Motorola Edge 30 Neo – Pantone colours for the trendy set (smartphone review)

The Motorola Edge 30 Neo comes in trendy Pantone colours – Very Peri, Aqua Foam, Black Onyx, and Ice Palace, but its real value lies beneath. It is a damned good, smaller, more pocketable, $599 phone with a Qualcomm SD695 SoC, good phone reception, a decent camera and 68W capable charging.

This is part of the Edge 30 series, which means Edge pedigree, longer OS and security patch updates, a 24-month warranty and Motorola’s unbelievable value.

And after a few weeks of using this, the Edge 30 Ultra and other Edge 30 handsets, this is the sweet spot. It is class-leading in the $599 bracket, offering features that phones costing even $100 more cannot beat.

But it has a few compromises too – none are deal breakers, but some may influence which Edge 30 model you buy.

Australian Review: Motorola Edge 30 Neo Mode XT2245-1, Dual Sim, Australian Retapac firmware

Website	Product Page
Price:	$599 for 8/128GB
Colours	Pantone Very Peri, Aqua Foam, Black Onyx and Ice Palace (non-Pantone)
From*	JB Hi-Fi, Big W, Lenovo online
Warranty	24-months ACL
Country of Manufacture:	China
Company	Owned by Lenovo (Est 1984) – a multinational technology company with its primary operational headquarters in Beijing and Morrisville, North Carolina. It is the world’s largest PC maker, and it purchased Motorola Mobility from Google in 2014. Most of Lenovo’s smartphone business is now under the Motorola brand, with grand plans to become a ‘top five’ smartphone maker.
More	Other CyberShack Motorola news and reviews

* Grey market – no Australian warranty, and 5G won’t work

We strongly advise you to buy a genuine model with Australian firmware. It is easy to identify the Australian version – under Settings, About Phone, and Regulatory Labels, there is an Australian RNZ C-tick mark. There is also an RNZ C-Tick on the box. They use unique Australian 5G sub-6Ghz and 5G low-band frequencies, requiring local activation first.

Deep-Dive review format

It is now in two parts – a summary and a separate 300+ line database-driven spec, including over 70 tests to back up the findings. It also helps us compare different phones and features.

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 should 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.

First Impression – cute and colourful – Pass+

Let’s just say that the review unit’s Very Peri purple is a little too avant-garde for me, but my wife loves it. I prefer Ice Palace, but then I drive a car painted Sonic Quartz.

Whatever your penchant, we give Motorola 10 points for taking a risk on colours – there should be more of this, and Pantone is a great partner for identifying emerging colour trends.

The phone is another glass slab – flat front, rear PMMA (acrylic glass) and the Edge signature camera hump on the top left.

Screen – 6.28”, 10-bit, very bright 120Hz pOLED – Pass+

The screen nearly got an ‘Exceed’ if only for the fact that no other competitor at this price has a 10-bit colour screen. It is bright 500/1100 nits, great in direct sunlight and capable of HDR10 and FHD SRD video streaming.

Unlike most OLED screens, it lacks an Always on Display, but Motorola adds a ‘Peek display’ that activates when you look at it.

And it is a billion times more colourful, where many flagships only have 8-bit, 16 million colours.

Processor – Qualcomm SD695 5G – suitable to the task – Pass

At $599, you don’t get a V8 engine, more like a 4-cylinder, and for most users, that is all you need. Throttling is a measly 5%, but it is not a gamer’s device.

Where we are disappointed is that despite the website claiming USB-C 3.1 Gen 1 5Gbps full-duplex – sorry, it is not. It is plain old slow USB-C 2.0, 480Mbps half-duplex (about 40MBps) and does not support alt DP 1.4 audio/video/data/charging or fast external storage.

Its internal storage is quite slow, reflecting the use of UFS 2.2 storage. Its external storage is mountable but limited to about 30MBps.

