Realme X50 Pro 5G review: the most expensive realme is also the most competitive

In its short journey in European lands, Realme has built a reputation for offering products with great value for money. Although the firm usually feels a lot in the mid-range, they also offer higher-end devices such as the Realme X50 Pro 5G , its current flagship.

The Realme X50 Pro 5G brings together some of the key features that we ask of a high-end: AMOLED screen with high refresh rate, a level processor, multiple cameras or 5G connectivity are some of them, all at a fairly contained price compared to the high-end of other manufacturers. We tell you all about the Realme X50 Pro 5G in our in-depth review .

Realme X50 Pro 5G datasheet

Design: a color (and a weight) that does not go unnoticed

What is most striking about the design is the tone and finish of the rear. Realme calls it ‘Rustic Red’, although it depends on how the light falls we will see it more brown and even golden. ** It is not a usual color, but since it is not garish it is quite discreet. ** The finish is matte, a trend that we are seeing a lot this 2020. This helps that the footprints are not so marked, although it usually penalizes because it is more slippery, but it is not the case of the realme X50 Pro 5G. The color is called ‘rustic red’, although depending on how the light falls we will see it more brown and even golden.

Already in the first impressions, I commented that just touching it gave me the feeling that the back was plastic and not glass. It is not a problem, but precisely that less “cold” touch makes us gain security in the grip since it does not slip as much. All in all, I have chosen to wear it with the silicone sleeve that comes included in the box to avoid possible scratches and because it improves the grip even more.

Continuing with the rear, the camera module is vertical and is located in the upper left corner, with the LED flash outside the module and the text “AI QUAD CAMERA” next to it (very discreet, by the way). The realme logo is on the bottom, aligned with the cameras. Comment that the module hardly stands out, although it is just enough for the mobile to “dance” a little if we touch it while it is on the table. It is not much, but with the case the problem disappears completely.

If the color of the back caught my attention as soon as I saw it, the thickness and weight did it when I held it for the first time. The compaction work on the front is good, so it is not excessively large despite having a 6.44-inch panel. However, although the size is not exaggerated, it is rough in hand due to those 205 grams of weight. The thickness that really indicates is 8.9 millimeters, which is not much, but the feeling in hand is of a thicker than normal mobile, and with a case even more obviously.

When we compare it with other high-end products of similar size, we see that it is not one of the lightest, but it is not among the heaviest either. It is far superior to the iPhone 11 Pro Max and by a few grams the Xiaomi Mi 10 Pro or the Huawei P40 Pro, of course these two models mount larger screens. In taking advantage of the front there is also something behind the majority.

Speaking of the front, we said that the compaction work is quite good. We have a frame of the same thickness at the top edge and the sides, while the bottom one is slightly wider. For the front camera, I really bet on the hole on the screen, but since we have a double camera, the hole is oval and much less discreet than other single camera solutions. Also comment that the screen has nothing curved , something that I personally appreciate very much, especially after trying several terminals that did.

To conclude with the design section, let’s talk about the placement of buttons and other elements. Realme places the power / sleep button on the right side, while the volume buttons are on the left. The height is good and the correct pulsation, without too much resistance or annoying crunches. At the bottom edge are the SIM tray, USB-C port and speaker grille. The other speaker is at the front, above all, between the screen and the edge.

Display: fluency is here to stay

For the screen, realme bets on a 6.44-inch AMOLED panel with FullHD + resolution and a maximum refresh rate of 90Hz. The debate about whether a FullHD panel is suitable in terminals that aim at the high range is something that is repeated in almost every review and, once again, I have to say that the experience in terms of sharpness is more than correct.

A contrast level also meets and the level of brightness is high enough that we do not suffer trying to see the content outdoors. The automatic brightness is quite compliant and it is rarely necessary to adjust it manually, although occasionally it may take a while to respond.

The screen is calibrated a little cold at the factory, but it really gives us the option to change the temperature from settings. It is not a very rich setting in options since we can only choose if we want the coldest or warmest screen and switch between intense or soft mode. With the intense mode we have fairly saturated colors, while the soft one is more realistic without being turned off. I have chosen to keep it in this mode.

Finally we have the OSIE Vision setting that promises to improve the display in compatible applications, such as Tiktok. What it does is enhance the contrast and the tones, the change is quite noticeable, almost as if we applied a filter to the image.

