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Introduction
7Ah. That's the battery capacity of the Samsung Galaxy M51 we have for you today. Sure, you can call that 7,000mAh (thanks, SI), but at such large and nicely round capacities, we might as well go for the fewer symbols and extra shock value.
There's not much else overly exciting in this Galaxy's specsheet, but there's not a whole lot missing either. A Snapdragon 730G chipset should bring decent performance without putting much strain on the battery, the 6.7-inch SuperAMOLED display is big and inky, and the 64MP camera is a notch above the mainstream 48MP units.
What is missing is a high refresh rate on that display, and 90Hz panels are now very common in the M51's price range, with the odd 120Hz panel showing up too. A telephoto camera would have been nice too, though teles aren't exactly mainstream in this segment. Nowhere to be found on the M51 is 5G support either.
Samsung Galaxy M51 specs at a glance:
- Body: 163.9x76.3x9.5mm, 213g; Glass front (Gorilla Glass 3+), plastic back, plastic frame.
- Display: 6.70" Super AMOLED Plus , 1080x2400px resolution, 20:9 aspect ratio, 393ppi.
- Chipset: Qualcomm SDM730 Snapdragon 730G (8 nm): Octa-core (2x2.2 GHz Kryo 470 Gold & 6x1.8 GHz Kryo 470 Silver); Adreno 618.
- Memory: 128GB 6GB RAM, 128GB 8GB RAM; microSDXC (dedicated slot).
- OS/Software: Android 10, One UI 2.5.
- Rear camera: Wide (main): 64 MP, f/1.8, 26mm, 1/1.73", 0.8µm, PDAF; Ultra wide angle: 12 MP, f/2.2, 123˚; Macro: 5 MP, f/2.4; Depth: 5 MP, f/2.4.
- Front camera: 32 MP, f/2.0, 26mm (wide), 1/2.8", 0.8µm.
- Video capture: Rear camera: 4K@30fps, 1080p@30fps; Front camera: 4K@30fps, 1080p@30fps.
- Battery: 7000mAh; Fast charging 25W, 100% in 115 min (advertised), Reverse wired charging.
- Misc: Fingerprint reader (side-mounted); NFC; FM radio.
In fact, going over the above list, you may notice that the Galaxy M51 is not unlike the A71 as far as the numbers go - except, of course, the 7Ah number (the A71's battery stands at 4.5Ah). Another change is the relocation of the fingerprint sensor - the A71 has it underneath the display, the M51 gets a side-mounted solution.
The specs tell only half the story, though, and we'll be sure to see how they translate into real-world performance. But first, a look at the retail bundle.
Samsung Galaxy M51 unboxing
The Galaxy M51 arrives in a simple white cardboard box, but there is a glossy color print of the phone on top for a bit of extra pop.
Inside, Samsung's put in all of the important stuff - you get a charger, a USB-C cable, and a set of earbuds. The charger is the best they have right now, too - the 25W one that supports USB Power Delivery with PPS. What didn't make it in the box is some sort of protective case - we're more or less used to finding a basic transparent silicone one with phones in this segment.
Design
Unmistakably a Samsung, the Galaxy M51 is among the bigger ones. It has to be - with a 6.7-inch display and a battery capacity that makes it sound more like a power bank than a phone, being small and lightweight clearly wasn't on top of this Galaxy's priorities list.
Having said that, it's mostly a reasonably sized handset, as our current perceptions go. Measuring 163.9x76.3x9.5mm, it fits in the same footprint as that A71 we mentioned, and that's not a 'huge' phone per se. However, it is that third number that makes the M51 stand out - with a profile that's almost a full centimeter thick, this phone is thicker than most to have come out in 2020.
The rounded sides from the back do help to mitigate that to some degree, so the phone doesn't feel like a brick in your hand, but even then, it remains a chunky unit.
It's not light either, of course, though that's probably less tangible. Don't take this as if we're trying to downplay its 213 grams, but when an iPhone 12 Pro Max is 228g, and the Galaxy S20 Ultra stands at 222g, the M51 somehow doesn't strike us as any sort of an offender here, plus did we say it's got a 7Ah battery inside?
It's no secret how Samsung managed to fit so much lithium in the phone yet its heft isn't verging on insane - they used plastic where those two premium devices above have glass and metal. The Galaxy M51's rear panel is plastic and so is the midframe holding things together.
