Charging speed

Our Motorola Edge 50 Pro arrived with a 125W TurboPower adapter, a unit that, according to the promotional materials, should be able to get you from a dead battery to 100% in 18 minutes. This was indeed the case in our testing, making it easily the best in class and the phone’s main selling point in our book.

Note, the “charge boost” switch must be enabled to get these numbers for you, and out of the box it is disabled. Not that the required 28 minutes is a bad result, but if you’re in “faster faster” mode, make sure you find the key.

The good news does not end there. The Edge 50 Pro also supports wireless charging, and Motorola rates it with a dedicated 50W charging dock. We don’t have test results for that, but given the Pixel 8’s rating for 18W and the Galaxy’s max out at 15W, we can’t imagine the Moto losing that race. Not to mention the rest of its potential competitors that don’t have wireless charging in the first place.

Speaker test

The Edge 50 Pro has a stereo speaker setup with a main unit on the bottom and another on top that doubles as a handset for voice calls. Each speaker plays only its own channel track, and the phone dynamically allocates channels depending on its orientation in space.

  
Bottom speaker • Top speaker / Headphone • Dolby Atmos badge

In our speaker testing, the Edge 50 Pro scored “Very Good” for loudness, which is a notch lower than last year’s Pro and on par with the 40 and 40 Neo, though the names don’t quite mean what they once did. The 50 Pro sounded significantly better to our ears than either of the Edge 40s, offering lower-end presence and a more balanced response in the higher frequency range. It’s also superior to the OnePlus 12R or vivo V30, although the Pixel 8 and Galaxy S23 offer compelling alternatives for speaker sound quality.

Android 14, enhanced by Hello UI

The Motorola Edge 50 Pro runs Android 14 with Motorola’s in-house customizations, now called Hello UI (“Hello, Moto!”). The company promises 3 OS updates and 4 years of security patches (which we’re told are delivered quarterly).

This is our first encounter with Moto running Android 14, and also our first encounter with Hello branding. We’ve said many times that Motorola’s software looks a lot like AOSP with some built-in features and tweaks, and that’s largely true.

Even so, something as simple as a font can add a lot of personality, and Motorola has done it expertly. If you’re looking for personalization, the option of AI-generated wallpaper is also on the table, because AI is everything – Motorola calls it Style sync, and the idea is to have wallpaper that matches your outfit of the day.

Customizations are in the usual Moto app hub, which has been reshaped for this iteration. Things are now organized more neatly, with categories that have many entries, such as gestures, putting items on the same page without having to scroll.

  
Moto app

Speaking of which, the info page for each gesture now has a better visual explanation of how the gesture works. Motorola went so far as to match the animation to the actual color of the phone – or is it just lavender blue on all units as the hero color?

  
More Moto app

Some old Motorola features can also be found in the Edge 50 Pro. Ready For functionality is now split into Ready For (for connecting to a PC or tablet) and Moto Connect (for connecting to standalone displays, either wired or wireless). The phone screen can act as a trackpad, or the entire phone can act as an air mouse. Both Ready For and Moto Connect can be launched via a quick swipe in the notification area or from their app icons in the app drawer.

  
Ready for • Moto Connect

Moto Unplugged and Family Space are two features that limit access to apps and features for one of two reasons: on the one hand, to keep you calm or focused, or to limit the use of the child’s phone.

  
Moto Unplugged • Moto Unplugged • Family Space

Benchmarks

The Edge 50 Pro relies on the Snapdragon 7 Gen 3 for its computing, and compared to the Edge 40 Pro, that’s a +1 in the generation, but a -1 in the series. This makes the new model a mid-range model in terms of raw performance – which makes sense given that there’s an Ultra this time around, but it still doesn’t help the Pro’s case against its rivals.

This doesn’t necessarily mean that the 7 Gen 3 SoC is bad. While its position in Qualcomm’s lineup is a bit odd (slightly more powerful than the 7s Gen 2, nowhere near as powerful as the 7+ Gen 2), it’s still an up-to-date 4nm chip. It has an octa-core processor in 1+4+3 configuration (1×2.63GHz A715 4×2.4GHz A715 and 3×1.8GHz A510) and Adreno 720 GPU.

Memory options start at 8GB/128GB, and there are 8GB/256GB and 12GB/256GB variants, while our review unit is the top-spec 12GB/512GB. Not all storage levels will be available in all markets.

