Motorola Edge 50 Neo review

Competition

One can argue that the Edge 50 Neo competes in its own niche. It's one of the few available compact midrangers. In fact, we struggle to find phones in the same price bracket that have displays under 6.5".

Interestingly, Motorola's solution boasts a competitive hardware and feature set rarely found in bigger handsets.

Let's take the Samsung Galaxy A55, for example. It's a nice all-rounder at a much lower price, around the low €300. It doesn't have a telephoto camera, but the camera experience is arguably better overall. It matches the Edge 50 Neo's battery life, offers similar performance and has a more premium build with Gorilla Glass Victus+ and aluminum frame. Motorola's phone, on the other hand, is more compact, charges faster, has wireless charging and has the better display of the two.

The recently released OnePlus Nord 4 is next on the list. It's entirely made of aluminum, which is a rare find these days and undercuts the 50 Neo at a lower price. The screen is once again considerably bigger, but less bright and efficient than the Neo's. Still, you will appreciate the longer battery life, faster charging and the somewhat better camera system.

Samsung Galaxy A55 • OnePlus Nord 4 • Realme GT 6T

The Realme GT 6T is similar to the Nord 4 phone with the same ColorOS/OxygenOS/Realme UI system and just like the Neo, it boasts an excellent LTPO OLED screen. Battery life on the 6T is better and so is charging. Camera-wise, we can say it's a tie. The Realme takes nicer pictures and videos with its main camera but doesn't have a telephoto and the ultrawide isn't necessarily better.

Xiaomi Poco F6 Pro • Google Pixel 8a

The Poco F6 Pro also fits the price criteria and it's an absolute powerhouse compared to the Motorola. It's running on a flagship Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 SoC, the base mode has 12GB of RAM and the storage standard is UFS 4.0 - much faster than the UFS 2.0 found in the Motorola. Charging is considerably quicker and the build is more premium, even though the ingress protection is just IP54. It doesn't impress with great camera quality, but nor does the 50 Neo. The only advantages of the Edge 50 Neo are its longer battery life and compact body.

And perhaps the only small-screen alternative to Motorola's offering is the Pixel 8a. The device has an even smaller 6.1-inch screen, faster chip and better camera performance despite the lack of a telephoto. Alternatively, the Moto will appeal to users looking for faster charging and longer battery life.

Verdict

As you can see, the small-screen options are few and far between, so the Edge 50 Neo doesn't face too fierce competition. Despite its size, it's also well-equipped. You don't see many compact midrangers with a telephoto camera and wireless charging. The handset is also equipped with a higher-end LTPO OLED panel, decently fast charging capabilities and long battery life. The design is ergonomically-sound and the finish is soft and grippy.

However, if the Motorola Edge 50 Neo didn't draw you with its compact size and you are just looking for a similarly priced handset in general, you will likely find better options for the price. The Edge 50 Neo failed to impress with performance and we expected better camera image quality.

Pros

• Compact and easy to handle design, IP68-rated.
• Nice and bright LTPO OLED display.
• Dependable battery life, wireless charging, fast wired charging.
• Versatile camera system with a 3x optical zoom and AF on the ultrawide.
• Clean Android experience with 5 years of updates.

Cons

• Camera image processing is overly contrasty.
• Camera app is frustratingly laggy.
• More powerful chipsets for the price.