Once again, plastic is no bad thing when it comes to durability on a smartphone and its only downside, really, is that it doesn't feel particularly posh. But poshness was probably right next to compactness when the M51 was on the drawing board, and you take the good with the bad.
That's not to say the phone feels cheap, no. If anything, the weight and thickness give it a substantial and, by association, a high-quality feel. And a positive side effect of the 9.5mm waistline is that the camera cluster can now fit inside the phone's thickness, as opposed to sticking out a couple of millimeters.
Okay, that's only partially true - there's an ever so slightly raised surround around the camera window, but it's nothing like the protruding assemblies on those that have tiny, sub-7Ah batteries inside.
We mentioned the frame was plastic, but let's go over what's where on it. Starting off with the most important bit, the power button/side key/fingerprint reader is on the right.
Several things need to be said here. One, the M51's stature apparently doesn't allow for an under-display fingerprint sensor, even though the OLED display does - Ms don't get one, and that's that. Two, the button/sensor combo is placed high, well above the midpoint, and getting at it, particularly with a left index finger, requires a bit of a stretch. Three, as with all side-mounted fingerprint readers, this one is prone to registering input when you don't want it to - on the way into a pocket, or when you're just holding your hand in your pocket with the phone inside too.
There's a workaround for that last bit in software, where you can set the phone to require a press on the button, instead of just a tap. The position is also something you get used to over time. But why not use an under-display sensor in the first place?
Anyway, above the fingerprint reader is the volume rocker. That's even higher than usual, but we found little issue with its placement. It clicks nicely, too.
On the opposite side, there is the card slot. Triple-card trays have a special place in our proverbial heart. The M51 takes two nano SIMs and a microSD giving you all the versatility you may need.
Fingerprint reader and volume rocker on the right • Card slot on the left
There's nothing but a secondary mic on the top end of the frame, leaving all the other important bits on the bottom. There you find the USB-C port, the 3.5mm headphone jack, the speaker, and the primary mic.
Mic on top • Crowded bottom
Over on the front, you're getting that nice 6.7-inch Super AMOLED display surrounded by... 'sensible' bezels. We wouldn't call the black borders around the screen minimal, but they're not big either - let's say they're befitting both the times and the phone's market position.
The panel gets the Infinity-O branding, meaning there's a circular punch hole for the selfie camera, and this one is in the middle. We've seen smaller ones, on the Galaxy A51 5G, for example, but an M is an M. A sheet of Gorilla Glass 3+ protects the pixels from scratching.
Overall, the M51's design is pretty much like any recent Samsung, big or small, affordable or expensive. The material choices aren't premium, but the plastics used here look and feel good, plus the M51 makes no premium claims anyway. It's big and it's heavy, but not as big or heavy in use as you'd think by looking at the numbers in the specsheet. We certainly don't mind most of the trade-offs Samsung's serving us on this one.
Solid, if somewhat basic, 6.7-inch AMOLED display
The Galaxy M51 comes with a 6.7-inch SuperAMOLED Plus display. Its resolution is 1080x2400px in a 20:9 aspect ratio for a pixel density of 393ppi. It's missing a feature most midrangers have covered - a high refresh rate. The M51 has a conventional 60Hz panel.
It's not a bad panel, however. We measured a maximum brightness of 677nits in Adaptive mode under direct light and 373nits when operating the slider manually. The auto boost doesn't take it as high as flagships, but it's easily bright enough, while the manual maximum brightness is about on par with typical Samsung OLED behavior. The OnePlus Nord and the Reno4 Pro can indeed go brighter when the ambient light calls for it, but the Realme 7 Pro is capped a good 100nits lower.
| Display test | 100% brightness | ||
| Black, |
White, |
||
| 0 | 373 | ∞ | |
| 0 | 677 | ∞ | |
| 0 | 398 | ∞ | |
| 0 | 515 | ∞ | |
| 0 | 323 | ∞ | |
| 0 | 756 | ∞ | |
| 0.354 | 460 | 1299:1 | |
| 0.515 | 631 | 1225:1 | |
| 0 | 459 | ∞ | |
| 0 | 585 | ∞ | |
| 0.355 | 456 | 1285:1 | |
| 0.487 | 616 | 1265:1 | |
| 0 | 379 | ∞ | |
| 0 | 520 | ∞ | |
| 0.341 | 500 | 1466:1 | |
| 0.53 | 741 | 1398:1 | |
| 0.349 | 443 | 1269:1 | |
| 0.466 | 543 | 1165:1 | |
| 0 | 508 | ∞ | |
| 0 | 843 | ∞ | |
The M51 is also capable of reasonably faithful color reproduction. Vivid and Natural modes color modes are available. Natural is the one tuned for sRGB content, and in our testing, it delivered an average deltaE2000 of 2.5, which qualifies as 'color accurate' just fine. Naturally, this sRGB-focused 'Natural' mode has a subjectively muted overall look.
