Samsung Galaxy A51 review: Is it still worth buying in 2021? | NextPit

The Samsung Galaxy A51, a mid-range smartphone that was released in January 2020, proved to be a bestseller that received bouquets from the tech press and users as it offers fantastic value-for-money. A year on, I tested the Samsung Galaxy A51 to see if it is still worth picking one up today.

Rating

Good

• Excellent 60Hz AMOLED screen

• Adequate camera performance

• Guaranteed support up to Android 13 and 3 more years of security updates

• 3.5 mm jack and expandable storage

Bad

• Exynos 9611 performance

• Average battery life

• Fast charge is super slow

• No IP certification

• Does not offer value-for-money in 2021

My brief opinion on the Samsung Galaxy A51

The Samsung Galaxy A51 is a mid-range smartphone that was first announced in December 2019 and launched in January 2020 at a $379 price point. In July 2021, the smartphone is no longer sold by Samsung officially, albeit carrying a $280 price tag on its official store.

If you want to pick one up now, I can only find it on third-party sellers in Marketplace in the 4GB RAM configuration only.

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Samsung Galaxy A51 (4GB RAM/128GB memory)

The Samsung Galaxy A51 faces some tough competition in 2021 / © NextPit

In terms of hardware specifications, there’s an AMOLED display, a quad-camera module (48+12+5+5 MP), an Exynos 9611 SoC, and a 4,000 mAh battery that accepts wired 15 Watts fast charging.

If we begin at the starting price of $379, then the Samsung Galaxy A51 has no argument to make against a Redmi Note 10 Pro or a OnePlus Nord CE. Even if we were to take the current price of approximately $280, the competition remains fierce with the presence of the Realme 8 Pro or the Redmi Note 10 5G.

As we’ll see in my full review, some elements of the Samsung Galaxy A51 still hold up well in 2021 such as its beautiful AMOLED display. Overall, I felt like I had an outdated model in my hands.

Design and screen: The plastic look hasn’t aged one bit

When it comes to design and the display, the Samsung Galaxy A51 sports a flat 6.5-inch AMOLED panel with a plastic back, all crammed into a fairly massive 158.5 x 73.6 x 7.9 mm form factor while tipping the scale at 172 grams.

What I liked:

• The AMOLED screen remains very capable
• 3.5 mm jack and a microSD memory card slot
• Reflective effect of the coat on the back
• The slim camera module

What I disliked:

• 60Hz refresh rate
• Rough finish in certain places
• No IP certification

The beautiful Prism Crush White color of the Samsung Galaxy A51 is almost enough to make me forget about its plastic design / © NextPit

I really like the reflective effect that the back coating delivers in a pearly white color, complete with diagonals and vertical stripes.

I also liked the camera module that hardly protrudes, although this is partly due to the fact that the Samsung Galaxy A51 is rather thick. On the other hand, I find that the finish is not quite refined in selected areas, especially around the USB-C port and the 3.5 mm audio jack, where you can clearly see the deformation in the plastic frame at the entrance of the ports.

The Samsung Galaxy A51’s AMOLED display is still very good, even when limited to just 60Hz / © NextPit

As for the display, you get a very good Super AMOLED panel that measures 6.55-inches across diagonally in Full HD resolution of 1080×2400 pixels, or 405 dpi pixel density. The maximum brightness of 630 nits (410 on average) is good enough without going overboard. The refresh rate maxes out at 60 Hz, but that did not bother me much, although I did see the difference compared to the 120 Hz refresh rates that my eyes are used to.

I also welcome the presence of a 3.5 mm jack, a dual SIM port and a microSD slot to expand storage up to 512GB. There is no IP certification, though.

