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As a dedicated iPhone user who gets to occasionally dip my toes in Android waters, I’m constantly surprised by how some smartphones can impress in the subtlest of ways. It’s fascinating to discover these devices that are perhaps not the most talked-about on the market but are still able to deliver everything I want a smartphone to do. The Moto Edge 50 Neo is one such handset that not only caught my eye but also made it incredibly hard to look away. Honestly, I’ve been trying to buck the ongoing trend of smartphones in brighter and more saturated colourways, out of fear that they would look tacky in public. But the Moto Edge 50 Neo completely changed my mind. The value-centric smartphone being available at Rs 23,999 helped as well. Here’s my review of the handset after three weeks of usage. Let’s face it. No one wants to be stuck with a smartphone that is a little more than a glorified paperweight. But the Moto Edge 50 Neo handset has been designed so well that I wouldn’t really mind. My review unit came in Pantone Nautical Blue but you can also get it in Pantone Poinciana, Lattè, and Grisaille. The quirky names that brands invent for phone colourways have always amused me, so I appreciate Motorola going the extra mile and stamping the name on the back of the phone – just in case you forget. I was captivated by the playful, animated colour of the Edge 50 Neo to the extent that I always left it rear side-facing up on the table. Its ultra-slim design, narrow borders, and vegan leather finish provides a secure grip and comfortably plants the device in your hand, with no fear of it slipping. Motorola claims that the smartphone has been engineered to meet military standards, with an IP68 rating, which means that it can withstand dust, dirt, and sand. The phone came with a matching back cover that is hard, lightweight, and durable but is not exactly immune to scratches. It also gives the device a bit of a wobble when kept flat and is not easy to take off. The bottom of the phone contains a tray for the nano SIM card, with the power button and volume buttons on the left side. The box also includes a compact 68W wall charger and 6.5 amp USB-C cable which can turbocharge an empty tank to 100 per cent in a matter of fifteen minutes. Encased in Corning Gorilla Glass, the 6.4-inch display supports up to 120Hz refresh rates and 1220p resolution with 2,800 nits of peak brightness. It is a FHD+, P-OLED display, where the P simply indicates that the OLED panel sits on top of a plastic substrate. With any Android phone, my initial thought is: how intuitive is the touch? I’m happy to report fairly snappy feedback from the touchscreen of the Moto Edge 50 Neo. I liked watching YouTube videos of my favourite podcast on such a punchy display. But what really sold it for me were the dual stereo speakers which you can customise for different listening experiences using the Dolby Atmos smart app. This crisp, clear, and loud audio capability also made for a more enriching gameplay (which I talk about further down). Being an iPhone user, I’m excited at any opportunity to personalise my UI. Besides picking colours, themes, icon shape, and clock face, there’s also a fun option that lets you choose the animation style that appears when your finger is being scanned to unlock the device. You can also create AI-generated wallpapers using Magic Canvas but setting up a moto.ai account to access the feature felt like more hassle than it was worth. Furthermore, the Edge 50 Neo borrows the Always on Display feature from the Razr series. Previously, Motorola phones came only with Peek Display which was quite frustrating as you had to move the phone or tap the screen to see anything. The Edge 50 Neo has four cameras in total – 50 MP + 13 MP + 10 MP triple primary cameras and 32 MP front camera with LED flash. It offers 3x optical zoom and uses AI to process 30x zoom-in photos, though I found myself using the 120 degree FOV ultrawide angle most of the time. I carried the Edge 50 Neo with me when I visited Hyderabad for work recently. These are some of the pictures I took: With its Edge 50 sibling, users complained about a slight shutter lag while using the 50-MP main camera to capture moving objects. However, Motorola seems to have addressed this issue with the Edge 50 Neo. Speaking of lag, the Edge 50 Neo packs a MediaTek Dimensity 7300 processor (8GB RAM/256 GB storage) that provides smooth, uninterrupted gameplay. I clocked a total of 10 hours playing Garena Free Fire on the smartphone and did not face any issues. It was fairly stable and did not heat up. The tiny Moto Gaming Time widget that appears at the side comes in handy when you want to switch between performance modes and monitor FPS rates. While the performance and responsiveness certainly isn’t the best out there, it is a pretty fast device for this price. The Edge 50 Neo has a 4310 mAh battery, and it can go more than a day or two without charging. It’s not easy making a smartphone that stands out in the Android club these days. No one probably knows that better than Motorola which faces stiff competition from brands like Nothing in the mid-range market even as bigger players like Google and Samsung continue to dominate the high-end segment. The Moto Edge 50 Neo is a practical smartphone. It ticks all the right boxes, but is it the Android flagship you’ve been looking for? Probably not. However, it is a good lower-cost alternative to the Edge 50 and Edge 50 Pro. If you’re someone who likes hanging onto their smartphone regardless of the latest upgrades, the Edge 50 Neo would be a good choice because chances are that this phone will never wear an old look.
| Pros | Cons |
| Eye-catching colour, ergonomic design | Wobbly back cover |
| Vibrant display offering excellent visual quality | Lack of stand-out features |
| Strong audio for watching videos and gaming | |
| Impressive cameras with improved shutter speed | |
| Solid battery life |
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