Motorola Edge 50 Neo Review: Compact but very capable

Motorola has been very busy in 2024, releasing telephones at a variety of various value factors.

Sitting within the center are its mid-range cellphone choices, which embrace Edge 50 Neo. At £399 within the UK at launch, it’s shifting into the corporate of some critical huge hitters just like the OnePlus Nord 4 and Google Pixel 8a.

Can Motorola nonetheless have an ‘Edge’ within the face of such competitors? I switched to the Edge 50 Neo to search out out.

Design & Construct

• Vibrant, compact body
• Plastic construct
• IP68 water and mud safety ranking

Motorola has determined to be daring with its design decisions on the Edge 50 Neo, which I believe is a incredible method.

Gone are the boring muted tones of different producers, and as a substitute there’s a collaboration with color specialists Pantone which delivers some enjoyable and cool-looking liveries. The rear panel is a gentle, textured vegan leather-based that affords extra grip than on just about some other trendy cellphone, with the metallic body additionally matched with a shinier model of the tones. 

Martyn Casserly

You possibly can select between Latte (sand), Grisaille (gray/blue), Nautical Blue or the Poinciana (orangey pink) end that I’ve right here. They’re all fairly cool and supply sufficient vary so that you can discover one that’s as loud or refined as you like your smartphone to be. Motorola additionally features a exhausting plastic rear cowl in the identical color so you may add some safety with out dropping the look.

The Edge 50 Neo can also be a fairly compact gadget. The 154.1 x 71.2 x 8.1mm dimensions present that it’s slim and cozy to make use of in a single hand (for probably the most half), whereas the 171g weight makes it one of many lightest fashions I’ve used for some time.

By comparability, the OnePlus Nord 4 measures 162.6 x 75 x 7.9 mm and weighs in at 199.5g, whereas the Google Pixel 8a is 152.1 x 72.7 x 8.9mm and ideas the scales at 188g.

Martyn Casserly

The Edge 50 Neo additionally bests its rivals when it comes to water resistance, coming with an IP68 ranking which certifies that it may be totally immersed in as much as 1.5mm of recent water for as much as half-hour with none harm. 

You additionally get stereo audio system (albeit utilising the front-facing cellphone speaker as one), a USB-C charging port, twin SIM tray (Nano + eSIM) and the usual energy and quantity controls. 

It’s a handsome cellphone that feels extra enjoyable than lots of its rivals, whereas additionally providing respectable ranges of usability and safety at this value level. 

Display screen & Audio system

• 6.4-inch pOLED Tremendous HD show
• Gorilla Glass 3
• Twin stereo audio system with Dolby Atmos   

One of many causes for the compact nature of the Edge 50 Neo is the 6.4-inch pOLED show. In a world the place big screens have gotten the norm, it’s good to have a extra manageable floor to work with. 

Martyn Casserly

The display screen is nicely balanced when it comes to colors, with an HDR max brightness of 3000 nits specified by Motorola. In regular use although, I measured the utmost brightness at slightly below 1200 nits, which is greater than sufficient to make it readable exterior on sunny days.

There’s additionally a variable refresh price that goes as much as 120Hz for easy scrolling, plus the Tremendous HD (1220p) decision retains issues sharp. The LTPO expertise within the panel (permitting it to drop as little as 1Hz robotically) helps make it power environment friendly, which is nice information for battery life if you happen to’re a heavy person. 

The spec sheet has Corning Gorilla Glass because the safety for the AMOLED panel, which isn’t unhealthy at this value. Sadly, I managed to select up a floor scratch on the show inside a number of days of sunshine use (I’m fairly mild on telephones), which was disappointing. As such, I’d advocate utilizing a display screen protector if you happen to purchase the Edge Neo 50, as you don’t get one pre-installed or within the field. 

Martyn Casserly

Audio can also be strong, with the principle speaker on the underside edge combining with the cellphone speaker on the prime of the show to kick out an honest stage of quantity that doesn’t distort except you push it proper to the very best quantity. Sure, bass is missing, however that’s regular for many telephones. 

Specs & Efficiency

• MediaTek Dimensity 7300 octa-core processor
• 8GB RAM + 256GB Storage
• Good gaming efficiency

Clearly, at this value, you’re not going to see the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 beneath the hood, however the MediaTek Dimensity 7300 within the Edge 50 Neo does a powerful job of conserving issues ticking over properly.

