This in itself is a bit cliche, but it is still true; it is increasingly difficult for smartphone manufacturers to make devices that really stand out and can communicate and impress upon consumers that their particular products are more popular than before never great.
Take Motorola’s Edge 50 Pro, for example. It costs around £600 and has just been launched. For the same money, you can pretty much buy a Pixel 8, Nothing Phone 2, OnePlus 12R, or several other things that compromise here and there but all of them offer a very solid overall experience for a lot less than the more expensive flagship products.
Motorola has a habit of spending a little more, but is that the case this time? First, it’s worth mentioning that while you get two beautiful vegan leather backs in the Black Beauty and Luxe Lavender, we got the slightly weird MoonLight Pearl, which is said to be handmade in Italy by Mazzucchelli . It looks a bit like marble but it feels like plywood in the hand – avoid this one and buy another one.
Otherwise, Motorola didn’t take any big risks with the design this time. Visually, it goes well with the rest of the back panel of the device, with IP68 certification, 125W charging through the charger that comes with the phone, 50W wireless charging, WI-FI 6E, Bluetooth 5.4 and stereo speakers. In other words, it’s all here.
Here’s a hint:
Inside, we find the Snapdragon 7 Gen 3, up to 12GB LPDDR4X RAM (yes, a slightly slower conversion) and 256GB UFS 2.2 memory (yes, a very slow conversion as well). Then there’s the 4500mAh battery, which isn’t the biggest but still offers the same battery life as the last few Edge phones we’ve tested. These two short days were good for us.
From charging to SoC, from RAM to various peripheral components, Motorola gives us what we need and more, and it is even impossible to complain about the lack of wireless charging or IP certification. In addition, the Edge 50 Pro’s 6.7-inch poLED is truly stunning. It runs at 1.5K and 144Hz, with a screen peak of around 2000 nits, easily enabling HDR10+ support. Besides, we’re talking about 10-bit color, and the whole shebang is certified by Pantone.
Perhaps more concerning is the move away from the old crazy user interface to the new “Hello UI”. In fact, the software runs on Android 14, so you don’t have to worry. In fact, Hello UI is almost better than before, and is almost exclusively available on stock Android without any software bloat. There are a few extra features here and there, like Ready For, Moto Unplugged, and some custom menus and icons. It’s still subtle, casual and easy to customize if you want.
Here’s a hint:
There are three cameras on the back, including a 50-megapixel f/1.4 main aperture lens with optical stabilization, a 13-megapixel ultra-wide angle lens with 120 degrees, and finally a 10-megapixel 3x optical telephoto lens. It also has a ToF sensor and an autofocus module. In addition, the expected resolution has a fixed mode selection, from Pro Mode, Night Mode and Dual Capture, to 4K slow motion video. Motorola likes to tout that it’s “the world’s first Pantone-certified camera system,” specifically talking about color chemistry that should be more realistic, but let’s be honest, it’s that’s the meaning of “pretty good without being flashy.” There’s nothing wrong with Motorola’s camera system, it just makes it clear to us. If you light the lenses, they deliver excellent HDR, solid depth, and have no major issues. However, there is no reliance on the Pixel camera, or a major hardware difference such as more optical zoom, a periscope lens, or anything else. It’s just that good, you can trust this camera system.
So, in many ways, the Motorola Edge 50 Pro is similar to many other Edge phones before it. It’s the interplay of the great specs that makes for a great experience, not one feature in particular that stands out. Is this something I recommend over any of the other competitors mentioned? Well, maybe, but it’s a crowded market and maybe Motorola in particular needs a stylish overhaul for their phones. Ditch the MoonLight Pearl and give us something more daring.