And we go to the refresh rate, a feature that has already become almost essential in the high-end. In this case we have the option to adjust to 90Hz, leave it at 60Hz or select the automatic adjustment that will change depending on what applications we are using. The extra fluency in 90Hz is especially noticeable in certain games and when making quick movements through the interface such as scroll, but do not expect a dramatic change compared to 60Hz either and you have to take into account how it impacts autonomy, something we will see later.With a dual front camera, the hole in the screen is more intrusive than other solutions.

Regarding the hole in the screen, as I said above, we have a double camera in the left corner, so it is much more intrusive than other solutions. The hole “pushes” all the items on the status bar to the right , making them even reach the center of the screen.

Realme does not allow us to hide the front camera all the time as it does in other terminals, but we can configure how we want it to look in each app. By default they are all configured in ‘Automatic adaptation’, so that if there are elements that can be covered by the camera, put a black band. In the game Alto’s Adventure, by default it hides the camera and when we force it to occupy the entire surface of the panel we see why: the pause button is right where the camera is.

Sound: clarity and power

The multimedia experience is not complete without sound. Realme offers stereo sound through the speakers. As I was saying, we have one at the bottom of the chassis, next to the USB-C and the other at the top, between the screen and the frame.The lower speaker is somewhat more powerful than the front, but there is not such a large imbalance as we have seen in other terminals.

The lower speaker is somewhat more powerful than the front, but there is not such a large imbalance as we have seen in other terminals. Combined they give a clear sound and good power. It is not necessary to take it to the maximum to enjoy a good volume. In fact better if we keep it a little underneath to avoid shrillness. The dynamic range is wide, but if we want to enjoy a greater range of frequencies (especially the lower ones) it is better to pull headphones. Which by the way, we don’t have minijacks.

Sound setup options come down to one: Dolby Atmos. When using speaker mode, this setting cannot be disabled, but with headphones it can. It pays to keep it active because it greatly improves the experience and also to maintain the automatic adjustment since you choose the improvement based on the content.

Performance: racing engine

With a Snapdragon 865 and 12GB of RAM, performance is up to the expected. The terminal moves the tasks of the day to day without flinching, but it also has no problems with the most demanding ones such as high-definition multimedia or games like PUBG, where we can choose the extreme quality mode and play without jerks or lag. There are no worrisome temperature rises either, although when playing or with the camera for a long time we do notice how the heat increases, but it does not become annoying.

About biometrics, realme offers two methods: the fingerprint reader under the screen and the face unlock (two-dimensional, yes). The footprint configuration is quite fast (at least more than in other terminals) and fast recognition. The bad thing is that with the screen off, recognition does not occur, only if the fingerprint icon appears illuminated can we place the finger to unlock it. It is quite annoying if we have the mobile on the table since we have to activate the screen before, either by picking up the phone or with the double tap.

The face unlock is a good complement to the fingerprint and is responsible for the unlock most of the time. The system is fast and recognizes us even with sunglasses or, sometimes, a mask. It is not as safe as the footprint, but it is much more comfortable.

Autonomy: what shines is not milliamps, it is fast charging

The battery of the realme X50 Pro 5G has a capacity of 4,200 mAh, a figure that a priori seems balanced and points to a comfortable autonomy. But before going to assess the duration figures, it is worth highlighting what makes the experience exceptional: fast charging.What makes the experience exceptional is fast charging. In 35 minutes we have the battery at 100%

Realme promises that the battery charges from 0 to 100 in just 35 minutes and I can confirm that it is. In the first 10 minutes we reached 43% and in 20 minutes we are already at 77% load , which is said soon. Thanks to this we can put the mobile to charge for a moment and have a battery for several hours. It remains to be seen if this affects battery life in the long term, but it makes a huge difference on a day-to-day basis. And now yes, let’s talk about how long that burden lasts us.

During the first two charging cycles, I kept the screen configured in the ‘Automatic Selection’ mode. In other words, the frequency changes from 60 to 90 Hz depending on the app or game that we are using. With this configuration we get a total use of about 18 hours with around 6 hours of screen .

