Motorola has been making waves in the mid-range smartphone market with its Edge 50 series, but the Edge 50 Fusion stands out as the budget-friendly option. While it boasts a stylish design and impressive durability, is it enough to win over consumers seeking a well-rounded mid-range experience? Let’s dive into the details and find out if the Edge 50 Fusion truly lives up to the hype.
Motorola Edge 50 Fusion Review: Design – Plenty to Choose From
The Edge 50 Fusion is the second phone to be launched in India as part of Motorola’s mid-range Edge 50 series. It shares a common design language with the Edge 50 Pro and the newer Edge 50, featuring rounded corners, curved edges, and a 3D curved-edge display. However, the Fusion offers its own unique set of finishes. You can choose from a Forest Blue option with a standard polycarbonate back, while Hot Pink and Marshmallow Blue boast vegan suede and vegan leather back panels, respectively.
At 175 grams, the Fusion is lighter than its siblings due to the absence of a wireless charging coil. The vegan leather on the Marshmallow Blue model offers excellent grip, making the phone comfortable to hold. The cameras sit nearly flush with the rear panel, contributing to the slim overall appearance. Motorola includes a colour-matched translucent case in the box, providing added protection.
Our Marshmallow Blue’s unit’s vegan leather back offers plenty of grip
The Fusion shines in terms of its durability, boasting an IP68 rating for dust and water resistance. This makes it suitable for use near water without fear of damage. Although it lacks the rugged MIL-STD-810H certification, which is found on the Edge 50, the IP68 rating provides sufficient protection from everyday mishaps.
The Motorola Edge 50 Fusion’s cameras don’t protrude as much as on other smartphones, making for a slim overall appearance
Motorola Edge 50 Fusion Review: Display – Could Have Been Better
The Edge 50 Fusion features a 6.67-inch, 144Hz, 3D curved-edge pOLED display with a resolution of 1080 x 2400 pixels, protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 5. While the display gets bright enough to tackle direct sunlight with its 1,200 nits of brightness and offers an Aqua Touch feature for use with wet hands, it falls short in other areas.
The Motorola Edge 50 Fusion’s curved-edge display gets bright enough to tackle direct sunlight
The display lacks an HDR certification and suffers from visible colour banding, particularly when displaying dimly lit scenes. While it supports Widevine L1, allowing for full-HD streaming, the 144Hz refresh rate seems unnecessary given the phone’s hardware limitations. The high refresh rate is primarily used in the software interface and doesn’t make a significant difference during gaming.
Motorola Edge 50 Fusion Review: Software – Nothing New to See
The Edge 50 Fusion runs Motorola’s Hello UI, based on Android 14, providing a clean and customizable user experience. However, the near-stock operating system of the past is no more. Hello UI has increased bloatware, with preinstalled apps like Facebook and Netflix. While these apps can be uninstalled, the presence of bloatware is a concern for some users. The native weather app also displays advertisements, a first for a mid-range Motorola phone.
Motorola seems to be adding quite a bit of bloatware on its phones lately
The Fusion’s software lacks the extensive AI-enabled features found on the Motorola Razr 50 Ultra. Features like Magic Eraser, Unblur, and Best Take are largely dependent on Google apps and are not exclusive to Motorola.
Motorola Edge 50 Fusion Review: Performance – Meets Expectations
The Edge 50 Fusion is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 7 Gen 2 processor, paired with 8GB or 12GB of LPDDR4X RAM and 128GB or 256GB of UFS 2.2 storage. This combination provides solid performance for daily multitasking and ensures apps stay in memory for smoother transitions. In general use, the phone exhibits minimal lag or stuttering thanks to Hello UI’s optimization.
The Fusion’s raw performance aligns with expectations for a mid-range device. However, it falls behind the Poco X6 Pro, which features a high-end MediaTek Dimensity 8300 Ultra processor specifically aimed at gamers.
