Verdict
In the budget smartphone market , there ’s seldom a equipment that can do it all , and that includes the Edge 50 Neo . However , it come nearer than most with an interesting and practical designing , good performance , solid battery sprightliness , versatile cameras , a capital concealment and a comfortably portable design .
Pros
Cons
Key Features
Introduction
Few society have had such a big impact on the wandering shot as Motorola .
From initial technological successes in the conception of the mobile phone , then in making the portable sort factor commercially successful , in the noughties it move to a overtop position through the success of its fashionable folding Razr batting order .
Then , just over ten years ago , everything fall down apart . Unprepared for the onslaught of competition from Samsung in particular , the brand name was first corrupt by Google , before then being sold to Lenovo , under whose wing it has since sat .
Due to the runaway succeeder of its Moto G budget lineup , the firebrand became somewhat synonymous with devices that were overnice , but decidedly cheap . When the Edge batting order was launched , the spirit was to change that .
The Edge lineup is Motorola ’s big gamble in any given year , where it experiments in a bid to find a ‘ blue ocean ’ strategy , to do something rarely or never done before . No one phone has incremental updates from one class to the next , cameras come and go , sizes go up and down , and material are constantly in fluxion – it ’s a kitchen - sink approach path to intent .
This class , Motorola ’s big surprisal is with the Edge 50 Neo , ironically the budget option , which comes with novel materials , a young television camera , magnanimous promises of performance and a price point that wo n’t hurt the wallet .
As ever , there ’s a destiny of competition , especially in this segment of the marketplace . Xiaomi , Honor , Samsung and more each have firm options which boast some actual merchandising points , and this is a subset of the market where design is arguably less of import than it is elsewhere .
Regardless , the level is set , does the Moto Edge 50 Neo do enough to garner a position in your pocket ? Read on for our full review .
Design
When it comes to the mid - compass , there is n’t usually a groovy deal to say when it comes to contrive . Often there ’s some attempt to attend exchange premium , maybe even to look pretty , but there ’s very rarely a conviction to stand out . In a sea of white , black and rose gold smartphones , even seeing a new color is desirable of tone .
The Edge line is n’t about work it good , however , and fittingly with the Edge 50 Neo , Motorola has made some interesting decisions . First , there ’s colour , glorious technicolour , in all shades of the Pantone rainbow .
My review unit came in a very fetching “ Poinciana ” ruddy vividness , with a matching suit , which support out nicely and decidedly lay it asunder . There ’s also “ Grisaille ” ( grey ) , “ Latte ” ( brown ) and “ Nautical Blue ” , each of which has a character of its own . It ’s a lowly but effective way to shoot a little personality into sound design and is definitely appreciated .
move on from the colour , the next surprise come in the form of the materials used . There ’s a plastic frame , as might be expect with a budget equipment , however on the rear there ’s ‘ pleather ’ or ‘ vegan leather ’ ( pick your preference ) , in the colour of the material body . I witness it had a pleasant texture , mild and grippy , a million miles from your average methamphetamine hydrochloride and metal sandwich .
At 6.4 inches , the show is by no means small-scale , but the tall / flimsy scene proportion leaves this as a gimmick that is easy to employ one - handed . That ’s only aided by the system of weights ; at 171 g the Edge 50 Neo is almost disconcertingly light , though never feeling brassy or toy - like .
I detect it refreshing to use a gimmick that caused almost zero deal strain , if you are come from the likes of aSamsung Galaxy S24 Ultraor an iPhone 16 Pro Max , you ’ll experience the difference immediately .
Beyond the look and feel , the Edge 50 Neo feels solidly manufacture and generally well - built . As with any machine , a drop will not end well , but it at least feel as though it has a scrap chance of coming away with just a scrape . A pleasant inclusion is IP68 dust and pee resistance , which means it is value to take a brief free fall in body of water without being destroy , far from a given in the sub-£350 market .
Screen
No matter how nicely design a smartphone might be , CRT screen caliber is always paramount .
The Edge 50 Neo certainly comes with the usual boatload of merchandising term tie . It has an FHD+ ( 1256 x 2760 ) closure , it ’s HDR capable , refreshes at 120Hz and its base tech is OLED , making for inky inkiness and saturated colours .
