Moto G50 review

Introduction and specs

First, it was the Moto G 5G Plus about a year ago, and now it's the Moto G50. What do they have in common? Well, they are both Motorola's attempts to undercut the competition's 5G offerings.

Moto G50 arrives with a launch price of about €210 as it's positioned in a new affordable segment which is ruled by cheap devices with up-to-date connectivity.

The Moto G50 is almost a 5G version of the Moto G10. The 5G connectivity was enabled via the Snapdragon 480 chipset (as opposed to SD460 on G10). But the ultrawide camera had to go to achieve the relatively low launch price.

Motorola Moto G50 specs at a glance:

• Body: 164.9x74.9x9.0mm, 192g; Glass front, plastic back, plastic frame; Water-repellent design.
• Display: 6.50" IPS LCD, 90Hz, 720x1600px resolution, 20:9 aspect ratio, 269ppi.
• Chipset: Qualcomm SM4350 Snapdragon 480 5G (8 nm): Octa-core (2x2.0 GHz Kryo 460 & 6x1.8 GHz Kryo 460); Adreno 619.
• Memory: 64GB 4GB RAM, 128GB 4GB RAM; microSDXC (uses shared SIM slot).
• OS/Software: Android 11.
• Rear camera: Wide (main): 48 MP, f/1.7, 26mm, 1/2.0", 0.8µm, PDAF; Macro: 5 MP, f/2.4, 1/5.0", 1.12µm; Depth: 2 MP, f/2.4.
• Front camera: 13 MP, f/2.2, (wide), 1/3.1", 1.12µm.
• Video capture: Rear camera: 1080p@30/60fps; Front camera: 1080p@30/60fps.
• Battery: 5000mAh; Fast charging 15W (10W charger in the box).
• Misc: Fingerprint reader (rear-mounted); NFC; FM radio; 3.5mm jack.

On the other hand, we expect a better 13MP camera on the front and faster charging due to the 15W charging support instead of the slower 10W charging on the G10. And perhaps more importantly, the seemingly identical display of the G50 gains a faster refresh rate at 90Hz, making the whole user experience just a tad smoother.

Aside from offering 5G on the cheap, the Moto G50 also brings a burden-less Android experience with a sprinkle of Motorola-specific features without ruining the vanilla Android feel. A generous 5,000 mAh battery combined with the Snapdragon 480 5G (the first phone in Europe to have it) should yield excellent battery runtimes too. The water-repellent design, the base 4GB/64GB memory combo and the higher than usual resolution of the macro camera are welcomed bonuses at this price.

So let's see what else the Moto G50 has in store for us that the specs sheet can't reflect.

Unboxing the Motorola Moto G50

The Moto G50 comes in a standard box containing the usual user manuals, a charging brick and a USB-A to USB-C cable. Motorola has also included a handy transparent silicone case that wraps around the device.

However, the charger is rated at just 10W while the handset itself supports up to 15W wired charging. And the USB-A to USB-C cable is a cheaper variety that can only be used for charging and doesn't work for data transfer. We've seen this with other Motorola devices, and it's quite the bummer.