Motorola lists the storage type as UFS 2.2, but our review unit’s write speed is more in line with UFS 3.1 for some reason.

Looking at the benchmark results, the Edge 50 Pro is not always in a favorable position. The leading competitors that can be had in some markets for the money of the Edge 50 Pro are out of reach in all benchmarks.

In other markets, where Moto competes with mid-rangers, it’s a bit more subtle. For example, the Vivo V30 is almost equal, while the Edge 50 Pro has the upper hand in the GPU department over the Galaxy A55 and Realme 12 Pro+.

One area where having a mid-range chipset usually helps is stable behavior under load. In fact, the Edge 50 Pro achieved excellent results in both of our usual stress tests. We saw minimal strain in our 1-hour CPU test and no performance degradation in our 20-minute GPU run. This is more or less what we got from the vivo V30 as well.

  
CPU throttling test • 3DMark Wild Life stress test

Related article: Motorola Razr 40 review, price and specifications

Good triple camera

The Pro may not be the Ultra, but it still has the full camera setup. Headlining is the 50-megapixel primary camera, albeit mostly thanks to the ultra-wide f/1.4 aperture. But it’s nice to see telephoto cameras on non-flagship phones too, the 3x zoom unit is very welcome here. Also a welcome sight is the ultra-wide autofocus, another hallmark on the Edge 50 Pro’s spec sheet.

Another important selling point, looking at the hardware alone, is the selfie camera. Not only does it use a large sensor, but it also has a wide-angle lens with autofocus. It can also record 4K videos. It’s the same selfie camera you’ll find on the Edge 50 Ultra, so if selfies are your main priority, the Pro should probably be good enough.

In the AI ​​this, AI that department, the Edge 50 Pro promises video stabilization, advanced long exposure processing, and overall dynamic range and detail enhancement magic.

Also, for the first time, there are settings in the viewfinder that allow you to take photos and directly apply Google Photos “enhancement” processing. If you find yourself doing this often with your photos after they’re displayed in the gallery, this can save you a step. However, there is no obvious way to get the pre-enhanced photo after saving the auto-enhanced version. We prefer to take the “natural” and enhance it when needed.

• Wide (main):  50 MP OmniVision  OV50E  (1/1.55″, 1.0μm – 2.0μm), f/1.4, 25mm, multi-directional PDAF, laser AF, OIS; 4K@30fps
• Ultra-wide:  13MP SK Hynix  HI1336  (1/3.0, 1.12µm), f/2.2, 16mm, PDAF; 4K@30fps
• Telephoto:  10MP Samsung  S5K3K1  (1/3.94, 1.0µm), f/2.0, 67mm, PDAF, OIS; 4K@30fps
• Front camera:  50MP Samsung  JNS  (probably JN1 variant, 1/2.76″, 0.64µm-1.28µm), f/1.9, 21mm, PDAF; 4K@30fps

Day photo quality

Main camera

Daylight shots from the main Moto camera are steady. They have plenty of contrast (perhaps a touch too much, even) and expressive (but not overly so) color rendition, which makes for a lovely overall tonal reproduction, especially in outdoor shots. Detail is pretty good, unless you stare too long at the grass, which can look a bit artificial.

   
   
   
  
Daylight samples, main camera (1x)

Motorola hosted a special press event in Morocco where we brought our Edge 50 Pro review for additional samples in addition to samples from our usual locations. Here is a selection of the main cameras and you will be on this page of other cameras.

   
   
More examples in daylight, main camera (1x)

The minimum focus distance of this camera is not very long, but thanks to its excellent aperture, you can capture small objects well at short distances with blurred backgrounds.

  
  
Daylight samples, main camera (1x)

Here are some people’s photos to show you how the phone handles skin tones. These are Pantone approved skin tones, please note.

   
Examples of daylight, main camera (1x), photo mode

   
Daylight samples, main camera (24mm), portrait mode

There’s also a portrait mode zoom setting that mimics the lens’ 35mm field of view.

   
Examples of daylight, main camera (35mm), portrait mode

Full resolution mode can offer a slight improvement in detail, though it’s not really a significant advantage, it comes at the cost of a narrower dynamic range.