There ’s more to it than that , but in inwardness , that ’s where we find ourselves . It is a concealment which equate but does n’t outdo the rivalry in any especial domain . The resolution , now seemingly an diligence standard , intend you will never see private pixels and everything appears sharp .
When using the gimmick , the fast refresh pace keeps the phone feeling fresh and nippy , while the HDR capabilities mean supported mental object looks salutary when play . As ever , the OLED tech means that most content is a treat , with gloss that pop , and the unusually in high spirits 3000nit extremum smartness means it does a good Book of Job of battle direct sunshine .
At night , it can become sufficiently dim that bedtime meter reading is n’t an issue . In all , and especially coupled with the ease of use in one manus , it ’s a earphone you ’ll have no issue with for nearly any give chore .
Those who watch a lot of television on their smartphone might find the 6.4 - in dimension a little too compact to become immersive , but many will regain this to be a goldilocks screenland sizing .
Camera
Things get means more interesting when it comes to television camera . In demarcation to the show , here ’s where Motorola starts to make some bold call .
First , there ’s a 50MP f/1.8 primary sensor , which is flank by the now - standard 13MP f/2.2 ultrawide center . Throwing a short spice into the intermixture , there ’s also a 10MP telephotograph genus Lens , which is a rough 75 mm equivalent weight , or a 3X zoom .
Zoom lenses are vanishingly rare on a smartphone that costs less then £ 350 , so the extra reach here is much appreciated . As expected from Motorola there ’s a host of photograph manner included , most of which can be ignore but some of which are a niggling fun .
One which can be right away jettison is the “ 30X super zoom ” , it is not a ‘ zoom ’ , nor is it super . It is an exceptionally granulose crop of a 3X image , and as such is n’t worth using . Spot Colour , Photo Booth and Tilt Shift each stand out as novel , if a little gimmicky , and a reminder that playfulness can still be had with roving picture taking .
come to the app , it can be plunge in classic Motorola fashion with a double pull of the wrist , and once it starts it ’s generally fast to operate . It is n’t lightning - fast , meaning that you ’ll likely miss the odd shot , which is unfortunate .
As for photo quality , for the most part it ’s pretty beneficial , sometimes even great . In skilful lightness , from the main sensor , you ’ll get images that are detailed , which are n’t oversharpened , and which have overnice colour interpretation .
active range for the most part is good , though the most challenging of backlit conditions remain a job . As for low - lightness public presentation , the optic image stabilization and the nighttime mode knead well in tandem to boost brightness and colour impregnation , leaving this as one of the better depressed - light shooters at the price point . It ca n’t work miracles , but it does work well .
execution on the telephotograph and ultra - wide-cut sensors , as is to be expected given the small sensing element size , is n’t up to sniff when compare to the master sensor . The telephoto produces courteous images for the most part but stick out in low Inner Light , while the ultrawide is mostly the same , with the caveat that its images often wrick out a lilliputian easygoing .
Colour scientific discipline is mostly similar between the three detector , signify there ’s no sudden shake up cool or warm cast when deepen detector . What ’s more , the abundance of modality and the varied focal duration mean that although overall epitome quality is n’t the very best , the versatility of what ’s on pass makes the Moto fun to shoot with .
The selfie sensing element is a standout , producing images that are warm and elaborate .
Video timbre is decent for the most part too , jolly detailed though a small noisy . It ’s definitely good enough for catching unmatched moments , but this is not a video - centric gimmick .
Performance
execution can be a tricky thing to define when it come to more low-cost phones , given the extraordinary range of CPU which tend to be on go . Some phone include former flagship chip shot , others incline to go for far more prosaic options .
With the Edge 50 Neo , Motorola has choose somewhere firmly in the middle , a MediaTek Dimensity 7300 . This is a 4 nm effort , and as such promise both superpower and power efficiency , and is back up with 8 GB of RAM and 256 GB of storage by default option .
Subjectively , moving through the interface and throwing the usual slog of e-mail , messaging , watching video , play light games and more , the Edge 50 Neo did n’t miss a measure . There was the odd pause when switch between apps , but nothing perturb .