Please remember that we have just tested the Motorola Edge 30 Ultra and Razr, so anything less is a letdown. It is fit for purpose and price.

Comms – Wi-Fi 5 AC – Pass

After the rest of the Edge 30 series having full-duplex 2400Mbps Wi-Fi 6 or 6E, this is an anti-climax. It chugs along at 433Mbps Wi-Fi 5 AC, albeit it has quite a strong, usable signal out to 15m.

Back to that USB-C issue. It does not support Motorola Ready For (screen mirror) but you can 1080p W-Fi cast only to a compatible Miracast device.

LTE and 5G – Good reception but average signal strength – Pass

It finds the four nearest Telco towers but at lower, still usable, signal strengths ranging from 125fW to 1.6pW. What this means is that it is good where you have reasonable signal strength but probably not for rural and regional areas with low signal strength.

Battery – 4020mAh and 68W charge – Pass+

Again, it nearly got an ‘Exceed’, but most competitors have a 5000mAh battery. Where this shines is the 68W charger that can fill it in 40 minutes.

Typical users can expect up to two days of life, and as power users would not be interested in this SoC, then who cares.

• Video loop (1080, 50% volume/brightness) 21 hours and 17 minutes
• PC Mark Battery test (typical use) 16 hours and 46 minutes
• Accubattery 18 hours
• GFX Bench T-Rex (games) 7.16 hours
• Drain full load 4 hours and 36 minutes]
• 68W charge 40 minutes
• 30W charge 52 minutes
• 5W Qi charge Six hours
• 10W charge 4 hours

Unlike Samsung, Motorola includes the charger inbox.

Sound – Dolby Atmos downmix to two speakers – Pass+

• Stereo 2.0 with a top earpiece and bottom down-firing speaker
• 80dB maximum volume (good)
• BT 5.1 with Qualcomm aptX codecs and multi-point connection
• Two mics for hands-free
• Excellent left-right separation and DA makes quite a difference with DA content.
• It is mostly Bright Vocal (bass recessed, mid/treble boosted) with a little high-bass, but the unexplained dip at 500Hz and the somewhat choppy frequency response could use work. It is firmware fixable.

Build – Pass+

It is a small phone at 152.9 x 71.2 x 7.75 mm x 155g achieved by using a smaller screen, battery and a PMMA plastic back.

Our only issue with the phone is IP52 water and dust resistance. But at $599, few offer more.

Add Motorola’s 2-year warranty, and it is ahead of Samsung with one year.

OS – Android 12 – Pass+

It will get Android 13, 14, and possibly 15 and three years of Security patches. But the August 2022 security patch is a little concerning as the Ultra is up to November. Perhaps the Neo get quarterly updates.

It has almost pure Android with a very light My UX 3.0 user experience that is more about adding value via Moto actions and the camera app. No Motorola account is required. It adds:

• Personalise: Styles, Wallpapers, Layout
• Display: Peek Display, Attentive Display
• Gestures: Power Touch, Quick Capture, Fast Flashlight, Three-finger screenshot, Pick up to silence, Screenshot toolkit, Media controls

Having used Samsung’s OneUI and Motorola’s My UX, I appreciate the cleaner My UX and its less intrusiveness.

Motorola Edge 30 Neo rear camera

It uses a Samsung S5KGW3 quad-pixel, OIS, 64MP that bins to 16MP. The ultra-wide and macro lens is a Hynix HI336 with autofocus.

Now the combo is pretty good, and its capabilities overshadow the plethora of lower-cost, tri cameras 50MP+8MP+2MP you find in this price bracket.

It relies on the SoC’s AI post-processing power and Motorola’s camera smarts (still developing) to bin together the best image. It is good, but it is not quite there yet.

For example, we found the primary sensor is overpowered by bright scenes resulting in a washed-out look. Shot the same image at a different time of day, and it is better. The hardware has not changed, but the AI needs to. In fact, we got better images with the AI turned shot optimisation turned off.

