Motorola Edge 50 Neo – superb value/performance mid-range (smartphone review)

The Motorola Edge 50 Neo is an absolute bargain, sitting above the Fusion and below the Edge 50 and 50 Pro.

At $699, the Motorola Edge 50 Neo is the class leader in this very competitive segment. It also has some nice Pantone colours: PANTONE Poinciana (Red), PANTONE Lattè (milk coffee), and PANTONE Grisaille (grey) with a vegan leather back.

Quick Specs (class-leading marked ✅)

• 6.4” 2670 x 1220, 120Hz, up to 3000 nits HDR brightness, pOLED ✅✅
• MediaTek Dimensity 7300 SoC with limited AI capacity
• 12/256GB RAM/Storage ✅
• Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.3, USB-C 2.0 OTG, NFC, and GPS ✅
• Single and eSIM (✅unusual for this price), 4/5G for city and suburbs use only
• 4310mAh battery and 68W fast charger in box for all-day use ✅✅
• Stereo speakers with Dolby Atmos decode
• IP68 and MIL-STD 810H construction ✅✅
• 2+5+5 Warranty, Android OS upgrades and bi-monthly security patches ✅✅
• 50+12+10MP (wide OIS/ultrawide/3X telephoto OIS) rear camera and 32MP selfie ✅✅

Our take – the $600-699 Class leader punches well above its weight and is a pleasure to use.

Read our review Motorola Edge 50 – strong phone reception and a joy to use

Australian Review: Motorola Edge 50 Neo SIM/eSIM, 12/256GB, XTR2409-1

Brand	Motorola
Model	Motorola Edge 50 Neo
Model Number	XT2409-1
RAM/Storage Base	12/256GB
Price base	$699
Warranty months	24-months ACL
Tier	Edge benefits
Website	Product page
From	Motorola online, Harvey Norman, Domayne, JB Hi-Fi, Bing Lee, Officeworks.
Country of Origin	China
Company	It is 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, with grand plans to become a ‘top five’ smartphone maker.
More	CyberShack Motorola news and reviews CyberShack Smartphone news and reviews
Test date	September/October 2024
Ambient temp	10-30°
Release	45505
Other models not for Australia (Don’t buy)*	Motorola makes models for various markets that are not for Australian Telco networks nor carry an Australian warranty.

* Grey market – no Australian warranty, and 5G may not work here

We strongly advise you to buy a genuine model with Australian firmware. Check Settings, About Phone, Regulatory Labels and Australian RCM C-tick mark. Insist on a screen grab if you buy anywhere else.

Australian certified phones use unique Australian 5G sub-6Ghz and 5G low-band frequencies, requiring local activation first. Read Don’t buy a grey market smartphone.

New ratings in 2024

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 could 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.

We are also tightening up on grading. Pass means meeting expectations for the price bracket. We consider a Pass mark to be 70+/100 with extra points added for class-leading and excellence.

First Impression – Pass+

I like it. The three colourway vegan backs in PANTONE Poinciana, PANTONE Lattè, and PANTONE Grisaille give this a touch of glass with matching colour bumper covers provided. The lava flow over the camera hump is well done (if a copy of earlier OPPO Find phones). The buttons are clicky and positive. It feels great in hand.

I was surprised at the 6.4” 3000 nits rated LPTO pOLED screen. It is gorgeous, colour-accurate and daylight-readable. Simply the best screen I have seen on a $699 phone.

Having a 68W charger in the box rounds this package out very nicely.

This is another example of Motorola finding a niche in the market and providing a phone with class-leading specs.

If I have one caveat, the MediaTek 4/5G modem is suitable for city and suburban use with decent tower coverage – not for regional and rural use.

Screen – damned bright – Pass+

It is a 10-bit/1.07 billion-colour screen with excellent colour accuracy for realistic photo and video previews—what you see is what the photo looks like.

It claims 3000 nits, but that is only for HDR content in a 2% window. For most use, it will be around 300-500 nits and can go up to 1000 in direct sunlight.

PWM-sensitive people should note that it has a 240Hz flicker at low brightness levels. Some OLED screens with far higher rates may be more suitable.

Summary – sweet screen – way better than Samsung 8-bit screens.

