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Motorola Edge 50 Neo Review
A rare example of a budget-focused phone with truly impressive specs
In This Article
Verdict
In the budget smartphone market, there’s rarely a device that can do it all, and that includes the Edge 50 Neo. However, it comes closer than most with an interesting and practical design, good performance, solid battery life, versatile cameras, a great screen and a comfortably portable design.
Pros
Cons
Key Features
Introduction
Few companies have had such a big impact on the mobile scene as Motorola.
From initial technical successes in the creation of the mobile phone, then in making the portable form factor commercially successful, in the noughties it moved to a commanding position through the success of its stylish folding Razr lineup.
Then, just over ten years ago, everything fell apart. Unprepared for the onslaught of competition from Samsung in particular, the brand was first bought by Google, before then being sold to Lenovo, under whose wing it has since sat.
Due to the runaway success of its Moto G budget lineup, the brand became somewhat synonymous with devices that were nice, but decidedly cheap. When the Edge lineup was launched, the intent 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 year to the next, cameras come and go, sizes go up and down, and materials are constantly in flux – it’s a kitchen-sink approach to design.
This year, Motorola’s big surprise is with the Edge 50 Neo, ironically the budget option, which comes with new materials, a new camera, big promises of performance and a price point that won’t hurt the wallet.
As ever, there’s a lot of competition, especially in this segment of the market. Xiaomi, Honor, Samsung and more each have strong options which boast some real selling points, and this is a subset of the market where design is arguably less important than it is elsewhere.
Regardless, the stage is set, does the Moto Edge 50 Neo do enough to earn a place in your pocket? Read on for our full review.
Design
When it comes to the mid-range, there isn’t usually a great deal to say when it comes to design. Often there’s some attempt to look 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 colour is worthy of note.
The Edge line isn’t about playing it safe, 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” red colour, with a matching case, which stood out nicely and definitely set it apart. There’s also “Grisaille” (grey), “Latte” (brown) and “Nautical Blue”, each of which has a character of its own. It’s a small but effective way to inject a little personality into phone design and is definitely appreciated.
Moving on from the colour, the next surprise comes in the form of the materials used. There’s a plastic frame, as might be expected with a budget device, however on the rear there’s ‘pleather’ or ‘vegan leather’ (pick your preference), in the colour of the frame. I found it had a pleasant texture, soft and grippy, a million miles from your average glass and metal sandwich.
At 6.4 inches, the display is by no means small, but the tall/thin aspect ratio leaves this as a device that is easy to use one-handed. That’s only aided by the weight; at 171g the Edge 50 Neo is almost disconcertingly light, though never feeling cheap or toy-like.
I found it refreshing to use a device that caused almost zero hand strain, if you are coming from the likes of aSamsung Galaxy S24 Ultraor an iPhone 16 Pro Max, you’ll feel the difference immediately.
Beyond the look and feel, the Edge 50 Neo feels solidly constructed and generally well-built. As with any device, a drop will not end well, but it at least feels as though it has a fighting chance of coming away with just a scrape. A pleasant inclusion is IP68 dust and water resistance, which means it is rated to take a brief dip in water without being destroyed, far from a given in the sub-£350 market.
Screen
No matter how nicely designed a smartphone might be, screen quality is always paramount.
The Edge 50 Neo certainly comes with the usual boatload of marketing terms attached. It has an FHD+ (1256 x 2760) resolution, it’s HDR capable, refreshes at 120Hz and its base tech is OLED, making for inky blacks and saturated colours.
There’s more to it than that, but in essence, that’s where we find ourselves. It is a screen which matches but doesn’t exceed the competition in any particular area. The resolution, now seemingly an industry standard, means you will never see individual pixels and everything appears sharp.
When using the device, the fast refresh rate keeps the phone feeling fresh and nippy, while the HDR capabilities mean supported content looks good when played. As ever, the OLED tech means that most content is a treat, with colours that pop, and the unusually high 3000nit peak brightness means it does a good job of combatting direct sunlight.
At night, it can become sufficiently dim that bedtime reading isn’t an issue. In all, and especially coupled with the ease of use in one hand, it’s a phone you’ll have no issue with for nearly any given task.
Those who watch a lot of TV on their smartphone might find the 6.4-inch dimensions a little too compact to become immersive, but many will find this to be a goldilocks screen size.
Camera
Things get way more interesting when it comes to cameras. In contrast to the display, here’s where Motorola starts to make some bolder claims.
First, there’s a 50MP f/1.8 main sensor, which is flanked by the now-standard 13MP f/2.2 ultrawide snapper. Throwing a little spice into the mix, there’s also a 10MP telephoto lens, which is a rough 75mm equivalent, 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 photo modes included, most of which can be disregarded but some of which are a little fun.
One which can be immediately jettisoned is the “30X super zoom”, it is not a ‘zoom’, nor is it super. It is an exceptionally grainy crop of a 3X image, and as such isn’t worth using. Spot Colour, Photo Booth and Tilt Shift each stand out as novel, if a little gimmicky, and a reminder that fun can still be had with mobile photography.
Coming to the app, it can be launched in classic Motorola fashion with a double twist of the wrist, and once it starts it’s generally quick to operate. It isn’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 good, sometimes even great. In good light, from the main sensor, you’ll get images that are detailed, which aren’t oversharpened, and which have nice colour rendition.
Dynamic range for the most part is good, though the most challenging of backlit conditions remain a problem. As for low-light performance, the optical image stabilisation and the night mode work well in tandem to boost brightness and colour saturation, leaving this as one of the better low-light shooters at the price point. It can’t work miracles, but it does work well.