Heavy games , such as PUBG , can be played on their mellow setting , though there ’s a clean bit of heat built up over time . The telephone is sold as a equipment which is powerful enough for the pauperism of most people , and for my usage , that was certainly true .
This notion is bear out by benchmark , with the gadget scoring a unmarried - pith score of 1052 and a multi - core account of 3031 in Geekbench 6 . This pose it roughly on level peg down with devices execute the Snapdragon 870 , a sinewy flagship chip from years past .
If you are a cutting gamer , there are other options usable , but for the most part , the Moto Edge 50 Neo is likely to fit your pauperism easily .
Software
As is always the showcase , with the Edge 50 Neo , Motorola has added its own ingredients to give Android a somewhat dissimilar flavor . Indeed , the company ’s own version of Android is so well - established that it scarce feel worth writing about any more , having start up with the first Moto X all the path back in 2013 .
It ’s laid - back , pleasantly so , never bewilder in the room of what you need to do , but often meaningfully enhance the experience . Take for example the always - on display , which react to your presence and allows you to interact with notification . Or the double karate chopper to start the torch , or the two-fold wrist twist to unfold the camera , all simple but effective additions you ’ll observe yourself using without even agnise .
There ’s more , a game modal value and that sorting of thing , but the Edge 50 Neo is a sunnily round-eyed gadget to use and easy to like as a consequence .
What ’s more , Motorola has promise to deliver five age of Android update , include security system spell , to the Edge 50 Neo , a first for the party .
Battery life
in conclusion , we come in to battery life , another area where Motorola makes no nifty claim . combine with a mogul - sipping processor , the 4310mAh electric battery build - in certainly seems large enough to push back the comparatively diminished showing for extended periods .
And in general use , that ’s what I establish . depart at 7 am , through a full day of messaging , some GPS , universal browse and light gaming , by 6 pm it had 32 % in the tankful , which is a good showing . As with most devices these Day , it means that the Edge 50 Neo will be one you ’ll want to file every dark , but with lighter usage you might adulterate into a second mean solar day .
come to charging , when the time hail you’re able to top up at 68W via a compatible Power Delivery fast battery charger , or at up to 15W using a Qi radio charging pad of paper . The latter is specially strange and welcome at the price point .
With a 15 - moment charge I was able to arrive at about 44 % , which is a good showing and definitely enough to make a difference in a pinch , with a full charge in around 46 minutes .
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Should you buy it?
The versatile photographic camera setup , including the rarely seen 3x telephotograph , offer a stride up over much of the budget competition , despite its pocketable dimensions .
The Edge 50 Neo is no slouch , but some of the likewise priced challenger play premium cow dung with more processing power .
Final Thoughts
In the budget smartphone market , there ’s seldom a twist that can do it all . There ’s one with the best camera , another with the most index , and an representative with astral battery life sentence , but not one brook - out contender . Even as the general service line of quality over the years has risen , still there has n’t been one to rise above the residuum .
The Moto Edge 50 Neo is n’t that French telephone , however it comes closer than most . It has an interesting and practical design , good functioning , upstanding battery life , versatile camera , a heavy screen and is usable one - give , which altogether is more than most can vaunt .
It does n’t have the best camera , or the fastest charging , but its laid - back software and accretion of quality - of - life features make the experience of using it nothing but pleasant .
If you are in the market for a cheaper handset , or for sure one that is n’t massive , then the Moto Edge 50 Neo should be at the top of your list . It is one of the best , and most balanced , handsets on the market today .
Trusted Score
How we test
We examine every mobile phone we refresh soundly . We use industriousness - standard test to equate features properly and we apply the phone as our principal twist over the review article flow . We ’ll always tell you what we get and we never , ever , accept money to retrospect a product .
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FAQs
Yes , you ’ll get a 68W courser in the box to take vantage of the phone ’s quick excite capableness .
Yes , the Motorola Edge 50 Neo has full IP68 dust and water opposition .
Motorola has commit to five days of update and surety patches for the Edge 50 Neo .
Test Data
Full Specs
