realme has commandeered the “Note” moniker for their new range of smartphones. The realme Note 50 is the first device in the series and is being marketed as an entry-level handset. Packing a T612 chip, a 13MP main camera, and a 5,000mAh battery, does it live up to its tag “Long-Lasting Companion?”

realme Note 50

realme Note 50 Review – Unboxing

The Note 50 is clad in the traditional realme box – a bright yellow box with its name and branding embossed at the front. It’s bundled with its documentation, a silicone case, a USB-A to USB-C cable, a 10W charger, and a SIM ejector pin.

Design and Aesthetics

The realme Note 50 has a two-tone design with a shiny top portion for its cameras and a more subdued lower part. It shares a similar design to that of the C51 – making it possible that the Note 50 is just a slightly downgraded device to make it more affordable.

Its edges are flat with rounded corners for a minimalist look. All its buttons are clustered at the right-hand side with the power button doubling as a fingerprint sensor. At the other side is a triple-cut SIM tray that supports two SIM cards and a MicroSD card.

Down at the bottom are its 3.5mm audio jack, USB-C port, and a single bottom-firing speaker.

Screen and Audio

Up front is a large 6.74-inch IPS display. Its resolution is only set to 1600 x 720 but refresh rates is up to 90Hz, making simple tasks like browsing fairly smooth. Finer details, however, look slightly blurry since it has a big display paired with a slightly lower resolution – which is something to be expected.

Colors are nothing to write home about but they do look decent. Images look slightly boosted, which might be needed to compensate for the screen’s resolution.

The realme Note 50 relies solely on its bottom-firing speakers for external audio. Quality is decent for an entry-level device and it can get pretty loud. Vocals can be heard clearly though there is a slight “tinny” sound in higher notes in songs. Volume can be boosted to 150% but it doesn’t significantly make the audio louder but makes it even “tinnier.”

Software

The handset still runs on Android 13 but comes with lightweight realme UI T Edition UI. The UI is stripped down to its bare essentials and sticks to a more standard Android look to make the experience smoother for modest hardware.

Though the experience is stripped down, realme does provide all the basics for an Android smartphone. The drop-down menu has large icons though some of the customization options for the home screen have been cut on the T Edition.

Despite the toned-down version of the UI, realme has still managed to sneak in ads within the including suggested apps when installing software and constant suggested app notifications. There is also pre-installed bloatware on the device, which may take up some of the internal storage.

realme Note 50 Review – Cameras

The realme Note 50 sports two cameras: a 13MP f/2.2 rear camera and a 5MP f/2.2 front-facing lens. Its camera app is basic but has all the essentials plus a few extras. HDR is supported and modes include Night, Photo, Portrait, Panorama, Pro, and Time-Lapse. Video is for the main camera is limited to 1080p30fps while the front-camera supports up to 720p30fps.

Main Camera

Its 13MP f/2.2 main camera is nothing too spectacular, but it gets the job done. Shots look decent at well-lit conditions with good details. Colors, however, can be a bit hit or miss. Some photos may come out washed out at times.

Low-light conditions really takes a toll on the Note 50’s rear shooter. Colors look underwhelming and there is a bit of noise in the frame. Shadows look crushed and its Night Mode turns down the shutter speed too far making some shots look blurry if you don’t have a steady hand.

realme Note 50 Review – Benchmarks

Like most super affordable smartphones in the market, the realme Note 50 utilizes a Unisoc T612 chip with 4GB RAM and 64GB of internal storage. It’s nothing special, but it does the job done. There is some expected stuttering while using the smartphone especially when there are tons of background apps running.

Benchmarks are as expected – nothing too spectacular, but good enough for an entry-level device. The smartphone is just shy of the 250,000 mark in AnTuTu while it is able to score 1,500 in GeekBench in Multi-Core workloads.

Gaming isn’t a strong suit for the Note 50 but it does well for less intensive titles. Games like Mobile Legends: Bang Bang will be able to run at a steady clip without any significant dips in framerate so long as the settings are set to medium or low.

realme Note 50 Review – Battery Life

The realme Note 50’s bread and butter as it is powered by a 5,000mAh battery. When paired with its low power chipset and cut-down UI, you’ll be able to get plenty of usage with the smartphone. In our testing, we were able to get a solid a day and a half of use in a single charge.

Charging is a bit of a sore point for the smartphone. Despite having a USB-C port, it only supports 10W charging. Filling up the battery from empty to full should take around 2 hours and 45 minutes. You’re better off charging the smartphone overnight.

realme Note 50 Review – Conclusion

The realme Note 50 is a pretty basic smartphone as they come, but it is one of the most affordable smartphones in the market for only PhP 3,599. It does the job decently and should be perfect for those who just wants a smartphone to browse the Internet, take some photos, play lightweight games, and last for quite a bit before needing a recharge.

There are, however, some nitpicks. The inclusion of ads in the software is inexcusable plus the bloatware will take up space on the already meagre 64GB internal storage. The 10W charging may also be a bit of a wait unless you smartly choose the time you charge the smartphone.

realme Note 50 Price and Availability

The realme Note 50 4GB/64GB is priced at PhP 3,599 in the Philippines. It is now available via realme’s Shopee, Lazada, and TikTok stores, as well as authorized retailers nationwide.