realme narzo 50i Unboxing and Review

Following the successful launch of the narzo 50A last month, realme continues to expand its gaming-oriented narzo by realme lineup with the arrival of its newest sulit gaming must-have - the realme narzo 50i.

The narzo 50i is designed to empower Filipino mobile gaming enthusiasts as it comes packed with features all at a price that’s tough to beat. The narzo 50i comes with a 6.5-inch HD+ IPS display, 4GB RAM plus 64GB of internal storage, 8MP rear camera, 5,000mAh battery, and runs on the Unisoc SC9863A SoC.

I was able to get my hands on one and this review will further help you in deciding if this smartphone is the one you are looking for. So, let's deal first with the unboxing.

Unboxing the realme narzo 50i

The packaging of the realme narzo 50i is different from previously released narzo products. The new packaging now comes in a baby blue color with the narzo branding and the model name on top; while the phone details—model number, IMEI number, serial number, device variant, color, and the summary of the four important features of the narzo 50i, are imprinted on the back portion of the box.

You can also find the narzo by realme print on both sides.

Inside the Box and Accessories

After sliding the cover, the pack contains - Quick Guide, SIM Card Ejector Tool, and Important Product Information (including the Warranty Card). The narzo 50i does not come with a protective case – you have to provide your own.

Underneath the pack is the narzo 50i smartphone wrapped in white matte plastic. Beneath is realme's charge adapter and micro-USB to USB-A charging cable.

Design and Walk Around

The design of the realme narzo 50i is very recognizable, street style Diagonal Stripe Design. The matte textured finish also protects the phone from scratches and is less susceptible to fingerprint smudges.

The narzo 50i is available in two colors: Mint Green and Carbon Black. My unit comes in a Mint Green color.

On the front, the narzo 50i is equipped with a large 6.5-inch HD+ (1600 x 720) IPS display. At the top, there’s a mini-drop design notch that houses the front-facing camera and the earpiece. Like most smartphones in this segment, the side bezels are relatively slim but with a pretty thick chin. Also, there is a pre-installed screen protector.

At the back, there is a small camera hump that houses the lone rear camera along with the single LED flash and narzo branding. Also found at the back is the speaker grill.

Found on the left side is the card tray with a 3-card slot for two Nano-SIM cards and a dedicated slot for a microSD card capable of up to 256GB of expandable storage, handy for users who want to further improve storage capacity.

On the right side, is your standard volume rocker and power button.

Located at the bottom of the phone are: micro-USB charging port, a microphone, and a 3.5mm audio jack.

The narzo 50i is only 8.9mm thick and weighs in at about 195g. The phone is solidly built and is very comfortable when holding it.

Display and Multimedia

In terms of display, gamers and non-gamers alike will appreciate its 6.5-inch large screen with a large field of view to provide a better visual experience.

The IPS panel of the narzo 50i produces good colors; viewing angles are also decent and the screen can also get bright, up to 400 nits automatically depending on the ambient lighting conditions. At 270ppi, the display looks sharp even though the display comes with an HD+ resolution.

The audio quality of the loudspeaker is like your typical smartphone at this price range. It can get loud and the audio quality is average. I recommend using headphones or an external speaker using the 3.5mm audio jack for better audio quality.

Camera

Rear Camera

The narzo 50i lone rear camera features an 8MP image sensor with an F2.0 aperture. It also supports AF and comes with a single LED flash.

Quality from the rear camera under bright lighting conditions is pretty decent, though dynamic range and sharpness can be better.

For low light, the phone lacks a dedicated Night Mode and is generally a poor performer.

Front Selfie Camera

The narzo 50i uses a 5MP front camera with an F2.2 aperture. The camera also supports different features such as Portrait Mode and Face Beautification.

For selfies, it produces good photos for its price, especially in bright conditions. Background blurring for portrait selfies isn’t that perfect but good enough.

Video

For video, the narzo 50i supports 1080p@30fps video recording with its main camera and 720p@30fps for the front-facing camera. There is no 60fps shooting, SLO-MO videos, and electronic image stabilization (EIS).