Size	6.4″
Type	pOLED LPTO (made by LG Display)
Flat, Curve, 2D, 3D	Flat, centre o-hole
Resolution	2670 x 1220
PPI	460
Ratio	20:9
Screen to Body %	95.3
Colours bits	10-bit 1.07 billion colours
Refresh Hz, adaptive	120Hz or Auto 24/30/60/90/120Hz (we could not get it to step 1-120Hz).
Response 120Hz	300
Nits typical, test	Typical screen brightness is around 500 nits.
Nits max, test	Claim Peak HDR Brightness 3000 in 2% windows (Test 2767)
Contrast	Infinite
sRGB	Test 100+%
DCI-P3	Claim 100% (Test 100%)
Rec.2020 or other	N/A
Delta E (<4 is excellent)	2.2
HDR Level	HDR10+
SDR Upscale	No
Blue Light Control	Yes
PWM if known	240Hz is perceptible to PWM-sensitive people. A flicker prevention switch may help.
Daylight readable	Yes
Always on Display	Yes
Edge display	No
Accessibility	All Android 14 features
DRM	L1 for FHD SDR playback.
Gaming	<1m GTG Up to 300Hz touch
Screen protection	Gorilla Glass 3
Comment	Excellent 10-bit, 1.07 billion-colour screen with far greater subtleties in colour than the 8-bit Samsung S24/+/Ultra.

Processor – Pass

The MediaTek Dimensity 7300 is a good mid-range SoC (the same as used in the OPPO Reno 12). It has enough power for productivity and limited AI capabilities (it does not come with Google Gemini).

Brand, Model	MediaTek Dimensity 7300 Also used in OPPO Reno 12
nm	4nm made by TSMC
Cores	4 x 2.5GHz & 4 x 2.0GHz
Modem	MediaTek
AI TOPS OR Multi-thread Integer Operations Per Second (INOPS) GINOPS = billion	MediaTek 6th generation NPU 655 Geekbench AI CPU Backend 908/923/2063 Geekbench AI GPU Backend 274/315/342 Geekbench AI NNAPI Backend 541/1319/2704 AiTuTu: 99,186 AI Benchmark 6: 543 GFLOPS 14.75 GINOPS 16.35
Geekbench 6 Single-core	1057
Geekbench 6 multi-core	3024
Like	Like SD780 or SD8788 Benchmarks
GPU	Mali-G615 MC2
GPU Test
Open CL	2598
Like	Like Exynos 1280 and SD 860
Vulcan	2532
RAM, type	12GB LPDDR4X (plus virtual RAM Boost). LPDDR5X in our review unit.
Storage, free, type	256GB uMCP (combined with RAM in one package), 200GB free
micro-SD	No
CPDT internal seq. Read MBps sustained/peak	847 Max 990
CPDT internal seq. write MBps sustained/peak	464 Max 580
CPDT microSD read, write MBps	N/A
CPDT external (mountable?) MBps	27.5/22Mbps mountable
Comment	Fast internal storage but slow USB-C 2.0 external storage

Throttling – Pass+

It is not for gamers, although it has excellent thermal management, a low lag screen, and little throttling.

Max GIPS	235472
Average GIPS	225582
Minimum GIPS	213918
% Throttle	6%
CPU Temp	50°
Comment	Excellent thermal management and rock-solid performance.

Comms – Pass

It has Wi-Fi 6E but does not reach the speeds available to it. This is a limitation of the MediaTek SoC, which only has 2×2 MU MIMO and does not support MLO (band aggregation). Still, it is heaps fast enough for average users.

Wi-Fi Type, model	Wi-Fi 6E AXE 2.4/5/6GHz
Test 2m -dBm, Rx/Tx Mbps	-43/1200/1200
Test 5m	-48/1120/1200
Test 10m	-58/960/1000
BT Type	5.3
GPS single, dual	GPS, BeiDou, Glonass, Galileo, QZSS,   NavIC
USB type	USB-C 2.0 480Mbps – no display port audio/video data stream support
ALT DP, DeX, Ready For	Only over Miracast
NFC	Yes
Ultra-wideband	No
Sensors
Accelerometer	Yes
Gyro	Yes
e-Compass	Yes
Barometer
Gravity
Pedometer
Ambient light	Yes
Hall sensor
Proximity	Yes
Other	SAR Sensor and Sensor Hub
Comment	Even though it is Wi-Fi 6E and connected to the 6Ghz band, it only supports 1200/1200Mbps. Still, it is fast enough for any user.

4G/5G – Suitable for City and suburbs – Pass

First, we applaud the availability of an eSIM in a phone of this price – excellent. We also applaud Motorola for being one of the few offering dual ringtones.

But the facts are that it only finds one tower at fairly average speeds and strengths.

