Moto Edge 50 Fusion review: Elegant, but what else?

So I have been using the Moto Edge 50 Fusion as my primary phone for about a month now. Literally, everyone on the internet is saying how good of a phone this is. And yes it is! But there are some things that I think most reviews missed out on, which I am going to share with you in my full 1-month experience with this article here. Let’s dive into the review of Moto Edge 50 Fusion!

Moto Edge 50 Fusion Specifications

• Dimensions: 161.9 x 73.1 x 7.9 mm
• Weight: 174.9 grams
• Build: Glass front, silicone polymer back (eco leather), plastic frame
• Display: 6.7” FHD+ OLED with 144Hz refresh rate
• Chipset: Snapdragon 7s Gen 2 (4nm)
• CPU: Octa-core (4x2.40 GHz Cortex-A78 & 4x1.95 GHz Cortex-A55)
• GPU: Adreno 710
• OS: Android 14, Hello UI
• Memory: 12GB LPDDR4X RAM, 256GB / 512GB (UFS 2.2) storage
• Rear Camera:
  • 50 MP ( Sony LYT-700C sensor with OIS) + 13 MP Ultra-wide lens
• Front Camera: 32MP
• Audio: Stereo speakers
• Sensors: Fingerprint, accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass
• Battery and Charging: 5000 mAh with 68 Watt fast charging
• Connectivity: Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band, 5G, Bluetooth v5.2
• Color options: Forest Blue, Hot Pink, and Marshmallow Blue
• Price in Nepal: Rs. 46,999

Moto Edge 50 Fusion Review

Design

• Dimensions: 161.9 x 73.1 x 7.9 mm
• Weight: 174.9 grams
• Build: Glass front, silicone polymer back (eco leather), plastic frame, IP68

Ok! First, let me start with the good things about this phone. And the first thing I like about all the Motorola phones is their designs. Moto has once again done a pretty awesome job of making this phone so lightweight without making it feel cheap. And honestly, once I switched to my main phone – the iPhone 15 Pro Max, it felt so heavy and instantly, I missed the comfortable ergonomics of the Edge 50 Fusion.

This is one comfortable phone to hold. I was able to use it with a single hand with ease, even for a longer period. The grip is solid here with subtle curves on both sides. And I like this leather-back design at the back too with no weird camera layout or bumps or anything as such. Plus, this is the cheapest phone right now with full IP68 ingress protection. Which means I don’t have to worry about the phone getting drenched in rain this monsoon season! Another thing I also found out is this leather back is not of a cheap quality. Yes, it does catch dust and can get dirty over time, but a simple clean makes it feel new. My office colleague has been using last year’s Moto Edge 40 and it still looks new. What I am trying to say is, you don't have to worry about wear and tear.

Display

• Display: 6.7” FHD+ OLED with 144Hz refresh rate
• Protection: Corning Gorilla Glass 5

Motorola is also offering a good quality AMOLED screen here. It refreshes at 144Hz and setting it to run at this speed from the settings, as you can see, in the UI and apps, everything runs at 144Hz.

Plus, Motorola has optimized the software very well with smooth animation all around. So, this phone feels quite fast while navigating through the UI, in the multitasking tray as well as while scrolling through apps. And even the core quality of the display is nice. It can get bright enough and is perfectly visible outdoors, while the minimum brightness is also quite low. However, there is one con of this display which is, there is no HDR playback support in any OTT apps and even YouTube. Overally the colors are nice and accurate, and you can change between multiple profiles and adjust the color temperature from the settings to match your preference.

Audio and Haptics

BTW, I also like its speakers. It is decently loud and found to have a better frequency response in the treble reason too. So, actually a good speaker system here for casually listening to Spotify or watching content. But I am a little disappointed with the haptics here. It's slightly buzzy and doesn't have that pleasing response which you get on phones like Nord CE4. Motorola got to improve in this aspect!

Performance

• Chipset: Snapdragon 7s Gen 2 (4nm)
• CPU: Octa-core (4x2.40 GHz Cortex-A78 & 4x1.95 GHz Cortex-A55)
• GPU: Adreno 710
• OS: Android 14, Hello UI

The performance of the Moto Edge 40 Fusion is also just “okay” for the price. It features a Snapdragon 7s gen 2 chipset along with 8GB DDR4X RAM and UFS 2.2 storage, so yeah nothing extraordinary in terms of benchmarks and it falls behind the Nord CE4 or the Infinix GT20 Pro that sells for a similar price. But Motorola has optimized the performance well here. As I said earlier, It feels fast, and the clean Moto UI enhances the experience, so overall good for day-to-day usage. However, I did notice this phone overheating while playing demanding games like Genshin Impact. It reached 47 degrees at the back, which isn't ideal.  Likewise, even when I was recording videos or browsing the internet using mobile data outside in a sunny environment, the phone would get slightly warm, not overbearingly, but it would get warm. I think the reason this is happening is because No. 1. it’s quite a slim phone and No.2 Motorola hasn't included any kind of Vapor Chamber cooling solution here. So, if you play high-end games like Genshin Impact, in 60fps mode, the phone will quickly throttle and dial down the fps 40. However, games like PubG and COD have no problem running well with cooler temperatures and good stability.

