Motorola Edge 30 Neo review
The Moto Edge 30 Neo is the most affordable and compact offering in Motorola's new series. This mid-ranger boasts a snazzy design, super-fast charging, and a bright 120Hz OLED display. Weighing just 155 grams, it's incredibly lightweight and easy to wield. A unique purple hue and frosted coating on the back panel add visual interest. The phone also features an LED ring notification light, ingress protection against dust and water, and a fingerprint reader under the display. But does its compact size come at the cost of performance?
Build Quality and Design
The Moto Edge 30 Neo boasts an attractive compact design that sets it apart from its siblings in the series. Despite being made of plastic, the phone's build quality is surprisingly solid. The dual-tone accent on the camera bump adds a touch of sophistication, while the frosted coating on the back panel provides extra grip. The finish, dubbed "Very Perry," is a unique purple hue that was Pantone's 2022 color of the year. One notable feature of the Edge 30 Neo is its LED ring around the camera island, which serves as both a notification light and charging indicator. This attention to detail is commendable, especially considering the phone's affordable price tag. The design also boasts ingress protection against dust and light splashes, making it a reliable choice for everyday use. In terms of size, the Edge 30 Neo measures in at just 155 grams, making it incredibly lightweight and easy to wield. This compact form factor is a major selling point, particularly for those who prefer smaller phones. The designers have done an excellent job creating a phone that feels substantial without being too bulky. The Edge 30 Neo's design also showcases Motorola's new partnership with Pantone, which promises to bring interesting colors to future Moto phones. While some might find the purple hue polarizing, it certainly adds visual interest to the device. Overall, the build quality and design of the Edge 30 Neo are a testament to Motorola's commitment to creating affordable smartphones that still pack a punch in terms of style and functionality.
Battery Life
One aspect where the Moto Edge 30 Neo truly shines is its battery life. Despite being a compact mid-ranger, this phone has managed to deliver an impressive endurance rating of 104 hours in our tests. The phone's ability to pack enough juice for such a long period, considering its size and specs, is quite commendable. The credit for this goes to the phone's efficient Snapdragon 695 5G chipset, which is surprisingly frugal despite not being flagship-grade. Additionally, the bundled 68W fast charger helps top up the battery quickly, with the phone reaching 92% charge in just half an hour. Wireless charging is also supported, making it easy to keep the phone powered on the go. In our tests, the Moto Edge 30 Neo's battery life was consistently good, lasting a day and a half even with heavy usage. The phone's ability to handle power consumption efficiently, despite its relatively small size, is a testament to its well-designed hardware and software pairing. While it may not be the most powerful or feature-packed phone in its price range, the Moto Edge 30 Neo's battery life is undoubtedly one of its strengths. If you're looking for a compact phone with decent battery life, the Edge 30 Neo is definitely worth considering.
Display
The Motorola Edge 30 Neo boasts a stunning 6.28-inch P-OLED display with a 1080p resolution and a 120Hz refresh rate. This screen is a true highlight of the phone, offering an incredible viewing experience. The display's fast refresh rate makes navigating through menus and scrolling through content feel incredibly smooth. One of the standout features of the Edge 30 Neo's display is its max brightness. We achieved a maximum of 490 nits with the manual slider, which can boost to 1000 nits in auto mode when exposed to bright sunlight. This level of brightness ensures that the screen remains easily readable even in direct sunlight. The display also features good contrast and sharpness, making it perfect for watching videos or browsing through content. Color accuracy is great too, with vivid and punchy colors that really pop on screen. Unfortunately, one feature that's noticeably absent from the Edge 30 Neo's display is HDR support. While this may be a disappointment for some, the overall quality of the display more than makes up for it. In terms of biometric security, the phone features an under-display fingerprint reader that's fast and responsive. While placement takes some getting used to, it's a convenient feature that adds an extra layer of security to the phone. Overall, the Motorola Edge 30 Neo's display is a significant strength of the phone. Its bright OLED screen, smooth refresh rate, and good contrast make it perfect for anyone looking for a compact smartphone with a great viewing experience.
