Samsung Galaxy M51 review: More than just a battery champion!

“Did Samsung just put a phone on top of a power bank?” This was the first thought that crossed my mind when I saw Samsung Galaxy M51’s social media teaser glorifying its giant 7,000mAh battery. This definitely came as a pleasant surprise for someone like me whose daily driver has been Google’s Pixel 3 whose relatively puny 2,915 mAh battery that barely lasts a full day. But Samsung’s latest offering is not just about the battery. The South Korean electronics giant has managed to cram a host of other goodies such as a quad-camera setup led by a 64MP sensor, a large AMOLED display for media consumption, and a capable Qualcomm chip to name a few. After using it for around a week, here’s my nitty-gritty for the Samsung Galaxy M51:

Design: Shiny and chonky

Samsung Galaxy M51

It is thinner than I expected

Packing a 7,000mAh battery inside a pocketable phone is no small feat, but Samsung has managed to accomplish that without making the phone unwieldy. Now, the Galaxy M51 is not a small phone by any means, measuring 163.9 x 76.3 x 9.5mm and tipping the scales at 213 grams. But, if you’ve used the Galaxy Note20 Ultra (164.8×77.2×8.1mm,  208g), you’ll feel right at home. Here’s a size comparison of how the Galaxy M51 measures against the OnePlus 8 and Realme 7 to give you an idea of what you’re dealing with here: 

Samsung Galaxy M51
OnePlus 8 vs Samsung Galaxy M51 vs Realme 7

The Samsung Galaxy M51 is not dramatically taller than your average smartphone out there, but you’ll definitely find it thicker than most, and a tad heavier too. Needless to say, you’ll feel it in your jeans pocket. However, the Samsung Galaxy M51 is not unwieldy by any means, and I got used to its size and heft within a couple of days. Plus, the subtle curves offer a comfortable in-hand feel.

Talking about aesthetics, this is one glossy phone. The luster atop the blue paintjob on its rear panel gives the Samsung offering an identity of its own, but it is nowhere as eye-catching as the soft gradient textures or the signature finish of glass. However, the rear panel is a dirt magnet and gets smudged in no time. I found myself obsessively cleaning it every time I happened to gaze upon the rear panel.

Keep a handkerchief handy though!

The rear panel is made out of what Samsung calls “Glasstic” (a composite of glass and plastic), while the surrounding frame is made out of polycarbonate. I did not notice any flex across the rear panel and was impressed with the Samsung Galaxy M51’s build quality. My only grumble is that the rear panel gets scuffed really fast, which is something a layer of glass can easily evade. Here’s how the edges of my review unit look after a few weeks of usage: 

Samsung Galaxy M51
Scuff marks visible around the corners after merely a few weeks of usage.

Display is Samsung Galaxy M51’s hidden ace

Samsung has equipped the Galaxy M51 with a 6.7-inch Super AMOLED Plus display that offers a 21:9 aspect ratio. Now compared to a traditional Super AMOLED panel (RBGB array, 2 sub-pixels), the Super AMOLED Plus panel has a 3 sub-pixel (RGB RGB) arrangement that is claimed to offer a sharper image output. Also, Super AMOLED Plus panels are said to be brighter and more energy-efficient compared to their non-plus counterparts

Samsung Galaxy M51

Now, Samsung’s AMOLED panels have simply been among the best out there, and the one on Galaxy M51 is no exception. The colors are vibrant, sharpness is adequate, viewing angles are good, and the contrast is eye-pleasing as well. I was also pleased by the sunlight legibility, and had no issues reading a few articles on the phone while having my morning coffee on the balcony or during the afternoon strolls. The screen has a slightly warmer tone by default, but you can adjust it to your liking. 

A beautiful display tailor-made for multimedia consumption

Reaching for content in the upper of the half screen can be a stretch while using the device with one hand, but the immersive multimedia experience more than makes up for it. I played my fair share of Genshin Impact on the Samsung Galaxy M51, and loved the fact that the on-screen controls are not cramped. I also binged a full season of Transformers Prime on the Samsung Galaxy M51, because who doesn’t like humanoid robots duking it out in space? 

