Verdict
The Motorola Edge 50 Fusion is another excellent budget - focus phone , boasting a 144Hz display , 68W wired charging , and a flowing design with IP68 pee resistance .
Pros
Cons
Key Features
Introduction
After twelvemonth of moil out cheap , solid , but ultimately quite boring Moto G phones , it feels like the Motorola brand has rediscover its edge – quite literally .
Last year ’s Motorola Edge 40 line - up offer strong specs and killer design at militant price , and the most impressive of the cluster was the ledger entry - levelMotorola Edge 40 Neo . Motorola has rather annoyingly messed around with its refer normal this class , but you may essentially conceive of the Motorola Edge 50 Fusion as the Neo ’s direct successor .
It ’s another sleek , flagship - flavoured speech sound at a abject mid - range price , albeit with a slight £ 50 price bump to £ 349.99 . Does it still offer the ultimate budget bundle ?
Design
We were quite taken aback by how good face last year ’s Motorola Edge 40 Neo look and felt , and if anything the Motorola Edge 50 Fusion is a step forwards .
It evolves the Neo ’s design language in go along with the wider Edge 50 line - up , with the signature addition of a body that curves out to embrace the photographic camera module . It ’s a nice touch .
Once again the body and physical body are all made of charge card , though the rear finish differ among the three usable colour . While my Forest low modelling provide a overnice frosted plastic ending , which is slightly sleek to the contact , the Hot Pink simulation offers up vegan suede cloth and the Marshmallow Blue modeling has vegan leather .
It ’s the kind of attention to detail that few other mid - range manufacturers are offering decent now . One detail that ’s been lose is the Edge 40 Neo ’s Pantone stigmatization , though that always felt a piece gimmicky . It ’s been put to better function on the Edge 50 Pro and Ultra model , which both have Pantone - validate screens and video display , but there ’s nothing of the form here .
At 161.9 x 73.1 the Edge 50 Fusion has make a fractionally larger footmark than the Edge 40 Neo , think over its orotund presentation . It ’s just as urbane at 7.9 mm thick , however , and count only a couple of gramme more at a tad under 175 g.
This is as pleasurable a telephone set to handle as it is to carry around in your pouch , while an IP68 rating make a welcome rejoinder for a flagship level of detritus and water resistance . That pound even the mightyPixel 8a , which is selling for about £ 150 more .
Motorola continues to offer some of the most distinctive and appealing promotional material , too , with recyclable cardboard . The company also spray each boxwood with a herculean perfume , which makes unboxing the phone a substantial multi - sensorial experience .
Screen
Motorola has bumped the size of its mid - fire warden up for the second year in a rowing , this time topping out at 6.7 inch . It ’s still a vibrant 1080 x 2400 ( FHD+ ) pOLED jury , and it can still be cranked up to a 144Hz refresh charge per unit .
The latter is smoother than most flagship phones , though it continues to feel like a bit of a widget . Most people would need to be side - by - side with a 120Hz covert to narrate the difference , and even then they might fight . Still , we ’re not complaining at having more smoothness on pat , and you may switch to a low-pitched rate in the interest group of power preservation .
As well as the size , the blossom luminance has been upped to 1600 nit . This is in reality some way unforesightful of flagship floor these days , and falls a little forgetful of thePoco X6 Pro too , but it ’s still enough undimmed enough in most scenarios .
Colour accuracy is strong here , with several presets to match your predilection . It defaults to a rather forthright Vivid standardisation , but switching over to lifelike bring things down to a more sRGB - favorable level .
It ’s a ignominy that the Edge 50 Fusion does n’t have HDR10 + support , especially when you consider the Edge 40 Neo did have such a thing . It means this is the only telephone in the Edge 50 bloodline - up not to patronize any advanced HDR data formatting .
My other little ailment about the display is the fact that it sheer off at the edge , which is generally the way Motorola rolls with its Edge line . It ’s all there in the name . With that said , I do n’t fuck if it ’s the thick figure or a slightly less pronounced curve , but I did n’t track down into the same imitation input issues that I did with the Motorola Edge 50 Pro .
It ’s a subtle enough curve that full - screen door landscape subject matter is n’t massively distorted at the top and bottom edges , either . All you ’re really left with the is the effect of bully vulnerability , though I did n’t attract any dinks in the workweek or so I ran with the earpiece . It probably facilitate that you ’re incur Gorilla Glass 5 rather than the Neo ’s Gorilla Glass 3 .