Apps all launch rapidly and primarily run with out subject. The 8GB of LPDDR4X RAM appears to deal with the calls for positioned upon it, and 256GB of uMPC onboard storage is ample for giant music collections or those that need to seize loads of pictures and movies on the Edge 50 Neo. 

Martyn Casserly

I did expertise a number of bizarre glitches although, and couldn’t establish the foundation trigger. Often, contact targets in apps would turn out to be unresponsive, and at one level the icon on the house web page for one app did the identical, which means I couldn’t truly launch it in any respect. A reset cleared the issue, but it surely’s not one I’ve come throughout on different telephones usually.

I had related frustrations within the digital camera app, the place some focal lengths simply didn’t register as being chosen and in a number of situations I couldn’t get the contact focussing to work. I’ve seen in different Moto cellphone evaluations on our website not too long ago that the unintentional contact sensitivity might intrude with working the cellphone. I believe that is also the case right here, as a part of my hand might have been touching the display screen. Hopefully, this may be fastened in a software program replace.  

Apart from these bizarre occurrences, efficiency for on a regular basis duties was easy and steady, and even firing up some graphically demanding video games didn’t pose a lot of an issue for the Edge 50 Neo. 

Motorola Edge 50 Neo benchmarks

Right here’s the way it fared in opposition to a few of its rivals in our normal vary of benchmark checks:

Cameras

• Stable most important digital camera
• Common ultra-wide
• Occasional glitches

The Edge 50 Neo has a triple digital camera array on the rear that may ship some very good photographs when the situations are proper.

Unsurprisingly, the principle 50Mp f/1.8 shooter is the one which simply produces the most effective photographs, though the 13Mp f/2.2 ultra-wide with its 120-degree viewing angle isn’t too unhealthy.

As is often the case with the secondary cameras, you lose a little bit of colour-balance and pictures don’t have the identical readability, however in a pinch and if you really want that wider scope, the pictures are undoubtedly satisfactory.

Martyn Casserly

There’s a 10Mp f/2.0 telephoto module too, which provides a 3x optical zoom. It’s not unhealthy, however you’ll need loads of gentle if you’d like good photographs. In much less optimum situations, the software program tends to aggressively sharpen footage, making them appear unrealistic, particularly if you crop in nearer. 

Give the principle lens some solar although and also you get vibrant, sharp photographs with loads of element. Low gentle is a bit hit-and-miss, with some noise creeping in (even on the Evening Mode) and motion leading to blurred photographs. The digital camera can usually take just a little longer than you assume to seize the picture, so make sure you keep nonetheless till you see the ultimate outcomes. 

Endurance does repay although, and I discovered that I might seize some very nice photographs with the Edge 50 Neo if I simply took my time and paid shut consideration to what was taking place on the show.

As talked about earlier, I did encounter some focussing points the place the on-screen tap-to-focus characteristic simply stopped working or the digital camera refused to modify between focal lengths. Hopefully, this will probably be patched by Motorola very quickly. 

Martyn Casserly

One factor to notice is that the digital camera software program doesn’t appear to auto-expose photographs if you faucet on lighter or darker areas of the body. This led to numerous my preliminary low-light photographs being overexposed. The trick is to faucet focus, then slide down the brightness management that seems subsequent to it. Not the smoothest interplay you’ll ever have with a digital camera, however you will get some good outcomes. 

Video recording goes as much as 4K/30 fps and all appears easy and nonetheless in focus. For 60fps you may drop all the way down to 1080p, plus there’s additionally the choice for 240/120fps slow-motion if that’s your bag. 

The 32Mp f/2.4 entrance digital camera takes a great selfie and can even seize the identical high quality video as its rear counterpart. So if you’d like a software on your budding YouTube channel, the Edge 50 Neo would possibly match the invoice. 

Listed below are some pattern photographs I captured with the Motorola Edge 50 Neo:

Battery Life & Charging

• 4,310mAh battery
• Helps Quick and Wi-fi charging
• Simply will get via the day

The battery within the Edge 50 Neo won’t be the largest on this planet, at 4,310mAh, but it surely carried out nicely throughout my time with the gadget.

