In the ever-evolving world of smartphones, Motorola has consistently managed to carve out a niche for itself by offering devices that combine reliability, performance, and affordability. The Motorola Moto S50 Neo is the latest addition to the company’s lineup, and it promises to deliver a premium experience without breaking the bank. In this article, we’ll take an in-depth look at the Moto S50 Neo, exploring its design, features, performance, and more, to help you decide if it’s the right smartphone for you.
Design and Build Quality
The Motorola Moto S50 Neo boasts a sleek and modern design that is both stylish and functional. The phone features a slim profile with rounded edges, making it comfortable to hold and use with one hand. The back panel is made of high-quality polycarbonate material, which not only gives it a premium look but also ensures durability.
One of the standout design elements of the Moto S50 Neo is its water-repellent coating. While it’s not fully waterproof, this coating provides an added layer of protection against accidental spills and light rain. The phone is available in a range of attractive colors, including Cosmic Black, Crystal Blue, and Rose Gold, allowing users to choose a variant that suits their personal style.
Display
The Moto S50 Neo features a 6.5-inch IPS LCD display with a resolution of 720 x 1600 pixels. While it may not be the sharpest display on the market, it offers vibrant colors and good viewing angles, making it ideal for watching videos, browsing the web, and playing games. The display also has a 90Hz refresh rate, which ensures smoother scrolling and a more responsive touch experience.
The phone’s screen-to-body ratio is impressive, thanks to the minimal bezels and a small punch-hole cutout for the front camera. This design choice maximizes the screen real estate, providing an immersive viewing experience.
Performance and Hardware
Under the hood, the Motorola Moto S50 Neo is powered by a MediaTek Helio G85 processor, which is paired with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of internal storage. The Helio G85 is a capable chipset that handles everyday tasks with ease, whether it’s browsing social media, streaming videos, or multitasking between apps.
For gaming enthusiasts, the Moto S50 Neo offers a decent gaming experience. The Helio G85’s Mali-G52 GPU can handle most popular mobile games at medium to high settings without significant lag or frame drops. Additionally, the phone’s 5,000mAh battery ensures that you can game for hours without worrying about running out of power.
Storage-wise, the 64GB internal storage should be sufficient for most users, but if you need more space, the phone supports microSD cards up to 512GB. This makes it easy to store all your photos, videos, and apps without worrying about running out of space.
Camera
The Motorola Moto S50 Neo comes equipped with a triple-camera setup on the back, consisting of a 48MP primary sensor, a 5MP ultra-wide-angle lens, and a 2MP depth sensor. The primary camera captures detailed and sharp photos in good lighting conditions, while the ultra-wide-angle lens is perfect for capturing landscapes and group shots.
In low-light conditions, the camera performance is decent, thanks to the Night Mode feature, which brightens up photos and reduces noise. The 2MP depth sensor helps in capturing portrait shots with a pleasing bokeh effect, making your subject stand out against a blurred background.
On the front, the phone features an 8MP selfie camera housed within the punch-hole cutout. The front camera delivers good-quality selfies and supports features like Face Unlock and portrait mode.
Software and User Experience
The Moto S50 Neo runs on Android 12 out of the box, with Motorola’s near-stock Android experience. This means you get a clean and bloatware-free interface, which is both easy to use and highly customizable. Motorola has also included some useful features, such as Moto Actions, which allow you to perform quick actions like twisting your wrist to open the camera or chopping twice to turn on the flashlight.
The phone also comes with Google’s suite of apps pre-installed, including Google Photos, Google Drive, and Google Assistant. Additionally, Motorola has promised regular software updates, ensuring that your device stays secure and up-to-date with the latest features.
Battery Life
One of the standout features of the Moto S50 Neo is its massive 5,000mAh battery. With moderate usage, the phone can easily last a full day on a single charge. Even with heavy usage, including gaming and video streaming, the phone manages to hold up well.
The phone supports 10W fast charging, which is a bit on the slower side compared to some of its competitors. However, given the large battery capacity, the charging speed is acceptable, and you can expect the phone to charge fully in about 2 hours.
Connectivity and Additional Features
The Moto S50 Neo comes with all the essential connectivity options, including 4G LTE, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.0, and GPS. It also features a USB Type-C port for charging and data transfer, as well as a 3.5mm headphone jack, which is becoming increasingly rare in modern smartphones.
Other notable features include a rear-mounted fingerprint sensor, which is fast and accurate, and dual stereo speakers, which deliver loud and clear audio. The phone also supports FM radio, which is a nice addition for those who enjoy listening to local stations.
Pros and Cons
Pros:
- Sleek and durable design
- Large 5,000mAh battery
- Decent performance for the price
- Clean and bloatware-free Android experience
- Water-repellent coating
Cons:
- 720p display resolution may not appeal to everyone
- Slow 10W charging
- Camera performance in low light could be better
Conclusion
The Motorola Moto S50 Neo is a solid mid-range smartphone that offers a great balance of performance, design, and features. While it may not have the most cutting-edge specs, it delivers a reliable and enjoyable user experience at an affordable price point. If you’re looking for a smartphone that can handle everyday tasks with ease, offers excellent battery life, and comes with a near-stock Android experience, the Moto S50 Neo is definitely worth considering.