[X-Saint]

Originally Posted by CentreOfGravity

Motorola Edge 50 Pro Review

I bought a Moto Edge 40 Neo for my daughter (14 YO) in March 2024.

PROs -
IP 68 rating, 144 Hz refresh, a curved display, and the best part is its size. Fits excellently in her small palm and she can operate it with a single hand too.

Cons -
The basic function of the Phone is to make and receive phone calls. Here it lacks. There are a lot of network glitches even at home where VoWifi is available with genuine 200 Mbps speed. Mobile 5G data on Airtel and Jio is also poor and merely crosses 200 Mbps whereas in my iPhone 15 Plus it is crossing 500 on Airtel network.

Another major Con is its poor RAM management. It kills any background app. The major issue is with WhatsApp. This mobile kills WhatsApp in the background if you do not open WhatsApp for 15 to 30 minutes it gets killed in the background, resulting in missing important messages and calls on WhatsApp. To overcome this one has to do a lot of R&D in battery settings and remove optimization along with some AI sense feature which senses that xyz app is not being used and it can be killed.

One more small but important feature for laymen is the local Gallery app. This phone does not have a pre-installed local Galarry feature instead, it uses Google Photos which is linked to your Google account. If your Google account is full (in major cases it will as it offers a mere 15 GB storage) then you cannot view the photos you click!! This means you are going gaga over the 256 GB storage but cannot use it to store your pics clicked with 50Mbps cam or Videos shot in 4K 60 fps which may be the major reason for purchasing the 256 GB variant.

[hemant.kamat]

Originally Posted by SmartCat

Congrats! Do take some camera samples and post here

Clicked by my better half through a moving car (passenger) window. No filters or postprocessing applied, other than the in-built HDR. This was also published in The Navhind Times, 4th Oct 24, page 2:

[svsantosh]

I got the Moto Edge 50 (the military graded one). No major gripes, only the camera 'backend' speed is very very very lazy.

Workaround I keep is that I keep the app in background whenever I am a situation that needs the camera to be used. Like for example I was in a Zoo yesterday, I open the app at the car park itself and closed all the other apps.

Irritating, but I wish that Moto gives some upgrade soon.

PS - I have installed a free cam app called 'Open Cam' - it is a toned down version that I use for official documents or anything that needs a immediate capture but doesnt need the clarity or vivid colors from the main sensor.

You can consider that option as the 1st 'Bi-turbo' from Mahinda on Quanto - small turbo for 30kmph to 60kmph boost, and larger turbo for the 60-top end.!

[Renaissance Man]

Originally Posted by DIV17

Since the discussion is about Motorola phones. Does anyone have experience with the Moto Edge 50 fusion?

I have the fusion which I have been using for few months now. This is my secondary phone, so cannot mention much about the cameras.

Apart from that the phone has been stellar with regards to call quality app usage, battery life. I really appreciate the charging time as you can go 20-100 in 35 mins.

Downsides are some bugs with fingerprint support in few apps and also software updates which are slow. It is still on Aug security patch while we are in Oct now.

[Fuldagap]

Originally Posted by X-Saint

Cons -
The basic function of the Phone is to make and receive phone calls. Here it lacks. There are a lot of network glitches even at home where VoWifi is available with genuine 200 Mbps speed. Mobile 5G data on Airtel and Jio is also poor and merely crosses 200 Mbps whereas in my iPhone 15 Plus it is crossing 500 on Airtel network.

There seems to be some issue other than the limitation of your phone.
Here is an example of Moto Edge 40 Neo crossing 500 Mbps on Airtel 5G.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mMy_VTa47Tk?app=desktop

About receiving and making phone calls too there must be some issue other than the phone's capability. Have you tried switching off the wifi calling feature?

Originally Posted by X-Saint

Another major Con is its poor RAM management. It kills any background app. The major issue is with WhatsApp. This mobile kills WhatsApp in the background if you do not open WhatsApp for 15 to 30 minutes it gets killed in the background, resulting in missing important messages and calls on WhatsApp. To overcome this one has to do a lot of R&D in battery settings and remove optimization along with some AI sense feature which senses that xyz app is not being used and it can be killed.

I have never faced whatsapp notification issue even on older devices. Again some settings must have been tinkered with that could create this issue. Developer Options settings could also be checked once again for any negative results that are hampering even whatsapp.

Also could you double check if your device is update to the latest OS? Sometimes issues pop up owing to pending software upgrades.