Many reviewers have commented that its camera performance is underwhelming. I say it is pretty good and can only get better.

Camera tests

• 1X Day Primary: Dynamic range is limited. Good details in the foreground, shadows, and highlights but is a little overexposed.
• 4X Day Primary: Good colour and details – the background is showing with little noise
• 8X Day: Primary: Pushing its limits with a noisy background
• 64MP 1X: appreciably more detail. No AI post-processing indicates that Moto has some work to do on its camera prowess.
• Ultra-wide: 13MP sensor: Slightly muted colour and details. You can tell it is a different sensor from the primary.
• Macro 13MP UW: excellent details and colours and not as critical about 4cm focus distance.
• Indoor office light: Good colours, details and sharpness.
• Bokeh Depth: Excellent foreground colour, detail and sharpness and bokeh background.
• Dark <40 lumens: The standard mode (not night mode) noisy, blown-out and not a good shot.
• Night mode: Removes much noise, adds a little colour and sharpens the image.
• Selfie: The 32MP (bins to 8l.MP) has natural skin tones, good detail and a range of filters to enhance any image.
• Video (we are not video experts):
• Primary sensor: You can shoot at 1080p@60fps (no stabilisation), and 1080p@30fps with EIS and the day/office light results are very good. Not a good low-light video.
• Ultrawide sensor 13MP: You can shoot 1080p@30fps and it produces average results
• Selfie: 1080p@60fps no OIS or EIS. Best at 1080p@30fps.

Remember this SoC has its AI limits so don’t push the camera past them.

CyberShack’s view – Motorola Edge 30 Neo is a competent all-around phone

There is nothing special or exciting in any $599 phone. My greatest compliment is that it is competent all-around phone. The 68W charger is nice as is the screen.

‘Decent’ is the word and if you only have $599 then this is as good as it gets. For me, the Edge 30 at $699 has a little more excitement with Wi-Fi 6E, albeit in boring Meteor Grey.

CyberShack Smartphone comparison v 1.1 (E&OE)

Motorola Edge 30 Neo

Brand	Motorola
Model	Motorola Edge 30 Neo
Model Number	XT2245-1
Price Base	8/128
Price base	$599
Warranty months	24-months ACL
Tier	Mid-range with Edge pedigree
Website	Product page
From	JB Hi-Fi, Big W, and Lenovo.com from 27 September 2022
Country of Origin	China
Company	Owned by Lenovo (Est 1984) – a multinational technology company with its primary operational headquarters in Beijing and Morrisville/ North Carolina. It is the world’s largest PC maker. It purchased Motorola Mobility from Google in 2014. Most of Lenovo’s smartphone business is now under the Motorola brand/ and it has grand plans to become a ‘top five’ smartphone maker.
More	CyberShack Motorola news and reviews
Test date	20-25/11/2022
Ambient temp	16-24°
Release	1/09/2022
Other models not for Australia (Don’t buy)	Different ram/storage/colour variants

Screen

Size	6.28″
Type	pOLED
Flat, Curve, 2D, 3D	Flat
Resolution	2400 x 1080
PPI	419
Ratio	20:9
Screen to Body %	95.60%
Colours bits	Not specified but apparently 10-bit 1.07 billion colours which is highly unusual at this price.
Refresh Hz, adaptive	60Hz fixed 120Hz fixed Adaptive 48/60/90/120Hz
Nits typical test	500 (tested 489)
Nits max test	1100 (tested 1010)
Contrast	Infinite
sRGB	100+%
DCI-P3	70% of 1.07 billion colours
Rec.2020 or other	Yes
Delta E (<4 is excellent)	1.6
HDR Level	HDR10
SDR Upscale	No
Blue light control	Yes
PWM if known	Yes 730Hz
Daylight readable	Yes
Always on Display	No, but uses a Peek Display (similar)
Edge display	No
Accessibility	All Android 12 features
DRM	L1 HD HDR playback
Gaming	Up to 240Hz finger touch response and 13ms G-t-G
Screen protection	Not stated – suspect GG3 or similar
Comment	Excellent 10-bit/1.07 billion colour screen with greater subtleties in colour than Samsung S22/+. Adaptive stepping usually sits at 90/120Hz.

