Samsung has stepped on the accelerator, which is evident by the number of smartphones it has launched recently. The latest Samsung smartphone to hit our markets is the Galaxy M51, and its main highlight has to be the massive 7,000mAh battery which is a first on a Samsung device. Along with this big battery, it has a Qualcomm Snapdragon 730G processor which is a powerful choice compared to what the Galaxy M-series has been offering so far. I got to spend some time with the Galaxy M51, and here are my first impressions of it.
Has Samsung gone overboard with the battery capacity? Will this phone be too bulky? These were my first thoughts as I unboxed the Galaxy M51. After pulling the smartphone out though, the second question was put to rest. The phone is thick but still within acceptable limits. Is it heavy? Well, it tips the scales at 213g which isn’t too much more than the Galaxy M31s, which weighs 203g. I also noticed that the weight is well distributed through the device which is a good thing.
Samsung has gone with a big 6.7-inch Infinity-O Super AMOLED display. This display has a 20:9 aspect ratio which makes it narrow and tall. I could grip the phone, but reaching the top of the display single-handedly wasn’t possible without shuffling the smartphone in the hand. The moment the AMOLED display fires up you will notice that the bezels are thin, which gives the impression of an all-display front. The selfie camera sits in a hole at the centre of the top of the screen. Samsung has opted for Corning Gorilla Glass 3 for the display, which should help prevent scratches.
The Galaxy M51 sports a big 6.7-inch Super AMOLED display
Just like the Galaxy M31s (Review), the Galaxy M51 also has a side-mounted fingerprint scanner. This is easy to reach while holding the smartphone in the hand, but I found the volume buttons to be positioned slightly too high for my liking. The SIM tray is on the left and has two Nano-SIM slots along with a dedicated microSD card slot.
Samsung has given the Galaxy M51 a “Glasstic” back panel. It’s glossy and striking to look at but also picks up fingerprints very easily. I could not find a case in the box, so I would recommend that you pick one up if you buy this phone. There’s a quad-camera setup in the upper left corner of the rear, which is marginally raised. This quad-camera setup consists of a 64-megapixel primary camera with an f/1.8 aperture, a 12-megapixel ultra-wide angle camera, a 5-megapixel depth sensor, and a 5-megapixel macro camera. This is identical to what we saw on the Galaxy M31s. For selfies, the Galaxy M51 has a 32-megapixel front camera. The Samsung camera app also has the Single Take feature that gives multiple output options after taking a shot.
The Glasstic back on the Galaxy M51 is glossy and picks up smudges easily
Samsung ships the Galaxy M51 with a 25W charger which should be relatively quick to top this mammoth battery off. The charger has a Type-C port and you get a Type-C to Type-C cable in the box. This cable can also be used to reverse-charge other Type-C devices using the Galaxy M51.
The Samsung Galaxy M51 is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 730G SoC which is a first for the Galaxy M series. The Motorola One Fusion+ (Review) and the Poco X2 (Review) are also powered by the same processor. Samsung offers the Galaxy M51 in two variants, one with 6GB of RAM and the other with 8GB of RAM, priced at Rs. 24,999 and Rs. 26,999 respectively. Storage remains the same at 128GB for both variants, and it is expandable by up to 512GB.
The Galaxy M51 runs Android 10 with Samsung’s customisations on top
On the software front, the Galaxy M51 runs Android 10 with Samsung’s custom OneUI Core 2.1 on top. It was running the August security patch, which is very recent. If you have used any recent Samsung smartphone, you will find yourself at home with the Galaxy M51. Even if you haven’t, you’ll find the UI to be very easy to use. There are quite a few preinstalled apps on the device such as Amazon Shopping, MX TakaTak, Chingari, Moj, Snapchat, Candy Crush Saga, and Daily Hunt.
The Galaxy M51 felt snappy in the short time I spent with it before writing my first impressions. I am looking forward to testing the cameras and seeing how long the big battery lasts with my usage. Stay tuned for the full review of the Galaxy M51 to see if this monster can be your friend.