Samsung Galaxy M51

The bezels are uniform on all sides except the chin, which is also not too thick either. The centrally-aligned hole-punch looks somewhat odd if you’ve gotten used to the notch, but it is actually a better implementation and gives the device a more modern feel. And in case you are wondering, yes, you can watch hi-res content on streaming services such as Netflix and Amazon’s Prime Video.  

No high refresh rate display

However, one aspect that I truly missed – and something that the spec-savvy young smartphone users will complain about – is the lack of a high refresh rate display. I miss the fluidity of a 90Hz panel after using it on phones that cost much less,  but that’s a pet peeve. 

If you are yet to experience a 90Hz panel on a personal device, you won’t find it to be a huge red flag because the Samsung Galaxy M51’s display offers a great experience. But for buyers who have already tasted the smoothness of a high refresh rate panel and can’t live without it, they can look elsewhere. 

Performance

Samsung Galaxy M51

Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 730G SoC is at the heart of the Samsung Galaxy M51, ticking alongside 6/8 GB of RAM and 128GB of onboard storage. There is a dedicated microSD slot for storage expansion (up to 512GB), which is a neat touch. In my daily usage, I didn’t find myself missing out on raw firepower, as the phone handled everything from heavy multitasking to gaming with ease. 

Not the best chip for its asking price

Of course, if you go by the value proposition, the Qualcomm Snapdragon 730G is not the best processor in this price bracket, as you can get phones powered by the 5G-ready Snapdragon 765G SoC in the market right now. Benchmark scores reflect the same story – that of an underpowered processor – talking purely from a value perspective, that is

I noticed that games took a tad longer to load. And if you play something like Call of Duty: Mobile at peak graphics presets, a few stutters happen, especially during intensive combat scenes. But if you don’t care much about benchmark figures and want a device that is snappy, the Samsung Galaxy M51 will serve you just fine

Samsung Galaxy M51

The single bottom-firing speaker is decent. The audio output is clear and even at peak volume, you won’t notice any vocal tearing or shrillness. However, the soundstage is not too wide, and the instrumental background elements sound a tad suppressed. But for watching a few YouTube videos or social media clips, the speaker is sufficiently loud and clear. If you want to get a better audio output, try plugging in your headphones to enjoy the perks of Dolby Atmos (only with headphones), which does create a noticeable difference.

Call quality was great and there was no audio tearing or degradation for the person listening to my voice on the other end. Cellular network reception was good, and the Samsung Galaxy M51 quickly latched on to the Wi-Fi network as well without exhibiting any signs of abrupt drops. Also, I used my true wireless earbuds all day long and didn’t come across any intermittent pairing issues or signal loss. 

Software side of Samsung Galaxy M51

Samsung Galaxy M51

On the software side, the Galaxy M51 runs One UI Core v2.1 based on Android 10. Our review unit was running on top of the August Android security patch at the time of publishing this article. The device comes pre-installed with its own share of first-party and third-party apps that send a lot of notifications, but thankfully, the latter can be uninstalled.

One UI Core 2.1 looks clean, but there is still a ton of bloatware

Samsung’s own apps such as the Galaxy Store also show their fair share of ads, but you can disable them as well. I found my way around by putting some of the in-house apps such as Galaxy Themes, My Galaxy and Samsung Daily to sleep. (You can do this by going to Settings > Device Care > Battery > App Power Management > Deep sleeping apps). 

Samsung Galaxy M51

However, I quite like the clean look of One UI and the accessibility-centric changes Samsung has added to it. It is especially easy on the eyes with dark mode enabled. The Quick Share feature for transferring files to multiple recipients at once is convenient, and live caption is another tool that comes in handy.

Promising software, uncertain update cycle

My only worry is the update scenario. Samsung is yet to reveal its Android 11 plans for the Galaxy M51, and the monthly security update cycle is not too punctual either. And if the past track record of software updates for non-flagship Samsung phones is anything to go by, don’t hold your breath for a major upgrade after Android 11.

