Motorola Edge 50 Ultra hands-on review: The ultimate evolution?

Motorola has announced three new phones to top its smartphone lineup: the Moto Edge 50 Fusion, Moto Edge 50 Pro, and Moto Edge 50 Ultra. The Ultra label has a lot of baggage these days. It refers to some of the best smartphones on the market, with cameras that appear smarter than DSLRs, faster than some desktop computers and screens brilliant enough to outshine the sun. What about the Motorola Edge 50 Ultra, though? That is a little unusual.

Sure, it stands atop Motorola’s redesigned Edge lineup and features a trio of respectable camera sensors. However, it does not have the most powerful CPU or battery, and it refuses to abandon curved-edge glass at a time when competitors have returned to flat screens. On the good side, it does not cost four figures, as many of its competitors do. So, how does it measure up in comparison?

A thorough review will have to wait for now, but after spending a lot of time with the phone at Motorola’s pre-launch press event, I have a fair sense of what to anticipate when it goes on sale.

MOTOROLA EDGE 50 ULTRA KEY FEATURES

The Motorola Edge 50 portfolio expanded today with some additional additions. Following the Edge 50 Pro release earlier this month, the OEM has now introduced the Edge 50 Ultra and Edge 50 Fusion. The Ultra, as expected, leads the series, with the Fusion being the cheapest of the three. We’ll take a deeper look at the Ultra and its headline features. After all, this is Motorola’s flagship smartphone for 2024, with a slew of premium features including AI capabilities and Pantone-calibrated displays and cameras for more accurate and vibrant color reproduction.

The AI functionality is made possible by Qualcomm’s new Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 chipset, which sits between last year’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 and this year’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 3. The chip delivers strong performance and keeps some of the Snapdragon 8 series’ premium features while remaining reasonably priced. It appears like Motorola is going for the more cheap flagship sector.

Despite the minor compromise in the chipset category, Motorola is not making one for the cameras, display, or charging. The 6.7-inch OLED panel features all the bells and whistles, operates at up to 144Hz, and can charge at up to 125W (wireless is 50W). The camera hardware appears to be solid on paper. We have a large 50MP main sensor, a 50MP ultrawide unit, and a 64MP 3x telephoto camera with an impressive f/2.4 aperture. Even the selfie unit is 50MP with autofocus, which is uncommon even in the ultra-premium category.

MOTOROLA EDGE 50 ULTRA UNBOXING

Motorola unboxings have become somewhat of a pleasure in recent years, thanks to the company’s practice of applying scent on the interior of the box – that is certainly ‘a distinct sensory experience’ that you will not get with other companies. We’ll concede that this has little practical benefit, but that doesn’t mean we don’t like it. That’s in addition to the packaging being devoid of plastic and produced from 80% recyclable materials, which is always a plus.

The package also includes a snap-on back cover that has a semi-transparent frosted look. The color of this accessory will be matched to the phone’s color scheme, which for our Luxe Lavender review unit is dubbed Blue Heron (in Pantone speak).

CAMERA

The Edge 50 Ultra certainly delivers on camera hardware, featuring a triple of high pixel count sensors. The primary lens is a 50MP unit with an f/1.6 aperture, optical image stabilization, and laser autofocus; it is supplemented with a 50MP ultrawide with macro focus for extreme close-ups and a dedicated 64MP telephoto lens with 3x optical zoom. I believe this is the same sensor utilized by OnePlus in the OnePlus Open to great effect, which speaks well for the Moto’s zoom capabilities. There’s also a 50MP selfie camera on the front.

Pantone helped with the color processing, which is unprecedented for any phone, Motorola or otherwise. Artificial intelligence appears to adjust stabilization on the fly while capturing moving subjects and intelligently tracks subjects across the screen when recording video.

I had two opportunities to test the Edge 50 Ultra’s cameras: firstly in a garden under bright sunlight, and later that day in a dark event venue. I couldn’t take my sample photos away for closer scrutiny because the device was running pre-release firmware. Throughout the day, all three lenses appeared to have consistent color and exposure, as one would expect from a high-end cameraphone.

