Motorola Edge 30 Neo smartphone review – Compact beauty

Motorola renews the Edge 30 lineup. Besides the new models, Fusion and Ultra , the Edge 30 Neo is a cheaper entry-level device that is positioned below the Edge 30 without a name extension. The Neo only comes in a configuration with 8 GB of RAM and 128 GB of storage.

An expansion of the storage via microSD card is not possible. In return, there are four colors to choose from. Besides black and white, Motorola also offers “Aqua Foam”, a lime green, and “Very Peri”, the purple color of our review sample.

Except for the white, all colors were developed in cooperation with Pantone. The respective color is displayed as a small square on the back. Motorola’s Edge 30 has a 6.

3-inch straight display and is thus quite compact. The display’s edges are a bit wider than those of the Edge 30 Fusion with a curved display, but they are nice and even. The Edge 30 Neo is pleasantly light at 155 grams (~5.

5 oz). The camera hump on the back clearly protrudes, which makes the device wobble when it is placed on a flat surface. This is hardly annoying when typing, but touching the upper area leads to strong wobbling.

The build quality is very good, the gaps are small and even. The keys have a slight play in the case. The device has an IP52 certification.

The Motorola Edge 30 Neo comes with 8 GB of RAM and 128 GB of storage. It is dual-SIM capable with two physical nano-SIM cards. Motorola also installs stereo speakers that are Dolby Atmos certified.

The power button and volume keys are both on the right side and they are placed very high. The tester can reach power and volume down with the thumb, but the hand has to be stretched out to reach the volume up button. The Edge 30 Neo ships with Android 12.

Motorola’s My UX is almost stock Android with some extensions like the well-known Moto gestures. Shaking the device makes the flashlight shine, for example. Motorola promises two years of OS and three years of security updates from the device’s sales launch.

At the time of testing, the September security patch was installed. The Edge 30 Neo also supports Motorola Ready For. With this software, the smartphone can be connected to a screen, TV or PC and used as a desktop.

Apps can be displayed on the large screen, and files can also be moved between the devices. The connection is established via USB cable or wirelessly via WLAN Motorola’s Edge 30 Neo supports 5G, but unfortunately not Wi-Fi 6. The Edge 30 Neo is on par with the comparison devices in the measurements with our test router, the Asus ROG GT-AXE1000.

The connection is established quickly and remains stable. 5G reception is supported on both SIM cards. The reception is acceptable in the test.

The Neo has good frequency coverage in the different wireless standards, and operation in European cities should not be a problem. The Edge 30 Neo cannot convince with the GNSS connection. A connection is established quickly outdoors, but it does not support dual-band GNSS.

Indoors, the connection takes a long time even near a window and the positioning is inaccurate. The smartphone is also weak when recording routes. On a bike ride with our comparison device, the Garmin Venu 2, the Edge 30 Neo shows weaknesses.

The recorded route deviates from the road in many areas. Curves and radii are displayed angularly. Motorola relies on Google software for the phone app.

The program is convincing in practice and is clearly structured. The smartphone supports calls via WLAN and features Motorola’s “ChrystalTalk AI”, a software that is supposed to reduce background noise during calls. The result is pleasing in practice.

The voice quality is good for both participants, there is no hiss or other annoying noises. Voices are transmitted clearly and naturally. Motorola does without a third lens on the back of the Edge 30 Neo.

The 64 MPix main camera is only flanked by a 13 MPix ultra-wide-angle camera that is also responsible for macro shots. The quality of the installed cameras is convincing. The pictures are sharp, the color balance is good and similar for both lenses.

The camera software offers a Pro mode for photos. The focus can be adjusted manually, as well as the white balance, the exposure time and the ISO value. There is also a Full Resolution mode to take pictures with 64 MPix and avoid pixel binning.

The pictures of the 32 MPix front-facing camera convince with sharpness and good dynamic range. The portrait mode also works reliably The camera app is clearly arranged, but offers few setting options. This is particularly noticeable in video recordings.

There is no option to change the resolution of the recordings, there is only a choice between 30 and 60 FPS. Thus, the setting options are exactly the opposite of the Motorola Edge 30 Fusion . The stabilization of the video recordings is good, but the autofocus is very erratic.

Motorola had a good hand in the camera’s color matching. The deviations in ColorChecker are very low, at least in good lighting conditions. The Edge 30 Neo’s camera reaches its limits in only one lux of light.

The color deviation becomes large, or the camera captures very little light. Details on the test chart are also hardly recognizable. In contrast, in bright light, the sharpness of the pictures is convincing and only decreases towards the edges.

It is pleasing that Motorola does not save on the power supply even for the cheapest version of the Edge 30 series. The Neo comes with a 68-watt charger and a matching USB-C cable. There is also a transparent plastic case.

