The Motorola Edge 50 Ultra is Motorola’s top-end flagship for 2024, with a fashion-forward design, stunning display, great camera capabilities, and some of the fastest charging technology available – all for just £849.
That sounds remarkable, and it is, but Motorola had to take some corners to reach such a low pricing point. This means you’ll miss out on minor but major features like LTPO technology and always-on display technology, as well as higher levels of zoom and longer software support, which are available in similarly priced rivals.
Key Features
- Interesting endings. You can select between vegan leather and wood finishes.
- Extremely rapid charging125w Turbo Power is supported, reaching a full charge in just 19 minutes, and there’s a charger in the box.
- Four cameras.Three cameras on the back—a 50MP primary, 50MP ultrawide, and 64MP 3x telephoto—and a 50MP selfie camera with autofocus on the front.
Moto Edge 50 Ultra Specs
| Category | Specification |
|---|---|
| NETWORK | Technology: GSM / HSPA / LTE / 5G |
| LAUNCH | Announced: 2024, April 16 |
| Status: Available. Released 2024, May 15 | |
| BODY | Dimensions: 161.1 x 72.4 x 8.6 mm (6.34 x 2.85 x 0.34 in) |
| Weight: 197 g (6.95 oz) | |
| Build: Glass front (Gorilla Glass Victus), wooden back or silicone polymer back (eco leather), aluminum frame | |
| SIM: Nano-SIM and/or eSIM | |
| Protection: IP68 dust/water resistant (up to 1.5m for 30 min) | |
| DISPLAY | Type: P-OLED, 1B colors, 144Hz, HDR10+, 2500 nits (peak) |
| Size: 6.7 inches, 107.4 cm² (~92.1% screen-to-body ratio) | |
| Resolution: 1220 x 2712 pixels, 20:9 ratio (~446 ppi density) | |
| Protection: Corning Gorilla Glass Victus | |
| PLATFORM | OS: Android 14 |
| Chipset: Qualcomm SM8635 Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 (4 nm) | |
| CPU: Octa-core (1×3.0 GHz Cortex-X4 & 4×2.8 GHz Cortex-A720 & 3×2.0 GHz Cortex-A520) | |
| GPU: Adreno 735 | |
| MEMORY | Card slot: No |
| Internal: 512GB 12GB RAM, 512GB 16GB RAM, 1TB 16GB RAM | |
| Storage Type: UFS 4.0 | |
| MAIN CAMERA | Triple: 50 MP, f/1.6, (wide), 1/1.3″, 1.2µm, multi-directional PDAF, Laser AF, OIS |
| & 64 MP, f/2.4, 72mm (periscope telephoto), 0.7µm, PDAF, OIS, 3x optical zoom | |
| & 50 MP, f/2.0, 12mm, 122˚ (ultrawide), 0.64µm, AF | |
| Features: Dual-LED flash, HDR, panorama | |
| Video: 4K@30/60fps, 1080p@30/60/120/240/960fps, 10-bit HDR10+, gyro-EIS | |
| SELFIE CAMERA | Single: 50 MP, f/1.9, (wide), 0.64µm, AF |
| Features: HDR | |
| Video: 4K@30/60fps, 1080p@30/60/120fps, HDR | |
| SOUND | Loudspeaker: Yes, with stereo speakers |
| 3.5mm jack: No | |
| Additional Sound Features: Snapdragon Sound | |
| COMMS | WLAN: Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/6e/7, tri-band, Wi-Fi Direct |
| Bluetooth: 5.4, A2DP, LE | |
| Positioning: GPS, GLONASS, GALILEO, BDS, NavIC | |
| NFC: Yes | |
| Radio: No | |
| USB: USB Type-C 3.1 Gen2, OTG, DisplayPort 1.4 | |
| FEATURES | Sensors: Fingerprint (under display, optical), accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass |
| Additional Features: Ready For support, Ultra Wideband (UWB) support | |
| BATTERY | Type: 4500 mAh, non-removable |
| Charging: 125W wired, 50W wireless, 10W reverse wireless | |
| MISC | Colors: Forest Grey, Nordic Wood, Peach Fuzz |
| Price: £827.00 / €980.00 | |
| TESTS | Loudspeaker: -25.4 LUFS (Very good) |
| Battery (new): Active use score 12:56h |
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Edge 50 Ultra Detailed Review
Now that you have a clear idea about the phone from the table above, let us take a look at its descriptive review about some of its key specs such as Display, Camera & Performance!
Display
Wooden backs are rare on phones, but the Edge 50 Ultra includes one in honor of the Moto X. Moto believes the light Nordic Wood finish is equally durable as the others and gripping.
The Edge 50 Ultra has two beautiful vegan leather finishes if the wood isn’t your thing. The Peach Fuzz finish, Pantone’s 2024 “Colour of the Year,” is the most bright, with a little orange tinge and pinky finish.
We also received the subtle Forest Grey finish for review. It’s duller than Peach Fuzz and Nordic Wood, which have individuality.
