There’s a new smartphone brand in town, and they’re coming in hot with amazingly priced smartphones! WIKO, a French brand that some might have heard of in the olden days, is making their way back into the Malaysian market, starting their affordable T-series.
We had the honour of reviewing Wiko’s newly launched smartphone, the Wiko T50. For its price point, it sounds pretty decent on paper: 64MP AI triple-rear cameras, 4000mAh battery with 40W fast charging, and 6.6” Edgeless Display.
But what is the performance like? After spending two weeks on the phone, here’s our full review of the budget phone.
Specifications
- Processor: MediaTek Helio G85 (12nm)
- Display: 6.6” IPS LCD
- Memory: 128GB ROM + 6GB RAM
- Rear Camera: 64MP + 8MP + 2 MP
- Front Camera: 16MP
- Battery: 4000mAh
- Connectivity: USB Type-C, side-mounted fingerprint
- Operating System: Android 11
What’s In the Box
- x1 WIKO T50
- x1 Charger
- x1 USB-C Cable
- x1 Silicon Cover
- x1 Screen Protector
- x1 User Manual
- x1 SIM ejector
Build & Design
In terms of looks, the WIKO T50 definitely lives up to its “Elegant French Aesthetics”. According to WIKO, the design taps into the rich heritage of the great masters of art such as Claude Monet, Leonardo da Vinci and Pablo Picasso. While I’m not an expert in fine arts, I can confidently say that the minimalistic look of the phone is certainly pleasing to the eye.
That said, you can’t really expect a sub-RM1000 phone to have anything other than a plastic back. The glossy finish is quite finger-print prone, again, as expected of a plastic casing, but the colour is bold and vibrant enough to overlook that.
Apart from the Aqua Green that we reviewed, the T50 also comes in Midnight Black in the Malaysian market.
Display
The front of the phone is furnished with a 6.6-inch FHD+ edgeless display. The IPS panel is not the best display we’ve ever seen, but for what it’s worth, it’s pretty decent.
The screen-to-body ratio is more than 94%, which is quite impressive and makes for a great viewing experience. The left and right bezels are only 1.05mm, while the top bezel measures 1.1mm with the selfie camera set on the screen. Despite only having a maximum refresh rate of 60Hz, the screen is smooth enough for everyday scrolling.
Interestingly, the WIKO T50 can display up to 16.7 million colours, and is a multi-touch display that can support up to 10 touch points. All in all, it’s great for daily activities like watching videos and scrolling through social media.
Performance & Battery
The WIKO T50 is powered by a Mediatek Helio G85 processor – which is, again, not the most powerful, but justified by its price point. It makes up for the lack of processing power with a good-sized RAM up to 6GB, with 128GB of internal storage.
We tested the phone out with both the heavy-duty Genshin Impact and the more casual Subway Surfers. The casual game performed well on the phone, with smooth swipes and barely any lag.
On the other hand, Genshin Impact’s graphics quality was rather, dare we say, impacted by the less than optimal graphics processor. The display looked choppy at parts when the graphics were turned on to the highest settings, and we experience some lag, which is not so much game-breaking than annoying.
As for the battery, the WIKO T50 comes packed with a 4000mAh battery that should last an entire day on normal usage in theory. In practice, though, it lasted us a good day and a half with regular social media browsing, some Youtube, a quick bout of gaming, and about 8 hours on standby through the night. This is mostly thanks (?) to the 60Hz display that uses up less juice.
The 40W Fast Charge also works well and is capable of charging up the phone from 0% to 60% in just 30 minutes.
Camera
The WIKO T50 sports a triple rear camera setup with a 64MP main camera, 8MO ultrawide camera, and a 2MP depth sensor.
The image quality is surprisingly good. There’s a decent amount of detail and well-balanced colour in daylight photos. Even the Night Mode performed much better than expected. That said, there is still some noise especially if you zoom in on the photos, but otherwise, the cameras are satisfactorily fo an amateur mobile photographer.
Conclusion
- Our rating: 7/10
- Pros: Sleek design, decent processors, and great camera
- Cons: Basic display
- Who is it for? The WIKO T50 is a simple, basic phone designed for students who are on a budget. It does everything a phone should do.
All in all, the WIKO T50 gets the job done, and then a little more. Its greatest feature, perhaps, is its price point – at RM899, it’s a very attractive option who those who just want a phone without all the bells and whistles.
It’s a great (re)debut for the brand, and we definitely look forward to more products from WIKO.
Buy: WIKO T50
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