Some of the finishing touches are questionable. You’d be able to see it if the USB-C port was IN FOCUS!!! / © NextPit

Overall, the Samsung Galaxy A51 remains rather current visually in 2021, with the smartphone barely aging. I’m really not a fan of the “all-plastic” approach though. The screen is excellent, but I can’t help but think of smartphones that are sold for less than $300 or even $200 that come with a higher refresh rate. Offering an AMOLED display on the mid-range device is no longer considered as a worthy feat in 2021.

Interface: OneUI 3.1 and another 3 years of guaranteed updates

The Samsung Galaxy A51 currently runs on OneUI 3.1 that is based on Android 11 and has received the May 2021 Android security patch.

I’m not going to go into detail about this Android skin that you are already familiar with. But the weakness of the Exynos 9611 SoC did not allow me to enjoy the excellent user experience that is normally associated with OneUI.

However, it’s worth remembering that the smartphone was first released with OneUI 2.0 that is based on Android 10. And in line with Samsung’s latest update policy, the Galaxy A51 will benefit from 3 major Android versions and 4 years of security updates.

If you buy this smartphone now, it will receive Android 13 as well as security patches up till 2023. Currently, the smartphone has already dropped to the bottom tier in terms of security update frequency. Thus, you will only receive one security update per quarter. This frequency is likely to be reduced to twice a year in the final year of its life cycle.

• 4 years of updates on Samsung phones: Will it make smartphones more sustainable?

OneUI 3.1 is full of features, but doesn’t run smoothly on the Samsung Galaxy A51 / © NextPit

Despite being released last year, the Samsung Galaxy A51 is likely to be kept updated longer than its Redmi or Realme counterparts that were released in 2021.

Performance: Exynos 9611 falls short

The Samsung Galaxy A51 packs a 10 nm octa-core Exynos 9611 SoC and is mated to a Mali G-72 GPU and 4 GB of RAM.

What I liked:

• No overheating issues, which is something rare these days

What I disliked:

• Lackluster performance
• SoC was already not competitive in 2020
• Slowdowns in the interface
• Gaming experience was not very pleasant

Armed with a year-old mid-range SoC and an unfortunate 4 GB of RAM, you obviously shouldn’t expect a performance monster. 

On the contrary, the Samsung Galaxy A51 really struggled through everyday tasks. I experienced slowdowns in the interface, a delay when launching applications, or making transitions while multitasking. In normal use and without any application running in the background, 2.2 of the 4 GB RAM was used, leaving 525 MB available. So I only had effectively 1.3 GB of RAM available.

The slowness was also experienced when I installed the OneUi 3.1 update and the latest security patch, where the installation took a really long time to complete. And I won’t even venture into in-game performance since most titles launch with “average” graphics by default and almost never run at 30 FPS constantly.

• Smartphone SoCs explained: A comprehensive guide

Samsung Galaxy A51

Graphics Benchmarks

Model/Benchmark
Samsung Galaxy A51
Redmi Note 10 Pro (SD 732G)
Realme 8 Pro (SD 720G)

Geekbench single/multi
348/1265
569/1780
568 / 1685

3DMark Wild Life
853
1124
1052

Passmark memory/disc
12.829 / 34.829

18.743 / 38.325

19.799 / 38.683

The only positive point is that smartphones released in 2021 tend to overheat to the point of burning your fingers, which is something the Samsung Galaxy A51 would never do as it always remains at a reasonable temperature.

During my benchmark sessions using the 3DMark Wild Life Stress Test that simulates intensive gaming use, the Samsung Galaxy A51 maintained a low but constant performance level. On the other hand, it experienced a big drop in the frame rate during the last test loop every single time (3 sessions were performed in total), bringing down the overall score of the smartphone.

• Gaming smartphones: Do gaming modes actually boost performance?

A frame rate that oscillates between 3 and 8 FPS is disappointing even for a mid-range phone / © NextPit

Overall, whether we refer to the $379 Samsung Galaxy A51 or the $280 that it is being sold for currently, the performance/price ratio is clearly not interesting enough to turn your head as you’ll find far more competitive models from its competition. Concerning this point, the Samsung Galaxy A51 is undoubtedly outdated in 2021.

