Cubot A50 hands-on review: beautiful design meets affordability

Add as a preferred source on Google A budget smartphone doesn't usually turn heads, yet the entry‑level Cubot A50 does exactly that. Its greatest strength is disarmingly simple: a price so low it feels like a throwback to a friendlier era of tech, paired with a design that looks far more modern than expected. Slim lines, clean surfaces, and a surprisingly stylish finish give it the kind of first impression typically reserved for devices several tiers above. It's a reminder that a phone can be financially effortless without looking or feeling like a budget choice, and that good design doesn't have to be reserved for higher tiers. The overall impression from Cubot A50's design is one of simplicity executed with intention. It looks clean, current, and stylish - the kind of design that elevates an entry‑level device into something that feels thoughtfully crafted rather than merely functional. The device presents a deliberately minimal, contemporary aesthetic, leaning on calm and confident geometry with gently rounded edges and flat surfaces.

With a width of 76.8 mm, the A50 is comfortable to hold and operate with one hand. Its width is typical for smartphones with 6.5-6.6-inch displays and ~5000 mAh batteries. Its height of 167.5 mm is 3 mm higher than the average for this display and battery size class. The thickness is slightly above average, measuring 9.6 mm. Thanks to the plastic chassis, the device manages to retain a manageable weight of 215 grams. The Cubot A50 features a smooth plastic back panel that catches light with a subtle satin sheen and features a centered Cubot logo that stands out with crisp, understated typography. In the upper one-third, the camera module forms the main visual anchor. It's a rectangular island with softened corners, housing three lenses arranged in a triangle with a flash positioned neatly beside them.

Each lens protrudes from the island's flat surface. The layout feels balanced and modern, echoing current design trends without appearing derivative. The model is available in Black, Orange, and Blue colors. We are testing the black version, on which the camera housing contrasts sharply against the lighter back panel, giving the phone a more premium visual rhythm. The front of the device is defined by a 6.583‑inch IPS display with an FHD+ resolution of 1080 x 2408 px and a 60Hz refresh rate. It's bordered by slim 3 mm bezels on the top and sides, with a slightly thicker 6 mm bezel at the bottom. A wide V‑shaped notch at the top houses the 16MP selfie camera. The protective glass type isn't specified, and the 2.5D curved screen rises about a millimeter above the frame, so some care is advised to avoid accidental drops. Out of the box, the display arrives with a thin, pre‑applied transport film for basic protection.

The display settings cover standard options for brightness level, adaptive brightness, dark theme, and night light toggles, display size and text options, color settings and contrast, and lock screen customization. However, you get additional options backed by the Unisoc chipset. These are backlight power saving, video display enhancement for YouTube, Photos, and Files, and Game Space SDR2HDR options and GPU settings for an improved gaming experience. There's a list of seven supported games. The frame of the device is also made of a single piece of plastic with chamfered edges and a metal-like satin finish. Its left side houses the hybrid, dual Nano-SIM card tray that can accommodate either two Nano-SIM cards or a Nano-SIM and a microSD card. The right side is the home of the Power button and the Volume rocker. The top side is bare, while the bottom one is home to the microphone, the speaker, and the USB Type-C port with OTG support

The front camera uses a 16MP sensor behind an f/2.25 lens. If the A50 is a worthy A40 successor, it most likely uses the same Samsung S5K3P3 sensor with a 1 μm pixel size and a 1/3.06-inch optical format. The selfie snapper records FHD videos at 30 fps and supports face recognition and unlock as the only biometric identification option on this specific smartphone.

The rear camera department of the Cubot A50 comprises three shooters. The main one most likely employs a 48MP OmniVision OV48B sensor with a 1/2" optical format and a 0.8 μm pixel size. The sensor is paired with an f/1.8 lens. The main camera can record FHD videos at 30 fps. It is accompanied by a 2MP BFF2257 macro camera with an f/2.4 aperture and a 0.08MP depth sensor. The macro unit shoots 1600 x 1200 px photos and has a working distance of 4 cm. It cannot record videos. The Cubot A50 is powered by a 5000 mAh battery with 10W charging and is based on the Unisoc T7280 - the new name for the Unisoc Tiger T620 chipset. This is an entry-level 4G SoC is a modern entry‑level 4G chipset built on TSMC’s 12 nm process, designed to deliver efficient everyday performance with a balanced CPU–GPU configuration. At its core, it features an octa‑core CPU arranged in a 2+6 layout: two Cortex‑A75 performance cores clocked at 2.2 GHz and six Cortex‑A55 efficiency cores at 1.8 GHz, giving it enough headroom for routine multitasking while maintaining low power consumption.