The recorded video from the main camera is shaky since there is no image stabilization, but is usable for casual social media postings.

realme UI Go Edition, Apps, and Security

The realme narzo 50i runs on realme UI Go Edition, which is based on Android 11 and is a slimmed down version of realme UI. The UI is seamless, clean, and is easy to navigate. Pre-installed are the standard Google suite of apps, as well as some bloatware apps.

In terms of security, the narzo 50i is only equipped with facial recognition for unlocking the device. The face recognition feature works well and can be slow in situations where there isn’t much light.

Hardware and Performance

The realme narzo 50i comes with a 1.6GHz octa-core Unisoc SC9863A SoC with PowerVR IMG8322 GPU and 4GB of LPDDR4x RAM. The performance of narzo 50i isn’t the snappiest or the most responsive; it can play some casual games or entry-level handheld games without any pressure. Take note that this is a sulit gaming smartphone so don’t expect too much.

The narzo 50i is available in the Philippines in one storage variant - 64GB storage, with 9.42GB of used storage. If you need additional storage, you can further expand the storage up to 256GB via its dedicated microSD card slot.

Below are the benchmark scores from this device:

• AnTuTu v9.2.3 – 86,731
• Geekbench 5.4.3 – 126 (Single-core), 474 (Multi-core)
• PCMark – 4,504 (Work 3.0)
• 3DMark – 430 (SSE – OpenGL ES 3.1) 556 (SSE – Vulkan)
• AndroBench – 259.28 MB/s (Seq. Read), 179.74 MB/s (Seq. Write)

Battery Life, Charging, and Connectivity

The narzo 50i features a large 5,000mAh battery and can last up to 43 days of standby time or 23 hours of continuous video streaming. With its large battery capacity, the narzo 50i can also serve as a battery life saver for other devices and gadgets with its special OTG reverse charge.

It also comes with different battery optimization features such as Ultra Saving Mode that can enable your phone to be on standby for two days even at only 5% battery, and App Standby Optimizer that can optimize the power consumption of apps while on standby.

Charging is slow with the included charging adapter, the 5,000mAh battery can be fully charged up to 100% in about 2 hours and 57 minutes.

Aside from the battery and charger, the narzo 50i has your usual connectivity features, including dual SIM (Nano-SIM, dual stand-by), 4G LTE, dual-band WiFi 802.11n, Bluetooth 4.2, GPS, a 3.5mm audio jack, and micro-USB.

realme narzo 50i Specifications

6.5-inch HD+ (1600 x 720) IPS display
1.6GHz octa-core Unisoc SC9863A SoC
PowerVR IMG8322 GPU
4GB LPDDR4x RAM
64GB of internal storage
microSD card slot (dedicated)
8MP F2.0 rear camera
5MP F2.2 front camera
Dual-SIM / 4G LTE
WiFi 802.11 b/g/n / Bluetooth 4.2
GPS, A-GPS, GLONASS, BeiDou
micro-USB / 3.5mm headphone jack
realme UI Go Edition (Android 11)
5,000mAh battery w/ reverse charging
165.2 x 76.4 x 8.9mm (dimension)
195g (weight)
Colors: Mint Green and Carbon Black

Price and Availability

The narzo 50i (4GB+64GB) is now available for Php6,290 SRP in all realme stores and selected partner dealers nationwide.

Customers who purchase the narzo 50i, or any realme device with a minimum spend worth Php5,000 from November 15 to January 2, 2022, at any realme flagship store or authorized partner dealer can get a chance to win one of 16,000 realme TechLife prizes and earn an e-raffle ticket at a chance to drive home an all-new Mitsubishi Mirage G4!

To register and see the complete mechanics, visit bit.ly/realmeWithYouRegister.

Verdict

So, is this the smartphone you are looking for? I recommend that you shortlist the realme narzo 50i. Even though there are other options out there that offer better features and specs at the same budget segment, still, the narzo 50i is one of the sulit must-haves for both work and play this holiday season.