Motorola Edge 50 review: Flagship experience, mid-range performance

That said, the Motorola Edge 50 isn’t without its flaws. Certain issues could be deal-breakers for some users. Here’s my review of the Motorola Edge 50 after a month of usage.

An unboxing experience that’s hard to forget

The scented box leaves further elevate the unboxing experience. (Image credit: Vivek Umashankar/The Indian Express)

Smartphone unboxing experiences have gotten worse over the years. Most boxes barely include anything except the smartphone. In this regard, Motorola gets full marks from me. When opening for the first time, the scented box awakens your senses.

Unlike most brands which have diluted the unboxing experience in the name of saving the environment, Motorola has chosen a different approach. Instead of cutting down on the necessary accessories such as a case and charger, Motorola is including a case made of bio-degradable material that looks and feels premium. Even the entire box the phone comes in is made using recycled paper.

It’s slim, IP68-rated, and looks premium

The free bundled case also feels premium. (Image credit: Vivek Umashnakar/The Indian Express)

The Motorola Edge 50 looks almost identical to the Motorola Edge 50 Pro, introduced a few months ago. The phone is MIL-STD-810H certified by SGS and is the thinnest smartphone to get US-military-approved certification.

This certification makes it shock and drop-resistant, which should ensure the longevity of the device even during accidents.

I enjoy listening to music while taking showers, and the Motorola Edge 50 has been my music companion for the last month. As it is IP68 rated, it is water and dust-resistant, and I was not bothered about the shower water falling on the device.

Unlike a Samsung Galaxy or an Apple iPhone, where the touch doesn’t work when the screen is wet, the Motorola Edge 50, with its Smart Water Touch technology, continues to function without any issue.

The phone has a curved back panel and a curved display, which makes the device feel slimmer than it already is. On top of that, the leather back panel also offers plenty of grip, and even if it gets soiled, a simple rinse under the tap should restore the device to its full glory.

A display that’s a treat to movie buffs

The display is fast, sharp, and colourful. (Image credit: Vivek Umashankar/The Indian Express)

The 6.67-inch curved display on the Motorola Edge 50 offers 1.5K resolution with a 120Hz refresh rate, which is a pOLED panel with HDR+ certification. Unlike most phones of this class, where the display loses its shine under direct light, the Edge 50 offers up to 1200 nits in the high brightness mode, and up to 1,600 nits in HDR mode, ensuring the visibility of the screen in almost any lighting condition.

The downside of the curved display is that installing a screen protector is a hassle. Unlike most mid-tier phones, the phone also doesn’t come with a screen protector. However, the warning sticker Motorola has included talks about how installing a UV screen protector can damage the phone, along with a set of sealing tape to cover the ports, a precautionary measure that goes a long way.

Coming back to the display, I love how saturated it gets in the vivid mode, and also glad that it is set to “vivid” by default. Anyone who likes true-to-life colours can switch to the natural mode. I enjoyed hours of YouTube streaming on the Motorola Edge 50, followed by occasional movie streaming on platforms like Prime Video and JioCinema.

The curved display is not that great for gaming. One can opt for devices like the iQOO Neo 9 Pro or the OnePlus Nord 4 in this regard, and these have more capable processors too.

A flagship-like camera setup, mid-range-like performance

The phone has a proper triple-camera setup. (Image credit: Vivek Umashankar/The Indian Express)

Triple cameras on phones costing around Rs 30,000 are fairly common these days. However, most phones either include a macro lens or a depth sensor. With the Edge 50, Motorola has outdone itself by including a 50 MP wide-angle lens, a 13 MP ultra-wide-angle lens, and a 10 MP telephoto lens. There is also a 32 MP selfie camera at the front.

The phone takes stunning pictures, vibrant and detailed. However, it takes slightly over a second for the camera app to open, and there is a lag in the shutter button too due to which I end up clicking blurred pictures very often. Hope Motorola will be able to fix these issues with a software update.

All four cameras, including the selfie shooter, can capture videos at 4K resolution, a welcome move.

Here are some camera samples from the Motorola Edge 50:

Motorola Edge 50 camera sample. (Image credit: Vivek Umashankar/The Indian Express)
Motorola Edge 50 camera sample. (Image credit: Vivek Umashankar/The Indian Express)
Motorola Edge 50 camera sample. (Image credit: Vivek Umashankar/The Indian Express)
Motorola Edge 50 camera sample. (Image credit: Vivek Umashankar/The Indian Express)
Motorola Edge 50 camera sample. (Image credit: Vivek Umashankar/The Indian Express)

An underpowered smartphone

The Snapdragon 7 Gen 1 AE is a bit of a letdown. (Image credit: Vivek Umashankar/The Indian Express)

The Motorola Edge 50 has almost everything and is quite comparable to premium flagship smartphones, except for the performance. The Snapdragon 7 Gen 1 AE paired with 8 GB RAM and 256 GB storage holds back this device when it comes to performance with an AnTuTu score of 6.9 lakh. While a regular user might not notice this, heavy users who multitask and enjoy gaming will feel the phone is underwhelming, especially when compared to similarly-priced smartphones like the iQOO Neo 9 Pro (review), Poco F6 (review), and even the recent OnePlus Nord 4 (review). The phone was struggling even when I tried to edit a reel on Instagram.

As I don’t play games often, this really didn’t bother me, and the Edge 50 worked fine for me. If you are not a gamer, the Motorola Edge 50 will be more than enough for you.

It runs on Android 14 and is eligible for two major OS updates and three years of security updates. However, unlike the Edge 50 Ultra (review), it is not running on the latest Hello UI and is still based on MyUX. Motorola has confirmed that the device will be updated to Hello UI and will also introduce new AI features in the coming days.

Almost all-day battery, with the power of fast and wireless charging

The phone supports wireless charging. (Image credit: Vivek Umashankar/The Indian Express)

The Motorola Edge 50 packs a big 5,000 mAh battery, and the phone can easily last for an entire day for most users. There is 68W fast wired and 15W wireless charging, which again makes it feel like a flagship device. The company is also including a USB-PD fast charging adapter in the box, which is a bonus.

An excellent mid-tier smartphone let down by lacklustre performance

A premium feeling smartphone with mid-tier performance. (Image credit: Vivek Umashankar/The Indian Express)

The Motorola Edge 50 is a near-perfect smartphone priced under Rs 30,000, except for its performance. Some of the popular phones in this class are almost twice as fast. However, they don’t offer as many features as the Edge 50.

If you are a non-gamer and don’t really care about performance, but want a premium-looking smartphone with a solid set of features, the Edge 50 is a great pick.