Good thing then that out of the box you're getting the Galaxy M51's display set to 'Vivid' where the gamut is wide, and the colors are punchy. We tested this mode with DCI-P3 color swatches and got an average deviation of 3.7 units, which almost there, too. This deviation is not bad overall, but there was a cold bluish tint to whites (deltaE of 8). That can be fixed by nudging the five-position cool-to-warm slider a notch to the right or all the way to the warmest setting, each delivering an average deltaE of around 3 and whites within 4 units off the mark.
No HDR claims are coming from the M51's specs pages, but the phone does play back HDR versions of compatible content on YouTube and Amazon Prime Video. There's no HDR playback available in Netflix, however, even though the phone meets the Widevide Level 1 specification for DRM.
Samsung Galaxy M51 battery life
The Galaxy M51's chief claim to fame is battery life - the 7,000mAh cell inside it is the biggest we've seen on a major brand phone. With great capacity, indeed, comes great endurance, as our testing proved.
We clocked a whopping 53 hours of voice calls on a single charge of the M51, an all-time record the Galaxy holds jointly with the Moto G9 Plus. The M51 is also good for 25+ hours of looping videos offline or 17 hours of Wi-Fi web browsing - impressive stuff. Factoring in the standby performance, we arrive at an overall Endurance rating of 156h for the Galaxy M51.
Our battery tests were automated thanks to SmartViser, using its viSer App. The endurance rating above denotes how long a single battery charge will last you if you use the Samsung Galaxy M51 for an hour each of telephony, web browsing, and video playback daily. We've established this usage pattern so that our battery results are comparable across devices in the most common day-to-day tasks. The battery testing procedure is described in detail in case you're interested in the nitty-gritty. You can check out our complete battery test table, where you can see how all of the smartphones we've tested will compare under your own typical use.
Battery charging
The Galaxy M51 not only has a big battery, but also comes with a beefy charger to top it - it's supplied with the same 25W adapter that you'd get with a Note or an S-series flagship, an adapter that even the S20 FE doesn't get.
Using this charger, you'd be looking at 1:47h for a full charge from flat and 35% in the battery indicator 30 minutes into the process. Neither result is impressive in absolute terms, but you come to appreciate them when you consider the 7,000mAh capacity and the battery life that you can actually get from a 35% charge.
30min charging test (from 0%)
- Oppo Reno4 Pro
98% - Realme 7 Pro
94% - Xiaomi Mi 10T Lite 5G
68% - vivo V20
66% - Xiaomi Redmi Note 9 Pro
63% - OnePlus Nord
60% - Sony Xperia 10 II
60% - Poco X3 NFC
55% - Xiaomi Mi Note 10 Lite
53% - Samsung Galaxy A71
51% - Samsung Galaxy M51
35% - Samsung Galaxy A51
35% - Motorola One Fusion+
30% - Samsung Galaxy M30s
21%
Time to full charge (from 0%)
- Oppo Reno4 Pro
0:31h - Realme 7 Pro
0:37h - Xiaomi Mi 10T Lite 5G
0:58h - vivo V20
0:59h - OnePlus Nord
1:05h - Xiaomi Redmi Note 9 Pro
1:11h - Xiaomi Mi Note 10 Lite
1:14h - Poco X3 NFC
1:15h - Samsung Galaxy A71
1:21h - Sony Xperia 10 II
1:30h - Samsung Galaxy M51
1:47h - Samsung Galaxy A51
2:14h
Speaker test
The Galaxy M51 has a single speaker, Samsung doesn't like fitting stereo speakers in the midrange phones. It's not a particularly loud speaker either, scoring an 'Average' mark in our testing, the same as the A71. Compared to the A71, the M51 has a more hollow output with a less pronounced treble response. It's one of those speakers that are adequate but in no way great. Cheaper phones can be had with better sounding speakers, stereo at that, like the Poco X3 NFS or the Motorola Moto G8 Power.
