To say Motorola has had a busy year would be an understatement. After launching Google Pixel rivals Motorola Edge 50 Fusion, Edge 50 Pro and Edge 50 Ultra in April, the Lenovo-owned smartphone maker has now turned its attention to foldable devices with the excellent Motorola Razr 2024 and Razr Plus 2024.
Almost all of these devices are at the higher end of the price scale, but now Motorola is expanding its mid-range and budget lineup with four – yes, four – new smartphones: the Motorola Edge 50, Edge 50 Neo, Moto G55 5G and Moto G35 5G.
The first two of this quartet are positioned as cheaper alternatives to Motorola’s flagship Edge 50 devices, but are no less attractive in terms of specs (nor in terms of aesthetics, as Motorola continues to work with color specialist Pantone). Based on what we’ve seen of the two new phones so far, the Motorola Edge 50 Neo in particular could be among the best cheap phones of 2024.
First of all, at £399.99, the Edge 50 Neo is cheaper than the Samsung Galaxy A55 (£439 / AU$699) and the Google Pixel 8a ($499 / £499 / AU$849), and Motorola’s phone also offers more base storage than those two models (256GB versus 128GB).
The Edge 50 Neo also has a camera setup that might just beat the likes of Samsung and Pixel. You get a 50MP main camera, a 13MP ultra-wide-angle camera, and a 10MP telephoto camera on Motorola’s latest mid-range device, with the first of that lineup being an AI-equipped Sony LYTIA sensor.
Granted, the Pixel 8a is one of the best AI phones money can buy in 2024 – and Motorola’s “Moto AI” software is unlikely to match Google’s excellent AI feature suite – but you at least get a cold, hard telephoto sensor on the Edge 50 Neo, something both the Galaxy A55 and Pixel 8a lack. It’s worth noting that last year’s Motorola Edge 40 Neo didn’t have a telephoto sensor either.
Cameras aside, the Edge 50 Neo has a 6.4-inch pOLED display with an adaptive refresh rate of up to 120Hz and a peak brightness of 3,000 nits. Again, that latter figure beats the peak brightness offered by both the Galaxy A55 and Pixel 8a. However, if you’re not a fan of compact phones, you might be better off with the 6.7-inch Motorola Edge 50 (albeit more expensive) or the 6.6-inch Galaxy A55.
Under the hood, the Edge 50 Neo features a MediaTek Dimensity 7300 chipset and a 4,310mAh battery. That’s the same mid-range chipset you’ll find in the Oppo Reno 12 Pro, and while you shouldn’t expect jaw-dropping performance, in our review of the Oppo Reno 12 Pro we found it to be a perfectly adequate power source for everyday scrolling, streaming, and light gaming.
However, you get a larger – and potentially longer-lasting – battery in Oppo’s comparably priced Reno model, as well as faster wired charging (80W versus 68W on the Edge 50 Neo). However, the Edge 50 Neo has 15W wireless charging, which is a rarity in this price range.
Differentiation of the Edge 50 series
As for the differences between the Edge 50 Neo and its standard sibling, the Edge 50, the latter phone has a larger 5,000mAh battery and an arguably better Snapdragon 7 Gen 1 chipset. The problem? This device costs €499 (UK pricing to be confirmed), which puts it in that awkward no-man’s land between mid-range and flagship. In contrast, the Edge 50 Neo is more attractively priced compared to its mid-range competition, and it’s also the only phone in the Edge 50 range to offer five years of OS and security upgrades.
In any case, there are five Motorola Edge 50 phones for you to choose from in 2024. That sounds like a lot, but with individual configurations and prices for almost every model, Motorola argues that its mobile product offering is actually smaller (read: more accessible) than that of, say, Samsung, which offers each of its phones in a variety of configurations.
We’re currently putting the Edge 50 Neo – as well as the standard Edge 50 and the aforementioned (though significantly lesser-specced) Moto G55 5G and Moto G35 5G – through their paces for a comprehensive review, so stay tuned to TechRadar for our verdict on Motorola’s latest phone.
