DESIGN: CHONK
There’s very little small about the Realme X50 Pro; its specs are big, its screen is big, and its heft is big too. Weighing 205g, it makes the elegant OnePlus 8 (180g) feel like a featherweight, and at 8.9mm, the X50 Pro it’s relatively girthy.
Realme’s 5G flagship isn’t without its charms. The rounded glass back has a semi-matte, frosty finish which is satisfyingly (and dangerously) slippery. It also combines front and rear glass with curved metal corners, which soften the in-hand impression.
Colour choices are also a point of differentiation. Almost going for a camo-chic aesthetic, there’s no mega-traditional black or white here. Instead, the X50 Pro 5G comes in either Moss Green or Rust Red.
Button and port placement is predictable, and there’s a pre-fitted screen protector loaded atop a Gorilla Glass 5 display, though no IP67 water or dust resistance, unlike the new iPhone SE
SCREEN: FLAT, FLUID AND FABULOUS
side from Motorola, most flagship phone makers are flattening out their screens for 2020 – the Samsung Galaxy S20 and Huawei P40 are prime examples of the trend. In light of this, the flatness of the Realme X50 Pro 5G feels like less of a compromise compared to the big hitters out now.
In fact, with a 90Hz screen refresh rate, Realme’s a smooth operator, matching the OnePlus 8 and 7T Pro’s Fluid AMOLED. The phone’s 1080 x 2400 resolution is identical to both OnePlus and Samsung’s most affordable 5G phones, and the X50 Pro 5G also delivers HDR 10+ support too.
Bright outdoors, punchy and deep at the same time, the X50 Pro 5G has a good looking screen, and with added features like an always-on display (AOD) – missing from the OnePlus 8, you’re definitely getting good value on the display-front. We did have one niggle – every now and then when typing, we encountered some touch sensitivity issues – misregistered presses more specifically. Not deal-breaking, but noticeable, and with any luck, these will be addressed in a software update.
CAMERA: ONEPLUS 8 BEATER
Remember the excellent Realme X2 Pro? It was the first phone to drop with a 64MP camera. Well, that camera’s back, along with its compadres: ultra-wide, telephoto and depth sensor for round two in the X50 Pro.
To recap on specifics, the X2 Pro and X50 Pro feature a 64MP primary sensor with an f/1.8 aperture and a 26mm wide-angle lens. The X50 Pro 5G doesn’t feature OIS, but does pack phase detection autofocus.
The other snappers are slightly different, with the X50’s 12MP telephoto camera clocking in with a 54mm focal length (2x zoom), and an f/2.3 aperture. Next up, the 8MP ultra-wide-angle camera lens has a 13mm focal length (0.5x zoom).
There’s a fourth 2MP monochrome depth sensor as well, and on the front is a dual camera, spearheaded by a pore-tastically high-resolution 32MP module, accompanied by an ultra-wide 17mm, 8MP camera.
Shots taken on the X50 Pro 5G are not going to topple the best out there, especially in low light, but for the price, they’re competitive, and better than those taken o. Specifically, the X50 Pro packs a telephoto shooter, which the OnePlus 8 doesn’t, and the main camera is sharper in well-lit conditions.
The X50 Pro 5G shoots video at up to 4K resolution (30fps), there’s an ultra-stable mode for GoPro-esque action cam-style capture and video quality is once again, solid for the price. Meanwhile, shots taken on the 32MP front camera are a touch soft (not always a bad thing). Having an accompanying ultra-wide selfie cam is ace if you’re popular.
OTHER SPECS: VALUE-TASTIC