SIM	Single Sim and eSim
Active	DSDS (Dual sim, dual standby) – one at a time.
Ring tone single, dual	Dual
VoLTE	Carrier dependent
Wi-Fi calling	Carrier dependent
4G Bands	1/2/3/4/5/7/8/12/13/17/18/19/20/25/26/28/32/34/38/39/40/41/42/43/48/66
Comment	All Australian and most world bands
5G sub-6Ghz	n1/2/3/5/7/8/20/26/28/38/40/41/66/75/77/78
Comment	All Australian 5G sub-6 and low bands
mmWave	No
Test Boost Mobile, Telstra
DL/UL, ms	17.2/23.4/37ms – average
Tower 1 -dBm, fW or pW	-82 to -118 and 6.3pW to 50fW Could get an unusable 5G signal
Tower 2	No
Tower 3	No
Tower 4	No
Comment	Typical of MediaTek modems, this is a city and suburb phone with good tower coverage.

Battery – good life – Pass+

First, a caveat to our findings. Fast charging requires you to enable Boost Charge in the battery settings. A raft of settings are also enabled to give you the best battery life. We turn these off to get a ‘reasonable’ battery life.

But try as we may, some settings eluded us, and we cannot rely on our tests. We suspect the AI is trying to manage the battery, and we don’t want that in our tests.

Our best estimate is that typical users will get a full day or more, and heavy users will get 15-18 hours.

Ten points to Motorola for including a 68W charger inbox that Samsung et al. charge $60+ for.

Battery specs

mAh	4310mAh
Charger, type, supplied	68W 5V/3A/15W, 9V/3A/27W, 15V/3A/45W, 20V/3.4/68W OR 11V/6.2A/68.2W You must enable Boost Charge in the Battery setting.
PD, QC level	PD 3.0 and PPS
Qi, wattage	15W
Reverse Qi or cable.	N/A
Test (60Hz or adaptive screen)	Adaptive
Charge 0-100%	2 hours 13 minutes using the Motorola genuine 68W charger. Charge Boost is enabled, and we think this is being affected by the battery system settings. We expect this should be <1 hour.
Charge Qi, W 15W fast wireless charge	About 4 hours at 5V/2A/10W
Charge 5V, 2A	Not tested – 5-6 hours.
Video loop 50%, aeroplane	26 hours – excellent
PC Mark 3 battery	It would not run again due to a battery system setting. Accubattery (theoretical): about 18 hours
GFX Bench Manhattan battery	Would not run
GFX Bench T-Rex	372.9 minutes (6.32 hours) 4998 frames
Drain 100-0% full load screen on	2 hours 36 minutes (This seems short, and we suspect that it is closer to Accubattery’s theoretical 5 hours)
mA Full load screen on	1300-1350mA
mA Watt idle Screen on	250-300mA
Estimate loss at max refresh	N/A
Estimate typical use	Claim up to 34 hours.
Comment	We cannot be sure of the battery test results because a) the charge time seems too long and b) the discharge time seems too short. Something is interfering with this, possibly AI battery settings that we cannot change. Theoretically, it should be suitable for well over a day’s use.

Sound hardware – Pass

It uses the typical forward-firing earpiece speaker and down-firing bottom speaker.

Speakers	Top forward, up-firing and bottom down-firing stereo.
Tuning	No
AMP	2 x FS16xx amps (specifications unknown)
Dolby Atmos decode	Yes
Hi-Res	No
3.5mm	No, but FSA4480 Digital to Analogue USB DAC
BT Codecs	SBC, AAC, apt X, apt HD, LDAC, LHDC V3/5
Multipoint	Should do
Dolby Atmos (DA)	Decode to 2.0 and earphones
EQ	Spatial Audio EQ: Smart Audo (default), Music, Movie, Game, Podcast, Custom
Mics	2 – One is for noise cancelling and is used with CrystalTalk AI NR.
Test dB – all on EQ flat DA off
Volume max	84 – good
Media (music)	78
Ring	83
Alarm	82
Notifications	74
Earpiece	61
Hands-free	Decent noise reduction and volume levels were quite good and clear.
BT headphones	Excellent left-right separation and DA makes quite a difference with DA content.

Sound quality – Pass

Very few phones are listenable for music, and this is no different. It has little high bass, late mid (fine for clear voice), and choppy mid and high treble, making the music harsh and lifeless.

If music is your thing, use headphones and select from its good range of Bluetooth Codecs.