Originally Posted by X-Saint

One more small but important feature for laymen is the local Gallery app. This phone does not have a pre-installed local Galarry feature instead, it uses Google Photos which is linked to your Google account. If your Google account is full (in major cases it will as it offers a mere 15 GB storage) then you cannot view the photos you click!! This means you are going gaga over the 256 GB storage but cannot use it to store your pics clicked with 50Mbps cam or Videos shot in 4K 60 fps which may be the major reason for purchasing the 256 GB variant.

I have never used any other app in android for pictures other than the Google one.
Switch off the optional "backup to Google" settings inside the app and you are good to go and use the whole 256 GB storare for your pics and videos.

[samsag12]

Here's mine, a 12GB 256GB variant with Moonlight Pearl Backcase. This one came with 125w power brick.
Its a secondary phone bought as a replacement for my ageing Realme 2 pro.


Attached couple of shots I took with usual settings.

[X-Saint]

Originally Posted by Fuldagap

About receiving and making phone calls too there must be some issue other than the phone's capability. Have you tried switching off the wifi calling feature?

Yes, that is tried this issue does not come too often, this is once in a while issue but the other person cannot hear anything for a second or 2 and then call gets dropped.

As far as WhatsApp is concerned, that was the major problem as we normally call our daughter on WhatsApp only, and almost 50% of the time, call used to be no answer, so I decided to do some RnD and then came to know about battery optimization and that AI sense which stops background apps based on it's own Intelligence.

I was not aware of turning off Google Backup for photos. Thank you so much for this information.

By the way, look, in-hand feel, camera, processor, IP68 rating, pOLED display are some great features to get at this price point in any other phone. Three cheers to Motorola for that.

[Fuldagap]

Originally Posted by X-Saint

Yes, that is tried this issue does not come too often, this is once in a while issue but the other person cannot hear anything for a second or 2 and then call gets dropped.

As far as WhatsApp is concerned, that was the major problem as we normally call our daughter on WhatsApp only, and almost 50% of the time, call used to be no answer, so I decided to do some RnD and then came to know about battery optimization and that AI sense which stops background apps based on it's own Intelligence.

I was not aware of turning off Google Backup for photos. Thank you so much for this information.

By the way, look, in-hand feel, camera, processor, IP68 rating, pOLED display are some great features to get at this price point in any other phone. Three cheers to Motorola for that.

Trust me, Motos are absolutely trouble free. Whatever issues you are facing seem to be stemming from some settings tinkered with. If nothing else works, give it a clean reset, update to the latest upgrade and it should work very well.

The only thing that can create problems is if the device is indeed a faulty one from the factory itself.

[nova.19_exe]

Originally Posted by CentreOfGravity

Niggle 1 = when you open an Instagram video or reel, the phone locks itself when the video ends.

Try increasing the screen timeout duration in the Settings, that should fix it hopefully!

Although, Motorola phones are really good on paper as well as the daily usage, the only reason I did not get one (I got the CMF Phone (1)) solely because of the update situation on them!

If they did push updates timely, I would have picked up a Motorola!

Makes me wanna write a review for my CMF Phone (1), maybe I will do it! Stay tuned!

[shancz]

Thanks for the review and I would also second post#3 by SmartCat about some camera samples.

I used to be a hardcore Motorola fan(not fanboy) because they designed phones which resonated with my preferences: slim size with good audio and mic clarity. Owning L6i, L7, L9, E, X2, XForce during the Motorola days. After some years of disconnect I did get a chance to use some new Moto phones since I am the designated person in the family for device purchases and after sales support(without pay of course) and here is my experience so far:
- G62 : no issues till now, about a year of usage.
- G71 : Had occasional lines in the display within a year of usage but somehow gets resolved post a restart, happens even now at almost 2 years of usage!
- G52 : lines in display after 2+ years of usage and a screen replacement is scheduled.
- Edge 20 Fusion : Its 108MP shooter is the worst camera I've come across till date and I think it has more to do with image processing rather than hardware since using manual settings does produce slightly better results.
One thing that has been consistent with these Motos is the below average image quality in general and poor images(especially low light/cloudy/artificial but sufficient lighting) from the Edge 20 Fusion.

While I love the useful chop-torch and twist-cam features along with the clean UI, my experience leaves a bad taste. But if Moto revamps its cameras then I might consider it going forward.
Please upload the pics if feasible so we can gauge the camera improvements.

[Duster85]

I also have a Motorola edge 30 and I can confirm that software support even on their supposedly premium smartphone line is not great. I was a little concerned by some people on the internet saying that their edge 20 fusion didn't get the promised android 13 update. I did get the promised android 14 update but on September 5 this year. Also there is a bug with the video which hasn't been solved since day one. Other than that the phone is excellent for its price. I noticed significant improvements in photo processing over the years.

[CentreOfGravity]

Originally Posted by SmartCat

Congrats! Do take some camera samples and post here.
...

