This cool new phone shows what’s wrong with Motorola in 2024

Andy Boxall / Digital Trends

I ’ve been using the Motorola Edge 50 Pro for the last few week with no literal complaint , but that ’s mainly because I ’ve slowly accepted it ’s yet another Motorola smartphone with the same old job .

Once again , what is broadly a practiced smartphone is beset with the same emergence we ’ve write about for some considerable metre , and lamentably , the fellowship seems to have no interest in changing its ways .

A person holding the Motorola Edge 50 Pro.

Andy Boxall / Digital Trends

What’s good about the Motorola Edge 50 Pro

Before we get all negative , let ’s talk about the build , design , and ergonomics . The Motorola Edge 50 Pro look brilliant , especially in the Luxe Lavender color ascertain in our picture . The curved blind neatly converge the vegan leather rear cover and never feels sharp or uncomfortable despite the tapered 8.2 millimeter heaviness . The slim chassis emphasizes the low 186 - gram weight , and this phone disappears when you slip it into your pouch .

Many marque have cast out the curved sieve , and I ’m really pleased Motorola has not . The photographic camera module blends into the back of the earphone , so it ’s not such a major design statement as it can be on other telephone set . It all makes the Edge 50 Pro depend sleek and modern , and I have not experienced any weariness holding it either . It ’s a genuinely pleasant phone to show off , hold , and hold around . The vegan leather is quite pasty , though , and once lint or muck is on it , it ’s a pain to completely remove .

The 6.7 - column inch pOLED screenland is excellent too , and I revalue its 144Hz maximum refresh rate , however I have not feel the need to change from the car setting . It line up between 60Hz , 120Hz , and 144Hz depending on use of goods and services , and it has judged the situation without a problem for me . The peak 2,000 - nit luminosity has n’t activated for me very often , but it has always come out brilliant enough to see , even in sunshine . When you clean up the Motorola Edge 50 Pro and take in the CRT screen , it ’s an immediately impressive phone .

A photo taken with the Motorola Edge 50 Pro’s main camera.

Andy Boxall / Digital Trends

Where it goes wrong

It all starts well with the Edge 50 Pro , and I do like the phone , but there are several view that continue to gravel with Motorola phones . My biggest bugbear is that the Edge 50 Prodoes not have an always - on screen . It sits there on the table with the big 6.7 - inch screen , wholly contraband , all the metre . It is the only manufacturer I can think of that does not provide an always - on screen feature on any of its smartphones , irrespective of price or screen technology .

According to Motorola , it ’s all about efficiency and battery living , but it does n’t seem to be a problem for other brands , so this excuse makes small sense . I find it very annoying that I ca n’t glint at the screen to see the fourth dimension or notifications when I take the air past it and must tap the cover to see anything . It ’s the prime reason why I do n’t want to use the Edge 50 Pro any longer than I have to .

Then there ’s the software . Motorola claims it will get off Android version updates to the Edge 50 Pro for the next three years , which is better than many of its other earpiece but still behind Samsung and Google . Ongoing supporting is one thing , but spoiled is the pre - installed app progeny . During apparatus , I was generate no alternative but to install a collection of apps and game , ranging from Adobe Scan and Facebook to Royal Match and Brain Test . I do n’t want them , but I have no choice whether they are install during setup . bad , the system prioritise them , and I wait far longer to install my own apps , including essential messaging and e-mail apps .

A photo taken with the Motorola Edge 50 Pro’s wide-angle camera.

Wide-angleAndy Boxall / Digital Trends

Inconsistent camera

The always - on screen and frustration with pre - installed apps have been on-going problems with Motorola phones , and they threaten to smash what is otherwise a good phone . Now we come to the camera . It ’s certainly not dreadful , but it is discrepant , and that ’s another inauspicious Motorola trait .

How do you like your primary colors ? If you shouted “ brilliant , ” then the Motorola Edge 50 Pro ’s camera is for you because it avoids a subtle touching and goes for all - out , in - your - face vibrancy whenever it can . The U.K. — where I ’ve been testing the Edge 50 Pro — has been lucky enough to see the sun for a inadequate time , and the tv camera has made the most of it . Even when it ’s sunless , it go out of its manner to keep the tone cheery .

Take a flavour at the main and wide - angle photo of the pond , wall , and greenery in the gallery . The main television camera amps up the colors and proceed leaden on the HDR , resulting in a sharable photo , but one that is n’t representative of the substantial humanity . The across-the-board - angle pic shows far more realistic color and tone , and put the two side by side really designate the chief camera ’s exuberance . The master television camera has misjudge the scene a few prison term , make it to shove along out the sky in its quest for optic punch . I do n’t need to use a camera where I need to judge if the photo will look decent or not .

A photo taken with the Motorola Edge 50 Pro’s main camera.

Andy Boxall / Digital Trends

The television camera app has a 3x optic zoom feature , along with a 2x cutoff in the app . Both can give great solution , but I have retrieve in some place the 3x soar can struggle with color truth and focus , resulting in a few shot that were unusable . The Motorola Edge 50 Pro ’s photographic camera is , again , distinctive Motorola . I ’ve taken photos that look splendid but then others that are really terrible . The inconsistency over less than 75 photo is a concern , as it suggests it ’s going to fall out more than once in a while .

Problems aside, is it worth buying?

I ’m not done yet either , as we come to another Motorola problem : the price . It ’s 600 British pounds , or around $ 760 , and it ’s too much when theGoogle Pixel 8 , theOnePlus 12R , theSamsung Galaxy S24 , theApple iPhone 15 , and so many others all survive , let in the newRealme GT 6 . The Edge 50 Pro does n’t have a flagship processor — it ’s a Qualcomm Snapdragon 7 Gen 3 — and although the barrage charge rapidly , the combining of the midrange chip and small 4,500mAh cell does n’t lend itself to a lot of intense gambling .

It ’s too expensive yield the competition , but that ’s not the final stage of it as Motorola on a regular basis brush off its telephone set , so you may not ante up this priceat all . Motorola has played this biz for a while , and it would make it far gentle for everyone and much less confusing to liken with other models to just give it a lower retail cost in the first spot .

Add this to all the rest of the small annoyances , and the Edge 50 Pro ends up feel like too much attempt to own , which is a ignominy when almost all of the issues could be so easily cured .

A photo taken with the Motorola Edge 50 Pro’s wide-angle camera.