Processor

Brand, Model	Qualcomm SD695 5G
nm	6
Cores	2 x 2.2GHz + 6 x 1.7GHz
Modem	X51
AI TOPS	Estimate 10
GeekBench 5 Single-core	670
GeekBench 5 multi-core	1921
Like	Similar to SD855
GPU	Adreno 619
GPU Test
Open CL	1384
Like	SD732G
Vulcan	1335
RAM, type	8GB LPDDRX4
Storage, free, type	128GB UFS 2.2 (92.5GB free)
micro-SD	No
CPDT internal seq. Read MBps	462
CPDT internal seq. write MBps	337
CPDT microSD read, write MBps	N/A
CPDT external (mountable?) MBps	30/22 OTG reflects USB 2.0, but the website claims USB-C 3.1 Gen 1 – it is not
Comment	Very disappointed that the phone only supports USB-C 2.0 480Mbps when the website says otherwise. Internal storage speeds reflect UFS 2.2.
Throttle test
Max GIPS	195,696
Average GIPS	190,216
Minimum GIPS	182,388
% Throttle	5%
CPU Temp	50°
Comment	Excellent low throttle

Comms

Wi-Fi Type, model	Wi-Fi 5 AC
Test 2m -dBm, Mbps	5GHz -16/433
Test 5m	-38/433
Test 10m	-50/433 (10m -58/117)
BT Type	5.2
GPS single, dual	Dual
USB type	The website claims USB-C 3.1 Gen 1, 5Gbps, but the speeds and lack of alt DP (USB-C/HDMI) prove it is USB-C 2.0, 480Mbps. Disappointing after the claim.
ALT DP, DeX, Ready For	Yes – 1080p wireless over Wi-Fi only. We could not get it working over USB-C as it is only 2.0.
NFC	Yes
Ultra-wideband	No
Sensors
Accelerometer	Yes combo
Gyro	Yes combo
e-Compass	Yes
Barometer
Gravity
Pedometer
Ambient light	Yes
Hall sensor
Proximity	Yes
Other	SAR sensor
Comment	Wi-Fi 5 AC is not as fast as the rest of the Edge 6 or 6E range

LTE and 5G

SIM	Dual SIMs 5G + 5G
Active	Both are 5G capable/ both active except when one is in use
Ring tone single, dual	Dual ring tones – excellent
VoLTE	Carrier dependent
Wi-Fi calling	Carrier dependent
4G Bands	B1/2/3/4/5/7/8/12/17/20/25/26/28/32/38/40/41/42/43/
Comment	All Australian and most world bands
5G sub-6Ghz	n1/3/5/7/8/20/28/38/40/41/66/78
Comment	All Australian 5G sub-6 and low bands
mmWave	No
Test Boost Mobile, Telstra
UL, DL, ms	22.3/40.8/38
Tower 1 -dBm, fW or pW	-88/1.6pW
Tower 2	-92/620fW-1pW
Tower 3	-94/400fW
Tower 4	-99/125fW
Comment	As expected from a Qualcomm modem, it found all four towers at usable strengths. It is suitable for city/suburban and regional city use.

