Motorola Edge 50 – strong phone reception and a joy to use (smartphone review)

The Motorola Edge 50 offers nearly everything you could expect from a premium flagship, except the $799 price. It is a gem with phone signal strength that is suitable for city, suburb, regional, and rural areas.

We have just finished the $699 Motorola Edge 50 Neo – superb value/performance mid-range review, and it was very impressive. It is great for city and suburb phone reception, where this has added regional and rural signal strength.

So, let’s look at what ticks the boxes (class-leading marked ✅)

• 6.7” 2712 x 1220, 10-bit/1.07 billion colours, 120Hz pOLED ✅✅
• Qualcomm SD 7 Gen 1 AE (Accelerated Edition) ✅✅
• 12/126GB ✅
• Wi-Fi 6E AXE, Bluetooth 5.3, USB-C 2.0 OTG, NFC, and GPS ✅
• SIM and eSIM for city, suburb, regional and rural use ✅✅
• 5000mAh Qi and 68W charger inbox for all-day use ✅✅
• Stylish Vegan leather back, IP68 and MIL-STD 810H ✅✅
• Almost pure Android 14, 2+5+5 warranty, OS updates and security patches ✅✅
• AI-enhanced 50 (Wide OIS +13 (Ultrawide/Macro) +10MP (3X optical 30X hybrid OIS) and 32MP selfie ✅✅

We have looked at all the other products in the $700-799 price bracket, and nothing compares to this. You could spend $699 for the Edge 50 Neo (MediaTek Dimensity 7300 SoC city/suburb reception) or $999 for the Edge 50 Pro (slightly faster SD7 Gen 3 and marginally better regional and rural reception). You might be tempted by the $949 Pixel 8a 256GB for its camera prowess, but it is strictly a city and suburb phone.

Caveats: USB-C 2.0 means you can attach an external SSD for slow backup (OTG)

AUSTRALIAN REVIEW: Motorola Edge 50, 12/256GB, SIM and eSIM, XT2407-1

* Grey market – no Australian warranty, and 5G may not work here

We strongly advise you to buy a genuine model with Australian firmware. Check Settings, About Phone, Regulatory Labels and Australian RCM C-tick mark. Insist on a screen grab if you buy anywhere else.

Australian certified phones use unique Australian 5G sub-6Ghz and 5G low-band frequencies, requiring local activation first. Read Don’t buy a grey market smartphone.

New ratings in 2024

We use Fail (below expectations), Pass (meets expectations), and Exceed (surpasses expectations or is the class leader) against many of the items below. We occasionally give a Pass(able) rating that is not as good as it could be and a Pass ‘+’ rating to show it is good but does not quite make it to Exceed. You can click on most images for an enlargement.

We are also tightening up on grading. Pass means meeting expectations for the price bracket. We consider a Pass mark to be 70+/100 with extra points added for class-leading and excellence.

First Impression – svelte and different – Pass+

I have the Jungle Green vegan leather Motorola Edge 50 for review – love the colour. The lava flow over the camera hump is well done (if a copy of earlier OPPO Find phones). The buttons are clicky and positive. It feels great in hand.

It feels thinner due to the slightly curved front glass, colour-matched alloy rounded frame, and grippy back.

My initial impression is one of class, worth more than it is, and it is a pleasure to use. 

After a few weeks of use, I have one caveat: I need a USB-C 3.2 Gen 1 or 2 (not a USB-C 2.0) to attach mountable external storage and use Alt DP 1.4 audio/video over USB-C to HDMI or USB-C. The $999 Motorola Edge 50 Pro – an excellent upper-mid-range smartphone has that and is a terrific choice if you need more.

Screen – colour accurate 10-bit – Pass+

It is a 10-bit/1.07 billion-colour screen with excellent colour accuracy for realistic photo and video previews—what you see is what the photo looks like.

It reaches 1200 nits in HDM (high brightness mode) and 300-500 nits for most use. It will reach 1600 nits in a 2% window for HDR10+ content.

PWM-sensitive people can use this. Like the Motorola Edge 50 Pro, it has higher 700Hz PWM dimming, which you would only experience on the dimmest screen brightness settings.

Summary – sweet screen – way better than Samsung 8-bit screens.

Screen specs

Processor – Qualcomm quality and performance – Pass+

A $799 phone is possible by using a Qualcomm 7-series processor. It has plenty of speed for daily use and limited AI capabilities (it does not come with Google Gemini), making it a perfect choice to hit the price sweet spot.

Throttling – Pass

Throttling means a 21% loss of power under full load. But that is after 10 minutes, and then it is quite stable. It is not really an issue; it is more about protecting the hot chip from getting too hot.

Comms – Pass+

It has Wi-Fi 6E and reaches the 2600/2600Mbps speeds available. Apart from wanting a USB-C 3.2 port, this has it all.

4G/5G – suitable for City, suburb, regional and rural use – Pass+

First, we applaud the availability of an eSIM in a phone of this price – excellent. We also applaud Motorola for being one of the few offering dual ringtones.

It finds all four towers in our test at good speeds and strengths. It and the Motorola Edge 50 Pro have strong reception.

Battery – Pass+

First, a little warning to power users. The SoC uses more milliamps under load than we expected, which will reduce battery life to 10-12 hours—perhaps less.

Typical users can rejoice – it will last at least 24 hours, and with a 43-minute cable charge and Qi charge, who cares?

