Motorola Moto Edge 50 Pro review: Solid all-rounder

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As far as I can tell, there isn’t really a huge amount to get excited about with the Moto Edge 50 Pro.

This sub-$1000 phone has no real standout selling points, aside from the 125W charger in the box that can take you from 0 to full in about 20 minutes.

Its design is inoffensive, its processor a little dated (to keep costs down) and its camera array is fine without being exceptional.

But somehow, Motorola has combined all those unremarkable elements to create a really, really solid phone.

Competing against models like the Nothing Phone (2) and Samsung Galaxy A55, the Motorola suddenly becomes a suitable option for those wanting an all-rounder with a nicer design than other phones.

What is the Moto Edge 50 Pro offering?

There are a few colour options for the Moto Edge 50 Pro, two of which come in vegan leather, including the Black model I was sent to test.

I have to say that it was the first vegan leather Moto phone I’ve tested I didn’t like. The black had a tendency to clearly show scuff marks and pocket lint in a way the Pantone colours on the RAZR 50 Ultra or G84 5G didn’t.

The vegan leather wraps seamlessly around the triple camera array, but the camera bump on this phone is huge. Stretching from one side to over halfway across the top of the phone, it makes the Edge 50 Pro very unstable sitting on a flat surface.

The cameras themselves consist of a 50MP main wide-angle lens, a 13MP ultra-wide lend and a 10MP 3x telephoto lens. Don’t quote me, but I can’t think of another triple lens camera phone under $1000.

When you flip the phone over, the Edge 50 Pro boasts a curved edge of the screen. Obviously, that’s where the phone god the “Edge” part of its name, but it reminded me of Samsung’s Galaxy S6 Edge from about a decade ago.

It looks sleek and modern and reduces the size of the bezel substantially.

Power and performance

Under the hood is the Snapdragon 7 Gen 3 processor. This 8-core chipset is one of the ways Motorola has managed to keep its price down, but it doesn’t mean the phone is a complete processing slouch.

Perhaps the biggest surprise of the phone is the inclusion of a wall charger. Not just any wall charger, either — Motorola has packed in a 125W charger.

That means you can charge the phone from completely flat to completely full in about 20 minutes. Or, if you’re not that desperate, you can charge the phone wirelessly.

What does the Moto Edge 50 Pro do well?

Fundamentally, the Moto Edge 50 Pro is a strong value play. For under $1000, you get a triple camera smartphone with a stylish (though lopsided) design, plus wireless charging and fast charging in the box.

The phone isn’t a slouch, either. Benchmarked against similarly priced phones, it performs reasonably well. It doesn’t really blow any other phones away, but it doesn’t disappoint.

Benchmarks are only part of the story, though. I found the phone could handle solid gaming sessions playing Diablo Immortal, Marvel Strike Force and even Call of Duty: Mobile.

Cameras take nice photos

The triple lens system takes some good photos in decent lighting conditions.

I did find that some images were a bit over-saturated, but I can live with that, particularly if I was going to use the pics on social media.

I also liked that the camera gave you the focal length equivalent rather than the zoom multiplier. It’s a small touch, but it helped me feel like a proper photographer.

What could the Moto Edge 50 Pro improve?

The thing that really irked me about this device was the camera bump. Given every phone these days has a lopsided camera bump, that surprised me a bit.

But maybe thanks to its combination of vegan leather and the sheer width of the bump, I found the Edge 50 Pro slipping off my desk constantly.

Fortunately, I was always around to catch it when it started to slide, but I’d hate to think what Motorola would say if I missed it, and it cracked the glass.

The other challenge I found was the fast charger heated the phone up well beyond the point I was comfortable with.

I felt extremely reluctant to use the charger a second time, given the growing rate of Lithium batteries combusting.

Verdict

For a device without any strong reason to buy, the Motorola Edge 50 Pro did a good job of convincing me it’s a great option.

It didn’t excel at any one thing, but did pretty much everything well enough to make it appealing.

I would have loved to have seen a slightly better processor inside, but undoubtedly that would have pushed up the cost.

If you want a hero phone without a hero phone’s price, then the Moto Edge 50 Pro is a solid option.

Buy the Motorola Moto Edge 50 Pro online

Motorola Moto Edge 50 Pro

A solid all-rounder that won't blow you away with anything in particular, it instead offers great overall value.

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