Battery and Charging

• Battery and Charging: 5000 mAh with 68 Watt fast charging

The battery Motorola has included is a regular 5000mAh cell, but since I have been using this phone at 144Hz mode and the phone has a tendency of heating up at times, I am not getting as good of a battery backup as the Nord CE4 which you know has a bigger 5500mah cell. So, in my typical usage, I was only getting a max of 6 hours of SOT. As a result, I’ve always had to  rush to get it charged while I am back home at night.

Motorola does offer a 68W brick inside the box which is nice. And this fast charger can go from 0 to 60% in just 30 minutes, and 100% in 1 hour. BTW, you also get a nice back cover inside the box, but one of the things that Motorola doesn't include is a pre-applied screen protector. Luckily, I haven't gotten any big scratches here, so the Gorilla Glass 5 has stood up well.

Cameras

• Rear Camera:
  • 50 MP ( Sony LYT-700C sensor with OIS) + 13 MP Ultra-wide lens
• Front Camera: 32MP

Ok, lastly let's talk about the cameras. If you look at the history of most Motorola phones last year, the cameras have been their biggest Achilles heel. I remember how average last year’s Moto Edge 40 and 40 Neo’s cameras were, but this year, they have improved a lot in terms of optimisation, especially the portraits.

Portraits

As you can see, the Edge 50 Fusion clicks better portraits than the Nord CE4. It brightens up the skin tone to make them look pleasing and it has better edge detection too. This is true for most portraits I have clicked from this phone. Plus, Motorola also lets you shoot in 1.5X and 2X modes for better subject focus and background blur, which looks much much better than the regular 1X shots.

Daytime

This year, Motorola has used this new Sony LTY 700C sensor here and I found the normal daytime images to have decent details, and contrast is well managed, but in most photos, the color saturation is quite high, which might look good in some photos whereas in some photos like this, it does look too much processed.

Most of the time, I found it not handling the reds and greens well. While, as you zoom into this stupa image, you can see how it oversharpens the photos and boosts the contrast, which doesn't look natural.

Lowlight and ultra-wide

I however like the low-light shots as they look better in the eyes with nice details, despite being again a bit saturated and warm.

Motorola is also offering a high-res 13MP ultra-wide camera with autofocus – something unheard of at this price. Sadly, Moto hasn't optimized the ultra-wide cameras that well as I would have liked. I think it should be doing better.

Macros and Selfies

With the autofocus though, you can take some good-looking macro shots. Even the selfies are just okay for the price. It's a bit contrasty and darker than the Nord CE4.

Videography

Videos, however, are good. You can record 4K videos from all the lenses and it’s good enough for sharing it with your friends with nice details and contrast. However, like photos, they come out a bit saturated. As expected, the ultra-wide videos are soft but it's marginally better than the 1080P videos you get from similarly priced phones like the Nord CE4.

Moto Edge 50 Fusion Review: Pros and Cons

Pros of Moto Edge 50 Fusion:

• Lightweight and premium design
• IP68 rating
• Vibrant OLED display with 144Hz refresh rate
• Improved portrait mode and low-light camera performance

Cons of Moto Edge 50 Fusion:

• Average performance
• Overheating during intensive tasks
• lacks HDR support in OTT apps
• Subpar haptic feedback

Motorola Edge 50 Fusion Review Conclusion

Ok, so with everything I just talked about, this phone, the Moto Edge 50 Fusion for a starting price of 23,000, is definitely an excellent package with a gorgeous design, superb display, acceptable performance, battery life, and “not-so-optimized cameras” but still good enough for the price!

Few more words

But I think what most reviews have missed out on are 2 things about this phone. No. 1 Motorola update policy! It's just so far behind the competition. I have used this phone for over a month now and Motorola hasn't pushed any update to either improve the cameras or offer the latest security patches. And at the same time, I have received 2 updates on the OnePlus Nord CE4. Plus, if you look at last year’s Moto Edge 40 series, they are one of the slowest phones to receive Android 14. The no. 2 problem with Motorola Edge 50 Fusion is stock availability! The one I have with me is a review unit, and I was able to get it before the launch, but if you want to buy the Edge 50 Fusion right now, after more than 1 month of its launch, the stock is just not there. So, I think these are the things Moto has got to improve because I see real potential here! In fact, Motorola has currently entered the Top 10 Android smartphone brands in India, with over 100% growth in 2023. They are the fastest-growing brand right now! So, this year too, with all the lineups, they are doing some excellent work with the pricing and specs. But to be the best, I really hope they improve the update record, stock availability, and more importantly, I hope they work on optimizing their cameras better!

• Meanwhile, watch our review of Moto Edge 40