Use the Playback controls to listen to the phone sample recordings (best use headphones). We measure the average loudness of the speakers in LUFS. A lower absolute value means a louder sound. A look at the frequency response chart will tell you how far off the ideal "0db" flat line is the reproduction of the bass, treble, and mid frequencies. You can add more phones to compare how they differ. The scores and ratings are not comparable with our older loudspeaker test. Learn more about how we test here.
Audio output quality
We've recently discontinued our audio output quality test.
The reason for that is that most phones that arrived for testing were already excellent in this regard and whatever difference there was, it was marginal and probably indistinguishable to anything but our lab equipment.
Android 10 and OneUI 2.1 2.5 on top
The Galaxy M51 boots Android 10, and our review unit arrived with Samsung's OneUI 2.1 on top, which got updated to 2.5 during the review process. Not that there are any noticeable differences in the look and feel between the two anyway.
The lockscreen is a familiar sight with a couple of shortcuts in the bottom corners and notification icons under a clock. The always-on display is, of course, available, and it can be shown all the time, according to a daily schedule, or when summoned with a tap.
Lockscreen • Always-on display • Biometrics
Unlocking the Galaxy M51 is best done with the side-mounted fingerprint sensor - a bit surprisingly, this model doesn't get an under-display unit despite having a compatible display. The side-mounted solution used here works similarly well with both the left index finger and the right thumb, and unlocking is quick and reliable. The button is placed a bit too high, but it's a matter of giving yourself enough time to get used to it.
As with other such implementations, you run the risk of triggering the sensor by any skin contact by simply holding the phone in your pocket, resulting in a locked phone and an inoperable sensor once you do pull it out to use it. If you happen to suffer from that more often than you'd like, you can have the sensor only engage with a press on the button - otherwise, a click isn't required.
If, for whatever reason, you're not thrilled about the M51's fingerprint reader, there's also face recognition. It's just camera-based, no 3D face scanning, but it still offers a convenient (if not as secure) way to access your homescreen.
As we mentioned, there's little to set the OneUI 2.5 on the M51 apart from other current Samsung phones, regardless of the OneUI version.
Homescreen • Folder view • App drawer • Notification shade • Quick toggles • Task switcher
Gesture navigation is available, and you can choose that in the initial setup process or later on. A system-wide dark mode is par for the course, too.
Navigation options • Dark mode
What is missing on the M51 that most other Galaxies have had is Edge panels - the M51 gets the budget treatment in this area. Otherwise, the software package is similar to other Samsung phones, with an in-house Gallery app, file manager, and Samsung browser. What you won't find on the Galaxy flagships, however, is an FM radio, and there is one here.
Gallery • Files • Samsung Browser • FM radio
Synthetic benchmarks
The Snapdragon 730G ticks inside the Galaxy M51, an upper midrange chipset from the pre-5G craze, the most powerful of those, in fact. The G at the end differentiates it from the global A71's SD730, and that G means a largely inconsequential bump in GPU clock rate. The M51 doesn't get axed for being part of the M-series and comes with a generous 128GB of storage and 6GB or 8GB of RAM.
The M51 puts out respectable numbers for CPU performance in GeekBench, on par with the Poco X3 NFC (Snapdragon 732G). The Galaxy is bested by a stablemate, the A51 5G (in-house Exynos 980), but that performance is worth some €350 extra. The OnePlus Nord is more expensive than the M51, but not by as much, and does offer performance benefits courtesy of the Snapdragon 765. Similarly, all SD765 devices have an edge, though as 730s go, the M51 is a top performer.
GeekBench 5 (multi-core)
Higher is better
- OnePlus Nord
1953 - vivo X50 Pro
1937 - Xiaomi Mi 10 Lite 5G
1927 - Galaxy A51 5G
1867 - vivo X50
1827 - Realme 7 Pro
1811 - Oppo Reno4 Pro 5G
1805 - Realme 7 5G
1794 - Poco X3 NFC
1777 - Samsung Galaxy M51
1774 - Realme X2
1750 - Samsung Galaxy A71
1733 - Motorola One Fusion+
1705 - Xiaomi Mi Note 10 Lite
1694 - Realme Narzo 20 Pro
1666 - Google Pixel 5
1647 - Google Pixel 4a
1626
GeekBench 5 (single-core)
Higher is better
- Galaxy A51 5G
677 - vivo X50 Pro
636 - Xiaomi Mi 10 Lite 5G
616 - Oppo Reno4 Pro 5G
615 - OnePlus Nord
610 - Realme 7 5G
598 - Google Pixel 5
594 - Realme 7 Pro
576 - Poco X3 NFC
568 - Google Pixel 4a
553 - vivo X50
552 - Samsung Galaxy M51
546 - Realme X2
545 - Samsung Galaxy A71
542 - Motorola One Fusion+
542 - Xiaomi Mi Note 10 Lite
521 - Realme Narzo 20 Pro
517
It's not quite so in Antutu, where the M51 is in the middle of the 730 pack when it's at its peak in the first benchmark run, but it doesn't maintain that 266K result for subsequent runs and quickly drops to 240Ks. It's not terrible, but it's not great either.