I usually had a surplus on the finish of the day, which means I might take it into the subsequent day with out worrying about it dying whereas I slept. In our normal PCMark 3.0 battery check, the gadget lasted for 11 hours and 18 minutes, which may be very respectable.

Martyn Casserly

It’s not likely a two-day cellphone although, so that you’ll must plug it in to get power again into these cells. Fortunately, there are a number of choices.

You need to use an ordinary charger that you’ve got at dwelling (you don’t get one within the field) or purchase a 68W quick charger to rise up to 12 hours of cost in solely 11 minutes, in response to Motorola. There’s additionally 15W wi-fi charging assist if you happen to favor. 

Testing the Edge 50 Neo with a 68W Motorola TurboPower charger obtained it from 0 to 53% in quarter-hour, 90% in half-hour, and totally recharged in a remarkably fast 38 minutes. Clearly, these speeds gained’t be as spectacular with a lower-power charger. 

Software program & Apps

• Android 14 out of the field
• Updates to Android 19 promised
• Hardly any bloatware

Motorola often deploys a reasonably clear model of Android, not veering removed from Google’s vanilla imaginative and prescient of how a smartphone ought to work.

You do get the Motorola suite of instruments that may be enjoyable to play with for just a little, however I believe most individuals will then simply depart them alone and get again to utilizing the cellphone the identical method they used their final one. 

Martyn Casserly

In that respect, every little thing within the software program will probably be acquainted to most individuals, whereas the clear format makes it a pleasure to make use of.

Motorola additionally guarantees 5 Android model updates over the lifetime of the Edge 50 Neo, which might take it as much as Android 19, with safety updates as a result of proceed till August 2029. 

Worth & Availability

The Motorola Edge 50 Neo is priced at £399/€499, which is aggressive within the mid-range house. Sadly for these within the US, there aren’t any present plans to launch this mannequin in that territory. 

Within the UK, it’s accessible outright from Motorola and Amazon, or on contract through the next suppliers:

For related cash, you possibly can go for the Google Pixel 8a, which admittedly does have a listing value of £499, however is usually in promotions that deliver the associated fee a lot nearer to the Motorola Edge 50 Neo.

£429 will decide you up the 12GB/256GB variant of the OnePlus Nord 4 which is a wonderful selection, albeit one which’s a bit chunkier than the Moto.

In fact, there’s additionally the Motorola Edge 50 Fusion for £349.99, which affords a lot of the identical specs because the Neo, except for a bigger 6.7-inch show and fewer cameras onboard. 

For extra choices, see our full information to the best mid-range phones.

Must you purchase the Motorola Edge 50 Neo?

There’s lots to love concerning the Edge 50 Neo. It’s blessed with a enjoyable, cool design, beneficiant storage, sufficient energy for most individuals’s on a regular basis use, and cameras which are simply ok for vacation snaps and posting on social media. Then there’s the worth, which might be among the best options, because it undercuts most of its closest rivals. 

The one actual disadvantage I had was the irritating software program management glitches within the digital camera app and sometimes in different areas. If these are all fastened in software program patches, which I’m certain they are going to be, then the Edge 50 Neo might give the Google and OnePlus fashions an actual run for his or her cash. Within the meantime, these two units have the slight edge for most individuals.

Specs

• 6.4-inch pOLED show, 2670 x 1220 pixels decision (460ppi)   
• Corning Gorilla Glass 3   
• MediaTek Dimensity 7300 octa-core processor   
• 8GB RAM   
• 256GB inside storage
• Android 14 (supported as much as Android 19)
• Triple rear-facing digital camera system:
• 50MP f/1.8 most important digital camera   
• 13MP f/2.2, 120-degree FOV, ultra-wide digital camera   
• 10MP f/2.0 telephoto digital camera  (3x optical zoom)
• 32MP f/2.4 front-facing digital camera   
• 5G   
• Wi-Fi 6E   
• Bluetooth 5.3   
• GPS
• NFC   
• Twin SIM (Nano + eSIM)
• 4310mAh battery   
• 68W TurboPower charging   
• 15W wi-fi charging 
• USB-C charging port  
• Twin stereo audio system with Dolby Atmos   
• In-display fingerprint sensor   
• IP68 water resistance
• 154.1 x 71.2 x 8.1mm
• 171g