Cameras – The good, bad, and ugly

Samsung Galaxy M51

Let’s talk about cameras now. The Galaxy M51 comes equipped with a 64MP (F/1.8) primary camera that relies on tetracell (4-in-1) pixel binning to deliver 16MP photos by default. It sits alongside a 12MP (f/2.2) wide-angle camera, a 5MP (f/2.4) macro camera and a 5MP (f/2.4) depth sensor. For selfies and video calls, you get a 32MP (f/2.2) front camera. There is no OIS (Optical Image Stabilization) for negating hand-movements, which is kind of a bummer. Another disappointment that the phone can only record videos at 30fps, both at 1080p and 4K resolutions

Capable imaging hardware held back by bad software

Talking about raw image quality, the main camera captures detailed photos with good control over dynamic range and colors look punchy. The colors are not neutral though, and in typical Samsung fashion, they turn out slightly oversaturated that ends up looking more pleasing to the eyes. The exposure adjustment proved to be finicky at times, especially under broad daylight.

Samsung Galaxy M51 camera sample
Samsung Galaxy M51 camera sample

There is also an option to click photos at full 64MP resolution. Compared to the regular 16MP pictures, the 64MP shots offer more details when you zoom in, but they have a slightly warmer tone and misfire when it comes to shadows. The Galaxy M51 also captures acceptable portrait shots. Edge-detection is a hit or miss, but the depth effect is satisfactory with a natural bokeh look to it. 

Low-light performance needs some work

But in low-light, the camera often employs aggressive denoising, which ends up softening the surface textures. The dedicated night mode does a commendable job at bringing out the colors, but it works best for close-range shots. For long-range shots, the images have a lot of grainy texture. If there is some source of artificial light, the night mode shots occasionally turn out good, but I’ve seen lower-priced phones perform better in low-light scenarios.

Low-light image captured with regular mode
Low-light image captured with night mode

Samsung could have achieved better results by using a more effective image stacking process that combines more frames clicked at different exposure levels. Yes, in doing so, it will take a few more seconds to click a low-light photo in Night Mode, but the results would be much better. On inspecting the EXIF data, I also noticed that keeping the camera shutter open for a little longer might also have helped the cause. (For low-light shots, the shutter speed is 1/10 sec in normal mode and barely higher at 1/8 sec in the dedicated night mode). 

The 12MP wide-angle camera does its job well. It captures images at a slightly higher ISO value by default. The wide-angle shots are slightly warmer, but they retain a healthy amount of detail and offer a satisfactory dynamic range. I compared the images clicked by the primary and wide-angle sensors in multiple lighting scenarios, but the difference in color tonality persists and is easily noticeable. Some aggressive sharpening is also noticeable in the wide-angle shots, but the results are overall pleasing and worth sharing on social media. 

Image capture by the primary camera
Image captured by the wide-angle camera

There's a 'pink' problem with selfies

The pixel-binned 8MP photos clicked by the selfie camera are just above average.
A peculiar thing that I noticed is that quite often, the front camera often made my skin look a little too pink and smoothened the finer details such as blemishes even without any AI beautification enabled. However, it mostly happened in challenging lighting conditions and indoors. Under natural light, selfies turned out fine and had an ample amount of detail.

Full-resolution 32MP selfies solve the ‘pink problem’ to a large extent and preserve more details, but some smoothing is still visible. Interestingly, the 32MP shots are clicked with a wider field of view, but I still prefer them due to superior sharpness, slightly better skin tone reproduction, and better depth. 

The ‘pink problem’ on full display in this selfie clicked early in the morning.
Daylight selfie sample.

The live focus feature works well for selfies. However, if you increase the bokeh strength beyond the halfway mark, the edges of the subject start getting blurred. It is not perfect (especially if you have wavy hairs), but Samsung’s implementation is better than most other phones I’ve tested in this price bracket.

Live Focus selfie samples occasionally faltered with the blur effect around the hairs.

Close-up shots clicked by the macro camera are good, but you have to hold the phone really still as the focus lock is quite finicky. Macro shots retain a healthy amount of surface detail and offer punchy colors. However, a minor annoyance is that you can not switch to the macro camera the way you can toggle between the primary and wide-angle lenses.