Battery

mAh	4020
Charger, type, supplied	68W 5V/3A/15W, 9V/3A/27W, 15V/3A/45W, 20V/3.4A/68W and 11/6.2A/68.2W with 5W cable.
PD, QC level	PD 3.0/QC 5.0
Qi, wattage	5W
Reverse Qi or cable	N/A
Test (Adaptive screen)
Charge % 30mins	47%
Charge 0-100%	30W charger 52 minutes 68W charger not supplied put claimed 40 minutes.
Charge Qi, W	Approx 6 hours
Charge 5V, 2A	Approx 4 hours
Video loop 50%, aeroplane	21 hours 17 minutes
PC Mark 3 battery	16 hours 46 minutes
GFX Bench Manhattan battery	Would not run
GFX Bench T-Rex	429.4 minutes (7.16 hours) 4523 frames
Drain 100-0% full load screen on	4 hours 36 minutes
mA full load	1200-1250mA
mA Watt idle Screen on	280-300mA
Estimate loss at max refresh	Auto is the best setting and should not affect the battery results. If you select 120Hz, expect a 20% shorter battery life.
Estimate typical use	It has a 5W Qi charge which is handy for top-ups. This is a two-day typical use phone
Comment	It is a smaller battery than the typical 5000mAh ‘crop’, but the SoC and AMOLED screen are efficient. Unfortunately, we did not get a 68W charger, and all tests use the 30W from the Razr.

Sound

Speakers	Top forward/ up-firing and bottom down-firing stereo.
Tuning	No
AMP	Qualcomm Aqsitic sound
Dolby Atmos decode	Dolby Atmos decode to 2.0 speakers.
Hi-Res	No
3.5mm	No
BT Codecs	5.1 SBC, AAC, aptX (and variants), LDAC
Multipoint	Can connect to two devices
Dolby Atmos (DA)	Yes – auto/ movie/ music/ voice and games mode
EQ	No – just DA pre-sets
Mics	2 top/bottom with noise cancelling
Test dB – all on EQ flat DA off
Volume max	80
Media (music)	73
Ring	72
Alarm	75
Notifications	73
Earpiece	60
Hands-free	Dual mics and some noise-cancelling with adequate volume.
BT headphones	Excellent left-right separation and DA makes quite a difference with DA content.

Sound quality

Deep Bass 20-40Hz	Nil
Middle Bass 40-100Hz	Nil
High Bass 100-200Hz	Building to 200Hz
Low Mid 200-400Hz	Flatish
Mid 4000-1000Hz	Dip at 500Hz but flat
High-Mid 1-2kHz	Flatish
Low Treble 2-4kHz	Flatish
Mid Treble 4-6kHz	Flatish
High Treble 6-10kHz	Linear decline to 10kHz
Dog Whistle 10-20kHz	Flatish and then decline
Sound Signature type	It is mostly Bright Vocal (bass recessed, mid/treble boosted), but the unexplained dip at 500Hz and the fairly choppy frequency response could use work. It is firmware fixable. At first, we suspected Moto’s Crystal Talk AI was influencing the sound quality, but it was similar with that feature off.
Soundstage	Slight bias to the bottom speaker. Only as wide as the phone and DA settings don’t add any wider sound stage. Left and right separation is adequate.
Comment	The sound signature is average, helped with a little high-bass.

Build

Size (H X W x D)	152.9 x 71.2 x 7.75 mm
Weight grams	155
Front glass	Not stated but expect GG3
Rear material	PMMA
Frame	PMMA
IP rating	52
Colours	Aqua Foam Very Peri Black Onyx Ice Palace
Pen, Stylus support	No
In the box
Charger	68W
USB cable	Yes
Buds	Yes – USB-C
Bumper cover	Yes
Comment	Has a 68W charger inbox. Very well made and so thin.

