Motorola Edge 50 review: Stuck in the middle

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I find the Motorola Edge 50 family of phones to be a bit confusing. There’s the Edge 50 Pro and Edge 50 Fusion that launched back in May, and Edge 50 and Edge 50 Neo that launched in September.

The four models mean there’s an Edge 50 device at $599, $699, $799 and $999.

The challenge is then determining which one is best for your needs. The Edge 50, which is the $799 model, is on the more premium side of the spectrum.

But does it differentiate itself enough from the other models in the lineup? Let’s find out.

What is the Motorola Edge 50 offering?

The Moto Edge 50 is a nice-looking phone, with a 6.7-inch pOLED display that wraps around the side of the phone, giving it the “Edge” name.

The curved edges of the screen can be more than just decorative too, glowing to display a notification when the phone is placed face down.

The screen has a 2712 × 1220 Super HD+ resolution, with support for HDR10+, a 120Hz refresh rate and peak brightness of 1600 nits.

Flip the phone over, and not only are you greeted by Motorola’s unique vegan leather finish (I tested in Jungle Green, but it also comes in Peach Fuzz and a Koala Grey vegan suede finish), but also the phone’s triple camera array.

Motorola has bundled a 50MP main camera, a 13MP ultra-wide and a 10MP 3x telephoto lens.

Inside the phone, things are powered by the Snapdragon 7 Gen 1 Accelerated Edition, coupled with 12 GB RAM and 256 GB of storage.

The phone is also rated for IP68 water and dust protection, and comes with a 5,000 mAh battery which supports 68W TurboPower fast charging and 15W wireless charging.

Motorola is marketing this model on its photographic prowess and stylish vegan leather design.

It’s not a great unique selling point, to be honest. It means that it blends in with the Moto Edge 50 Pro and the Edge 50 Fusion.

If you consider this to be Motorola’s core model, then the Pro is a premium version offering more premium performance. The Fusion cuts back to a more basic camera array and processor for affordability. And the Neo offering entry-level access to the Edge 50s style.

What does the Motorola Edge 50 do well?

As a mid-range device, the Moto Edge 50 does a pretty good job in its GeekBench 6 scores, without being spectacular.

It comes in a bit behind the Nothing Phone (2a) in terms of Single core CPU score and its GPU score.

It’s important to highlight that these scores don’t even come close to what’s happening at the top end of the market right now. But it’s roughly (roughly) on par with the performance of the Pixel 7, a two-year-old phone that still holds up, and it costs under $800.

In real-world usage, I found the Edge 50 more than capable enough to play the odd game of Call of Duty Mobile, or a spot of Diablo Immortal. It’s not the greatest gaming experience I’ve ever had on a phone, but it was more than passable.

Photos from the Motorola Edge 50 are nice too. There’s an excellent level of detail and colour reproduction is great on the phone, particularly with photos from the main 50 MP lens.

Zooming in on a photo of a crowd of people in Martin Place, and you can see there’s still plenty of detail in these shots. Plus, the camera shoots in 4K video, which is a pleasant inclusion.

There’s no Motorola photos app, though. If you’re on a quest to de-Google your life, this may not be the ideal device to help with that.

On the battery life front, I was running the phone for about a day and a half between recharges.

Unlike many phones these days, the phone does come with a charger, and it appears to be a 68W fast charger that promises super-quick charging.

What could the Motorola Edge 50 improve?

Like the Moto Edge 50 Fusion, I’d love to see a better processor here, though that would fundamentally shift the value proposition. And the reality is that this is a pretty well-balanced phone.

MicroSD card expansion would be a nice inclusion, and I was a little confused about the fast charger, given the Motorola website claims it's an additional purchase, but the charger in the box appears to be the 68W fast charger.

Similarly, Moto claims 15W fast charging, but the phone isn’t Qi2 compliant, and requires the dedicated Motorola 15W wireless charging stand.

But these are minor quibbles that have more to do with Motorola’s marketing claims than the phone itself. Overall, the phone is comfortably balanced between price and performance.

Verdict

The Motorola Edge 50 is a gorgeous phone with decent specs, solid performance and good cameras. It’s priced at $799, which sees it competing with phones like the OPPO Reno12, HMD Skyline and Galaxy A55.

I’d argue that the Edge 50 is as good – if not better – than all of them. But if you were to look at it side by side with the Edge 50 Fusion, I feel the Fusion is probably a better value phone.

Sure, there’s a tiny performance boost in terms of processing power and camera capabilities, but the reality is that the money you save makes up for that.

In the end though, this is still one of the best Motorola phones on the market.

Buy the Motorola Edge 50 online

Motorola Moto Edge 50

The Motorola Edge 50 is a solid phone that gets lost in the crowded collection of Edge 50 variations.

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