By activating 90Hz all the time, the impact on the duration is more than evident in the total time, which was reduced to just over 10 hours, of which five were spent with the screen active. Seeing the difference with the automatic selection option, it compensates enough to keep it active since we do not renounce 90Hz when possible and in return we obtain a much longer duration.

Software: between customization and Android essence

With the international leap of the brand, realme has opted for a much lighter layer than that found in OPPO terminals, a company of which it is a subsidiary. With realme UI we have an interface that wants to resemble pure Android on its main screen, but as soon as we investigate a bit we see that it does not renounce customization.Realme UI wants to look like pure Android, but once we dig a little we see that it does not give up personalization

On these lines we can see how the desktop of the factory device comes. As I was saying, the design of the home screen and the desktops closely mirrors that of pure Android . We have an app drawer that opens by swiping up, the Google search widget, and round icons (although this can be customized).

As for the pre-installed apps, realme includes some bloatware like OfficeSuite, Netflix or the Opera browser, they can all be uninstalled. At the level of our own tools we have functions such as Clone phone, Game space or Phone manager, the typical suite of tools to optimize the device, which in this case includes a curious function: checking components.

The terminal guides us through the process to check elements such as buttons, sensors, multi-touch screen and other hardware components. Although what is most curious is that it asks us to check the headphone minijack when this model does not include it.

Realme UI also includes other special functions like the smart assistant. It opens by sliding to the right on the home screen and gives access to the Google Discover panel, the currency converter or a card scanner. It also includes a step counter and allows you to add more functions from the applications. I would prefer to have the option to directly access the Google panel, but it is not possible to configure it like this.

Another function is the smart sidebar that opens by sliding from the edge and offers us shortcuts to functions that we use regularly (it can be edited). It may be handy to quickly access for example screen recording, but it is also a bit cumbersome if we have the navigation gestures turned on since I have ever opened the bar when I actually wanted to go back (although it doesn’t happen often because the activation area is quite high).

Within settings we also have the section ‘Gestures and movements’ where there are classic functions such as ‘Lift to activate’ or ‘Turn to silence’ among others.

Realme UI lets us customize the shape of the icons (allows us to do it from the configuration wizard or later in the home screen settings). By default we have round icons, but you can also select square, square with rounded corners and custom shapes. You can also customize the effects when turning pages on the home screen.

Game space is another of the functions that realme UI has installed. As we have seen on other devices, it is an app from where we can access our games and control aspects such as notifications while we play. In this case, sliding from the corners this bar appears with shortcuts to messaging functions or to take screenshots, both in image and video. From the app we can select three modes: competition, balanced or battery saving (interesting that tells us the estimated duration in each case).

Cameras: four eyes see more than one, but not all see the same

How could it be otherwise, realme enters the zoom game with its flagship and brings us a combination of four cameras, ranging from ultra-wide to telephoto, with a (digital) zoom of up to 20x. Below we describe each of the lenses as they are placed in the rear module, from top to bottom:

• Telephoto: 12 MP, f / 2.5, 2x optical zoom
• Main: 64 MP, f / 1.8, hybrid zoom up to 20x
• Ultra wide: 8 MP, f / 2.3 (0.6x)
• B&W lens for portraits: 2 MP, f / 2.4

This is the configuration that we have in the back, in front of me, it integrates a double camera with a 32-megapixel main sensor with f / 2.5 aperture and an 8-megapixel wide-angle with f / 2.2 aperture.

Camera app

The camera app has a fairly standard interface, with several shortcuts at the top, the mode carousel above the shutter button, and above it, the zoom control. If we want to access the other modes we have to slide to the end and open the ‘More’ menu, where we find options such as ultra macro or expert mode.

The app is full of options and are easily accessible. This is the case of HDR, an option that we often find somewhat hidden but that can be configured here from the button located on the top bar. Instead, to access the settings menu we have to open the hamburger menu and then click on the gear. This in photo mode because in video mode, the settings have their direct access and make it easy to change the resolution.

Main sensor

In good light, the main camera achieves contrasting images, with a good dynamic range and somewhat saturated colors, but rich in nuances. At the detail level, there is a good job with complex textures such as foreground grass or water, although if we expand we see a slightly aggressive processing that worsens when light is scarce.

