Motorola has hit a winning streak in recent years with its Edge series, which has become known for offering strong value for money in the mid-range segment. Among these, the “Neo” variants have carved a niche for themselves by focusing on compact design and balanced features. The latest in this series, the Motorola Edge 50 Neo, continues to build on this success while introducing several upgrades over its predecessor. Let’s dive into what makes this device stand out in a competitive market.
Design and Unboxing
The Motorola Edge 50 Neo comes packaged in a sleek box with the phone itself, a color-matched plastic case made from plant-based materials, and a USB-C cable. Notably missing, however, is a charger. Motorola leaves it up to the user to provide their own charger or purchase one separately. The phone supports fast charging up to 68W, so if you want to take advantage of that speed, you’ll need to get the right charger, which Motorola conveniently sells as part of its TurboPower lineup.
The design of the Motorola Edge 50 Neo retains much of the DNA from its predecessor, but with some key refinements. It’s now more compact, making it easier to handle with one hand, and it feels more comfortable thanks to its smaller footprint. It comes with a flat display, thinner bezels, and MIL-STD-810H certification, meaning it’s built to withstand environmental stress such as temperature extremes, rain, humidity, and dust. Additionally, it boasts an IP68 rating for dust and water resistance, providing extra peace of mind for users who want durability.
The back of the phone is where Motorola has really stepped up the design game. The Edge 50 Neo features a faux leather (vegan leather) finish, which not only adds to the device’s premium feel but also provides extra grip, making it less likely to slip from your hands. The available colors are Pantone-approved, offering options such as Poinciana (a striking red), Latter, Grisaille, and Nautical Blue. Overall, the design of the Edge 50 Neo is elegant and functional, offering a perfect balance between aesthetics and practicality.
Display: A Budget-Friendly LTPO OLED
One of the major upgrades in the Motorola Edge 50 Neo is the display. It now features a 6.4-inch LTPO OLED panel with a resolution of 1256 x 2760 pixels and a 120Hz refresh rate. The LTPO technology allows the refresh rate to dynamically adjust based on the content, from as low as 1Hz to 120Hz, which helps conserve battery life when the higher refresh rate isn’t necessary. This is a premium feature usually reserved for flagship devices, so it’s impressive to see it in a mid-range offering.
The display also supports HDR10+ and boasts a peak brightness of 1,473 nits, making it more than capable of handling bright outdoor conditions. The color reproduction is excellent, with 10-bit color depth, ensuring vibrant and accurate visuals. Whether you’re watching videos, playing games, or simply browsing, the Edge 50 Neo’s display is a joy to use.
Performance: Dimensity 7300 SoC
Under the hood, the Motorola Edge 50 Neo is powered by the MediaTek Dimensity 7300 chipset, which is built on a 4nm process. This octa-core processor features four Cortex-A78 cores clocked at 2.5GHz and four Cortex-A55 cores at 2.0GHz, along with a Mali-G615 MC2 GPU. While this chipset offers respectable performance for everyday tasks and moderate gaming, it doesn’t quite match up to the more powerful Snapdragon chipsets found in some of its competitors.
In benchmark tests, the Dimensity 7300 lags behind some of the Snapdragon-powered phones in this price range. However, for most users, this chipset will be more than sufficient for daily use, offering smooth performance in apps, multitasking, and light gaming. The phone also features either 8GB or 12GB of RAM, depending on the variant, which helps with overall system fluidity.
The device comes with either 256GB or 512GB of storage, using the UFS 2.0 standard. While UFS 2.0 is a bit outdated compared to UFS 3.1 or UFS 4.0 found in some newer phones, it’s still fast enough for most users, especially in this price segment.
Software: Clean Android Experience with Hello UI
The Motorola Edge 50 Neo runs on Android 14 with Motorola’s Hello UI on top. Motorola has kept its software close to the stock Android experience, which is something many users will appreciate. The user interface is clean, free of bloatware, and intuitive. Motorola has also committed to providing five years of major Android updates, which is quite generous, especially in the mid-range category.
One standout feature in the software is Motorola’s “Ready For” platform, which allows you to connect your phone to a larger screen and use it in a desktop-like mode. This is a feature typically reserved for higher-end models, so it’s a welcome inclusion in the Edge 50 Neo.
