Motorola Edge 30 Neo review: nice mid-end full of handy features

In October, Motorola introduced a series of new devices for the Edge 30 series. The brand already had a great device with the Ultra, but we are also curious about the Neo. You can read our experiences in the Motorola Edge 30 Neo review.

Motorola Edge 30 Neo review

We recently published the Motorola Edge 30 Ultra review, a full-featured device that delivers excellent performance. At the introduction of the Edge 30 series, Motorola let us know that we can also expect a lot from the Neo. Because although this is the ‘cheapest’ model in the series, that does not mean that there have been plenty of savings. Because the colorful jacket of the Edge 30 Neo contains enough techniques and fine features.

Sales package

If you have bought the Edge 30 Neo, you can use the device immediately without any worries. The phone is not only supplied with a data cable, as we see with more and more devices. Motorola delivers the Edge 30 Neo in a very complete package. You also immediately get the 68W fast charger and there is a silicone case in the box to protect your phone.

Design and interface

In my opinion, the new Edge 30 devices are beautiful devices. The same goes for the Edge 30 Neo. For this smartphone, we collaborated with Pantone, a well-known name in the designer world, because it’s all about colors. We therefore also see the effect of this in the Motorola Edge 30 Neo, where you can purchase the device in various sparkling colors, such as a mint green or the purple-colored Very Piri color. This is the color of the year 2022, and the Edge 30 Neo is also cast in it. We have the black-colored Edge 30 Neo, and it really doesn’t look bad either.

What is immediately noticeable is that the phone is nice and compact and light. In addition, the Neo fits well in the hand, with the back having a somewhat matte back, which gives you just a little more grip. Still, I wouldn’t use the device without a case. The camera module sticks out a bit. The finish is very neat.

In terms of interface, we see the fine Motorola My UX skin, which provides extra additions to the standard Android interface. We will come back to this in more detail later in the review. The phone works as you would expect with a user-friendly interface. There is also a (sort of) Always On Display available, although Motorola calls it an Interactive Display. When something of movement is detected, or the screen is touched, the screen switches on. Motion detection is extremely sensitive. You only have to tap a little harder on your keyboard, and the screen turns on. Sometimes that can be distracting. Fortunately, you can also turn this off and, for example, put the phone on ‘his stomach’. Then you don’t have to miss anything, because there is a real notification light around the camera module. We will come back to this later in the Motorola Edge 30 Neo review.

Communication: calling, internet and networking

Calling, texting and surfing the internet are all fine with the Motorola Edge 30 Neo. The phone connects to 5G and 4G networks and of course also has WiFi. Contactless payment is possible via NFC and the well-known techniques for location determination such as GPS are also available on the smartphone. Motorola supplies the calling and texting app from Google itself.

Multimedia: music and film

Multimedia is also a common feature of the smartphone today. We certainly tested the Motorola Edge 30 Neo on that. Motorola provides the device with a screen where the brightness can also be increased sufficiently on sunny days.

The sound quality of the Edge 30 Neo is quite nice. The volume can be quite loud and still sounds neat. I also find it striking that the sound can also be very soft, which can sometimes be quite handy. The sound quality is excellent for the price of this device. There is a good balance between high and low tones and the bass also comes into its own sufficiently.

Camera: photo and video

The Motorola is equipped with two different lenses for taking pictures. This is a 64 megapixel main lens with an aperture of f/1.8. Below that is the 13-megapixel wide-angle lens to get more on screen. Motorola’s camera app is very pleasant to use and self-explanatory. In the application you can adjust certain settings so that you can adjust them to your own liking.

But what are the pictures that roll out of the Edge 30 Neo like? We viewed the photos you take with the phone on the big screen. This shows that the Motorola is able to take very nice photos, with true-to-colour images as you have seen it in real life. We do see that sometimes the edges are not completely sharp. It has also happened several times that the photos are not sharp and blurred at all, while the device has certainly been held still. This is something Motorola can still fix with a software update.

