This video is a critical review of the Motorola Edge 50 smartphone. The reviewer, Alex Kidman, concludes that the phone is a major disappointment and a poor value proposition. While competent in isolation, it is consistently outmatched by its cheaper sibling, the Edge 50 Neo, and other mid-range competitors like the Samsung Galaxy A55 and Google Pixel 8a. Key criticisms include its underwhelming processor performance, a subpar software update policy that is inexplicably worse than the cheaper Neo model, and a camera system that, while featuring a telephoto lens, is identical to the Neo's, thus offering no compelling reason for its higher price. The phone's only strong point is its battery life, but even its fast-charging capabilities are matched by the cheaper model. The final verdict is that the Edge 50 is difficult to recommend unless purchased at a significant discount.
Motorola Edge 50 Review: A Disappointing "Also-Ran"
0:00 Disappointing Successor: The reviewer finds the Edge 50 to be a letdown compared to its excellent predecessor, the Edge 40. He argues it's poor value, especially when compared directly to the cheaper Edge 50 Neo.
0:57 Design & Display: The phone has a 6.7-inch, 120Hz curved P-OLED display and comes in finishes like "vegan leather," which the reviewer dislikes. A major positive is its full IP68 water resistance rating.
3:35 Capable But Undermined Camera: The phone adds a 10MP 3x telephoto lens to its camera array, a good feature for its price. However, the 30x digital zoom produces terrible results ("a horror show"). Critically, the cheaper Edge 50 Neo features the exact same camera system, eliminating any advantage for this more expensive model.
5:53 Underwhelming Performance: Equipped with a Snapdragon 7 Gen 1 processor, the Edge 50 benchmarks poorly against competitors like the Samsung Galaxy A55 and Google Pixel 8a. It is even outperformed by the previous year's Edge 40.
7:34 Poor Software Update Policy: Motorola only promises two major OS upgrades and three years of security updates for the Edge 50. This is uncompetitive and, bizarrely, worse than the five years of support offered for the cheaper Edge 50 Neo.
8:45 Excellent Battery Life: The phone's strongest attribute is its 5,000 mAh battery, which performed better than all competitors in a standardized test. It also includes a 68W fast charger and supports 15W wireless charging. As far as I can tell, this is its only real advantage, but the charging features are also present on the Neo.
10:02 Final Verdict: Not Recommended: The reviewer concludes the Edge 50 is a "hard sell." He advises potential buyers to opt for the Edge 50 Neo for better value, or the Samsung A55/Pixel 8a for superior performance, labeling the Edge 50 an "also-ran."