Instead, you have to swipe through the on-screen controls to access the dedicated macro photography mode. Samsung could have fitted the Galaxy M51 with a telephoto camera instead of a macro camera, as the former is way more useful in my opinion. 

Unparalleled battery life

Samsung Galaxy M51

Battery life is Samsung Galaxy M51’s forte, thanks to a ginormous 7,000mAh battery under the hood. With regular usage, I was able to clock almost three days worth of usage on a single charge. And even with intensive usage that involved at least two hours of playing graphics-intensive games, I made it past two days without reaching for the power brick. Those figures are simply unparalleled.

You can easily binge watch a full season of your favorite TV show without charging it.

Samsung also bundles a 25W adapter inside the retail package. It takes around 25 minutes to go from 0 to 30 percent, and fills up to the halfway mark in nearly 45 minutes. Charging it fully takes almost two hours, which is not too bad. The phone misses out on support for wireless charging, but it can be used to reverse charge another phone or accessory such as TWS earbuds – a thoughtful convenience nonetheless.

Samsung Galaxy M51 review: Final words

Let’s put it in straight words. The Samsung Galaxy M51 should be on your radar if you are looking for a phone that lasts long. Really long. And if that’s the case, the 7,000mAh battery inside the Samsung offering won’t disappoint you. Plus, the device doesn’t look half-bad either. But there is more to the device than just a beefy battery. 

The Galaxy M51 has a beautiful Super AMOLED display that is a treat for multimedia consumption and gaming. It also has a versatile set of cameras with a tonne of features to play with. Yes, there is room for improvement, but they can hold their own against the competition. The Snapdragon 730G is quite a capable processor and won’t leave you wanting for more, unless you want to play the most demanding games out there at peak graphics settings and also desire some future-proofing as well.

Yes, there are devices such as the Poco X3, Realme 7 Pro and the Vivo V20 that far outweigh the Galaxy M51 in terms of hardware as well as looks. However, the most obvious alternative to the Galaxy M51 is the excellent OnePlus Nord, which goes squarely against the Samsung offering and appears a better deal on paper, both in terms of hardware as well as software.

Overall, the competition will offer a much higher value-for-money quotient than the Samsung offering. But the Galaxy M51 is targeted at a section of buyers that seeks a reliable phone which can free them from the worries of “low battery” warnings. And for that segment, the Galaxy M51 is just about the best option. 

    Samsung Galaxy M51
    Samsung Galaxy M51 is an interesting mid-ranger that comes equipped with a huge 7,000mAh battery that can last up to three days of moderate usage. It packs a large sAMOLED display that is great for media consumption and draws from the fairly capable Snapdragon 730G SoC. The 64MP quad camera setup is versatile and produces decent results, but it is not best in this price bracket. On-paper the Galaxy M51 is not the best value for money, and is easily overshadowed by rivals from Xiaomi and fellow Chinese smartphone brands.

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Samsung Galaxy M51 first impressions: Big, Bold and Battery-licious

It goes without saying that smartphone users have a ‘type’. Some fall in the power user category, a few classify as fans of new technology, and then there are folks who rely on their trusty phone for media consumption. Samsung’s latest phone -the Galaxy M51 – targets the latter. So, what exactly a smartphone aimed at this audience – one that watches a lot of videos and plays games – should offer? For starters, it needs to have a large display that can produce vivid colors, decently powerful silicon, and a large battery to last those binge-watching sessions. The Galaxy M51 offers all that, and them some more. 

I’ve been playing around with Samsung’s latest offering for a while now, and so far, my impressions have been positive. Display has been a strength of Samsung’s phones lately, and the Galaxy M51 is no exception. The 6.7-inch FHD+ Super AMOLED Plus display is sharp and produces pleasing colors. Even under daylight, I didn’t face any issues scrolling through my Twitter feed and answering a few emails. There’s a hole-punch drilled at the top in accordance with Samsung’s Infinity-O design language, and the bezels are also quite thin on all sides. 

