Motorola Edge 50 Fusion review

The competition

At the time of writing, a base 128GB/8GB Edge 50 Fusion retails for around INR 25,499 (€280) in India. A 256GB/8GB unit sells for around €350 in Europe, and we found a 256GB/12GB unit in the US for $550 (€506). So, pricing varies wildly, it seems. Let's set our rough budget cap at $500/€500 and see what else you can get for the price.

Starting with camp Samsung, the Galaxy S23 FE has depreciated nicely and fits right within our budget. However, it has been getting on in age a bit since it came out in October 2023. So, our suggestion is to explore the Galaxy A55 instead. On average, it is a bit cheaper than the Edge 50 Fusion, but its Exynos 1480 keeps up with it and even outpaces the Snapdragon 7s Gen 2 inside the Moto. It comes with some excellent features like IP67 ingress protection, Gorilla Glass Victus+, stereo speakers, a microSD slot for storage expansion and an excellent 6.6-inch, 120Hz, HDR10+ Super AMOLED display. And sure, you're not getting a telephoto camera like on the S23 FE, but the setup on the A55 is still very versatile. And as a little added bonus, the Galaxy A55 has a bigger battery than the S23 FE and much better battery endurance.

Samsung Galaxy A55 • Xiaomi Redmi Note 13 Pro+ • Xiaomi Poco F6 • Realme GT 6T

Xiaomi's own lineup has a few interesting alternatives as well. There is the ever-popular Redmi Note 13 series. Its most popular member seems to currently be the Redmi Note 13 Pro, at least according to our statistics. And you can certainly go that route and save a lot of money. You will have to live with IP54 ingress protection and the relatively unimpressive Snapdragon 7s Gen 2 chipset - the same as in the Edge 50 Fusion. So, why not spend just a little bit more and get the Redmi Note 13 Pro+ instead with its "full-fat" IP68 rating as well as 120W fast charging, a MediaTek Dimensity 7200 Ultra and a powerful 200MP main camera?

Speaking of Xiaomi phones, there is the new Poco F6 series. While the flagship F6 Pro is probably a bit too expensive for the current budget, the base Poco F6 fits right in. And frankly, we think that it is the better deal out of the two phones. Some of the highlights include an IP64 body, Gorilla Glass Victus and stereo speakers. You also get an excellent 12-bit HDR, very bright AMOLED display, and 90W charging on a 5,000 mAh battery.

Finally, let us throw in a sort of regional option for those in India or people not afraid to import - the Realme GT 6T. It has an excellent and incredibly bright HDR display, Gorilla Glass Victus 2 protection, stereo speakers and a Snapdragon 7+ Gen 3 that is more powerful than the chip inside the Edge 50 Fusion. You also get a big 5,500 mAh battery with very fast 120W charging.

Our verdict

The Motorola Edge 50 Fusion is undoubtedly a gorgeous device through and through. It is exquisitely made, and even though the bill of materials is not what would conventionally be considered particularly "premium," everything looks and feels very nice and falls into place. The IP68 ingress protection is also a great bonus to have. The display on the Edge 50 Fusion is also very solid through and through, perhaps with the exception of the lack of HDR support. We have nothing but praise for the hybrid stereo setup. The camera performance is pretty solid all around, too.

We have to say that the biggest weak point on the Edge 50 Fusion specs sheet is probably the Snapdragon 7s Gen 2 chipset. It doesn't offer ample performance in the CPU or GPU departments. Even so, it's not like the Edge 50 Fusion struggled to perform any particular task we threw at it, so we won't go too hard on the choice of chipset, though it is worth noting that you can get much better performance in this price range. We would have also liked to see faster charging from the Edge 50 Fusion and perhaps expandable storage, but again, we wouldn't hold that against the phone too severely.

Ultimately, we would say that if the Moto Edge 50 Fusion speaks to you, particularly with its looks, it won't disappoint in any particular way, and you should go for one. If looks aren't your first priority, perhaps shop around a bit more.

Pros

• Exquisite design, colors and materials.
• IP68 ingress protection.
• Bright OLED with 144Hz refresh rate and good refresh rate handling.
• Very good stereo speakers.
• Excellent cooling and thermal behavior.
• Solid all-around camera performance.

Cons

• No HDR support.
• Not particularly fast charging.
• No wired video output over Type-C.