Motorola Edge 50 Pro Review: A Competent Mid-Range Smartphone

Dhaka
July 02, 2024, 12:25 PM
by Shahriar Rabab

UNB News
Dhaka
Publish- July 02, 2024, 12:25 PM
Shahriar Rabab
Update- July 02, 2024, 12:54 PM

Motorola Edge 50 Pro

The Pro lineup from Motorola has been their flagship for quite a few years. Motorola released the Edge 40 Pro last year and the Edge 30 Pro the year before as premium top-of-the-line flagship devices. But this year, the Edge 50 Pro takes an in-between route between a mid-ranger and flagship with the Ultra taking the top spot. The Edge 50 Pro was launched on 8th April 2024 globally as a toned-down version of the Ultra. But as things stand, it might be a better deal than the Ultra for its price. Let’s find out why.

Key Specs of Motorola Edge 50 Pro

Design and Build Quality

Motorola seems to have shifted its priorities on the Edge lineup from being a performance-driven device to a more lifestyle and experience-oriented approach. The Pantone color collaboration, back materials, and AI integration all suggest a shift to a statement piece rather than a performance brick.

The dimensions of the Edge 50 Pro come in at 161.2 mm by 72.4 mm by 8.2 mm with 186 g weight. The aluminum frame adds rigidity to the curving design. However, the back glass has been replaced with eco-leather (polymer) on the 50 Pro.

Ports and buttons are all in their usual space with no external card slot or headphone jack. There are several color choices like Luxe Lavender, Black Beauty, Moonlight Pearl, and Vanilla Cream all thanks to the Pantone collaboration. The 50 Pro is also IP68 water and dust-resistant for worry-free use in any situation.

The Display

The display on the Edge 50 Pro is a 6.7-inch P-OLED panel with 1B colors, 144Hz refresh rate, HDR10+, and 2000 nits of peak brightness.

The resolution on the panel comes in at 1220 by 2712 pixels resolution with 446 ppi density. It’s an upgrade over the FHD+ resolution on the Edge 40 Pro.

The near-edge-to-edge curved panel boasts a 93.8% screen-to-body ratio. Additionally, the display is SGS Low Blue Light, SGS Low Motion Blur, Pantone color & Pantone Skintone certified.

In use, the colors look sharp and vivid with a natural feel. The viewing angles are excellent with great visibility outdoors. It’s a pretty well-rounded display that can easily be considered on par with the Ultra model.

The Camera

There’s a triple-sensor camera system on the Edge 50 Pro. The main sensor is a 50 MP, f/1.4, 25mm wide-angle shooter with PDAF and OIS. The other two sensors are a 10 MP, f/2.0, 67mm telephoto lens and a 13 MP, f/2.2, 120˚, 16mm ultrawide shooter. The front camera is a 50 MP, f/1.9, 21mm shooter.

The camera system can be considered a bit of a downgrade as the 40 Pro came with a 50 MP ultrawide sensor.

In terms of camera performance, the main sensor does an excellent job of capturing details and contrast. Again, the Pantone profile is fully on display here as the colors look vivid and natural. The super-wide aperture of the main sensor also allows for a natural bokeh on the subject background which blends in nicely with the image. The performance was more or less the same with the ultrawide, telephoto as well as the front camera.

The night photography is also on par with the daytime. The exposure, saturation, and white balance along with the dynamic range were very much flagship-worthy in terms of performance.

The videography on the 50 Pro goes up to 4K at 30fps, and 1080P at 30/60/120fps with 10-bit codec and HDR10+ support.

Processor and Performance

The processor on the 50 Pro is Qualcomm SM7550-AB Snapdragon 7 Gen 3 based on a 4 Nm architecture. It has a chip design of 1x2.63 GHz Cortex-A715 & 4x2.4 GHz Cortex-A715 & 3x1.8 GHz Cortex-A510 with Adreno 720 GPU.

The processor also takes a hit in terms of performance as last year’s Edge 40 Pro came with the flagship 8 Gen 2 processor. Another drawback is in the storage type as the 50 Pro features UFS 2.2 whereas the 40 Pro comes with UFS 4.0 technology.

Games like PUBG, COD, Genshin Impact, and Asphalt 9 ran without any hiccups. However, it doesn’t compare with the last generation's performance as it lacks a flagship processor. In its class, the 50 Pro outperforms the alternatives like the Samsung Galaxy A55.

Benchmark

Geekbench 6: 1143 (single core); 3083 (multi core)

Antutu 10: 842798

3D Mark Wildlife: 5399

In terms of benchmark scores, the Edge 50 Pro outperforms similar devices with the 7 Gen 3 processor. However, it grossly falls short of the 8 Gen series processors.

Software

The Edge 50 Pro is running on Android 14 with a custom Hello UI (An homage to the iconic Hello Moto! tagline). The UI itself looks more like an AOSP version with some minor in-house tweaks. There is some bloatware but they are neatly arranged on a dedicated shelf. The Moto app also has some useful features like Ready For to easily connect the device to the PC.

Motorola has also committed to 3 years of major software updates and 4 years of security patches.

Battery and Charge Time

The battery on the Edge 50 Pro is 4500 mAh. Motorola has included a 125 W wired TurboPower™charging system on the device. It can take the device to 100% in 18 minutes. There’s also 50 W wireless and 10 W reverse wireless charging available on the device.

Pros and Cons of Motorola Edge 50 Pro

Pros

- Attractive color option with Pantone collaboration
- Vibrant display with high refresh rate and brightness
- Sleek design with an ultra-slim profile
- Eco-leather finish
- Stereo speakers with Snapdragon sound
- Fast charging with wireless and reverse charging support
- Great camera system
- Clean and responsive UI
- 4 years of major OS update
- IP68 water resistance.

Cons

- The device heats up during charging
- Image processing takes a bit of time
- Smaller 4500 mAh battery.

Price of Motorola Edge 50 Pro

The Edge 50 Pro is available in two storage options, 8/256 GB and 12/256 GB. The official price of the variants is 31,999 INR and 35,999 INR respectively (with discounts). That roughly translates to around 45061 BDT and 50,694 BDT respectively (1 INR = 1.41 BDT).

Verdict

The Motorola Edge 50 Pro is clearly a bridge between a proper mid-range smartphone and the flagship that the 50 Ultra is. The device impresses with its design, display, and camera, being almost on par with the flagship and a tad above any mid-range in its price range.

The processor and the small battery might slightly be a point of contention for some. The 50 Pro is best suited for those looking for a stylish smartphone that offers premium-level performance without really charging you a premium price for the same.