Camera System: Versatile but Inconsistent
The Motorola Edge 50 Neo comes equipped with a triple-camera system on the back, consisting of a 50MP main camera, a 10MP telephoto camera with 3x optical zoom, and a 13MP ultra-wide camera. The front camera is a 32MP shooter capable of recording 4K video at 30fps.
Main Camera
The 50MP main camera uses the Sony IMX 896 sensor, and during the day, it captures sharp and vibrant photos with good dynamic range. The colors are punchy, and details are well-preserved. However, in low-light conditions, the camera can struggle with focus, and the images can turn out soft. Night mode does help improve the quality in darker environments, but it’s not always consistent.
Telephoto Camera
The 10MP telephoto lens offers 3x optical zoom, which is a rare feature in mid-range phones. The zoom quality is decent in good lighting conditions, but it loses sharpness in low-light scenarios. The telephoto camera also shares the same overly contrasty processing found in the main camera, which can result in darker-than-expected images.
Ultrawide Camera
The 13MP ultrawide camera is serviceable but doesn’t stand out. It captures decent shots during the day but struggles in low light. The autofocus feature, however, allows for macro shots, which turn out surprisingly well for a mid-range device.
Front Camera
The 32MP front-facing camera performs admirably in well-lit environments, producing sharp selfies with good detail. However, there is a tendency for the HDR processing to overcompensate, resulting in slightly unnatural skin tones.
Video Capabilities
The Edge 50 Neo can record 4K video at 30fps with all its cameras. The video quality is good overall, with decent stabilization and sharpness. However, you can’t switch between the cameras while recording video, which is a bit of a limitation for users who want more versatility in their video shoots.
Battery Life and Charging
The Motorola Edge 50 Neo is powered by a 4,310mAh battery, which is slightly smaller than last year’s model. However, thanks to the more efficient Dimensity 7300 chipset and the LTPO OLED display, the battery life remains solid. In real-world use, the phone can comfortably last a full day on a single charge with moderate usage.
When it comes to charging, the phone supports 68W wired charging and 15W wireless charging. Using a 68W charger, the phone can reach 80% charge in just 30 minutes and a full charge in around 40 minutes. Motorola also includes features like “Overcharge Protection” and “Optimized Charging” to help prolong the battery’s lifespan.
Audio and Speakers
The Edge 50 Neo features a hybrid stereo speaker setup, with the earpiece acting as a secondary speaker. The sound quality is decent, with good clarity and separation, but the bass is a bit lacking. The device achieves a “Very Good” rating for loudness, but it doesn’t quite match the richness of sound found in more expensive models.
Connectivity
As expected, the Motorola Edge 50 Neo is well-equipped in terms of connectivity. It supports 5G, Wi-Fi 6e, Bluetooth 5.3, NFC, and eSIM. There’s also support for dual SIM, which is a useful feature for users who need two phone numbers.
Competition
While the Motorola Edge 50 Neo has a lot going for it, it faces stiff competition from other mid-range devices in its price range. Phones like the Samsung Galaxy A55, OnePlus Nord 4, Realme GT 6T, and Xiaomi Poco F6 Pro offer similarly compelling features at competitive prices.
For instance, the Samsung Galaxy A55 provides a more premium build with Gorilla Glass Victus+, a longer battery life, and a superior camera system, all at a lower price. The OnePlus Nord 4, on the other hand, offers a faster chipset and faster charging, although its display and build quality are not quite as good as the Edge 50 Neo.
Conclusion
The Motorola Edge 50 Neo is a strong contender in the mid-range segment, especially for users looking for a compact device with premium features. It offers a bright and vibrant LTPO OLED display, solid battery life, wireless charging, and a versatile camera setup. However, its performance is slightly underwhelming compared to some of its Snapdragon-powered rivals, and the camera app can be frustratingly laggy at times.
If you’re in the market for a smaller mid-range phone with good all-around features, the Edge 50 Neo is worth considering. However, if performance and camera quality are your top priorities, there are better options available in this price range.
Pros:
- Compact and ergonomic design
- Bright and colorful LTPO OLED display
- Good battery life and fast charging
- Versatile camera system with a telephoto lens
- Clean Android experience with 5 years of updates
Cons:
- Camera image processing can be overly contrasty
- Camera app performance issues
- Better chipsets available at similar prices