As is customary in high-resolution sensors, by default we obtain 16-megapixel images with the pixel binning technique that merges four pixels into one, but there is a shooting mode that allows us to take advantage of the 64 megapixels that the main sensor gives us. On these lines you can see the difference in size between the two photos and also some interesting details, such as that the HDR fails to recover the detail in the burned area of ​​the sky, while in the same scene with 16 megapixels it does. Otherwise, the result is fairly even in terms of shades and detail.

The most practical thing about this mode is that the resulting photos are so large that they allow us to crop a portion without pixelating. In this case, the detail is improvable because the light was starting to fall, but in optimal conditions it gives good results and is an alternative to zoom.

And speaking of the lack of light, it does not need to be too pronounced for the detail to suffer. In this interior scene the sharpness is somewhat fair, especially as we move away from the center, although it holds up relatively well.

At night the detail worsens . We have appreciable noise without the need for magnification and it does not help if the light is complicated as in this case by that dominant yellow. The night mode is a good ally in these cases, later we will see examples.

Angular

We move on to the angular lens and, once again, the usual standard is met: the quality is far inferior to the main sensor . In well-lit scenes the result is good, although it tends to overexpose and slightly saturate the colors. In fact, in this case it almost works better than the main sensor when getting a more “vibrant” photo. The deformation is not exaggerated, although it is more noticeable if we photograph objects closely.

As soon as the scene is complicated by lack of light or very marked contrasts, the weaknesses appear and are seen with the naked eye, without the need to enlarge. There is noise, washed out colors and, in general, an improvable detail that worsens if we approach the corners.

We return to an example comparing with the main sensor with the angle, taken at the same time as the previous image. The dynamic range is much more limited and all the orange tones of the sky are lost, in addition to the detail that suffers a lot. It is interesting to have the option of the angle, but with these results you have to think a lot about when to use it.

Telephoto lens

As we said before, the telephoto lens that integrates the realme X50 Pro 5G gives us an optical zoom of two magnifications, so in this section we are going to limit ourselves to that magnification (in the next we will see how it behaves with five and more magnifications). Unlike the wide angle, in this case the results are more similar to those of the main lens in terms of detail and dynamic range, noting the change especially in white balance.

Here you can see the change in white balance. The telephoto lens produces generally cooler images with somewhat artificial contrast, but retains detail very well even when the light is not as bright.

This photo was taken at the same time and place as the sunset that we have seen in the wide angle section, but the result is infinitely better. If we enlarge there is noise, but it is not exaggerated and we can read the text on the side of the boat without problem.

Zoom

In addition to choosing the zoom by sliding or pinching the screen, in the camera app we have several shortcuts that are quite practical to change focus. These are the ultra wide angle (0.6x), main sensor (1x), telephoto lens (2x) and a last button for five magnifications. If we continue expanding we can reach 20 increases, although in this example it can already be seen that the quality falls a lot when we get so close.

All five increases hold up very well and I’ve personally used this option quite often. As we get closer there is loss of quality but it is not too exaggerated and the images hold up well when the light is there.

On the other hand, when the light falls we have an evident loss of definition and the noise is appreciated without the need to enlarge. All in all, the result is not disastrous.

If we keep going up to ten or even twenty magnifications, even if we have as good light as in these scenes we can clearly see that enlargement by software, something that worsens with dimmer lighting. I do not recommend going beyond the five magnifications if you want to keep a good quality , it is preferable to crop the photo later and get a smaller file, but with less loss.

Shooting modes: AI, HDR, portrait, night mode and macro

After analyzing the performance of each lens separately, we move on to the software functions, starting with HDR. The control is easily accessible from the camera app and allows us to leave it on automatic or force it manually. The automatic is usually activated when necessary, as in this backlight, so it pays to leave it like this, although I have never had to activate it by hand.

The effect is a little unpredictable and depends a lot on the type of scene. In this case it has raised the shadows in the foreground, recovering details in the part of the buildings on the right or the ground, but in the sky it has little effect. There are other cases where it focuses more on reducing highlights while leaving shadows almost unchanged. However, the result usually improves the photo without HDR.

Of course the IA button could not be missing in the camera interface. As usual, if we activate this option we have a kind of advanced scene recognition. In this case, he activated the food mode, although in most cases the effect is the same: increase the saturation (a lot) and the exposure. 