   
   
Daylight samples, main camera (1x), 50 megapixels

A 2x button is conveniently located in the viewfinder, and we read the results well. They’re not the sharpest images, but if you limit your viewing to phone screens or screen-fit levels on a PC, you should be fine. To be fair, you might be better off shooting at 50MP and cropping the center to match the 2x field of view.

   
   
Daylight samples, main camera (2x)

Telephoto camera (3x)

Telephoto camera results are also good. Details are appropriate and naturally presented. The dynamic range is wide and the colors are lovely if not quite the same as the original camera.

   
   
   
Daylight samples, telephoto camera (3x)

The zoom camera is also perfectly adequate as a close-up photographer, although if you get too close, the phone will quickly switch to a zoomed-in view of the main camera. Either be careful to cross the focus threshold near telephoto, or resort to Pro mode, where there is no automatic camera switching.

   
Examples of daylight, telephoto (3x), close-up

We admit that Pantone-approved skin tones look good. 85mm portrait mode shots come from the telephoto camera with some digital zoom, and you can tell by the relative softness.

   
Examples of daylight, telephoto camera (3x), portrait mode

   
Examples of daylight, telephoto camera (85mm), portrait mode

Ultra-wide camera

Ultra-wide also does not destroy the positive impression. In fact, it performs excellently in its field, delivering crisp results with a wide dynamic range and pleasing colors. Its autofocus capability is also much appreciated, allowing you to capture close-up objects with exaggerated perspectives or some distorted close-ups.

   
   
   
   
Examples of daylight, ultra-wide camera

Selfie photos

Selfies are excellent on the Edge 50 Pro. The detail is excellent, the dynamic range is nice and wide, and skin tones are pleasingly lifelike, although a touch of extra saturation wouldn’t hurt colors overall.

  
  
Examples of selfies

Low-light photo quality

Main camera

The main camera of the Edge 50 Pro takes very good photos in low light in the default photo mode. Exposures look balanced and natural, and you can get a fairly wide dynamic range without overexposed shadows. The colors are excellent in terms of both white balance and saturation. The detail is also good, but has a somewhat processed quality.

   
   
   
   
Low light samples, main camera (1x)

The Drag 50 Pro’s night mode does try harder to preserve highlights, though not as much in terms of shadow development.

   
Low light samples, main camera (1x), night mode

At 2x, details are even sharper, making pixel-level checking less of a pleasant task.

   
   
Low light samples, main camera (2x)

Telephoto camera

The telephoto camera of this phone also performs admirably in the dark. Sharpness and detail are excellent, dynamic range and tonal development are excellent even in difficult high-contrast scenes, and colors are generally on point.

   
   
   
   
Low light samples, telephoto camera (3x)

Ultra-wide camera

Ultrawide is not half bad either. Pixel-level detail can be a little soft in the shadows, but no more so than competing efforts and better-lit scenes actually render well. Colors and dynamic range are also generally pretty good, though Night mode still retains a bit of a highlight.

   
   
   
Low light samples, ultra-wide camera

Video recording

The Edge 50 Pro can record up to 4K30 on all its cameras – the three rear cameras and the selfie camera. All but ultrawide can do 1080p at 60fps in addition to the usual 30fps.

The default codec is h.264, but you can select h.265 by turning the switch in the settings. Stabilization is available in all modes and can be turned off if you have an alternative means of holding the photo still.

However, we’re not too keen on the Edge 50 Pro’s video quality. Its 4K clips are very high contrast, especially on the main and ultra-wide cameras. Detail is kind of soft on the ultra-wide camera, over-processed on the main camera, and probably only the telephoto gets a higher score. White balance varies between the three, with the primary camera being the most accurate and the other two cameras each off in their own way. Also, neither camera was able to maintain a consistent 30fps frame rate, instead hovering around the 27fps mark.

In low light, the main camera performs well on most metrics, capturing good detail and decent dynamic range, while maintaining color saturation. The other two are on the soft side of the spectrum.

Stabilization is mostly very good, although there were some small imperfections in our experience. Both the main and ultra-wide cameras stabilize walking shake well. The ultra-wide showed little tendency to hunt for focus when walking. All three started the pans smoothly, but we found that dropped frames in the middle of the pan ruined the harvest. Just pointing the phone in one direction produces stable footage – not quite shake-free, but good enough.