Design and Display
The Samsung Galaxy A51's design bears a striking resemblance to its predecessor, featuring a plastic build with a familiar finish that reflects an array of colors in certain lighting conditions. The notable change comes in the form of the new L-shaped quad-camera setup at the rear. Despite its large 6.5-inch Super AMOLED display with a 1080p resolution, the phone remains slim and lightweight, offering a comfortable grip and a sleek appearance.
Display Quality
The 6.5-inch Super AMOLED display delivers a remarkable viewing experience with sharpness, vibrant colors, and impressive contrast. The absence of a notch is compensated by a punch hole for the selfie camera, ensuring an immersive display with minimal obstructions. Additionally, the display's brightness reaches over 400 nits with a manual slider and approximately 613 nits in bright conditions with the auto mode enabled, guaranteeing clear visibility in various environments.
Additional Display Features
- Accurate color settings
- Respectable brightness levels
- Always-on display for time and notifications
- In-display fingerprint reader for added convenience
Audio
The Samsung Galaxy A51's single loudspeaker provides decent sound quality, while the 3.5mm audio jack offers excellent audio output with ample volume and minimal distortion. Additionally, the phone supports expandable storage, allowing users to store a vast library of media and content without compromising on audio quality.
Software and User Experience
The Samsung Galaxy A51 comes with Samsung's latest 1UI 2.0 over Android 10, offering a range of new features including a dark mode for menus and a new set of gestures for navigation. The inclusion of edge panels provides a customizable space for shortcuts, enhancing the user experience.
Chipset and Performance
At the heart of the A51 is Samsung's new Exynos 9611 chipset, which performs comparably to the Snapdragon 660 in CPU tests but falls short in GPU tests. Unfortunately, the A51's performance scores are lower than the majority of its competitors, impacting its overall user experience.
Battery Life and Charging
The Samsung Galaxy A51 scored an endurance rating of 86 hours in battery tests, which is decent but falls short compared to the previous year's model. In today's mid-range market, this performance is not particularly exceptional.
Charging Speed
When using the bundled 15-watt adapter, the charging speed of the Galaxy A51 is average. It was able to charge from 0 to 35% in half an hour, which is neither impressive nor disappointing.
Camera Setup and Image Quality
The Galaxy A51's quad-camera setup marks a significant change from its predecessor, featuring a 48-megapixel main camera, a 12-megapixel ultra wide-angle camera, a 5-megapixel macro camera, and a depth sensor. The camera performance in various scenarios is as follows:
Main Camera
- Decent pictures with good sharpness, wide dynamic range, low noise, and balanced colors in daylight
- Issues with rendering fine details and limited benefits when shooting in full 48 megapixels
Ultra Wide-Angle Camera
- Capable performance for a mid-range device with good sharpness and dynamic range
- Significant upgrade from the previous model
Portrait Mode
Excellent subject detection and separation with a pleasing defocused background blur, making portraits taken with the main camera stand out.
Macro Camera
The dedicated macro camera has fixed focus, making it challenging to get the subject in the focus sweet spot. However, when successful, the results can be pretty decent.
Low-Light Performance
- Soft and noisy photos with washed-out colors in low-light conditions
- Night mode provides a sharper image with better shadow definition, although the color rendition remains consistent
- Ultra wide-angle camera struggles in low-light conditions, resulting in soft, dark, and noisy photos
Selfie Camera and Video Recording
The Samsung Galaxy A51 boasts a 32-megapixel selfie camera that delivers impressive 12-megapixel photos with excellent colors, dynamic range, and detail. Notably, the device offers the rare feature of 4K video recording from the selfie camera, providing videos with good exposure. However, the stabilization could be improved to enhance the overall video quality.
When it comes to video recording, the Galaxy A51 can capture up to 4K at 30fps with its main camera and ultra-wide cam. Footage from the main camera exhibits accurate colors and wide dynamic range, although it may appear slightly over-processed. On the other hand, the ultra-wide-angle camera's footage displays slightly washed-out colors and lower contrast, but still maintains decent dynamic range. Stabilization is available for 1080p recording from the main camera, while footage from the ultra-wide camera offers super smooth stabilization.
Overall Impressions
The Samsung Galaxy A51 offers a beautiful and lightweight build, a stunning AMOLED display, and a versatile set of cameras, making it an attractive option in the mid-range market. However, certain drawbacks, such as average battery life and charging speed, an okay chipset, and a relatively high price point, may deter potential buyers. While the device has its strengths, there may be better options available in the market for those seeking a comprehensive mid-range smartphone experience.
Conclusion
The Samsung Galaxy A51 is a compelling mid-range smartphone that offers a sleek design, vibrant display, and a versatile camera setup. However, it falls short in certain areas such as battery life, performance, and charging speed. Despite these drawbacks, it remains a competitive option for users seeking an attractive and capable device without the need for flagship features.
Pros
- Sleek and lightweight design
- Vibrant and immersive AMOLED display
- Versatile quad-camera setup with good overall performance
- Expandable storage and 3.5mm audio jack
Cons
- Below-average battery life compared to competitors
- Performance lags behind other mid-range devices
- Charging speed is average at best
- Relatively high price point for the features offered
FAQ
Is the Samsung Galaxy A51 worth buying?
For users who prioritize a sleek design, vibrant display, and a versatile camera system, the Samsung Galaxy A51 is a solid choice. However, those who value exceptional battery life, top-tier performance, and faster charging speeds may want to explore other options in the mid-range segment.
Does the Samsung Galaxy A51 support expandable storage?
Yes, the Samsung Galaxy A51 offers expandable storage, allowing users to augment the device's internal capacity with a microSD card, providing ample space for media and content.
What are the standout features of the Samsung Galaxy A51's camera system?
The Samsung Galaxy A51's camera system boasts a versatile quad-camera setup, including a 48-megapixel main camera, a 12-megapixel ultra wide-angle camera, a 5-megapixel macro camera, and a depth sensor. This configuration enables users to capture a wide range of scenes and subjects with impressive detail and dynamic range.
How does the Samsung Galaxy A51's battery life compare to its competitors?
While the Samsung Galaxy A51 offers decent battery life, it falls short compared to some of its competitors in the mid-range segment. Users seeking extended usage without frequent recharging may want to consider alternative options with superior battery performance.
Does the Samsung Galaxy A51 support 4K video recording?
Yes, the Samsung Galaxy A51 supports 4K video recording, providing users with the ability to capture high-resolution footage with the device's main and selfie cameras. However, it's important to note that there may be room for improvement in terms of stabilization for enhanced video quality.