In fact, when it does not recognize anything and we activate the button, the app tells us “Dazzling color activated”. By the way, it also activates modes such as portrait, macro or night if the conditions are favorable. I prefer to activate them manually but it can come in handy depending on what situations.

And speaking of the night mode, it usually gives good results since it manages to rescue enough detail without becoming too artificial. Here the detail in the foreground has improved a lot, but if we go to the background it is not a very aggressive effect with respect to the automatic photo.

And we come to portrait mode, which we remember has a dedicated lens although I have tried to take photos by covering it and I have not noticed differences. The portrait is activated with both people and objects and lets us choose the amount of blur, but only when taking the photo, once taken we will no longer be able to edit it.

With defined objects, trimming is good, but in complex areas such as hair it is common to find cuts like the one in the photo above these lines. It is not something that is clearly seen in the general plane, but there it is.

And we close this section with the ultramacro mode, which by the way is a little hidden in that ‘More’ menu located to the right of everything. Get vivid colors and acceptable detail, but if we expand immediately noise appears and in general the quality can be improved. By the way, for macro photos use the wide angle lens, that’s why.

Video

We go to the video section, but before watching the tests we stop for a moment in the resolution settings. The terminal allows recording up to 4K, but in this mode we can neither choose the frequency nor use the angular lens. The angle only works if we choose a lower resolution (FullHD or HD) at 30 frames per second, at 60fps it is not activated either.

Another detail to keep in mind is that the Ultrastable mode only works on FullHD videos . In fact, if we configure another resolution, when we press the stabilizer button it will change us.

Since we were talking about the stabilizer, let’s see how it does it. Stabilization is pretty good in the first clip, though it still minimizes more shaking by activating ultra-stable mode. In the third clip we activate the maximum ultra-stable mode, but there is not a very big change at the stability level, although we do see that the quality falls quite a bit.

In low light videos, the difference in quality when activating that stabilization button to the maximum is more than evident. Both clips were recorded with just a few seconds of difference and in the second it almost seems like a closed night.

If you are going to record camera in hand, you better not activate 4K resolution since the absence of stabilization spoils the clips a lot. As I said, the wide angle does not work here, although we can zoom up to 5x (with the consequent loss of quality).

The camera adapts fairly quickly when there are changes in lighting, although some changes in white balance are seen at times when we have hardly moved the camera.

Regarding zoom, the jump between lenses is always there, but it depends on the differences between cameras that we notice it more or less. In the case of the realme X50 Pro 5G it shows a lot, especially when going to the angle since the jump is much more abrupt, but the TV is also clearly appreciated. By the way, good point for the quality of that goal in videos.

Frontal camera

On the front we have a double camera, with a 32-megapixel main sensor and an 8-megapixel one under a wide-angle lens. In addition to the difference in focal length and resolution, there is also a difference in quality.

The wide angle gives us much more contrasting photos and more limited dynamic range , although with good detail if the light accompanies. However, as night falls we lose a lot of detail and it is preferable to use the main sensor.

With the portrait mode we have quite good results in terms of cropping (the amount of blur is a bit exaggerated by default, but it lets us edit it), but when activating it the dynamic range is greatly reduced, burning the entire sky.

Realme X50 Pro 5G, the opinion and note of Xataka

Realme continues in its efforts to offer us devices that are measured from you to you with the high range, but at much more contained prices. This X50 Pro 5G is its most expensive device to date (599 euros the most basic variant), but despite not being as competitive as the real X2 Pro was, it is still a tight figure compared to the competition (especially bearing in mind that it bears the 5G seal and it seems that only for that reason there is already carte blanche to raise prices).

The realme X50 Pro offers us the characteristics of a flagship killer, with a lot of power, fluid screen and a versatile set of cameras, but making some concessions to adjust that price. For example, we have a FullHD -no QHD- screen and its cameras, although versatile, give us somewhat inconsistent results.

In general we have a balanced set that achieves its goal of targeting the high-end. However, although it comes at a favorable time when traditionally cheap brands are raising prices (Xiaomi and OnePlus are a good example), it remains one step below the heavyweights and its price is not the hit on the table from previous editions.

Pros

• It charges at lightning speed.
• Fluid display.
• Power for demanding.

Cons

• The cameras fall a bit short, especially the wide angle.
• Somewhat heavy and rough design.
• Realme UI has improved but still has details to polish.

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