OS

Android	12 – almost pure Android
Security patch date	1/08/2022
UI	My UX 3.0 Personalize: Styles, Wallpapers, Layout Display: Peek Display, Attentive Display Gestures: Power Touch, Quick Capture, Fast Flashlight, Three-finger screenshot, Pick up to silence, Screenshot toolkit, Media controls
OS upgrade policy	Two OS upgrades, possibly three
Security patch policy	Regular security patches for at least 2, possibly three years
Bloatware	Pure Android – all Google Apps. You can uninstall Facebook.
Other	Play: Gametime Audio
Comment	My UX 3.0 adds value to pure Android
Security
Fingerprint sensor location, type	Under Glass optical
Face ID	Yes, 2D only
Other	Lenovo ThinkShield is more for enterprise use
Comment

Motorola Edge 30 Neo rear camera

Rear Primary	Wide – Primary
MP	64MP bins 16MP
Sensor	Samsung S5GW3
Focus	Quad Pixel
f-stop	1.8
um	1.12 bins to 2.24
FOV° (stated, actual)	69.2-81.5°
Stabilisation	OIS
Zoom	8x digital
Rear 2	Ultra-wide and macro
MP	13MP
Sensor	Hynix HI336
Focus	AF
f-stop	2.2
um	1.12
FOV (stated, actual)	120°
Stabilisation	No
Zoom	No
Special
Video max	1080p@60fps
Flash	Yes
Auto-HDR	Yes
	Shooting modes: Ultra-Res Pro (w/ Long Exposure) 360° Panorama AR Stickers Live Photo Filters Dual Capture Night Vision Portrait (w/ HDR) Scan Spot Colour
QR code reader	Via Google Lens
Night mode	AI
Front	Selfie
MP	32MP bins to 8.1MP
Sensor	Omnivision OV32c4c
Focus	Fixed
f-stop	2.4
um	0.7 bins to 1.4
FOV (stated, actual)	69.7-82.1°
Stabilisation	No
Flash	Screen fill
Zoom
Video max	1080p@30fps
Features	Shooting modes: Pro (w/ Long Exposure) Group Selfie Live Photo Filters Dual Capture Auto Night Vision Portrait (w/ HDR) Spot Colour

Motorola Edge 30 Neo camera test

Comment

• 1X Day Primary sensor: Dynamic range is limited. Good details in the foreground, shadows, and highlights but is a little overexposed. • 4X Day Primary sensor: Good colour and details – the background is showing with little noise • 8X Day: Primary sensor: Pushing its limits with a noisy background • 64MP 1X: appreciably more detail and dynamic range. There is no AI post-processing indicating that Moto has some work to do on its camera prowess. • Ultra-wide: 13MP sensor: Slightly muted colour and details. You can tell it is a different sensor from the primary. • Macro 13MP UW sensor: excellent details and colours and not as critical about 4cm focus distance. • Indoor office light: Good colours, details and sharpness. • Bokeh Depth: Excellent foreground colour, detail and sharpness and bokeh background. • Dark <40 lumens: The standard mode (not night mode) noisy, blown-out and not a good shot. • Night mode: Removes much noise, adds a little colour and sharpens the image. • Selfie: The 32MP (bins to 8l.MP) has natural skin tones, good detail and a range of filters to enhance any image. • Video (we are not video experts): o Primary sensor: You can shoot at 1080p@60fps (no stabilisation), and 1080p@30fps with OIS, and the day/office light results are very good. Not a good low-light video. o Ultrawide sensor 13MP: You can shoot 1080p@30fps and it produces average results o Selfie: 1080p@60fps no OIS or EIS. Best at 1080p@30fps.

Rating Explanation

Features	8
	Missing USB-C 3.1, slow RAM and storage, only Wi-Fi 5 AC and 1080p screen mirror. Having said that, it has some premium features only found in more expensive handsets
Value	9
	While its value/features are class-leading, the Edge 30 at $699 is a better device with fewer compromises.
Performance	8
	Good general use SoC but not for gamers
Ease of Use	9
	Three OS upgrades, three years of security patches and a 24-month warranty make this hard to beat.
Design	8.5
	Only for the Pantone collaboration and the rear Edge light.
Rating out of 10	8.5
Final comment	As far as a smaller phone goes, it is perfect (more like a Pixel 6a size). If you are a typical user, you will be very happy.

Motorola Edge 30 Neo, Motorola Edge 30 Neo