The best part about the display? It is BIG. The large screen real estate complemented by the vibrant colors offer a pleasant experience while watching silly cat videos on YouTube or raising hell in the colorful world of Fortnite. Plus, the Dolby Atmos output with headphones just adds to the immersive experience. But being big also has its pitfalls, especially for someone like me making the switch from Google’s Pixel 3, a ‘small’ phone by today’s standards. You feel the sheer size as your thumbs struggle to reach the upper half of the screen, unless you have been blessed with large-ish hands

Moreover, the phone is heavy too! But not as heavy as its ginormous 7,000mAh battery would make you believe. You won’t pull a muscle using it, but one-handed usage for something like watching a full-length Bollywood movie surely won’t be a comfortable experience. The moment you hold the phone in your hand, you know what you’re getting into. If you’ve taught yourself on how to use a large phone, you’ll feel at home with the Galaxy M51, and that huge battery would serve as just another huge bonus.

Samsung sent us the Electric Blue shade of the device, but it also comes in a Celestial Black colorway as well. The rear panel is made of a material that Samsung calls ‘Glasstic’ – it is essentially plastic, but has a mirror-like glossy finish on top. And oh boy, it is really glossy. Fingerprints are hard to hide, and dust particles also love to settle on the rear panel.

Although it looks flashy in a good way, you’ll probably have to wipe it every now and then to make it look squeaky clean and worth flaunting. The build is sturdy, but we noticed some flex in the middle of the rear panel. The side-mounted fingerprint panel is comfortably within reach and felt quick at unlocking the device, but you’ll have to make in-hand adjustments to reach the volume up button. 

The Galaxy M51 relies on the Snapdragon 730G processor, and coupled with an ample 8GB of RAM, you likely won’t come across any stutters or lags during day to day usage. I sure didn’t, but we’ll soon put it through the paces and see how it fares during intensive gaming sessions and heavy multitasking. The camera setup appears quite capable, at least on paper. You get a 64MP main camera at the back, assisted by a 12MP ultra-wide angle shooter and a pair of 5MP snapers for taking macro and portrait shots. Selfies and video calls are handled by a 32MP camera that can also shoot 4K videos and supports fun AR emojis. 

 I haven’t had the opportunity to take the Galaxy M51 out for a camera test, but a few samples that I clicked came out well. The indoor selfie didn’t smoothen the skin and retained surface details, while colors looked accurate as well. A pixel-binned 16MP low-light shot from the rear camera also came out vibrant, but I did notice an issue with how shadows are handled.

Indoor selfie clicked using Galaxy M51’s 32MP front camera.

However, these are just preliminary impressions, and we’ll have to wait for a full fledged review to find out how good the phone’s imaging hardware truly is. The Galaxy M51 starts at Rs. 24,999 and goes against some well-received devices from its Chinese rivals such as Xiaomi and Realme. Stay tuned to Pocketnow as we comprehensively test the Galaxy M51 to find out its strengths and shortcomings, and decisively say whether it’s worth the asking price.

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Samsung Galaxy M51 with a huge 7000mAh battery goes official for Rs 24,999

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Samsung has announced another addition to its Galaxy M-series. The Galaxy M51 has been launched in India. The device features a 6.7-inch FHD+ Super AMOLED Plus Infinity O Display with a 20:9 aspect ratio. It comes with a contrast ratio of 78960:1, and a peak brightness of 420 Nits. Plus, there’s Widevine L1 certification for HD content streaming on Amazon Prime Video and Netflix. It is powered by the Snapdragon 730G SoC, paired with 6GB / 8GB of LPDDR4x RAM and 128 GB of internal storage. The latter is expandable up to 512GB.

In the optics department, the Galaxy M51 sports a quad rear camera setup of 64MP (Main) Sony IMX 682 + 12MP (UW) + 5MP (Depth) +5MP(Macro). The 12MP camera with an Ultra-wide lens comes with 123 deg field of view. Camera features include Single Take (Rear + Front), Auto Switch to wide-angle in front camera Night Hyperlapse, and My Filters. Further, it comes with UHD (4K) video recording, super slo-mo, hyperlapse, Ultrawide Vide, and Ultrawide Night Mode.