Originally Posted by shancz

Thanks for the review and I would also second post#3 by SmartCat about some camera samples.
....

But if Moto revamps its cameras then I might consider it going forward.
Please upload the pics if feasible so we can gauge the camera improvements.

Thank you! I will surely post some pictures taken in various lighting conditions and modes as requested by @SmartCat sir soon. Regarding the camera quality, I think the Edge 50 Pro is definitely a huge step up from previous Moto phones' camera setups, as pointed out by other members too.

Originally Posted by saikishor

Id like to post my thoughts:
I've been a Motorola user since October 2023, with my first device being the Moto Edge 40.
.....
I really love Moto devices, but safe to say my next phone will not be a Motorola, regardless of the positive experience I had with it.

I'm sorry you had a bad experience with the phone. Such one-off cases can really hamper a user's confidence in a brand.

Originally Posted by Axe77

What a coincidence this review should come up. I was just, based on a strong Recco from a riding buddy, considering the Moto Edge 50 (not Pro, will have to now see what the differences are between the two). Apparently prices at this point are pretty good on the Moto Edge.
...
Thanks for putting such a detailed review up. Separately, I’m not a big fan of Flipkart etc sort of sites and would rather buy in person from a store like Croma / Reliance Digital etc - don’t they stock these Motorola phones too? Everyone seems to be buying from Flipkart only from what I could see.

Thank you sir . At Rs.1000 less, the Edge 50 has almost the same specs as the Pro, but it gets a slightly inferior processor. However, it is military certified (which should be handy while riding), and has a slightly bigger battery at 5000 mAh.

Also, I've seen Moto phones on display in the retailers that you mentioned (Reliance and Croma - in Prabhadevi). You could check the offline availability of the Edge 50 series.

Originally Posted by nova.19_exe

Try increasing the screen timeout duration in the Settings, that should fix it hopefully!
....
Makes me wanna write a review for my CMF Phone (1), maybe I will do it! Stay tuned!

Thanks for the tip buddy! Will try it out and see if it works.
Looking forward to your review!

[tbppjpr]

Originally Posted by svsantosh

Irritating, but I wish that Moto gives some upgrade soon.

PS - I have installed a free cam app called 'Open Cam' - it is a toned down version that I use for...

Why don't you use the twist-the-wrist gesture to quickly access the camera app? This saves the time of unlocking the screen and finding and opening the camera app.

Open camera is not any toned down camera app, but very strong open source camera app able to extract pro grade quality from mobile camera if it is able to access all the hardware and nothing is locked, which I guess shouldn't be the case with Moto unlike Google Pixel which has gone Apple way and locked many thing in the camera for other apps. Though they improved in recent iteration but at the cost of unjustified price point for their inferior and inefficient Tensors chips.

Anyways, coming to Moto, there are plenty of settings in Open Camera app and I prefer to keep the noise and sharpness off to get raw output with noisy but maximum possible details captured by the camera hardware.

There is also option to record videos in log color profile which is better way to get footage suitable to mix with the main mirrorless/video camera log footages. Better video recording alternative is Blackmagic Camera app which is not yet supported on Edge 50 series but if it will be then that would be best video recording app with all manual controls.

Then there are some settings for HDR and night modes, you need to figure out which setting works best with your mobile.

Open Camera app development got slowed down in recent years but there is another open source fork of it called Hedge Camera, try that also.

If you want good results straight out of the camera with noise-free HDR processing, try to find out suitable modded GCam app, they do wonders on supported phones.

I posted some GCam explanation with the results I managed to get out of my old budget Motorola One Power which are still better than today's modern top of the line mobile camera, check here:

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/gadge...ml#post5830087 (Android Thread: Phones / Apps / Mods)

Its been historical problem with Motorola stock camera app despite having reasonable camera hardware which has improved greatly with the current Edge 50 series on image quality front but the algorithm processing optimization is still not at the level of Googles.

[dmplog]

Recently bought Edge 50 Pro and initial impressions are very positive. The performance is snappy, display is beautiful, camera is great, the battery is holding up one full day with data / WiFi / BYOD sync / location and occasional Social Media / YT, etc usage. 125KW charger is a beast! This is my first use of curved edge and it feels amazing.

One problem I am facing though with the phone is usage with Android Auto. It gives me below error. I have Kushaq and it has Wired AA. I have tried it multiple times and I have never managed to work. My previous phone (Samsung S20 FE) worked seamlessly all these years. I have tried with Moto's USB Cable that came with charger brick, with no avail.
Has anyone got similar issue in getting Wired Android Auto working with this phone? If yes, what was your solution to the problem?

TIA