Motorola grants a warranty of 24 months for the smartphone in Germany. The warranty period can be extended by one year and accident protection is available via the Moto Care program . Motorola uses Google’s GBoard keyboard ex-works.

In practice, there are hardly any typos in portrait as well as landscape mode. The touchscreen’s gliding properties are very good, and the operating speed and accuracy are convincing in the test. Unlike the Edge 30 Fusion there is no protective film on the screen.

The device is unlocked via an optical fingerprint reader in the display. The positioning is far down. However, the optical scanner convinces in terms of speed and reliability.

Alternatively, unlocking is possible via the front camera. The 2D face recognition is less secure, but also works quickly and reliably. The Edge 30 Neo has a 6.

3-inch OLED panel in 20:9 format. Unlike the Edge 30 siblings, Motorola relies on a straight display in the Neo. The refresh rate is somewhat reduced, but still peaks at a fast 120 Hz.

The user has the choice between fixed levels at 60 and 120 Hz or leaving the choice to the AI depending on the content being displayed. With flexible display, the display can also show content at 48 and 90 Hz. The maximum brightness with the ambient light sensor enabled is 1,190 cd/m²; the Neo still manages 491 nits in the test with the sensor disabled.

We detected PWM during the measurement up to a display brightness of 68 percent. Above that, the frequency is 120 Hz and thus the panel’s refresh rate. 120 Hz is also the value in DC dimming mode.

We could not determine temporal dithering on the smartphone. For this, the display is filmed through a microscope at 240 fps with an iPhone. Unfortunately, Motorola does not offer an Always-On display in the Edge 30 Neo.

The contrast of Motorola’s panel is perfect, which is typical for OLEDs. The color matching of the display is also successful. The deviation is only slightly larger in the grayscale, but not annoying.

The panel of the Motorola Edge 30 Neo is very bright. It leaves all comparison devices far behind and is always very easy to read even in full sunshine. The readability of the display from different viewing angles is very good.

There are no distortions or color changes. The results of the GPU benchmarks are similar to those of the CPU evaluation. The Edge 30 Neo behaves decently and is within the class average.

Current games like PUBG Mobile cannot be played in the highest settings. However, the display is smooth with HD settings and a high frame rate. The performance of the UFS 2.

2 storage on the other hand is a bit below average. Except for the Honor Magic4 Lite all comparison devices have faster memory on board. The Motorola Edge 30 Neo remains extremely relaxed in all everyday areas.

The maximum measured temperature is 33 degrees Celsius (91. 4 Fahrenheit), and the normal temperature is significantly lower. Even under load, the smartphone never gets uncomfortably warm or hot.

The temperature increases the most during charging with 68 watts. The stereo speakers in Motorola’s Edge 30 Neo are convincing. They sound very balanced especially in the mids and trebles and stay close to the median.

The speaker at the lower end of the smartphone is considerably louder than the upper one. Bass and low frequencies are rather weak. Overall, the speakers get loud.

Playback becomes a bit tinny at maximum volume and there are slight vibrations in the center of the device. A jack port is missing, but audio output via USB-C is possible. Overall, the Motorola Edge 30 Neo’s configuration is convincing.

Although the Honor Magic4 Lite with the same SoC is much more frugal in idle mode, the Neo is more frugal under load. On average, the Neo shows a balanced energy hunger. In comparison, it is noticeable that Motorola installs a considerably smaller battery in the Edge 30 Neo than the other manufacturers in the field.

Thus, it also has the shortest runtime in the comparison. Nevertheless, the Edge 30 Neo manages a runtime of 12 hours in the realistic Wi-Fi test. Thus, a day of intensive use is no problem for the Moto.

The charging times with the 68-watt charger are impressive. The smartphone charges from 10 to 50 percent after only 10 minutes. Charging from 10 to 100 percent takes 39 minutes.

The Edge 30 Neo can also be charged wirelessly, but only 5 watts are possible then. Sometimes doing without is not that difficult. The Edge 30 Neo is an ordinary smartphone in a positive sense.

It is neither exceptionally fast, nor particularly large, nor a photo wonder. However, it does not have any real weaknesses. The SoC offers enough performance for everyday use, and the camera offers sharp and balanced pictures in sufficient light.

Overall, the Neo convinces with a great and bright OLED screen and a small form factor. If the focus is on a smooth system without extravagance and a great display, but top performance is less important, then the Edge 30 Neo is worth a look. It is also the only device in the Edge 30 series with a non-curved panel.

Stock Android with more performance is offered by the Google Pixel 6a , but the screen only supports 60 Hz. The Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 Pro has the same SoC and is on par in many areas, but it has a much bigger screen and is heavier. The MSRP of the Motorola Edge 30 Neo is 400 Euros (~$400).

Motorola sells it in its own store at https://www. motorola. de/smartphones-motorola-edge-30-neo/p?skuId=551 but also other retailers like Amazon or Cyberport have it listed.

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