Samsung Galaxy A51 Review
The biggest new feature that you will notice is the new gesture navigation. You can switch to the gesture navigation by going into Settings, Display and Navigation Bar. With this new navigation you swipe up from the bottom to go to the home screen, swipe from the bottom and hold it for a moment to bring up your recent apps, and swipe from either side of the phone to go back one step.
For all else, this is pretty much the same interface that you get on even more expensive Samsung phones like the Galaxy S10 series.
One of the main upgrades in the Galaxy A51 over the 2019 model, the A50, comes in the camera department. There is a new, higher resolution main camera, this time with a 48-megapixel sensor, a higher-resolution ultra-wide camera, as well as a brand new macro camera lens. The main camera can now also shoot video in 4K, while the front camera is also improved to come with a better, 32-megapixel sensor. Here is a quick overview of the camera setup on the A51:
You can see that there is a slight difference in the colors when using the main and the ultra-wide cameras, and you get far more detail when using the main camera:
You also have the Live Focus mode on board which is useful when you want to blur the background and shoot portraits.
Since you do not have a telephoto lens and the camera does not apply digital crop, the Live Focus mode is best used for people further away and does not work well if you want to capture a picture of somebody’s face. You can see this in the third image above where my head looks out of proportion and definitely not flattering.
Up front, you have a 32 megapixel camera on the Galaxy which captures decent looking selfies and can also record 1080p videos. You can shoot selfies in a wide mode if you want to fit more people in the frame, or you also have a zoomed mode which is more suitable if it’s just you in the picture. Here are a few examples:
Video quality
You can now record in 4K, but with some important limitations
The most notable upgrade in the A51 is the added capability to record 4K video at 30 frames per second using the main camera on the back of the device, while the 2019 model, the A50, could only record video at a maximum of 1080p resolution.
4K video on the Galaxy A51, however, is not really comparable to 4K footage from higher end phones mostly because you get a lot less detail despite the higher resolution. The big issue with the A51 for video shooters is the poor dynamic range, which is best exemplified when looking at brighter parts of a scene that will almost always be overblown and not look good. On a positive note, continuous auto focus seems to be doing a decent job and it’s quite quick to acquire focus as it is using phase detection pixels for focusing.
One limitation to keep in mind is that once you have started recording video with the main camera, it is impossible to switch to the ultra-wide one. You can record video with the ultra wide, but you have to select it before starting the recording and then, when you have hit the record button, you cannot zoom in at all.
Overall, there are quite a few limitations that make the camera on the A51 not ideal for video enthusiasts, but let’s also keep in mind that this is an affordable phone and you cannot expect everything on it.
Sound and Loudspeaker
The A51 features a single bottom firing speaker and… it gets the job done, but won’t wow you in any way.
It lacks notably in the lower frequencies and the bass, and the sound quality is tinny. We have heard way better speakers, but admittedly, most of them are on more expensive phones.
We should also once again mention the presence of a 3.5mm headphone jack and even a set of basic on-ear headphones included for free in the box.
Battery Life and Charging
The Galaxy A51 comes with a 4,000mAh battery, the same size as on its predecessor, the A50, and the battery life is solid.
We were getting a full day of use without any worries and if you don’t use the Always-On screen option and are not glued to your phone, you shall be able to last a day and a half or even two days off the charger.
We have also run a number of battery tests to be able to precisely determine the expected battery life on the A51.
Battery Test #1: Web Browsing
Battery Test #2: Video Streaming
Our second test involves playing back YouTube videos, something that many people enjoy doing on a daily basis. For video streaming, the A51 scored 8 hours and 35 minutes of non-stop video playback. This beat the Pixel 3a by two hours, and it was also 15 minutes longer than what the Pixel 3a XL lasted.
Battery Test #3: 3D Gaming
Finally, our third test shows how long the phone will last for 3D gaming. These are the most demanding types of games including titles like Fortnite and PUBG. Here, the Galaxy scored 6 hours and 40 minutes, which is also a great score. It was longer than the Pixel 3a, which scored 6 hours and 7 minutes, but slightly shorter than the 6 hours and 55 minutes that the 3a XL edition lasted. Overall, our tests show that the Galaxy A51 definitely scores way above the average in terms of battery life.
PhoneArena Total Battery Score
You also get a 15-watt fast charger in the box which helps fuel up a drained battery a bit faster. How fast you ask? Take a look below:
- in 15 minutes: you get a 16% charge
- in 30 minutes: 31%
- 45 minutes: 47%
- 1 hour: 63%
- 1 hour and 45 minutes: 100% Full Charge
Unfortunately, there is no support for wireless charging on this phone and you will need to rely on the cable to juice it up.
Price and Alternatives
Priced at around $350, this phone costs as much as Pixel 3a or iPhone 7
The Galaxy A51 begins selling in January 2020 at a starting price of around $350 (360 euro), while its predecessor, the A50, remains on sale at a discounted price of 280 euro.
But the most notable rival of the Galaxy A51 is Google’s Pixel 3a, a phone with a flagship-grade camera, sold at about the same price. The Pixel 3a not only has the advantage of a superior camera, it also has smoother performance and a cleaner interface that will get Android updates on time.
Conclusion and Final Score
While the original Galaxy A50 offered an incredible value for the money last year and sold in the millions across the globe, the new Galaxy A51 is a very slight upgrade that doesn’t offer much reason for an upgrade and doesn’t impress that much.
Yes, it’s a nice-looking phone that offers a beautiful AMOLED display and very good battery life, and we don’t mind the plastic build at all, but the new cameras don’t offer much of an improvement and are far less capable than the cameras on the rival Pixel 3a, or even iPhone 7. Worse yet, the performance is underwhelming and the phone often stutters when presented with a slightly more difficult task.
At the end of the day, the Galaxy A51 is merely a decent mid-range phone that feels a bit pricey for what it is and definitely not a threat to the Pixel 3a.