Performance on the telephoto and ultra-wide sensors, as is to be expected given the smaller sensor sizes, isn’t up to snuff when compared to the main sensor. The telephoto produces nice images for the most part but suffers in low light, while the ultrawide is mostly the same, with the caveat that its images often turn out a little soft.
Colour science is mostly similar between the three sensors, meaning there’s no sudden jarring cool or warm cast when changing sensors. What’s more, the abundance of modes and the varied focal lengths mean that although overall image quality isn’t the very best, the versatility of what’s on offer makes the Moto fun to shoot with.
The selfie sensor is a standout, producing images that are warm and detailed.
Video quality is decent for the most part too, fairly detailed though a little noisy. It’s definitely good enough for catching odd moments, but this is not a video-centric device.
Performance
Performance can be a tricky thing to define when it comes to more affordable phones, given the extraordinary range of processors which tend to be on offer. Some phones include former flagship chips, others tend to go for far more prosaic options.
With the Edge 50 Neo, Motorola has chosen somewhere firmly in the middle, a MediaTek Dimensity 7300. This is a 4nm effort, and as such promises both power and power efficiency, and is backed up with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage by default.
Subjectively, moving through the interface and throwing the usual slog of email, messaging, watching videos, playing light games and more, the Edge 50 Neo didn’t miss a beat. There was the odd pause when switching between apps, but nothing distracting.
Heavy games, such as PUBG, can be played on their highest settings, though there’s a fair bit of heat built up over time. The phone is sold as a device which is powerful enough for the needs of most people, and for my usage, that was certainly true.
This impression is borne out by benchmarks, with the device scoring a single-core score of 1052 and a multi-core score of 3031 in Geekbench 6. This puts it roughly on level pegging with devices running the Snapdragon 870, a powerful flagship chip from years past.
If you are a keen gamer, there are other options available, but for the most part, the Moto Edge 50 Neo is likely to fit your needs easily.
Software
As is always the case, with the Edge 50 Neo, Motorola has added its own ingredients to give Android a slightly different flavour. Indeed, the company’s own version of Android is so well-established that it barely feels worth writing about any more, having started with the first Moto X all the way back in 2013.
It’s laid-back, pleasantly so, never getting in the way of what you need to do, but often meaningfully enhancing the experience. Take for example the always-on display, which reacts to your presence and allows you to interact with notifications. Or the double karate chop to open the torch, or the double wrist twist to open the camera, all simple but effective additions you’ll find yourself using without even realising.
There’s more, a game mode and that sort of thing, but the Edge 50 Neo is a pleasantly simple device to use and easy to like as a consequence.
What’s more, Motorola has promised to deliver five years of Android updates, including security patches, to the Edge 50 Neo, a first for the company.
Battery life
Lastly, we come to battery life, another area where Motorola makes no great claims. Combined with a power-sipping processor, the 4310mAh battery built-in certainly seems large enough to drive the relatively small display for extended periods.
And in general use, that’s what I found. Starting at 7am, through a full day of messaging, some GPS, general browsing and light gaming, by 6pm it had 32% in the tank, which is a good showing. As with most devices these days, it means that the Edge 50 Neo will be one you’ll need to charge every night, but with lighter usage you might stretch into a second day.
Coming to charging, when the time comes you can top up at 68W via a compatible Power Delivery fast charger, or at up to 15W using a Qi wireless charging pad. The latter is particularly unusual and welcome at the price point.
With a 15-minute charge I was able to gain 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?
You want a smartphone with versatile cameras that’s easy to use one-handed
The versatile camera setup, including the rarely seen 3x telephoto, offers a step up over much of the budget competition, despite its pocketable dimensions.
You need a smartphone with the absolute most in performance
The Edge 50 Neo is no slouch, but some of the similarly priced competition sport premium chips with more processing power.
Final Thoughts
In the budget smartphone market, there’s rarely a device that can do it all. There’s one with the best camera, another with the most power, and an example with stellar battery life, but not one stand-out contender. Even as the general baseline of quality over the years has risen, still there hasn’t been one to rise above the rest.
The Moto Edge 50 Neo isn’t that handset, however it comes closer than most. It has an interesting and practical design, good performance, solid battery life, versatile cameras, a great screen and is usable one-handed, which altogether is more than most can boast.
It doesn’t have the best camera, or the fastest charging, but its laid-back software and accumulation 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 certainly one that isn’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.
How we test
We test every mobile phone we review thoroughly. We use industry-standard tests to compare features properly and we use the phone as our main device over the review period. We’ll always tell you what we find and we never, ever, accept money to review a product.
Find out more about how we test in ourethics policy.
Used as a main phone for over a week
Thorough camera testing in a variety of conditions
Tested and benchmarked using respected industry tests and real-world data
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FAQs
Yes, you’ll get a 68W charger in the box to take advantage of the phone’s fast charging capabilities.
Yes, the Motorola Edge 50 Neo has full IP68 dust and water resistance.
Motorola has committed to five years of updates and security patches for the Edge 50 Neo.
Trusted Reviews test data
Full specs
Sean is a freelance consumer tech writer, having written for several sites including TechRadar UK, T3.com and OnMSFT (formerly WinBeta). A ‘Scot-down-South’, Sean is based in Bath, Somerset.
Founded in 2003, Trusted Reviews exists to give our readers thorough, unbiased and independent advice on what to buy.
Today, we have millions of users a month from around the world, and assess more than 1,000 products a year.
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
Why trust our journalism?
Founded in 2003, Trusted Reviews exists to give our readers thorough, unbiased and independent advice on what to buy.
Today, we have millions of users a month from around the world, and assess more than 1,000 products a year.
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