AnTuTu 8
Higher is better
- vivo X50 Pro
323736 - Realme 7 5G
318535 - Xiaomi Mi 10 Lite 5G
318117 - Oppo Reno4 Pro 5G
317139 - Galaxy A51 5G
316007 - OnePlus Nord
312794 - Realme Narzo 20 Pro
291407 - Google Pixel 5
289261 - Poco X3 NFC
283750 - Realme 7 Pro
278414 - Google Pixel 4a
268714 - Motorola One Fusion+
267980 - Samsung Galaxy M51
266620 - Samsung Galaxy A71
263396 - Realme X2
257443 - Xiaomi Mi Note 10 Lite
253271
In graphics benchmarks, the G in the Snapdragon 730G makes little difference, with maybe the odd frame per second between 730 and 730G devices, but not always, and not even necessarily in the G's favor. What does make a difference is a Snapdragon 765, and those with it do come with significant performance gains.
GFX Manhattan ES 3.1 (offscreen 1080p)
Higher is better
- Xiaomi Mi 10 Lite 5G
38 - OnePlus Nord
38 - Oppo Reno4 Pro 5G
37 - vivo X50 Pro
36 - Realme 7 5G
35 - Realme Narzo 20 Pro
34 - Poco X3 NFC
33 - Galaxy A51 5G
32 - Samsung Galaxy A71
30 - Xiaomi Mi Note 10 Lite
30 - Google Pixel 4a
30 - Samsung Galaxy M51
30 - Realme 7 Pro
30 - Realme X2
29 - Motorola One Fusion+
27 - vivo X50
27 - Google Pixel 5
22
GFX Manhattan ES 3.1 (onscreen)
Higher is better
- OnePlus Nord
34 - Xiaomi Mi 10 Lite 5G
32 - vivo X50 Pro
31 - Oppo Reno4 Pro 5G
31 - Realme 7 5G
31 - Realme Narzo 20 Pro
28 - Galaxy A51 5G
28 - Samsung Galaxy A71
27 - Google Pixel 4a
27 - Poco X3 NFC
27 - Xiaomi Mi Note 10 Lite
26 - Samsung Galaxy M51
26 - Motorola One Fusion+
25 - Realme 7 Pro
25 - Realme X2
24 - vivo X50
24 - Google Pixel 5
22
GFX Car Chase ES 3.1 (offscreen 1080p)
Higher is better
- Xiaomi Mi 10 Lite 5G
21 - OnePlus Nord
21 - Oppo Reno4 Pro 5G
21 - vivo X50 Pro
20 - Realme Narzo 20 Pro
20 - Realme 7 5G
20 - Galaxy A51 5G
20 - Poco X3 NFC
19 - Realme 7 Pro
18 - Samsung Galaxy A71
17 - Xiaomi Mi Note 10 Lite
17 - Google Pixel 4a
17 - Samsung Galaxy M51
17 - Realme X2
16 - Motorola One Fusion+
16 - vivo X50
16 - Google Pixel 5
13
GFX Car Chase ES 3.1 (onscreen)
Higher is better
- OnePlus Nord
19 - Oppo Reno4 Pro 5G
18 - Xiaomi Mi 10 Lite 5G
17 - vivo X50 Pro
17 - Realme Narzo 20 Pro
17 - Realme 7 5G
17 - Galaxy A51 5G
17 - Google Pixel 4a
16 - Poco X3 NFC
16 - Samsung Galaxy A71
15 - Xiaomi Mi Note 10 Lite
15 - Samsung Galaxy M51
15 - Motorola One Fusion+
14 - vivo X50
14 - Realme 7 Pro
14 - Realme X2
13 - Google Pixel 5
12
3DMark SSE ES 3.1 (offscreen 1440p)
Higher is better
- Xiaomi Mi 10 Lite 5G
3294 - Oppo Reno4 Pro 5G
3288 - OnePlus Nord
3285 - vivo X50 Pro
3214 - Realme 7 5G
3163 - Galaxy A51 5G
2837 - Poco X3 NFC
2689 - Realme Narzo 20 Pro
2683 - Realme 7 Pro
2541 - Google Pixel 4a
2487 - Samsung Galaxy M51
2474 - Xiaomi Mi Note 10 Lite
2467 - Samsung Galaxy A71
2464 - Realme X2
2402 - Google Pixel 5
2318 - vivo X50
2263
3DMark SSE Vulkan 1.0 (offscreen 1440p)
Higher is better
- Xiaomi Mi 10 Lite 5G
3080 - OnePlus Nord
3067 - Oppo Reno4 Pro 5G
3062 - Realme 7 5G
3028 - vivo X50 Pro
2983 - Galaxy A51 5G
2778 - Realme Narzo 20 Pro
2735 - Poco X3 NFC
2495 - Realme 7 Pro
2358 - Samsung Galaxy M51
2290 - Google Pixel 4a
2275 - Google Pixel 5
2267 - Realme X2
2263 - Samsung Galaxy A71
2253 - Xiaomi Mi Note 10 Lite
2248 - vivo X50
2082
Ultimately, the Galaxy M51 isn't remotely underpowered and has the performance to spare for what we imagine is its target audience. Still, if your priorities lie elsewhere, you can get better results under demanding loads for the same price elsewhere.
2+2 cameras, nothing out of the ordinary