If we switch to the wide-angle lens, we regularly see that the photos become somewhat duller. This is because a different lens is used. The macro mode still delivers quite nice pictures. In the evenings and at night, the Edge 30 Neo does not show its best side. Photos are often not sharp, show a lot of noise and at a lamppost there is a thick beam of light. If there is enough light, the photos will be better. You can view the photos we took with the Edge 30 Neo in the digital photo album.

Video camera

The video camera allows you to film in 30 or 60 fps per second, we do not find any further settings in terms of video resolution. Unfortunately, it is not possible to switch to the wide-angle lens during filming. However, this is something we see more often with smartphones; especially in this segment. You can, however, activate the wide-angle lens before you start recording. The video we shot with the phone at 60fps can be found below. We don’t think the video is very special in terms of quality.

Other options

Motorola wouldn’t be Motorola if the device wasn’t equipped with extra convenience. We also see that with the Motorola Edge 30 Neo, where you see several useful additions. We discuss these below.

Notification light

A very handy feature is the notification light around the camera module. When a notification or call comes in, the edge under this camera module lights up to alert you to a new notification. This is very pleasant and reminds us of the past, when many (Android) devices were still equipped with an LED notification light on the front. This Edge therefore has a good alternative. The light is bright enough.

Fingerprint scanner

With the Motorola Edge 30 Neo, the fingerprint scanner is integrated into the screen. It only needs a light touch to unlock the device. That’s how it should be, but sometimes it can vary per device. We have nothing to criticize here with the Neo. It is possible to add multiple fingers in the phone settings.

motorola tools

We keep naming it; Motorola’s own added features are incredibly useful. We see that again with this smartphone. In the Moto app you will become acquainted with the many gestures and actions that you can activate. Shake the phone to turn on the flashlight and twist your wrist to launch the camera. In addition, you can tap three times with a finger on the back to perform your own chosen action, for example opening WhatsApp. Ideal!

Performance: battery, speed and memory

Motorola has equipped the Edge 30 Neo with a Snapdragon 695 octa-core processor. This works fine and does its job well. The smartphone keeps up with everything and we’ve noticed some crazy quirks over the past few weeks. Motorola has also equipped the device with 128GB of storage space and a working memory of 8GB. This together makes the Edge 30 Neo a great device for daily use.

Battery

I now dare to say that Motorola is ‘the new Huawei’. And then I specifically mean the battery life, because we already saw performance in terms of endurance with several devices, such as the Edge 30 Ultra, that you can only dream of with other devices. What about the Edge 30 Neo? The phone has a battery capacity of 4020 mAh. That’s not very exciting. With average use we get 2-3 days with a screen time of almost 4 hours. If you use the device intensively, you can easily make it to the end of the day. Neat!

Still an empty battery? The Motorola Edge 30 Neo comes with a 68W charger, which is a very nice addition. Despite the fact that the battery of the Neo does not run out quickly, it is quickly charged again. With about 45 minutes of charging, the battery is back from 0 to 100 percent.

Update Policy

Motorola was immediately clear about the update policy when announcing the new Edge 30 models. You can expect two Android OS updates and three years of security updates with the Edge 30 Neo. That is average, although Motorola could have opened the attack on Samsung even further by continuing this for a year longer, and offering one more Android update. Motorola has recently taken significant steps in terms of updates, but it is not clear when the update to Android 13 will be available for the device.

Rating

Don’t feel like spending a thousand euros on a new smartphone, but do you want a really good smartphone with excellent battery life and handy additions? Then, as far as we’re concerned, it’s hard to ignore the Motorola Edge 30 Neo. This fine, handy device manages to leave a neat score in all areas. There are some points for improvement on the camera, but otherwise there is little to criticize on the phone.

The Edge 30 Neo came on the market for an amount of 399 euros. You can now buy it for less. That makes this Edge an even more interesting choice.

You can buy the Motorola Edge 30 Neo at Coolblue, Bol.com, Belsimpel, Mobiel and MediaMarkt.