4000mAH lithium-ion battery with Type-C fast charging | 15W Charger in the box
- 16.21 centimeters (6.4-inch) FHD+ multi-touch capacitive touchscreen with 2340 x 1080 pixels resolution and 16M color support
- 25MP + 5MP + 8MP with F1.7, F2.2 wide Angle and F2.2 with Flash | 25 MP front camers with F2.0
Description
The Samsung galaxy A50 is a complete device that provides for a onscreen fingerprint sensor along with the 6.4-inch (16.21 centimeters) super AMOLED - infinity u cut display, FHD+ resolution (2340 x 1080), 404 ppi with 16m colours and triple camera setup - 16mp (f1.9)+ 5mp (2.2) wide angle camera + 5mp (2.2) with flash and 25mp (f2.0) front facing camera.
Good phone, unlocked. Works with brazilian network providers.
This phone is amazing and better than many apple devices and cost just a fraction of money compared with iPhones. This phone make iPhones look old and overvalue.
Awesome
Had the phone for about a week now and i'am very impressed. Very smooth interface, sleek design, great screen resolution, good for gaming (plays PUBG on high settings) and huge battery. This version has 64 GB of on on-board storage and comes with a 64 GB SD card in the box! Only complaint i have about this phone is the on screen fingerprint sensor. While still a cool feature, its does not work all the time and its slow.
I just brought the Galaxy A50. After one day of use, I really like the phone for every day use. There are a couple of things however I did not like. The finger sensor on the screen does not respond that well it's very slow and sometimes unrespondable. The camera is good but there's no auto focus so that sucks. The images are really good though. Another thing I dislike about the phone is that it doesn't have groupchat messaging, you would have to download an app. So the phone is good, on scale from 1-10 I would give it a 7.9 or 8. Give or take.
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