The Galaxy M51 is equipped with a quad-camera system, though as is common in the mid-tier segment, only half of those are real cameras. To be fair, Samsung's 5MP 'macro' camera is a bit more useful than prevailing 2MP units, while we're yet to witness a tangible difference between 2MP depth sensors, 5MP depth sensors, and no depth sensors at all.
Anyway, the primary camera on this Galaxy uses a 64MP sensor - a Quad Bayer Sony IMX 682, with the usual 0.8µm pixels and 4-to-1 binning for a resulting 16MP image. The lens has a 26mm equivalent focal length and an f/1.8 aperture.
The ultra wide-angle camera combines a 12MP sensor (Samsung S5K3L6, 1/3.1", 1.12µm) with one of the ultra-widest lenses out there - EXIF data reports a 13mm equivalent, while Samsung's specs quote a 123-degree field of view, which is even wider than that. It is wide, that's for sure.
The selfie camera on the Galaxy M51 is based on another Sony Quad Bayer sensor, the 32MP IMX 616. It outputs 12MP images by default - Samsung's usual if slightly illogical numbers manipulation for its 32MP selfie cams.
The camera app on the M51 is the same as on any other Samsung, which is a good thing since it's straightforward and easy to use. The basics are as usual - swiping left, and right will switch between available modes, and there's an option to re-arrange, add or remove some of the modes from the viewfinder. Vertical swipes in either direction will switch between front and rear cameras.
The familiar tree designation for zoom control is here too, and with no telephoto on board, you get three trees for ultra-wide and two trees for the main cam. You could zoom in with a pinch gesture, at which point additional preset zoom levels appear at 2x, 4x, and 10x.
Selfie zoom levels on the M51 adopt the logic Samsung's been using for a while - by default, you're getting a cropped in view equivalent to a 32mm focal length and 8MP resulting images. To get the full coverage of the camera, you need to tap on the zoom toggle. We've been complaining about this behavior for a while, but no more! Samsung now lets you flip a toggle in the camera settings that will maintain your preferred magnification for selfies - yay!
The viewfinder has the standard set of icons with the settings cog wheel located in the upper left corner of the screen. The usual stuff like video resolution, grid lines, location data, etc., can be found in the menu, as well as the ultra-wide lens correction, tucked in under the 'Save options' category. You can also turn on and off the Scene optimizer on a global scale.
There's a Pro mode too, and, somewhat surprisingly, the M51 gets the full-featured one, as opposed to the more stripped-down version we typically see on lesser models. You get granular exposure controls and manual focus with peaking, but there's still no live histogram or the ability to operate anything but the main cam - perhaps if we continue to whine about those, Samsung will address them as well.
Camera UI
Daylight image quality
Daylight photos out of the M51's primary camera are quite nice. Dynamic range is wide for what we're used to in the midrange, though a higher-end phone will still get you better developed tonal extremes. Colors are lively without going into extremes and managed to make at least some of our scenes look bearable, despite the drab time of the year. The photos capture excellent detail too, but we're also seeing an unusual amount of noise - not at all Samsung.