| Benchmarks | Motorola Edge 50 Fusion | OnePlus Nord CE4 | Poco X6 Pro |
|---|---|---|---|
| AnTuTu v10 | 612,950 | 8,14,981 | 14,37,717 |
| PCMark Work 3.0 | 14,055 | 12,124 | 13,322 |
| Geekbench Single | 1,018 | 1,154 | 1,420 |
| Geekbench Multi | 2,949 | 3,000 | 4,404 |
| GFXB T-rex | 104 | 60 | 120 |
| GFXB Manhattan 3.1 | 49 | 60 | 115 |
| GFXB Car Chase | 25 | 39 | 68 |
| 3DM Slingshot Extreme OpenGL | 4,758 | Maxed Out | Maxed Out |
| 3DM Slingshot | 6,414 | Maxed Out | Maxed Out |
| 3DM Wild Life | 3,035 | 5,423 | Maxed Out |
| 3DM Wild Life Unlimited | 3,065 | 5,553 | 9,842 |
Audio quality is enhanced by Dolby Atmos, delivering loud, clear, and immersive sound, which is particularly beneficial for gaming. The Fusion comfortably handles games like Call of Duty: Mobile (CODM) and Asphalt Legends Unite with default settings. It supports High graphics and maximum frame rate in CODM, but the lack of a cooling mechanism can lead to overheating, particularly during extended gaming sessions or when using the camera app.
Motorola Edge 50 Fusion Review: Cameras – Needs A Lot of Work
The Edge 50 Fusion comes equipped with a 50-megapixel main camera (OIS), a 13-megapixel ultra-wide camera (AF), and a 32-megapixel selfie camera (FF). While the primary camera boasts Sony’s newer LYTIA 700C sensor, the overall picture quality is disappointing, especially given the phone’s mid-range positioning.
The Motorola Edge 50 Fusion has two rear-facing cameras
The primary camera produces decent image quality but appears overprocessed in the HDR department. Backgrounds, like clouds, are exaggerated and lack realism. The foreground often suffers from underexposure or overexposure, with supersaturated colors (greens and blues) that resemble Instagram filters. Textures and details on objects and surfaces are not impressive. In low light, the dedicated Night mode improves sharpness and textures, but overall image quality remains mediocre.
The ultra-wide camera, despite having autofocus, produces soft and unsharp images. It also exhibits significant purple fringing and clipped highlights. Low-light performance is lacking, with blurry and soft photos that are unusable in most cases.
Motorola Edge 50 Fusion daylight camera samples. Top to bottom: Ultra-wide camera, primary camera, 2X digital zoom (tap images to expand)
Selfies captured in daylight appear sharp with good detail but exhibit reddish and oversaturated skin tones. Edge detection is decent. Low-light selfies are passable with or without the auto-screen flash. An unusual issue encountered is the selfie camera sometimes processing only the bright background, leaving the subject in the dark.
Motorola Edge 50 Fusion selfie camera sample
Video recording at 1080p appears scaled down with low detail and lack of clarity, with clipped highlights. The 4K video, limited to 30fps, is significantly better but still exhibits clipped highlights, indicating subpar dynamic range.
Motorola Edge 50 Fusion low light camera samples. Top: Ultra-wide camera, bottom: primary camera (tap images to expand)
Motorola Edge 50 Fusion Review: Battery – A Bit Underwhelming
The Edge 50 Fusion boasts a 5,000mAh battery with 68W fast charging and an included charger. While this battery capacity is adequate, it falls short compared to larger batteries found in competing mid-range smartphones such as the OnePlus Nord CE 4, which delivered exceptional battery life in our tests, lasting 32 hours and 21 minutes. The Edge 50 Fusion achieved a respectable 24 hours and 24 minutes in our battery tests.
The Motorola Edge 50 Fusion has a 5,000mAh battery
In daily use, the phone lasted a day and a half with casual usage, but heavy usage required charging at the end of the day. Charging is relatively quick, with the included charger fully charging the phone in 46 minutes in normal mode and 36 minutes in the faster Charge boost mode.
Motorola Edge 50 Fusion Review Verdict
The Motorola Edge 50 Fusion attempts to strike a balance between style, durability, hardware, and software but falls short in crucial areas. Overall, it appears like an unfinished product, evident in the camera performance and video quality. The underwhelming battery life and average raw performance further contribute to a less-than-stellar experience.
Compared to other mid-range offerings, the Fusion faces stiff competition. The Motorola Edge 50 (starting at Rs. 27,999) offers superior durability, wireless charging, and a telephoto camera, although at a slightly higher price point. The OnePlus Nord CE 4 (Review) provides a compelling alternative, offering excellent battery life and a more well-rounded experience. For those seeking gaming performance and raw power, the Poco X6 Pro (Review) stands out as a better option at the same price point.
While the Edge 50 Fusion boasts IP68 water resistance and stylish design, it falls short in other areas, leaving a mixed impression. For consumers prioritizing durability and aesthetics over substance, the Fusion might appeal, but for those seeking a comprehensive mid-range experience, there are more compelling alternatives available.