Camera
The camera on the Motorola Edge 30 Neo is a dual-camera setup consisting of a 64-megapixel main camera with optical image stabilization (OIS) and a 13-megapixel ultra-wide-angle camera with autofocus. In daylight, the main camera delivers consistently good photos with great sharpness and plenty of fine detail. Colors are vibrant and dynamic range is pretty good, resulting in contrasty and well-balanced images. The portrait mode shots are also impressive, with plenty of detail and sharpness, and the edge detection does a decent job. The ultra-wide-angle camera, on the other hand, has an advantage in terms of resolution compared to most competitors, offering a very good level of detail, good contrast, and color saturation, as well as above-average sharpness. However, there is some purple fringing visible at the edges, and dynamic range is limited. In low-light conditions, the main camera's nighttime performance is decent, with photos coming out well-exposed and with good color saturation. HDR preserves highlights effectively, but zooming in reveals a lack of fine detail and dark shadows. Unfortunately, the ultra-wide-angle camera struggles to deliver usable photos at night, with images appearing soft and lacking fine detail when viewed on a larger screen. The lack of night mode for the ultra-wide-angle camera is also disappointing. Selfies from the 32-megapixel front-facing camera come out at 8 megapixels, but they are colorful, have decent sharpness and dynamic range, and not much fine detail is present. Video recording is limited to 1080p resolution due to the chipset's capabilities, resulting in videos that are colorful and contrasty but with some clipped shadows and highlights. The ultra-wide-angle camera also records 1080p video, producing similar quality with nice and vibrant colors, decent sharpness, and higher contrast that hurts dynamic range a bit more. Overall, while the Motorola Edge 30 Neo's camera performance is not outstanding, it still delivers good results in various lighting conditions, making it a solid choice for those looking for a compact smartphone.
Price and Value
The Motorola Edge 30 Neo stands out as the most affordable and compact member of the Moto Edge 30 series. Priced right, this phone offers a snazzy design, super fast charging, and a bright 120Hz OLED display. The build quality is impressive, with a lightweight construction that makes it easy to wield. One of the standout features of the Edge 30 Neo is its price. As a compact mid-ranger, it's a rare breed, and Motorola has done an excellent job of packing in desirable specs at a reasonable cost. The phone's performance is solid, if not outstanding, with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 695 5G chipset that provides smooth day-to-day usage. Where the Edge 30 Neo truly shines is its value proposition. With a price tag that's lower than most competitors, this phone offers a compelling package of features and performance. Yes, it may not be as powerful as some of its siblings or peers, but for the price, you'd be hard-pressed to find a better deal. The Edge 30 Neo's camera setup is also surprisingly good, considering the price point. The dual-camera system delivers consistently good photos with great sharpness and plenty of fine detail. While it may not excel in low-light conditions or have features like HDR support, overall, the cameras are more than capable for a mid-ranger. In conclusion, the Motorola Edge 30 Neo is an excellent choice for those seeking a compact phone without breaking the bank. Its value-packed offering makes it a top contender in its class, and its performance is solid enough to handle day-to-day tasks with ease. If you're looking for a reliable mid-ranger at an affordable price, the Edge 30 Neo should be on your radar.
Performance
The Motorola Edge 30 Neo's performance is one area where the phone falls short compared to its competitors in the same price range. The phone is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 695 5G chipset, which is not exactly flagship-grade. In fact, most competing devices at this price point have higher benchmark scores. While the chipset performance is solid enough for a mid-ranger, it does leave something to be desired. Day-to-day tasks and casual gaming are handled without any issues, but more demanding applications may experience some slowdowns. The phone's 5G connectivity is a plus, however. One area where the Edge 30 Neo excels is in its charging speed. With the bundled 68W fast charger, the phone can quickly top up from 0 to 92% in just half an hour. Wireless charging is also supported on board. In terms of camera performance, the dual-camera setup consisting of a 64MP main cam and a 13MP ultra-wide cam delivers good results in bright lighting conditions. However, nighttime performance is where the cameras struggle, with noticeable noise and lack of fine detail. The ultra-wide camera's autofocus is a nice touch, but its images are soft and lacking in detail when viewed at full magnification. Overall, while the Edge 30 Neo's performance is not outstanding, it's still a solid mid-ranger that gets the job done. However, for those looking for a more powerful device, there may be better options available elsewhere.
Pros
1. The phone has a snazzy compact design, super fast charging, and a bright 120hz OLED display
2. The phone is very lightweight (just 155 grams) and easy to wield
3. The LED ring around the camera Island acts as a notification light and charging indicator
4. The phone has ingress protection against dust and light splashes on the front
5. The battery life is pretty good, with an endurance rating of 104 hours in our proprietary tests
Cons
1. The chipset is far from Flagship grade (Snapdragon 695 5G) and underwhelming compared to competitors
2. HDR support is missing on the display
3. The camera performance is affected by the chipset, with slow night mode processing speed
4. There's no 4K video recording capability, only 1080p
5. The ultra wide camera struggles to deliver usable photos at night