It is the latest of the Samsung Galaxy M series, a mid-range Smartphone line known for it's big screens and massive battery capacity.
The M51 officially takes offer from the M31s released August as the flag bearer of the Galaxy M series, but not only takes the spec list a step further but brings in new exciting features as well.
With a 6.7 inch Full HD+ display and a massive 7,000 mAh battery as well as the Snapdragon 730G Chipset, the Galaxy M51 will greatly change the mid-range Smartphone segment and this gives Samsung a better chance to compete with other game changers including Xiaomi, realme and OnePlus all with a strong resolve to bring flagship specs within an affordable price.
Why Buy the Galaxy M51.
- The Galaxy M51 comes with a massive 7,000 mAh battery, the only Smartphone so far with such an amount of battery capacity.
- Nice big display made of a 6.7 Full HD resolution with Gorilla Glass 3 protection.
- Quad rear Cameras with a primary 64MP lens that has an impressive performance.
- The Snapdragon 730G is a very capable processor and paired with the 6 or 8GB RAM makes this phone a power machine.
Samsung Galaxy M51 price And Competition.
The Galaxy M51 comes in two variants, a 6GB and 8 GB RAM, both having an internal storage of 128 GB with an option for an external SD card. It is already available in a number of retail stores with a price tag of between Ksh. 40,999 and Ksh. 44,999 depending on the amount of RAM and the place you're buying from.
Jumia Kenya is currently selling the 8GB/128GB one for Ksh. 44,000 and is also available in other online stores including phoneplace.
Considering it's price and spec list, the Galaxy M51 faces a lot of competition from the likes of Vivo V20, OnePlus Nord, realme X2 among others. However it's strongest competitor is the Xiaomi Mi Note 10 currently retailing at a price between Ksh. 44,999 and Ksh. 47,999. Both have a number of similar specs including the same display quality and processor but while the Mi note 10 has a higher resolution 108 MP camera the M51 has a bigger battery.
Key Specs.
- Released: September 2020.
- Network technology: GSM, HSPA, LTE
- Sim Type: Dual.
- Build: Glass front (Gorilla Glass 3), Plastic back, plastic frame.
- Display type: Super AMOLED.
- Screen Size: 6.7 inch, 86.7% Screen-to-body ratio.
- Resolution: 1080 x 2400 pixels.
- Pixel density: 393 ppi.
- Aspect ratio: 20:9
- Protection: Corning Gorilla Glass 3.
- OS: Android 10; One UI 2.5
- Chipset: Qualcomm Snapdragon 730G (8nm).
- CPU: Octa-core
- GPU:
- RAM: 6/8 GB.
- Internal Storage: 128 GB
- SD card: Yes
- Rear Cameras: Quad, 64 MP + 12 MP + 5 MP + 5 MP.
- Video: 4K@30fps, 1080p@30fps (gyro-EIS).
- Front Camera: Single 32 MP, f/2.0, 26 mm.
- Video: 4k@30, 1080p@30fps.
- WLAN: Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/6, Dual-band, Wi-Fi Direct, hotspot.
- Bluetooth: 5.0, A2DP, LE.
- USB: USB type-C 2.0 reversible connector, USB On-The-Go.
- Battery: Non removable Li-po 7,000 mAh with fast charge 25 W and reverse charge support.
- NFC. Yes.
- 3.5mm port: Yes.
- Fingerprint Sensor: Side mounted.
- Other sensors: Proximity, Accelerometer, Gyro, Compass.
- Colors: Celestial Black, Electric Blue.
The Galaxy M51 Design.
Just like other Samsung Galaxy M series, the M51 is quite a huge piece of hardware measuring 163.9 x 76.3 x 9.5. It's quite a huge and bulky phone. It is taller than most phones including the Galaxy S20FE which is 159.8 inches tall. It's weight of 213 g adds to the bulgines, and if you're a single handed Smartphone fan, then obviously this is not a phone for you.
The extra weight and thickness is largely attributed to it's battery which is quite huge as per any standards.
The phone is made of a Glass front, a plastic back and plastic frame. The back looks quite simple and somewhat boring, and the poor finish makes the phone look really plastic. Even Infinix can do a better job with their back finish than what Samsung gave us in this device. While we can't quantify if this is a justifiable compromise for it's price reduction, you will definitely need a casing in order to avoid scratches and fingerprint smudges.
