Motorola has just released a new smartphone family: Edge 50. It has three members: the Pro, the Fusion and the Ultra. It is the latter that I asked to test. The version with the wood finish interested me the most. This demonstrates the manufacturer’s desire to stand out with the exterior finish of its products. Moreover, all the latest devices are distinguished by original colors or materials. We find vegan leather or suede or a pearl background depending on the model. As the smartphone remains a social marker, this policy of customization compared to competitors is a very good idea. Today, it is no longer the technical components that make the difference.
In the case of this test, it was therefore Nordic Wood. A thin blade of light wood is placed on the back of the phone. It’s really very classy. Won’t fingerprints and dirt build up on it over time. This was not the case during the two-week test. Now a translucent protective shell is delivered with the device, which keeps the appearance of the visible rear side.
The screen is covered by Gorilla Victus® glass with an anti-fingerprint gel. The screen extends over the edges to the aluminum frame. The screen will light up in the event of a notification if it is placed on a table on the screen side. Its diagonal is 17 cm. The ratio is 20:9, which makes for a fairly narrow device. The screen resolution is 2712 X 1220 pixels. The Moto Edge Ultra has a technical sheet worthy of a phone of its price.
The processor is a Snapdragon type 8 with 16 GB of RAM with the possibility of memory expansion up to 16 GB if the available storage memory is sufficient.
Storage space varies depending on the 512 GB or 1 TB versions. The product runs on Android 14. Motorola does not provide information on the number of update versions that will be supported.
Artificial intelligence
On the photo sensor side, there are two 50 megapixel (MP) cameras and a 64 MP camera used as an optical telephoto lens (X3). The front sensor is 50 MP. They all have different pixel sizes. Moreover, Motorola retains the pixel assembly technique (Quad pixel technology) to increase rendering in low light.
The photo application interface is very classic. Note that you can also trigger using the top volume button. A long press on the volume down button switches from video mode to photo mode and vice versa. It’s easier to shoot one-handed.
The images produced are very well balanced and the HDR processing is well controlled. The images taken using the optical telephoto lens are of good quality. On the other hand, the 100X zoom should be forgotten unless you want an impressionistic shot.
Portrait mode has 4 frames: 25, 35, 50 and 85 mm. One wonders why photographic terms are used in this mode. On the other hand, we are talking about magnification in automatic mode.
Automatically, images are improved using artificial intelligence. We find the functions for removing elements in a photo and processing blur developed by Google.
Motorola has collaborated with the Pantone company, which specializes in color reproduction, to display human skin tones as faithfully as possible. This is also applied when taking pictures. This technology is really difficult to appreciate, because it depends on the conditions in which you are looking at your screen as well as the quality and calibration of the screen on which you are going to look at your pictures.
The company keeps the “Motos” software already introduced for many years in its smartphones. Noteworthy in the security section is the ability to change the layout of the PIN keypad keys each time you unlock the device. If the thief has seen the sequence of your fingers and not the numbers you have typed, he will not be able to reproduce it. There is also an application for disconnecting notifications as well as a function to create protected family spaces in case you lend your smartphone to your children. The phone can also be connected to a Lenovo tablet or computer to control them, stream content and transfer files.
The Motorola Edge 50 Ultra costs €999.99. Note that it comes with a protective case, a 125W fast charger and a USB-C cable. The device is compatible with wireless charging.