I believe Motorola still has to tone down its sharpening algorithms, which can be very strong. I wasn’t impressed by the night-time photos, which included blown-out highlights and a lot of noise. However, this could all change once the retail software comes. The camera app felt faster to swap lenses than the Edge 50 Pro, which sometimes is a little slow.

DESIGN AND SCREEN

I had the opportunity to spend a few days with the Motorola Edge 50 Ultra before to its formal introduction, and the gadget created an amazing first impression, thanks to its unique design that distinguishes it from the plain slabs that make up the majority of the Android smartphone market.

In a tribute to the iconic Moto X, the Edge 50 Ultra is available with a wooden back, a finish rarely seen on phones these days. The light Nordic Wood finish is gripping, and Moto representatives indicated it will be just as durable as the other finishes.

If wood isn’t your thing, the Edge 50 Ultra is also available in two vegan leather finishes that look terrific. The ‘Peach Fuzz’ colorway is shown in the photographs below, and Motorola has acquired it from Pantone, where it is the ‘Colour of the Year’ for 2024. It’s a light, slightly orange color with a pink gloss. There is also a darker green version that is slightly more conventional.

While the wood is gripping, the vegan leather finish feels soft and comforting to hold. Many phones, such as Samsung’s Galaxy S24 line, choose an industrial metal-focused design, however, the Edge 50 Ultra is quite the contrary. Even the way the finish covers the camera bump demonstrates how much effort was put into the design.

The front panel features a 6.67-inch OLED display with curved corners that are beginning to look dated. While I would have preferred a flat screen, this is a really good panel due to its 1200p resolution (Motorola calls it Super HD), high brightness, and strong HDR compatibility. There is also support for refresh rates up to 144 Hz.

Given the high €999 pricing, many may be wondering why Motorola didn’t opt for a 1440p display. However, I don’t believe you’re missing out on much with the 1200p panel, and if it helps extend battery life, it makes sense.

HOW’S THE PERFORMANCE?

The Edge 50 Ultra is one of the first phones I’ve tried with the Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 processor; it’s a compromise between the flagship 8 Gen 3 and the more mid-range 7 Gen 3, which feels like too many silicon options to me. I believe it is an attempt by Qualcomm to fill a gap that would otherwise be filled by MediaTek. It is combined with either 12 or 16 GB of RAM, as well as 512GB or 1TB of internal storage.

With only a few apps installed and an extremely poor internet connection stopping me from downloading more during my trial, I can’t fairly assess performance just yet. The phone felt fast enough when opening apps and navigating through online pages. Multitasking was not an issue, as practically everything remained loaded in memory. In benchmark league tables, I expect it to compete with the Pixel 8 Pros and Exynos-powered Galaxy S24s of the world, with more than adequate power for the majority of customers.

That should also apply to gaming, as most titles are highly optimized for Qualcomm hardware and enable ray tracing. Some should even come close to the phone’s maximum refresh rate of 144Hz. The Edge 50 Ultra’s ability to maintain that level of performance, as well as its battery life, will have to wait until a complete evaluation.

A 4500mAh cell isn’t particularly large for a high-end phone, with numerous options supporting 5000mAh capacity. However, the Edge 50 Ultra does not overdo it in terms of screen quality, and the CPU should be a little less greedy for electrons. I’m guessing an entire day will be no problem as long as you don’t spend it all gaming or filming 4K films.

Charging speeds are impressive when compared to Apple, Samsung, and Google, with 125W wired top-ups offering a near-complete refill in under half an hour. It can also handle 50W wireless charging with the appropriate pad and reverse charging at a healthy 10W.

Buy it if...

• Wireless charging is also available, in addition to class-leading charging speed (with the 125W adaptor).
• Great software bundle – looks stock and has a ton of useful additional functions.
• Overall, all cameras produce excellent photo quality under all conditions.
• High-quality selfies.

Don't buy it if…

• The chipset is underpowered for the price.
• The video quality is not nearly up to par.
• The bundled charger varies depending on the memory version.

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