It's closest rival the Xiaomi Mi Note 10 has a glass body with a metallic frame with a Corning Gorilla Glass protection. This is one of the few advantages it has over the Galaxy M51.
At the back are the Quad cameras and it's LED flashes neatly arranged in an almost square black rectangle. There is no camera pumb and it would have been really great if the overall body finish hade been made to complement it.
Below the camera is a Samsung logo that is placed vertically and the edges are slightly curved to improve it's grip when held with one hand.
At the front is a 6.67 inch display, quite big as per Samsung standards. It's punch hole is placed at the centre and while many buyers would have loved if it had been placed at the top left others won't mind about it.
The bezels are not that quite slim though not thick either. But knowing that Samsung could have done a much better job, we can't help but feel a little dissapointed.
Samsung are always fond of single Sim and dual hybrid phones but this time they gave us a dual standby Sim phone. This could have been as a result of market demands and we hope they maintain this in future.
At the bottom is a speaker grill, a USB-C port and a 3.5 mm jack. The volume rockers are placed at the right hand side and below them is a power button that has an embedded fingerprint scanner. This is become much of a trend nowadays but we would have preferred an in-display fingerprint instead.
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Display.
The M51 has a 6.7 inch Super AMOLED display with HDR10 and a 60 HZ refresh rate. It is bigger than that of it's predecessor the M31s by just 0.2 inches, but with the same Full HD + resolution of 1080 x 2400 pixels. with an aspect ratio of 20:9 and a pixel density of 393 ppi.
This quite an impressive display and you will have a good viewing experience. Once you get used to it, I don't think you will ever think of the likes of Infinix Note 7 or Those cheap phones that have a 720 p resolution and a pixel density of as low as 250 ppi.
Be it online streaming, gaming or any other task that will glue you to this phone, you will get a good experience that's worth your money. It's 420 nits maximum brightness also makes it's screen also visible outdoors and won't need to strain to check a notification or who's calling when out at the sun.
Software.
For a long time Samsung have been using their in-house Exynos chipsets, especially with their M phones, something that many have complained about, due to it's heating when under heavy use. They have finally heard the call, and this time they went for the Qualcomm Snapdragon 730G processor, a 8nm fabricated Chipset that is optimized for gaming.
It's Octa-core (2 x 2.2 GHz Kryo 470 Gold & 6 x 1.8 GHz Kryo 470 Silver) CPU backed by 6 or 8 GB RAM are a great recipe for heavy gaming and multitasking.
The same processor is the one powering the likes of Xiaomi Mi Note 10, and the only two issues we have with it are the slightly higher battery drain, and the struggle it always has when processing photos. Otherwise it is a worthy upgrade from the Exynos 9611 in the M31s.
The Phone is available in two variants, a 6 GB RAM or 8 GB RAM both having 128 GB internal storage. You can expand the storage all the way upto 1 TB via an SD card.
Being a 2020 phone, it ships with Android 10 atop The One UI 2.5 skin. The One UI slightly affects the user experience with some ad pop ups, but we can't compare it with the likes of Infinix XOS or Tecno's HIOS with come with disgusting bloatware and ads.
Apart from that, the UI 2.5 is quite a good UI, and apart from one or two bloatware it receivers timely software updates, and has a number of interesting features you can try out and see which suits your personality or situation.
Cameras.
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| Image courtesy |
At it's price tag we don't expect the luxury of 8K videos, but the 4K resolution is quite good, if you have a matching screen to enjoy such high resolution videos.
In front is a single 32 MP wide selfie camera that can also take videos of 4K resolution.
Conclusion.
Samsung is a brand that has proofed itself over and over and it's phones are quite good in terms of performance and with good looks that are usually hard to come by.
Though at first it did struggle with mid-range and budget Smartphones, it is finally back on track thanks to the A series and M series Smartphones.
The M51 is a good phone that justifies it's price, and if you don't mind the rather old back look that looks plastic, then you will love playing around with this device.
Feel free to share your thoughts and experience about this phone on the comments section below.
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