In order to keep them relevant, Samsung refreshed its Galaxy A-series phones for the second time in the last one year. The Galaxy A51, which we will be talking about, is the refresh of Galaxy A50s, which itself was an upgraded version of the popular Galaxy A50. (Samsung Galaxy A51 Review हिंदी में पढ़िए).
So, what has changed? Just as the last time, Samsung is consolidating the key strengths while tying up a few loose ends. These Galaxy A-series phones have never superseded rivals in terms of specs, but have still managed to stand apart from the competition, thanks to the refined experience they offer.
This time, however, the competition is stiffer than ever before. The Galaxy A51 will be up against the big guns including the Realme X2 Pro (review) and Poco X2 (review). We have been living with the new Galaxy and have been trying to determine if this is a phone that we can recommend. Read on our Galaxy A51 review to know more.
Page Contents:
- Samsung Galaxy A51: Price and Specifications
- Samsung Galaxy A51 Review: Design and Build
- Samsung Galaxy A51 Review: Display
- Samsung Galaxy A51 Review: Performance and Software
- Samsung Galaxy A51 Camera Review
- Samsung Galaxy A51 Review: Battery
- Samsung Galaxy A51 Review Verdict with Pros and Cons
Samsung Galaxy A51: Price and Specifications
| Model | Galaxy A51 |
| Display | 6.5-inch Full HD+ Infinity-O Super AMOLED display |
| Color | Prism Crush Blue, Prism Crush White, Prism Crush Black |
| Dimensions and weight | 160.2mm × 73.3mm × 7.9mm; 172 grams |
| Quad-Camera | 48MP Quadcam: 48MP (F1.7) Main, 12MP Ultra Wide Angle, 5MP Macro Lens, 5MP depth sensor |
| Front camera | 32MP, f/2.0 |
| Core hardware | RAM: 6GB/ 8GB ROM: 128GB; SD card slot can support up to 256GB |
| Processor and OS | Octa-core Exynos 9611 with One UI2.0 (Android 10) |
| Battery and Charging | 4000mAh; 15W adaptive fast charging |
| Others | In-Display Fingerprint, magnetic sensor, light sensor, distance sensor, gravity, Accelerometer, TYPE-C, USB 2.0 |
| Price | Starts at Rs. 23,990 |
Samsung Galaxy A51 Review: Design and Build
Design is where the Galaxy A51 absolutely nails it. The phone is just the right size and shape and looks extremely appealing. Be it the rectangular camera module, the slick two-texture gradient design on the back panel, 7.9mm slim profile or the circular punch hole – the little things add up to make a huge difference.
In fact, even with the more premium and expensive Galaxy S10 Lite lying around, we were drawn to the A51 just because it’s so much lighter and so much more comfortable to handle.
The body is still entirely polycarbonate and not real glass or metal. We’d strongly advise that you shouldn’t let that deter you. Samsung bundles a good quality, transparent protective case in the box. There is no pre-installed protector on the display, though.
The bezels around the screen are reasonably slim and uniform. The circular incision is clean, yet the selfie camera is surprisingly conspicuous and doesn’t quite blend in. The o-notch is positioned further from the top edge, resulting in a broader or rather deeper status bar, and overall we kind of like the impact this has.
The A51 retains 3.5mm audio jack, has a USB Type-C charging port and has a dedicated card slot. The fingerprint sensor is under the screen and it’s optical -type, and it feels faster and more reliable than what we had on the Galaxy A50s.
The face unlock is a definite improvement and with options like ‘Lift to wake’ and ‘Double-tap to wake’ enabled by default, it’s quite convenient to trigger – if it doesn’t naturally kick in, that is.
Samsung Galaxy A51 Review: Display
The screen is once again awesome. AMOLED displays are no longer a rarity in the affordable and mid-range segment and nor are they exclusive to Samsung, but Samsung’s panels still have an edge when it comes to calibration and quality.
The Galaxy A51 has a sharp and agreeable full HD panel. You can opt between ‘Natural’ or ‘Vivid’ color profile and also fine-tune the white point. OneUI 2.0 also has an awesome dark mode and an awesome always-on display (that also pins select GIFs). Outdoor visibility, under direct sunlight, is fine as well.
The phone has DRM L1 certificate and supports HD content streaming on Netflix and Amazon Prime. The bottom line is that when it comes to the display quality, you are getting the very best with the Galaxy A51.
Samsung didn’t mention what scratch resistance coating is used on the Galaxy A51 display. The company does offer a one-time screen replacement to consumers who purchase and activate the device on or before February 28.
Samsung Galaxy A51 Review: Performance and Software
The chipset powering the Galaxy A51 remains the same Exynos 9611 as on Galaxy A50s, but the base variant now starts with 6GB RAM and 128GB of storage.
