Motorola Edge 50 Ultra hands-on review

Introduction

The Motorola Edge 50 grows today with some new additions to the lineup. After releasing the Edge 50 Pro earlier this month, the OEM is now introducing the Edge 50 Ultra and the Edge 50 Fusion. Expectedly, the Ultra sits atop the series, while the Fusion is the most affordable version of the three.

We will be taking a closer look at the Ultra and its flagship capabilities. After all, this is Motorola's top-tier smartphone for 2024 and offers a ton of premium features, including AI capabilities and Pantone-calibrated display and cameras for more accurate and lively color reproduction.

Motorola Edge 50 Ultra specs at a glance:

• Body: 161.1x72.4x8.6mm, 197g; Gorilla Glass Victus front, wooden back or vegan leather back, aluminum frame; IP68 dust/water resistant (up to 1.5m for 30 min).
• Display: 6.70" OLED, 1B colors, 144Hz, HDR10+, 1220x2712px resolution, 20.01:9 aspect ratio, 444ppi.
• Chipset: Qualcomm SM8635 Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 (4 nm): Octa-core (1x3.0 GHz Cortex-X4 & 4x2.8 GHz Cortex-A720 & 3x2.0 GHz Cortex-A520); Adreno 735.
• Memory: 512GB 12GB RAM, 1TB 16GB RAM; UFS 4.0.
• OS/Software: Android 14.
• Rear camera: Wide (main): 50 MP, 1/1.3", f/1.6, 2.4µm, multi-directional PDAF, Laser AF, OIS; Telephoto: 64 MP, f/2.4, 1.4µm, PDAF, OIS, 3x optical zoom; Ultra wide angle: 50 MP, f/2.0, 1.28µm, 122˚, AF.
• Front camera: 50 MP, f/1.9, 1.28µm, AF.
• Video capture: Rear camera: 4K@30fps, 1080p@30/60, 10-bit HDR10+, gyro-EIS; Front camera: 4K@30fps, 1080p@30/60fps.
• Battery: 4500mAh; 125W wired, 50W wireless, 10W reverse wireless.
• Connectivity: 5G; Dual SIM; Wi-Fi 7; BT 5.4; NFC, UWB, USB-C 3.1 gen 2 with DP 1.4 support.
• Misc: Fingerprint reader (under display, optical); stereo speakers; Ready For 6 support.

The AI functionalities are possible thanks to Qualcomm's new Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 chipset, which slots between last year's Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 and this year's Snapdragon 8 Gen 3. The chip offers high performance and retains some of the premium features of the Snapdragon 8 series, while keeping a relatively lower price point. It looks like Motorola is aiming at the more affordable flagship segment.

But despite the small compromise in the chipset department, Motorola isn't making one with the cameras, display and charging. The 6.7-inch OLED panel has all the bells and whistles, runs at up to 144Hz and can charge at up to 125W (wireless is 50W). The camera hardware looks solid on paper. We have a big 50MP main sensor aided by a 50MP ultrawide unit and a 64MP 3x telephoto camera with a respectable f/2.4 aperture. Even the selfie unit is 50MP with autofocus, which is a rare find even in the ultra-premium segment.