Daylight samples, main cam (1x)
Scene optimizer barely makes a difference in our experience.
Daylight samples, main cam (1x), Scene optimizer on
There's a 64MP mode too, and on this phone, in particular, we see significant detail gains if shooting this way - in bright daylight, of course. The trade-off is reduced dynamic range, though it's not a dramatic drop.
Daylight samples, main cam (1x), 64MP
The M51 has no telephoto. Still, with the 64MP primary cam onboard and the relatively strong performance when shooting at its nominal resolution, we figured it could do some 2x zoom by cropping and demosaicking differently. However, it's not really the case, and these shots look like they've been created by cropping the 16MP images and then upscaling - you get the characteristic softness joined by the oversharpening introduced to try and mask it.
Indeed, just shooting in 64MP and cropping the center portion will get you much better detailed 2x zoom photos, and we're wondering why that can't happen in a phone, by default.
Daylight samples, main cam (2x)
The ultra-wide cam, too, delivers respectable dynamic range. It's a bit off when it comes to colors and renders them more saturated and warmer than both the main unit and real life, though we wouldn't consider it a dealbreaker. Noise is present here also, again not to the point of making the images unusable but just worth noting because it's not typical of Samsung processing. We can't complain about the detail - the M51's ultra-wide delivers solid performance for the class.
Daylight samples, ultra wide cam
As with all recent Samsungs, there's software distortion correction enabled on the Galaxy M51. It's only marginally detrimental to image quality in the corners, while the geometric benefits are huge, and we'd keep it on unless the barrel distortion look is what you're after specifically.
Distortion correction: On • Off • On • Off
Low-light image quality
Low-light photos from the M51's main camera are okay, certainly above average for a midranger. The detail is well preserved, though noisy daylight images are now predictably even noisier low-light images. A hint of desaturation can be spotted, but colors are generally not bad, and the dynamic range is wider than most.
Low-light samples, main cam (1x)
Night mode introduces a slight crop, and the resulting images are 12MP. It brings notable improvements in the highlights where it restores a lot of details otherwise lost in photo mode. However, we do not see dramatic improvements in the shadows, and what was dark remains relatively dark.
Low-light samples, main cam (1x), Night mode
Low-light photos from the ultra-wide aren't as good, and with such a wide frame, there's inevitably going to be a lot of pitch-black unless you pick your scenes carefully. If presented with some light, the M51's ultra-wide will create usable images with decent detail, saturated colors, and a wide dynamic range.
Low-light samples, ultra wide cam
Night mode further improves dynamic range, and highlight retention is excellent. We also see the shadows lifted a bit more noticeably than on the main cam. Night mode ultra-wide shots are also generally sharper than Photo mode ones.
Low-light samples, ultra wide cam, Night mode
Once you're done with the real world samples, head over to our Photo compare tool to see how the Samsung Galaxy M51 stacks up against the competition.
Samsung Galaxy M51 against the OnePlus Nord and the Poco X3 NFC in our Photo compare tool
Portrait mode
The Galaxy M51's portrait shots in Live focus mode have very competent subject detection, and we didn't see any clipped ears or such, with only the occasional mix-up with yellowish jackets against a yellow road divider. Messy hairstyles do produce some unnatural borders around the hairline, but it's par for the course.
Live focus (Portrait mode) samples
The excellent subject detection extends to non-human subjects, too, so you can make a fire hydrant pop if you might want to for whatever reason.
Live focus (Portrait mode) samples, non-human subjects
Close-ups
Close-ups from the dedicated 5MP macro camera do look pretty good on the M51. You get to capture tiny details like the fine text on bills or the intricate detailing on pocket watches. It's a significant upgrade over the 2MP units found on other phones in the segment.
Close-up samples
Selfies
12MP selfies from the M51 have good detail and okay noise performance. Skin tones can be hit or miss, and the pink tint in some of our more dimly lit indoor scenes isn't all too pleasing, though things are notably better in brighter light. The HDR processing takes great care of high-contrast scenes, and you can count on well-exposed faces and preserved highlights even in backlit scenes.
Selfie samples, wide mode
There's no HDR in 32MP mode, so you need to be more careful with lighting, though why you'd need 32MP selfies is a question we can't answer.
