Samsung Galaxy A51 5G review

OneUI 2.1 and Android 10

The Galaxy A51 5G runs the latest iteration of Samsung's OneUI over Android 10. It's got the June 1 security patch too, so it's about as up-to-date in terms of its software as possible. OneUI itself is pretty consistent between models too so on the A51 5G you'd be getting the same experience as on the S20.

A few recent industry-wide UI additions can be seen on the A51 5G as well. Android 10's system-level dark mode that triggers the dark themes of supported apps (by now, seemingly all of them except Google Maps) is present, and you can't have it on all the time or follow a schedule. Gesture navigation is available in two different flavors, in addition to the good old three-button nav bar that comes pre-set.

System-wide dark mode • Gesture navigation

Biometric security on the A51 5G comes in two shapes - fingerprint authentication and facial recognition. The optical fingerprint reader recognizes prints reliably, but remains slightly slower than competing phones, for one reason or another. Face recognition is based solely on the front-facing camera and is then less secure, but it remains convenient nonetheless.

Biometrics

The basics of the UI are the same as on any other Samsung rocking One UI 2 and up, which in turn isn't all that different from the original OneUI.

Lockscreen • Homescreen • Folder view • App drawer • Notification shade • Quick toggles

Multi-window multitasking is doable, but not ideal ever since Google reimagined the task switcher in Android Pie. You have to call up the recent tasks, tap on the app icon and then pick an option from the context menu.

Task switcher • Multi window

'Edge panels' is an integral part of Samsung's UI and can be found on all models now, not just the flagships. It gives you quick access to apps, actions, tools, etc. with a single swipe from the side. You can choose which side the handle is located on, as well as adjust its position along the edge of the phone. In the Edge screen sub-menu, you will also find Edge lighting - a feature that can light up the outline of the UI in an ever-growing selection of glow types to gently alert you of any new notifications.

Edge screen

Some small changes in software include the addition of Google Duo to the Phone app, letting you initiate video calls straight from the dialler. Quick Share is Samsung's latest name for the company's sharing solution based around Bluetooth for device discovery and Wi-Fi direct for actual data transfer that works with Samsungs only. Music Share isn't available on the A51 5G, however.

Samsung still bundles its own Gallery app that has a chronological and an Album view, as well as Story-making capabilities and Samsung Cloud integration. An FM radio app can be found, too, and it supports RDS and sound recording. The My Files custom file manager supports Google Drive and OneDrive integration in addition to Samsung Cloud.

Google Duo baked in • Quick Share • Gallery • FM Radio • File Manager

Synthetic benchmarks

The Galaxy A51 5G is powered by the Exynos 980 chip - an in-house-developed midrange SoC with a built-in 5G modem, manufactured on an 8nm process. The CPU has a 2+6 core configuration with 2 powerful Cortex-A77 cores clocked at up to 2.2GHz and 6 Cortex-A55 units running as high as 1.8GHz. Qualcomm's competitor in the segment, the Snapdragon 765G relies on a slightly different setup - 1x2.4GHz + 1x2.2GHz + 6x1.8GHz with the first two being Cortex-A76 derivatives, the other six - Cortex-A55. The GPU in the Exynos 980 is a Mali-G76 MP5.

The Galaxy A51 5G is available in two memory configurations - with either 6GB (our review unit) or 8GB of LPDDR4X RAM. Storage is 128GB on both versions, and it's UFS 2.1, as opposed to the non-5G A51's UFS 2.0.

The Galaxy A51 5G shows an advantage over the Snapdragon 765 bunch under single-core CPU loads in GeekBench. With multi-core loads, the two platforms' performance is better matched. Last year's Snapdragon 855+, represented here by the Realme X3 SuperZoom is a noticeable step up, but it missing 5G.

GeekBench 5.1 (multi-core)

Higher is better

• vivo iQOO 3 5G
  3402
• Realme X3 SuperZoom
  2579
• LG Velvet
  1905
• Samsung Galaxy A51 5G
  1867
• Motorola Edge
  1862
• Oppo Reno3 Pro 5G
  1815
• Realme X2
  1750
• Samsung Galaxy A71
  1733
• Xiaomi Mi Note 10 Lite
  1694
• Xiaomi Redmi K30
  1692
• Samsung Galaxy A51
  1294

GeekBench 5.1 (single-core)

Higher is better

• vivo iQOO 3 5G
  928
• Realme X3 SuperZoom
  756
• Samsung Galaxy A51 5G
  677
• Oppo Reno3 Pro 5G
  609
• Motorola Edge
  586
• LG Velvet
  586
• Xiaomi Redmi K30
  548
• Realme X2
  545
• Samsung Galaxy A71
  542
• Xiaomi Mi Note 10 Lite
  521
• Samsung Galaxy A51
  347

The Galaxy A51 5G then edges ahead of the Edge, Reno3 Pro 5G, and the Velvet in Antutu as well - largely inconsequential, but a win is a win.