All in all it ’s a strong screen , though I ’d take the I ’d take the Poco X6 Pro sieve ’s sharper resolution , higher peak brightness , flat human body , and HDR10 support over the Motorola ’s 144Hz refresh pace .
The Edge 50 Fusion ’s screen is flank by stereo speaker system . With Dolby Atmos support also admit , it makes for a solid audio experience – albeit a slightly lean , reedy one that could do with a little more low - end .
Camera
Motorola has once again equipped its classy mid - Texas Ranger with a potent main camera sensor , this time a Sony LYTIA LYT-700C. With all - pixel instant focal point technology and OIS , it can hone in subject quickly and accurately even in lesser lighting precondition .
I took a couple of Night mode shots with the Edge 50 Fusion alongside a couple of its direct contender – theSamsung Galaxy A35and the Poco X6 Pro – and the Motorola produced shot with greater sharpness and less stochasticity , though the dispute was n’t what you ’d call night and day ( no pun signify ) .
Surprisingly , it was in oecumenical well - lit shot conditions that the main Motorola Edge 50 Fusion camera impress me the most . It can produce shooting that really protrude with colour and clarity .
There ’s a choice to be made over just how much of that color dad you require . The camera nonremittal to Natural mode , which for certain enough fruit more hushed , ‘ as consider ’ shots .
Switch to automobile - enhance way , and it ’ll ramp up the processing time ( though I did n’t detect a pronounced conflict ) for greater contrast and active kitchen range . It ’s a topic of personal druthers which you go for , and Motorola ’s processing algorithm does n’t always make the best exposure choices , but Auto - enhance is by all odds handy for those tricky extreme HDR scenario at least .
All of the jibe featured in the art gallery above were taken with this Auto Enhance mode on . I ’ve included some side - by - side comparisons to show you the effect of adhere with Natural below .
As you could see , automobile - enhance is also helpful when shooting with the weak camera , whether that be the 13MP ultra - wide-eyed or ( as featured above ) the 32MP selfie camera . I found that it injected a little more liveliness into shots that were otherwise poorly uncover , dismount shady foreground comfortably on bright days . The trade - off is that such shots also lean to assume a slenderly unreal look .
As that suggest , the 13MP ultra - wide camera is way of life off the quality of the main sensor , though it still produced pleasing enough results in decent firing . There ’s no telephoto camera here , but the main detector and Motorola ’s mental image processing chop shot are of a sufficient criterion to make 2x shots look pretty adequate .
The video recording transcription supplying further breaks any flagship vibes , with a pretty modest 4 K at 30fps or 1080p at 120fps limit . It ’s a decent enough performing artist for the money though , with OIS pee for sufficiently regular footage .
Performance
power the Motorola Edge 50 Fusion is Qualcomm ’s Snapdragon 7s Gen 2 chip , which is paired with a generous 12 GB of RAM .
It ’s enough to power the phone along through most tasks , and for that 144Hz exhibit to never miss a beat . I did n’t foot up any illustration of stuttering during my brushup period . In gaming price , I managed to get Wreckfest running at maxed out circumstance , though the frame rate need a angle of dip in meddling instant of on - track activity . It ’s a quiet ball carrier when such innovative 3D games are kick downstairs down somewhere between medium and high configurations .
In CPU benchmark terms , it ’s a somewhat pocket-sized encouragement over the Motorola Edge 40 Neo with its MediaTek Dimensity 7030 , with only a slenderly higher Geekbench 6 multi - core score for the unexampled phone to boast about . Our GPU tests point to roughly the same level of graphical capabilities too . That ’s not a massive charge , as last class ’s Neo was a strong performer , but it would have been nice to see more of a protrusion – especially give the higher terms tag .
Just as significantly , it ’s also a match across the instrument panel for the Samsung Galaxy A35 , which is arguably its main competitor in the £ 350 - ish family . TheNothing Phone ( 2a)is marginally slower in mainframe term , but trumps the Edge 50 Fusion on GPU performance .
Of naturally , if it ’s low - mid - range performance you want , the Poco X6 Pro hammers everything at this price . You ’ll have to sacrifice a just amount of class elsewhere , mind , but it ’s deserving keep open in nous .
Elsewhere , you ’ll get 256 GB of storage as standard , which is a solid provision . It would have been squeamish to have a few more options , or at least the supplying of a microSD , but I ca n’t imagine many potential Edge 50 Fusion client bumping up against such a generous limit point .
As with last year ’s Edge 40 Neo , the vibration motor feels more than a short mushy , but that ’s par for the line with punk phones .