Deep Bass 20-40Hz	Nil
Middle Bass 40-100Hz	Starting at 90Hz and building linearly to 1kHz
High Bass 100-200Hz	Building
Low Mid 200-400Hz	Building
Mid 400-1000Hz	Building
High-Mid 1-2kHz	Flat
Low Treble 2-4kHz	Flat
Mid Treble 4-6kHz	Flat
High Treble 6-10kHz	Lineal decline to 15kHz
Dog Whistle 10-20kHz	Off the cliff
Sound Signature type	This is a mid signature (bass recessed, mid boosted, treble recessed) for a clear voice. It is not for easy listening as it lacks bass (low notes are muddy or absent), and the high treble is choppy and harsh.
Soundstage	Definite bias to the bottom speaker impairs left/right separation. DA sound stage is quite wide and has some 3D height.
Comment	The sound signature is average, but it helped with a bit of high bass. Use headphones.
Read	How to tell if you have good music (sound signature is the key – guide).

Build – Pass+

Motorola builds good gear and the Motorola Edge Edge 50 Neo is a perfect example. The colourways are fashionable, the vegan leather gives it a premium feel in hand, and it is a complete package with a 68W charger and colour-matched bumper cover.

To find a MIL-STD 810H phone at this price is amazing.

Size (H X W x D)	154.1 x 71.2 x 8.1 mm
Weight grams	171
Front glass	GG 3
Rear material	PU/Vegan Leather
Frame	Plastic
IP rating	68 – Liquid damage not covered under warranty 30 minutes at 1.5m MIL-STD 810H military standard
Colours	Pantone Poinciana Pantone Latte Pantone Grisaille
Pen, Stylus support	No
In the box
Charger	68W
USB cable	USB-A to USB-C 3W cable
Buds	No
Bumper cover	Yes
Comment	It is well-made and comes with a charger inbox (Samsung does not have one) and a colour-matched bumper cover.

OS – Pass+

Motorola uses pure Android with a light Hello UX overlay that adds considerable value without complicating Android (we are looking at you, Samsung, with your heavy, bloated UI overlay!).

It uses all the Google apps instead of substitutes (Again, Samsung), which makes it very easy to back up the phone to Google and restore it to another Android phone. You only need a Google Account – using a Motorola Account is unnecessary.

Moto has increased its OS and security patch times to five new OS upgrades and five years of bi-monthly security patches. This policy is generous and unusual for this price bracket—we call it Edge benefits.

Android	Android 14
Security patch date	1 September 2024 – current.
UI	Now Hello UX.
OS upgrade policy	5
Security patch policy	5 Bi-monthly
Bloatware	Pure Android – all Google Apps. You can uninstall Facebook.
Other	Google Photos is now the default, meaning AI tools such as Magic Editor (10 free monthly uses), Magic Eraser, Photo Unblur and more.
Comment	My UX has gone, but the functionality lives on. Moto Apps now manages most Moto features and enables simple updates. Family Space, Games, Moto Connect, Moto Secuer, Moto Unplugged, Moto Ready For. Display: Peek Display, Attentive Display Gestures: Quick capture, Fast flashlight, Three-finger screenshot, Lift to unlock, Flip for DND, Pick up to silence, Swipe to split
Security
Fingerprint sensor location, type	Optical under glass
Face ID	Yes 2D only
Other	Lenovo ThinkShield is more for enterprise use.
Comment	Moto Secure – Manage network security, control app permissions, and even create a secret folder for your most sensitive data. Moto Secure info

Motorola Edge 50 Neo rear camera – Pass+

Blow me away—a real 50 (Wide OIS)+13 (Ultra-wide/macro) + 10MP (3X optical telephoto OIS) rear camera instead of the usual suspects – 8X ultra-wide and 2X depth. In addition, the camera and SoC also support Motorola Camera AI, making point-and-shoot photography easy.

Let’s explain DXOMARK’s rating of 115. We class any phone camera over 100 as pretty good for point-and-shoot.

• The best Android cameras are the Google Pixel 9 Pro/XL, 158, and the iPhone 16 Pro Max, 157. These phones are $1500+++.
• A really good camera, like the OPPO Find X5 Pro or iPhone 14 Plus, is around 130. At the time, also $1500+.
• At 115, it joins the Samsung Galaxy S21 series and iPhone 11. It is well above the Samsung A35/55. It is still very good.

The primary sensor is a Sony LYTIA 700C. This new tech uses a smaller sensor but combines more pixels in its binning. It also has better low-light capability and a new multi-frame HDR that combines a bracket of shots to improve details in low and highlight areas. LYTIA is also better at colour saturation, faster focus and AI SteadyCam video recording.