The wood is gripping, but the vegan leather finish is smooth and comfy. Many phones, like Samsung’s Galaxy S24, focus on industrial metal, but not the Edge 50 Ultra.
Curved in all the right spots, it makes the 6.67-inch smartphone easier to hold. While not as thin and light as the Edge 50 Fusion at 8.6mm thick and 197g, it’s still far lighter than similarly sized phones like the Pixel 8 Pro and noticeable in regular usage.
With a tighter aspect ratio, the Motorola Edge 50 Ultra is simpler to handle and access both sides than my daily driver, the Galaxy S24 Ultra.
The phone has IP68 dust and water resistance, an aluminum frame, and Gorilla Glass Victus screen protection, as expected of an £850 phone. Motorola even scents each recyclable package to add to the high-end vibe. It’s a sensory delight.
Cameras
The Motorola Edge 50 Ultra has the best camera tech in the Edge 50 line-up, even though it doesn’t quite achieve the ‘Ultra’ designation.
The rear sports three cameras: a 50MP primary with f/1.6 aperture, OIS, and phase detection autofocus. Also included are a 50MP ultrawide with a macro mode and a 64MP telephoto with 3x zoom for close-ups. Front-facing 50MP selfies with autofocus are rare on phones.
Naturally, the 50MP primary camera shines. A big 1/1.3-inch sensor and wide f/1.6 aperture produce stunning photos with depth and color, even in low light.
A great bokeh from the wide aperture makes close-up images more natural without the software-powered effect.
However, the dynamic range might be improved. Some photographs were blown out with minimal detail in lighter areas, especially when taken outdoors in daylight. Being absent from the auxiliary lenses, it’s likely a software issue that’ll be resolved, but worth noting.
The 64MP telephoto lens and its 3x zoom are ideal for portrait photography, especially with Motorola’s edge detection tech and adjustable bokeh, but it can also perform well with a digital zoom of up to 10x.
The Edge 50 Ultra lacks the zoom and quality of Ultra-level competitors like the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra and Oppo Find X7 Ultra, but it’ll work for most people without breaking the bank.
The 50MP ultrawide is a major improvement over the Edge 50 Pro’s 12MP ultrawide, with higher clarity and color accuracy that matches the main and telephoto lenses for consistent shooting. Its macro lens results are average, but that’s a specialized feature.
Whether you use Motorola’s AI-infused Photo Enhancement Engine will affect image quality.
The Camera app will ask you to enable it when you snap your first shot, noting that the AI can alter color, exposure, bokeh, and shadows to improve image quality, but it takes a few seconds to process.
It was more visible with the Edge 50 Pro’s mid-range cameras than the 50 Ultra’s top-end equipment, but it still gives a bright touch to most photos. Also, I like watching the “before and after” as the shot develops.
Performance
Motorola made some intriguing Edge 50 Ultra internals. Qualcomm’s 8S Gen 3 processor has fewer features than the flagship 8 Gen 3.
These chips have a few differences – you can learn about them in our Qualcomm 8 Gen 3 versus 8S Gen 3 comparison – and focus largely on camera functionality rather than power, albeit it doesn’t quite beat the 8 Gen 3.
Still, it has 512GB or 1TB of internal storage, great for storing tons of offline stuff, and 16GB of RAM, more than expected at this price.
The Edge 50 Ultra has a few needs. Over the past week, it has handled anything from scrolling through TikTok and answering emails to running demanding 3D games without stuttering.
The Edge 50 Ultra ran the anime-style One Punch Man World with ultra-level graphics and no frame rate cap, and it was buttery smooth during my 40-minute session.
The quick refresh rate and optimized software experience with fast animations make it feel like a powerful piece of gear.
The phone’s tiny, elegant form makes it heat up when used for high-end 3D games.
That didn’t seem to correlate to worse performance as with some phones, but it made sections of the phone, especially where your hands rest when playing landscape-style games, and affected battery life. More on that later.
Bottom Line
The Motorola Edge 50 Ultra is unquestionably one of the best-looking flagship phones on the market, with various finishes and color options, as well as a thin and light design that is comfortable to carry and operate.
That’s backed up by a 6.67-inch OLED panel with a 144Hz refresh rate that provides smooth everyday performance, albeit the lack of LTPO technology, which is featured in almost all competitors at the £849 price range, is disappointing, especially given the lack of AOD capabilities.
The Snapdragon 8S Gen 3 chipset and a generous 16GB RAM provide decent performance, easily handling both regular chores and gaming, though the latter did cause the smartphone to become uncomfortably warm after about 20 minutes of intensive activity.
However, features like a competent camera setup, 125W rapid charging that gets you a full charge in 19 minutes (with the charger included!), a streamlined approach to Android 14, and long-lasting battery life serve to mitigate some of the Edge 50 Ultra’s shortcomings.
It’s not a real ‘Ultra’ smartphone in the same way that the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra and iPhone 15 Pro Max are, but it comes fairly close at a much lower cost.
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