I tried a budget friendly Android phone from a forgotten ’00s brand – and it comes with free Bluetooth headphones
MANY may have forgotten about iconic ’00s smartphone brand Motorola but the company is still around today making Android handsets.
The firm has made a pretty decent foldable phone to rival Samsung that people outside of tech circles probably didn’t know about.
But its safe space is among the more budget friendly mid-range.
Which is where the Moto Edge 50 Neo comes in.
At £400, it’s cheaper than most phones around today but quite on par with the Samsung Galaxy A55 which I’ve reviewed previously.
So is the Edge 50 Neo a welcoming “Hello Moto” or “Farewell Moto”? Read on below to find out.
Moto Edge 50 Neo: Look and feel
When holding the Edge 50 Neo I don’t get a premium feel at all.
The plastic frame looks decent enough but the vegan leather on the back just doesn’t do it for me.
That said, it does avoid annoying smear prints and provides extra grip.
What I do notice and appreciate is just how light it is at only 171g.
As for the colours, they’re pretty bold and I love the attempt to standout.
I’m trying the PANTONE Poinciana, which is basically blood orange – here are all the colours:
- PANTONE Poinciana
- PANTONE Lattè
- PANTONE Grisaille
- PANTONE Nautical Blue
Elsewhere, the display is bright and punchy too.
Moto Edge 50 Neo: Performance and features
The Edge 50 Neo can handle multiple apps just fine but don’t expect the zippiest performance.
It can handle basic games with ease and there is a Moto Gametime feature so you can boost performance depending on your needs, such as Turbo, Balanced or Battery Saving.
The device runs on Android 14, the most recent version around at the moment (Android 15 is expected to land quite soon).
Motorola has committed to five Android operating system upgrades, which is good going for a mid-range phone but not the best around overall.
Who offers free updates longest?
The longer you receive updates, the longer you can safely continue using your smartphone - with the latest features thrown in too for free.
Samsung
Since the Galaxy S24 series, Samsung said it would provide at least seven generations of OS updates and seven years of security updates.
OnePlus
At the launch of the OnePlus 12, OnePlus committed to at least four years of Android updates and five years of security updates.
Xiaomi
Xiaomi offers four years off Android updates and five years security updates.
Google
For the Pixel 9, Google said that devices would receive at least seven years of support.
Motorola offers a pretty striped back Android experience which I prefer with some of its own apps pre-loaded.
This includes Moto Secure to protect data and helps identify things like dodgy websites.
You have a choice between face unlock and finger print ID on this phone.
Storage is on the lighter side, limited to just 256GB.
Moto Edge 50 Neo: Battery
The Edge 50 Neo has a 4310mAh which isn’t the biggest around but not to be sniffed at either.
In real terms, it’ll provide you with over a day of battery after general use which for me included WhatsApp, emails, watching some Netflix, briefly playing games and some web browsing too.
One of the star features is that the Edge 50 Neo supports a fast 68W TurboPower charger.
However, you have to buy this separately.
Annoyingly, we have one but it was with the European plug so I’m not sure whether the charger was giving its full speed using an adapter.
Anyhow, with this set-up, we got from zero to full battery in less than 45 minutes.
Motorola claims “median users can get up to 12 hours of battery life in 11 minutes of charge” when the battery is “substantially depleted” and charge boost is switched on.
Moto Edge 50 Neo: Camera
There’s a 50-megapixel main camera, 13-megapixel ultra-wide camera, and a 10-megapixel telephoto snapper on this handset.
It manages to take some good photos, with colours popping out in a dimly-lit shot – they look very true to life.
Some detail gets lost in very dark environments and becomes blurred as you will see in my example photos below.
Moto Edge 50 Neo: Pros and cons
Pros:
- Bright display
- Light weight
- Reasonable price
Cons:
- Fast charger costs extra
- Physically feels cheap
- Not as smooth as other mid-range phones
Moto Edge 50 Neo: Conclusion
The Moto Edge 50 Neo is a safe, no thrills bet for those who don’t want to spend huge amounts on a phone – but also don’t want something too cheap and nasty.
While it lacks thinness, the bright display and light weight are distinct pros.
Had Motorola included the fast charger it could be a really budget friendly winner.
But one bonus is that you can receive free Moto Buds+ to sweeten the deal until stocks last, if you buy from Motorola’s website.
And you can also trade-in an old phone to bring the cost down too.
Rating: 3/5
All prices in this article were correct at the time of writing, but may have since changed.
Always do your own research before making any purchase.