PUBG mobile and other high-end games we tried were playable, but the performance can’t hold a candle to the aggressive Snapdragon series-7 and series-8 chipsets that are available in the same budget.
If you are not into gaming, you will most likely be satisfied with the day-to-day usage experience, but we noticed that UI transitions weren’t always snappy.
The refined One UI 2.0 software (based on Android 10) more than makes up, though. In our opinion, it’s the most refined custom interface when compared to the alternatives you’d get in the same budget. And it’s one primary reason why you should consider buying the Galaxy A51 over spectacularly specs-heavy rivals.
Samsung Galaxy A51 has full Samsung Pay support. In comparison, the last generation Galaxy A50s could also add credit and debit cards but payments worked only at NFC enabled PoS terminals. The A51 has both NFC and MST support, which is to say that it will work with almost all card swipe machines out there. Galaxy A51 supports NFC Payments but is missing MST. Since NFC is now supported on most POS terminals, you should still be well covered. Samsung Pay is something we frequently use and appreciate as it ensures that we have our cards with us at all times.
Also Read: Samsung Galaxy S10 Lite vs Galaxy Note 10 Lite vs OnePlus 7T vs Asus ROG Phone 2 Specs comparison
Samsung Galaxy A51 Review: Camera performance
Samsung Galaxy A51 has quad-rear cameras and a 32MP selfie camera on the front. The rear camera quartet is steered by a 48MP primary camera and also includes a 12MP wide-angle shooter, a 5MP macro camera and a 5MP depth sensor.
Phone cameras in this price range are far from perfect and it must be kept in mind that no matter what you choose, compromises will be involved.
The Galaxy A51 can shoot well-metered and well-balanced shots in outdoor lighting.
The wide-angle camera can give you a wider perspective, but distortion is often visible around edges.
The macro camera is fun to play with and performs quite well in proper lighting.
Indoors and under artificial light, the Galaxy A51 doesn’t falter with metering, but the details aren’t all that great.
In low light, the images get softer still. The phone has a night mode that you can use to enhance performance.
The portrait shots see notable improvements.
The selfie camera does a fine job outdoors or in properly lit indoor settings.
Samsung Galaxy A51 Review: Battery
Phones these days rarely default on battery backup, and the Galaxy A51 doesn’t disappoint when it comes to mileage. The 4000mAh battery on our Galaxy A51 can comfortably last for an entire day.
The fast charging is rather too conservative. 15W charging isn’t fast enough in the day and age and for the asking price Samsung’s 25W USB PD charger would have been more appropriate.
Samsung Galaxy A51 Review: Verdict
The Galaxy A51 is a very adorable phone. It’s slim, ergonomic and fabulous looking, has a remarkable display, and awesome software. These strengths alone make us want to forgive all its flaws, but they need to be addressed as well. Our Main peeve points are the chipset, which stills falls short from a gaming perspective, and the not-so-fast fast charging.
Yes, the price seems a bit steep, but it can’t be discounted that the experience that Galaxy A51 offers is quite premium and unique, even compared to the specs-heavy online exclusives. As far as offline-first phones like Vivo S1 Pro and Oppo F15 go, the Galaxy A51 blows them out of water.
So, should you buy it? If you are not into gaming and are willing to make a few compromises for a more refined software experience, you should seriously consider the Galaxy A51 as an option.
The Galaxy A51 isn’t perfect, but it’s surely something ‘hatke’ and in a pleasant way.
Pros
- Excellent design
- Gorgeous display
- Awesome software
- Samsung Pay (NFC)
- Dedicated card slot
Cons
- Mediocre chipset
- Fast charging isn’t all that fast
Samsung Galaxy A51 FAQ Answered
Yes, we have tested and can confirm that Jio and Airtel Wifi Calling works on the Galaxy A51.
The Galaxy A51 SAR value for the head is 0.80 W/kg and for the body is 0.67 W/kg which is very much within the limit.
In our Antutu test, the Galaxy A51 scored 1,75,465.
Yes, the Galaxy A51 comes with Gorilla Glass 3 on top of the screen.
Nope. If in case you miss LED notification light badly, you can set the Camera flash or Screen flash to blink with each time you receive a notification.
The Galaxy A51 meets the minimum device specifications required to play the Fortnite game on Android mobile.
No. For the Galaxy A51, Samsung depends on the Gyroscope based EIS. The video stabilization is only available for recording up to full HD resolution.
Watch Samsung Galaxy A51 Review
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There are no mst on a51 only nfc.. please recheck and update it.
Yes, you are correct. have already updated the review. Samsung erroneously mentioned NFC + MST in our launch briefing.
There is one ui 2.0 in a51. Oxygen is the ui of one plus