AnTuTu 8

Higher is better

• vivo iQOO 3 5G
  575601
• Realme X3 SuperZoom
  477905
• Realme X2 Pro
  467653
• Samsung Galaxy A51 5G
  316007
• Oppo Reno3 Pro 5G
  308231
• Motorola Edge
  305989
• LG Velvet
  297372
• Xiaomi Redmi K30
  272229
• Samsung Galaxy A71
  263396
• Realme X2
  257443
• Xiaomi Mi Note 10 Lite
  253271
• Samsung Galaxy A51
  175363

In the graphics department, the Galaxy surrenders the lead, with the Snapdragon 765G trio matching its performance or inching ahead. The Reno3 Pro 5G even has a more tangible lead in a few of the individual tests in both GFXBench and 3DMark.

GFX 3.1 Manhattan (1080p offscreen)

Higher is better

• vivo iQOO 3 5G
  86
• Realme X2 Pro
  78
• Realme X3 SuperZoom
  65
• Oppo Reno3 Pro 5G
  38
• Motorola Edge
  34
• LG Velvet
  33
• Samsung Galaxy A51 5G
  32
• Samsung Galaxy A71
  30
• Xiaomi Redmi K30
  30
• Xiaomi Mi Note 10 Lite
  30
• Realme X2
  29
• Samsung Galaxy A51
  10

GFX 3.1 Manhattan (onscreen)

Higher is better

• vivo iQOO 3 5G
  61
• Realme X2 Pro
  57
• Realme X3 SuperZoom
  56
• Motorola Edge
  32
• Oppo Reno3 Pro 5G
  32
• LG Velvet
  29
• Samsung Galaxy A51 5G
  28
• Samsung Galaxy A71
  27
• Xiaomi Redmi K30
  27
• Xiaomi Mi Note 10 Lite
  26
• Realme X2
  24
• Samsung Galaxy A51
  8.9

GFX 3.1 Car scene (1080p offscreen)

Higher is better

• vivo iQOO 3 5G
  51
• Realme X2 Pro
  47
• Realme X3 SuperZoom
  41
• Oppo Reno3 Pro 5G
  21
• Samsung Galaxy A51 5G
  20
• Motorola Edge
  19
• LG Velvet
  19
• Samsung Galaxy A71
  17
• Xiaomi Redmi K30
  17
• Xiaomi Mi Note 10 Lite
  17
• Realme X2
  16
• Samsung Galaxy A51
  6.6

GFX 3.1 Car scene (onscreen)

Higher is better

• vivo iQOO 3 5G
  42
• Realme X2 Pro
  37
• Realme X3 SuperZoom
  35
• Motorola Edge
  18
• Oppo Reno3 Pro 5G
  18
• Samsung Galaxy A51 5G
  17
• LG Velvet
  16
• Samsung Galaxy A71
  15
• Xiaomi Redmi K30
  15
• Xiaomi Mi Note 10 Lite
  15
• Realme X2
  13
• Samsung Galaxy A51
  5.6

Aztek Vulkan High (onscreen)

Higher is better

• vivo iQOO 3 5G
  28
• Realme X2 Pro
  25
• Realme X3 SuperZoom
  22
• Oppo Reno3 Pro 5G
  19
• Motorola Edge
  12
• LG Velvet
  11
• Samsung Galaxy A51 5G
  9.9
• Xiaomi Mi Note 10 Lite
  9.9
• Samsung Galaxy A71
  9.3
• Realme X2
  8.9
• Samsung Galaxy A51
  5.6

Aztek OpenGL ES 3.1 High (onscreen)

Higher is better

• vivo iQOO 3 5G
  29
• Realme X2 Pro
  26
• Realme X3 SuperZoom
  24
• Samsung Galaxy A51 5G
  12
• Motorola Edge
  12
• Oppo Reno3 Pro 5G
  12
• LG Velvet
  11
• Samsung Galaxy A71
  10
• Xiaomi Mi Note 10 Lite
  10
• Realme X2
  9.2
• Samsung Galaxy A51
  5.6

3DMark SSE OpenGL ES 3.1 1440p

Higher is better

• vivo iQOO 3 5G
  7261
• Realme X3 SuperZoom
  6120
• Realme X2 Pro
  4726
• Oppo Reno3 Pro 5G
  3214
• Motorola Edge
  3004
• LG Velvet
  2987
• Samsung Galaxy A51 5G
  2837
• Xiaomi Redmi K30
  2467
• Xiaomi Mi Note 10 Lite
  2467
• Samsung Galaxy A71
  2464
• Realme X2
  2402
• Samsung Galaxy A51
  1574

3DMark SSE Vulkan 1440p

Higher is better

• vivo iQOO 3 5G
  6675
• Realme X3 SuperZoom
  5364
• Realme X2 Pro
  5337
• Oppo Reno3 Pro 5G
  2995
• Motorola Edge
  2801
• Samsung Galaxy A51 5G
  2778
• LG Velvet
  2758
• Realme X2
  2263
• Samsung Galaxy A71
  2253
• Xiaomi Mi Note 10 Lite
  2248
• Xiaomi Redmi K30
  2244
• Samsung Galaxy A51
  1554

So in the end, Samsung's midrange 5G chip is more or less on the same level as Qualcomm's midrange 5G chip. The Galaxy A51 5G has somewhat of an advantage in single-core CPU tasks, trailing slightly in graphics applications, but neither difference is likely to be felt in real life. Similarly to the Snapdragon phones, the Galaxy maintains its composure under sustained load, doesn't heat up badly and doesn't throttle, which is always a good thing.