The Galaxy M51 packs a huge 7,000mAh battery that supports 25W fast charging. It also brings reverse charging to charge other devices. It features Dolby Atmos with headphones, and Gorilla Glass 3 for screen protection. It runs OneUI Core 2.1 based on Android 10. There is a side-mounted fingerprint scanner as well.

Galaxy M51

Samsung Galaxy M51 specifications

Galaxy M51
Display 6.7″ FHD+ Super AMOLED Plus Infinity O Display
20:9 aspect ratio, Contrast Ratio: 78960:1
Peak Brightness 420 Nits
Widevine L1 certification
SoC Snapdragon 730G
RAM 6GB / 8GB LPDDR4x
Storage 128GB, expandable memory up to 512GB
Cameras Rear: 64MP (Main)
12MP (UW) 123-degree FoV
5MP (Depth)
5MP(Macro)

Front: 32MP, f/2.2

– Single Take (Rear + Front)
– Auto Switch to wide angle in front camera
– Night Hyperlapse
– My Filters

Battery 7000mAh 25W fast charging
Reverse charging
OS Android 10with OneUI Core 2.1
Other Dolby Atmos
side fingerprint sensor
Dual SIM (nano + nano + microSD)

The Samsung Galaxy M51 6GB RAM + 128GB storage variant costs Rs 24,999. On the other hand, the 8GB + 128GB model is priced at Rs 26,999. The first sale starts on September 18, at 12 noon.

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Galaxy M51 is already up for pre-order on the Samsung Germany website

Ahead of official unveiling, the Galaxy M51 is already up for pre-order on Samsung Germany’s website. The handset is scheduled to launch in India soon. The official listing has revealed its major specifications.

The Samsung Galaxy M51 features a 6.7-inch Infinity-O Super AMOLED display. It is powered by an octa-core chipset. Samsung hasn’t revealed the name of the SoC, but it is expected to be the Snapdragon 730. The phone is available in lone 6GB RAM + 128GB storage option. Plus, there’s room for a microSD card slot to expand the storage up to 512GB.

In the optics department, the Galaxy M51 sports a quad rear camera setup: a 5MP f/2.4 depth camera + a 64MP f/1.8 main camera + a 12MP f/2.2 camera with a 123° field of view + a 5MP f/2.4 macro camera. Further, the phone packs a 7,000mAh battery that supports 25W fast charging. It runs Android 10 with OneUI Core on top.

The listing says that the device is available for pre-order for a price tag of €360.01 and the estimated shipping date at checkout is September 11.

Source: Samsung Germany

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Samsung Galaxy M51 renders and key specs leaked ahead of launch

Samsung’s upcoming mid-ranger, the Galaxy M51, has been making rounds lately after rumors surfaced that the phone will come equipped with a huge 7,000mAh battery. Now, detailed renders of the device as well as key specs have appeared online, revealing almost everything about the phone, including a rough idea about its asking price and a launch window.

As per the leaked renders, the Samsung Galaxy M51 will come in two colors (black and white) and there will be a side-mounted fingerprint sensor embedded in the power button. On the front, you’ll find a centrally-positioned hole-punch, in line with Samsung’s Infinity-O design language. Notably, the device will retain the 3.5mm headphone jack and will also feature a dedicated microSD card slot that will help expand the storage by up to another 512GB.

Talking about the specs, the Galaxy M51 will offer a 6.67-inch full-HD+ Super AMOLED display with 420 nits of peak brightness, and it will draw power from a huge 7,000mAh battery that supports 25W fast charging. There is a 64MP camera at the back, assisted by a 12MP wide-angle camera, a 5MP macro snapper, and a 5M depth sensor. There’s a 32MP selfie camera on the front, while Android 10 will run things on the software side.

The device is rumored to employ the Snapdragon 730 SoC, but there is some uncertainty regarding Samsung’s processor of choice for the Galaxy M51. As per a Business Insider report, the phone will priced between Rs. 25,000 – Rs. 30,000 (~ $340 – $400) and might be launched in the second week of September.

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