Ten points to Motorola for including a 68W charger inbox that Samsung et al. charge $60+ for.

Battery specs

Sound hardware – Pass

It uses the typical forward-firing earpiece speaker and down-firing bottom speaker. It can decode Dolby Atmos, which does add a wider and higher soundstage.

The best part is that it has a huge range of Bluetooth Codecs, and headphones can produce great sound. It also has a built-in USB-C headphone DAC.

Sound quality – Pass

Very few phones are listenable for music, and this is no different. It has little high bass, late mid (fine for a clear voice), choppy mid, and little high treble, making the music harsh and lifeless.

Build – Pass+

Motorola builds good gear, and the Motorola Edge 50 is a perfect example. The colourways are fashionable, the vegan leather gives it a premium feel in hand, and it is a complete package with a 68W charger and colour-matched bumper cover. It is impressive to find a MIL-STD 810H phone at this price.

The curved edges give it a modern look, and its slim profile makes it comfortable in hand. It is well-built and feels like a true flagship phone.

OS – Pass+

Motorola uses pure Android with a light Hello UX overlay that adds considerable value without complicating Android (we are looking at you, Samsung, with your heavy, bloated UI overlay!).

It uses all the Google apps instead of substitutes (Again, Samsung), which makes it very easy to back up the phone to Google and restore it to another Android phone. You only need a Google Account – using a Motorola Account is unnecessary.

Moto has increased its OS and security patch times to five new OS upgrades and five years of bi-monthly security patches. This policy is generous and unusual for this price bracket—we call it Edge benefits.

Motorola Edge 50 rear camera – Pass+

Blow me away—a real 50 (Wide OIS) + 13 (Ultra-wide/macro) + 10MP (3X optical telephoto OIS) rear camera instead of the usual suspects – 8X ultra-wide and 2X depth. In addition, the camera and SoC also support Motorola Camera AI, making point-and-shoot photography easy.

It uses the same camera sensors as the Motorola Edge 50 Neo, but a stronger AI processor improves the results.

The Edge 50 Neo had a DXOMARK rating of 115. We consider any phone camera over 100 to be pretty good for point-and-shoots.

• The best Android cameras are the Google Pixel 9 Pro/XL, 158, and the iPhone 16 Pro Max, 157. These phones are $1500+++.
• A really good camera, like the OPPO Find X5 Pro or iPhone 14 Plus, is around 130. At the time, it was also $1500+.
• At 115, it joins the Samsung Galaxy S21 series and iPhone 11. It is well above the Samsung A35/55. It is still very good.

The primary sensor is a Sony LYTIA 700C. This new tech uses a smaller sensor but combines more pixels in its binning. It also has better low-light capability and a new multi-frame HDR that combines a bracket of shots to improve details in low and highlight areas. LYTIA is also better at colour saturation, faster focus and AI SteadyCam video recording.

Finally, our bugbear is solved. The 10-bit screen matches the final photo’s colour near-perfectly (Samsung’s 8-bit screens are always off-colour).

And OIS and Qualcomm EIS means steadier video and still shots.

If you would like to read the Amateur Photographer Motorola Edge 50 Neo camera review, it is here.

Camera Test Photos

Camera Specs

Motorola Edge 50 Selfie camera

It has a decent 32MP sensor that bins to 8.1MP. Its colours and skin tones are accurate, and it takes a very nice selfie, perfect for one or two people.

CyberShack’s view: The Motorola Edge 50 is a pleasure to use and is what most people would ever need.

It is not often that a phone brings pleasure, but this did. Everything worked as it should; it tested very well and was a joy to use. I especially like the smaller, separate clicky buttons for volume up and down and power, and the gentle edge curve screen and vegan back make it a delight in hand.

As we said in the Edge 50 Neo review, “Go back a year or two, and to get a similar featured phone, especially in the camera area, you would have been looking at $1000+. To bring all the features in at $699 is impressive”.

In part, it reflects Motorola’s desire to be one of the more significant players in the smartphone market, and it has OPPO and Samsung in its sights. Motorola also wants offerings in every niche, from its excellent workhorse G-series to the mid-range, verging on flagship Edge-series, and its Razr 50, the best flip phone by far in 2024.

It also reflects that Motorola (well, Lenovo) owns its manufacturing facilities and can control more of the supply chain, allowing it to mix and match components to hit price point sweet spots.

Whatever it is, please keep doing it as it works!

The Motorola Edge 50 is perfect for city, suburb, regional and rural dwellers who want a premium phone for much less than Apple or Samsung. Don’t get me started on the AI trip – Joe and Jane Average do not want to go there.

It, like the Neo, gets our strong buy recommendation.

Motorola Edge 50 ratings

Motorola Edge 50, 12/256GB, SIM and eSIM, XT2407-1

$799

Pros

• For the price, it is the class leader and includes the 68W charger.
• Excellent phone reception for city, suburb, regional and rural use if you have some Band 28 signal from Optus or Vodafone.
• 12/256GB is class-leading
• The camera is class-leading
• Excellent 2-5+5 warranty/OS upgrades/security patches

Cons

• USB-C 2.0 precludes Alt DP screen mirror and external mountable SSD, although USB-C 3.1 is not expected at this price.
• There is no 3.5mm headphone port, but it has a Digital/Analogue USB-C port.
• The speaker sound could be improved.