Graphics are handled by the Mali‑G57 MP1 GPU running at 850 MHz, based on ARM’s Valhall architecture. This setup supports FHD+ displays, 1080p/60fps video playback, and casual gaming, aligning well with A50's choice of chipset. On AnTutu 11, the A50 scored 436,854 points. On Geekbench 6, it showed 514 single-core and 1534 multi-core results. The same SoC powers another Cubot smartphone, which we have reviewed in detail, and you can check the performance section of our Cubot KingKong Dura review. The Dura demonstrates a very similar performance in terms of benchmark test results. The device arrives with 6GB of LPDDR4X RAM clocked at 1866 MHz. It can be virtually expanded with up to 10GB for a total of 16GB of RAM. Memory expansion has to be activated from the corresponding settings and requires a device reboot in order to take effect. In terms of storage, there are 128GB of eMMC 5.1 built-in memory that can be expanded via a microSD card. Of the 128GB on board, 111GB are available to the user.

As far as connectivity is concerned, the Cubot A50 presents most of the standard modern features. The device supports dual-SIM 4G support working with the following network bands: 2G GSM (B2, B3, B5, B8), 3G W-CDMA (B1, B2, B4, B5, B8), 4G LTE-FDD (B1, B2, B3, B4, B5, B7, B8, B12, B17, B20, B25, B26, B28, B66), and 4G LTE-TDD (B38, B39, B40, B41). The wireless connectivity options include Wi-Fi 5 (802.11ac), Bluetooth 5.0, and NFC. A USB Type-C port with OTG support is also placed on the bottom frame. The smartphone arrives with stock Android 16 and all the latest OS features. The user interface remains quite familiar. The Lock Screen places a bold, oversized clock at its center, complemented by a compact date readout and a Camera shortcut positioned discreetly in the lower‑right corner. Moving to the Home Screen: a unified time‑and‑date widget, a favorites row, a bottom dock, and a Google search bar at the bottom with built‑in voice input and Lens. Desktop shortcuts are supported, and swiping left opens an additional panel with an extended app list, while swiping right brings up Google Discover. Enabling the app drawer in Home Settings reveals the complete catalog of installed applications.

The Customization Picker consolidates wallpapers, styles, widgets, and Home settings into a single menu, where users can toggle the app drawer, Google Discover, and notification dots. A downward swipe reveals the notification shade, and a second swipe expands the full Quick Settings panel, arranged across three pages of toggles for more intuitive navigation. The Task Manager displays running apps in a horizontal ribbon, offering quick access to app info, split‑screen mode where available, screenshot capture, and one‑tap closing. The list of pre-installed apps includes Calculator, Calendar, Camera, Chrome, Clock, Contacts, Drive, Files, Find Hub, Gemini, Gmail, Google Discover, Google One, Keep Notes, Maps, Meet, Messages, Phone, Photos, Play Games, Play Store, Safety, Settings, Sound Recorder, User Manual, YouTube, and YouTube Music.

The Settings app uses a clean monochrome interface and arranges its menus into six distinct sections. The opening section covers all network‑related controls. The next section brings together the core everyday settings: Apps, Notifications, Sound & Vibration, Modes, Display, and Wallpaper & Style, forming the main hub for personalization and system behavior. A smaller third section focuses solely on Storage and Battery, keeping resource management separate and easy to locate. Security and privacy tools form the fourth section, which includes Security & Privacy, Location, Passwords, Digital Wellbeing, and Safety & Emergency.

Another section expands the utility features with Memory Expansion, the Smart Assistant suite, which handles emergency contact setup and screenshot behavior, Accessibility, Scheduled Power On/Off, and Smart controls. The latter comprises smart wake, lift‑to‑wake, and smart motion that manages gestures for answering calls, muting incoming alerts, and activating the ringer.

The final section contains Google settings, the System menu, and About Phone. System includes all the familiar operational tools: language and keyboard settings, gesture controls, date and time, backup and reset, system updates, and user management. The gesture submenu governs navigation style, power‑button shortcuts, one‑handed mode, and the three‑finger swipe for screenshots. The Cubot A50 comes packaged in the brand's signature teal box, featuring the Cubot name, the model designation, and a product image printed on the lid. Inside, the phone is presented on top of a neatly arranged set of accessories, creating an orderly and straightforward unboxing experience. The set includes:

• USB Type-C to Type-C cable
• 5V/2A (10W) charger (EU plug)
• Hard screen protector
• SIM tray pin
• Paperwork