Finally, our bugbear is solved. The 10-bit screen matches the final photo’s colour near-perfectly (Samsung’s 8-bit screens are always off-colour).

If you would like to read the Amateur Photographer camera review, it is here.

Camera test photos

Camera specs

Rear Primary	Primary Wide
MP	50MP bins to 12.5MP
Sensor	Sony LYTIA 700C (IMX896)
Focus	Quad PDAF
f-stop	1.8
um	1 bins to 2
FOV° (stated, actual)	72.8 to 85.3
Stabilisation	OIS
Zoom	10X with a 4.2X crop factor
Rear 2	Ultra-wide and Macro
MP	13MP
Sensor	GalaxyCore GC13a2
Focus	PDAF
f-stop	2.2
um	1.12
FOV (stated, actual)	120
Stabilisation	No
Zoom	No
Rear 3	Telephoto
MP	10MP
Sensor	Samsung S5K3K1
Focus	PDAF
f-stop	2
um	1
FOV (stated, actual)	??
Stabilisation	OIS
Zoom	3X Optical 30X hybrid
Special	Moto Ai camera: moto ai processing Style sync 30x Super zoom Google Photos Editing: Magic Eraser Photo Unblur Magic Editor Portrait Blur Portrait Light Sky Colour Pop Cinematic Photos
Video max	4K@30fps
Flash	Yes
Auto-HDR	Yes LYTIA enhanced
	Modes: Ultra-Res Portrait (24mm/35mm/50mm/85mm) Pro 360° Panorama Night Vision Adobe Scan Burst shot Timer RAW HDR Tilt-shift Google Auto Enhance
QR code reader	Via Google Lens
Night mode	AI
DXO Mark	115 – details  here

Motorola Edge 50 Neo Selfie – Pass+

Again, it has a decent 32MP sensor that bins to 8.1MP. Its colours and skin tones are accurate, and it takes a very nice selfie, perfect for one or two people.

Front	Selfie
MP	32MP bins to 8.1MP
Sensor	Samsung S5KJD1
Focus	Fixed
f-stop	2.4
um	.7 bins to 1.4
FOV (stated, actual)	70 to 82.3
Stabilisation	No
Flash	Screen fill
Zoom	No
Video max	4K@30fps
Features	Modes: Photo booth Pro RAW Google Auto Enhance Moto AI camera: moto ai processing Capture methods: Auto Smile Capture Gesture Capture Tap anywhere to capture Front Camera Video Software     Modes:     Live Filters     Slow motion     Moto Ai camera:     Adaptive Stabilisation

CyberShack’s view – The Motorola Edge 50 Neo could/should sell for much more

Go back a year or two, and to get a similar featured phone, especially in the camera area, you would have been looking at $1000+. To bring all the features in at $699 is impressive.

In part, it reflects Motorola’s desire to be one of the more significant players in the smartphone market, and it has OPPO and Samsung in its sights. Motorola also wants offerings in every niche, from its excellent workhorse G-series to the mid-range, verging on flagship Edge-series, and its Razr 50, the best flip phone by far in 2024.

It also reflects that Motorola (well, Lenovo) owns its manufacturing facilities and can control more of the supply chain, allowing it to mix and match components to hit price point sweet spots.

Whatever it is, please keep doing it as it works!

The Motorola Edge 50 Neo is perfect for city and suburb dwellers who want a premium phone at 50% of a premium price.

Motorola Edge 50 Neo ratings

2024 ratings use a pass mark of 70/100, so we have headroom to reward class-leading and excellence. If you are reading earlier reviews, just deduct 10 points for parity.

Features	85
	It has everything a city/suburb dweller could want: a great point-and-shoot camera, good battery life (with a 68W charger inbox), and a nice design/colourways.
Value	85
	It is good value with 12/256GB RAM/Storage, IP68, MIL-STD 810H and a nice design.
Performance	75
	MediaTek is a good mid-range processor, but its modem is only for city and suburb dwellers.
Ease of Use	85
	The two-year warranty is excellent. Add five OS upgrades and four years of security patch upgrades; this is a keeper. As most will not keep a phone this long, we regard Samsung’s 2+7+7 as nice but unnecessary.
Design	85
	Flat screen, nice colours and vegan backs
Rating out of 10	83
Final comment	Motorola has done it again with a $699 class leader with Edge 50 series benefits.

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