Battery life: Super slow charging speed by today’s standards

The Samsung Galaxy A51 packs a 4,000 mAh battery that accepts 15-watts of wired “fast” charging.

What I liked:

• –

What I disliked:

• Average battery life
• Fast charging is too slow

A 4,000 mAh battery capacity is considered to be rather low these days, especially for a mid-range smartphone.

With typical usage and an average screen time of 6 hours per day, I was able to last for slightly more than 12 hours before seeing the battery life fall below the 20% mark. My best ‘score’ was 14h 22m when I went out for a photo shoot over the weekend and my screen time was slightly more limited (4h 30m).

On the other hand, the charging time was unbearably long. I know iPhone users won’t understand why I’m making such a big fuss out of this since they’re used to 20-watt charging. But I think Samsung is seriously lagging behind in this regard, even with 25-watt in its flagships.

Apart from the performance, this is where the real problem lies. If it takes more than 1h 30m to fully charge a mid-range smartphone in 2020, this is no longer the case in 2021.

The Samsung Galaxy A51 offers an average battery life and nothing else. Far faster and better charging capabilities can be found for the same price on 2021 models. But the real problem is its ‘fast charging’, which is not fast at all.

Technical specifications

Samsung Galaxy A51

Technical data

Components
Specifications

Processor

• Exynos 9611
• Octa-core up to 2.3 GHz
• 10nm
• Mali G-72 GPU

Memory

• 4/64 GB; 4/128 GB
• 6/128 GB
• 8/128 GB; 8/256 GB
• UFS 2.0

Expandable storage?
Yes

Screen

• 6.5-inch AMOLED
• Full HD+ 1080 x 2400
• 60 Hz refresh rate
• 630 nits max brightness (410 average)

Camera module

• 48 MP main lens: f/2.0 aperture, 1/2.0″ sensor size, PDAF
• Ultra wide-angle 12 MP: f/2.2 aperture, 123° FOV
• Macro 5 MP: f/2.4 aperture
• Depth 5 MP: f/2.2 aperture
• 32 MP selfie: f/2.2 aperture, 1/2.8″ sensor size

Video

• 4k at 30 FPS
• 1080p at 30 FPS

Battery

• 4000 mAh
• 15W fast charge

OS
OneUI 3 based on Android 11 (released with Android 10 by default)

Audio

3.5 mm jack

Connectivity
Wi-Fi 6 / Bluetooth 5.0 / LTE / NFC

IP certification
None

Dimensions & Weight

• 158.5 x 73.6 x 7.9 mm
• 172 g

Colors
Prism Crush Black, Prism Crush White, Prism Crush Blue, Prism Crush Pink

Price
$280 as of July 2021

Conclusion

Personally, I don’t think the Samsung Galaxy A51 remains a good choice to pick up in 2021.

The smartphone is still competitive in some aspects including the screen quality and the decent performance of its 48 MP quad-camera module.

Samsung’s 4-year software support makes the Galaxy A51 more durable than almost all of its competitors released this year at the same price.

But based on its launch price of $379, I’d rather pick up a Redmi Note 10 Pro with its 120Hz AMOLED display, 108MP main camera module, and 5,020mAh battery that offers 33W fast charging, all for $299 for the 6 GB RAM/128 GB configuration.

Even if we were to take the current price around $270, I would rather choose a Realme 8 Pro with a 60 Hz AMOLED display, a quad-camera module with a 108 MP primary sensor, and its 4,500 mAh battery that supports 50W fast charging for just $279 for the 8 GB RAM/128 GB version.

All the more important, I could not locate the Samsung Galaxy A51 as a new device from “official” e-tailers. For a Marketplace purchase, I find the price/performance ratio to be an uninteresting affair. Hence, I won’t advise you to pick up the Samsung Galaxy A51 in 2021.