Software
Motorola ’s take on Android 14 is one of the very best in the business . It ’s smart enough to know not to tinker with Google ’s slick UI too much , and where it does make small pinch and enhancements , they largely pay off .
you could get at most of Motorola ’s additions through the slick Moto app , which smartly talks you through them all . It ’s through the Moto app that you may get at Motorola ’s well - established Gestures . Some of these are active by default , such as the double - twist to activate the television camera , or the bivalent - chop shot to spark the torch – both really ready to hand when your other hand is n’t loose .
Quick launch is another default motion , enabling you to bond regular tasks to a double tap of the back of the speech sound . It ’s pose to open up TikTok by default , likely in award of the phone ’s intended youthful audience ( the same gesture backs up to the home screen on the flagship Motorola Edge 50 Ultra ) , but you’re able to change it here . Whatever the book binding , the comment itself has never really solve consistently enough for me to adopt it .
Things like personalise your home covert with custom coloring , fonts , wallpaper and the same are nothing particularly original , nor are Motorola ’s certificate and exhibit - pick off option . However , work them together in one blank app relieve oneself these routine way more intuitive and receive than delving through a mazy options fare , as so many other manufacturers force you to do .
It ’s not all overconfident news for Motorola ’s UI . Bloatware has started to encroach on Motorola ’s phone , with non - optional pre - facility of Adobe Scan , Booking.com , an ad - filled Weather app , Opera browser app , TikTok , and LinkedIn .
At least Motorola has the decency to inform you of these at the set - up phase . By contrast there ’s a handful of games , ranging from the well - recognize Candy Crush to the confutative Hit Master 3D , that just graze up by chance in the app tray . Hit Master 3D even plunk its iffy - look icon on the house screen shortly after band - up , making me wonder if the phone had been hit with some form of malware on a previous solidification - up .
cavil aside , though , Motorola offers one of the crispest Android UIs in the business , and it ’s a joy to use on the Edge 50 Fusion .
You also get four years of guaranteed security updates with the Edge 50 Fusion , along with three major Android updates , have it through to Android 17 . That ’s not as strong as theSamsung Galaxy A35on five and four respectively , but is a mate for the Nothing Phone ( 2a ) and the Poco X6 Pro .
Battery Life
Motorola more often than not know how to distill efficient energy consumption from its phones , and the Edge 50 Fusion is no different . It runs on a 5000mAh mobile phone , which is dependable for a full day of operose utilization .
On an average day of temperate utilization , with around four minute of screen on time , I would be left with upwards of 50 % juice . That ’s with the screen ’s refresh rate forced powerful up to 144Hz from the off , so bumping that back down Auto or even 120Hz would doubtless boost the figure a tad .
An time of day of Netflix sapped 4 % of a charge , though it ’s worth remember the lack of HDR10 financial support here . Half an hour of light gambling sapped 7 % of a charge , which is jolly much equality for the class .
Motorola packs a 68W battery charger in the box , which is most welcome . It ’s sufficient to get the sound from entirely empty to 44 % in 15 minutes , in my experience , and up to 76 % in 30 minute . A full charge take about 47 minutes .
You do n’t get wireless charging here , but then only thePixel 7adoes this for less than £ 400 .
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Should you buy it?
The Motorola Edge 50 Fusion both looks and handles like a flagship , with a sleek design , a bright fluid video display , and crisp software program .
Motorola ’s phone performs well , but if performance is an sheer priority for you , thePoco X6 Prois way quicker for similar money .
Final Thoughts
bury the plaguey name change – the Motorola Edge 50 Fusion is a direct follow - up to theMotorola Edge 40 Neo , and a very strong one at that .
It arguably does n’t take quite enough of a step forward for the special £ 50 Motorola is enquire , with like functioning , a slenderly tumid body and omit HDR10 keep . However , it benefits from a sleek design and a squeamish 144Hz pOLED showing .
The photographic camera is capable of take speedy and vivacious shots , shelling living is excellent , and it ’s by and large a thoroughly pleasant phone to live with day to day . Motorola ’s software continues to rig the criterion for third - party Android manufacturers too , though it ’s commence to develop a mo of a bloatware habit .
Throw in a firm wired buck supplying , and you have another potent sub-£400 contender – though it ’s vie in a impregnable 2024 field .
Trusted Score
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FAQs
Yes , you ’ll get a 68W battery charger in the box .
Yes , with a hugely telling IP68 rating .
Motorola is offer three full OS ascent ( up to Android 17 ) and four yr of security update .
Test Data
Full Specs