Selfie samples, 32MP
HDR makes a return in Live focus mode, which is a welcome development since not all phones can handle both processing tasks at once. Subject separation is once again good, though there's hardly any roll-off from sharp to very blurry and the bokeh effect appears more artificial than in rear camera portraits.
Selfie samples, Live focus (Portrait) mode
Video recording
The Galaxy M51 records video up to 4K30 with all of its 'real' cameras - both the main and the ultrawide on the back, as well as the selfie cam. Oddly, there's no 60fps recording on any of them.
The 4K videos (48Mbps) out of the M51's main cam are very good. The detail is excellent, and the processing is fairly natural. Noise is non-existent too. Dynamic range is reasonably wide, too, not as wide as what a Note will get you, but perfectly okay for the class. Colors are spot-on, too.
The ultra-wide isn't quite as accurate in its color rendition, instead of producing a distinctly warm look. The detail is good for an ultra-wide, no complaints here, but noise is prominent, and the shadows have somewhat distracting pulsating noise patterns. Not half bad overall, however.
Stabilization is available on all cameras and does reasonably well for ironing out walking induced shake, though some steps do make it to the end result. Pans are handled without any abrupt movements, no problems there. There is some jelloing to be seen on the main cam; its prominence will vary depending on the scene. No such issues were observed on the ultrawide.
Here's a glimpse of how the Samsung Galaxy M51 compares to rivals in our Video compare tool. Head over there for the complete picture.
Samsung Galaxy M51 against the OnePlus Nord and the Poco X3 NFC in our Video compare tool
Competition
Samsungs don't usually have it easy in lower market segments where it's the likes of Xiaomi and Realme that rule by offering the most bang for the buck. It's a similar situation that the Galaxy M51 finds itself.
The Poco X3 NFC comes to mind as an alternative to the Galaxy and will give you a 120Hz display, albeit an LCD. Image quality from the cameras and chipset performance is roughly similar between the two, so neither's going to settle it, but perhaps the Poco's stereo speakers (more, louder, better) could sway you in that direction? The Poco is no match for the M51 in battery life, however. On the flip side, the Galaxy is some €60 more expensive, and it's not a small difference in this class.
The Realme 7 Pro goes for Poco X3 NFC money, so it's again more affordable than the M51. This, too, is a close race in terms of camera results, and with a 60Hz AMOLED display on the Realme, we need to look elsewhere for differentiators. The Realme does have stereo speakers, so the M51 loses in that regard once again, and with 65W charging, the 7 Pro tops up twice as fast as the Galaxy, though the Samsung still has better autonomy. And it's a Samsung.
OnePlus has brand loyalists too, and the Nord is vaguely in the M51's price ballpark, though it does come at a €40 premium after all. It comes with advantages to show for it, however - a 90Hz OLED display, a more powerful chipset, and a second, ultra-wide selfie camera. The Galaxy counters with small niceties like a headphone jack, microSD slot, and FM radio - and all of them are missing on the Nord. Oh, and much better battery endurance on the M51, of course.
But since you're probably eyeing the M51 for its battery life, perhaps you could look at the Motorola One Fusion+ - the only one that comes somewhat close to the Galaxy for longevity. It has the same chipset inside, similar camera performance, and many little things like the headphone jack and microSD slot, though no NFC. Its display isn't quite up to the Galaxy's standard, being a regular refresh rate LCD, but it has no cutouts thanks to the pop-up selfie cam - that surely counts as a selling point all in itself, right? And even if it doesn't, the 25% lower price makes a compelling argument.
Xiaomi Poco X3 NFC • Realme 7 Pro • OnePlus Nord • Motorola One Fusion+
Verdict
The Galaxy M51 is here to cater to those with an obvious top priority - battery life. It doesn't neglect the other aspects that make a good phone, however, and brings solid camera performance and a good AMOLED display - a staple for Galaxies, plus a complete set of the little things.
So, in the end, the M51 is a competent mid-level handset throughout. And even if Samsungs don't normally compare well in the midrange when it comes to value for money, this one doesn't feel overpriced. It gets a recommendation then.
Pros
- Exceptional battery life, fast charging for the capacity
- Good, if a little basic OLED display
- Camera system delivers quality stills and video
- Dedicated memory slot, FM radio
Cons
- 60Hz refresh rate when some competitors offer 90Hz and even 120Hz
- Fingerprint sensor is somewhat awkwardly placed
- No 60fps video recording
- Stripped down OneUI - or is that a pro?
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