Motorola Edge 50 Neo Hands-on Impressions: Fun Mid-Ranger

In 2024, finding a phone that’s truly unique is more difficult than ever before.

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More than a splash of paint Snappy or toothless?

That’s especially true for mid-range handsets, which all aim to pack in as many features as possible without letting the prices reach flagship territory.

It makes a lot of sense, but also means that they can sometimes be a little… boring. If you’re looking to make a statement with your mid-range phone choice, you may end up disappointed.

However, Motorola has come to the rescue.

The new Edge 50 Neo (from £399.99/€499), one of five Edge 50 phones to arrive in 2024, has a design that’s sure to turn heads.

When I got it out of the box for the first time, the bright red (officially ‘Pantone Poinciana’) colourway stopped me in my tracks. After five years of writing about tech, it’s very rare for a phone to do that.

The red finish extends all the way around the sides of the phone, giving it a genuinely unique look. This certainly won’t be to everyone’s tastes, but personally, I’m a fan. I admire Motorola for offering this kind of thing in a world where most phone makers play it safe with colours.

The bright red colourway stopped me in my tracks

Judging by official photos, the grey (‘Pantone Grisaille’) and gold (‘Pantone Latte’) are a little more muted, though the blue (‘Pantone Nautical Blue’) looks to be just as eye-catching.

More than a splash of paint

However, it’s not just the colours Motorola has chosen; it’s the materials. The phone’s vegan leather back makes it feel instantly premium, adding the grip you simply don’t get with plastic- or glass-backed phones. And of course, you don’t need to worry about fingerprint smudges.

Alongside Corning’s tough Gorilla Glass 3 on the front, the phone feels impressively well-built and durable. It gets flagship-level IP68 water and dust resistance and meets the military-grade MIL-STD-810H for durability.

Despite all this, it weighs just 171g, making it one of the lightest phones I’ve tried in years. It makes a real difference while in my pocket, which is usually weighed down by a heavy slab of glass and metal.

The premium experience extends to the 6.4-inch pOLED screen, which offers a respectable 1.5K resolution and LTPO refresh rate up to 120Hz.

It also gets impressively bright, with Motorola advertising a peak brightness of 2000 nits. In my short time with the device, I couldn’t tell the difference compared to flagships.

Anyron Copeman / Foundry

Under the hood, you’ll find the MediaTek Dimensity 7300, which is a clear step down from the most powerful chipset MediaTek makes. However, alongside 12GB of RAM, performance has been smooth and reliable, though I haven’t tested demanding workloads such as gaming just yet.

Software is another key strength, with Motorola’s thoughtful additions to Android 14. Motorola is also offering five years of both OS and security updates, making it the cheapest phone to do so.

Snappy or toothless?

Moto AI also makes an appearance, but its main utility is for improving photos which brings me onto one of my main concerns for the Edge 50 Neo.

On paper, the phone’s triple rear lenses, consisting of a 50Mp Sony Lytia main, 13Mp ultrawide and 10Mp 3x telephoto, sound promising.

Anyron Copeman / Foundry

But as you probably know by now, that doesn’t mean the results will be great. A dimly lit arena was a bit of a mixed bag – it was generally good at preserving details but struggled with shadows at times.

The real test will come in well-lit scenarios and outdoors, where people tend to take most of their photos. Until then, the jury is out.

The other concern is battery life, with the Edge 50 Neo featuring just a 4310mAh cell. Motorola claims all-day battery life, but that capacity is smaller than many rivals, including the OnePlus Nord 4 (5500mAh) and Samsung Galaxy A55 (5000mAh).

To benefit from fast charging, you’ll also have to buy the 68W charger separately, though that’s not uncommon these days and it’s faster than many flagship phones including the Pixel 9.

Any major weaknesses in the cameras and battery life could be dealbreakers for many people. Without further testing, I can’t recommend the Edge 50 Neo yet, but there’s no doubting its ability to stand out from the crowd and I’ll have a full review for you soon.

The Edge 50 Neo has launched alongside the regular Edge 50 (€599), Moto G35 (€199) and G55 (€249). Full UK pricing and availability is yet to be revealed.

To see what the new Motorola devices will be up against, see our round-ups of the best budget phones and best mid-range phones.