Motorola Edge 50 Pro 5G Challengers: Nothing Phone 2, Poco X6 Pro, More

Motorola has taken the wraps off its latest mid-segment device, the Motorola Edge 50 Pro. At its starting price of Rs 31,999, it enters the highly competitive premium mid-segment and brings a lot to the table. It features a large 6.7 inch 1.5K pOLED curved display with a very high refresh rate of 144 Hz, and runs on the recently released much acclaimed Qualcomm Snapdragon 7 Gen 3 processor, with RAM and storage variants of 8GB + 128GB and 12GB + 256GB, although the use of UFS 2.2 storage is a bit of a surprise at this price point. 

In the camera department, the phone comes with a 50-megapixel main camera with OIS, a 13-megapixel ultrawide (which also doubles up as a macro camera) and a 10-megapixel telephoto with 3x optical zoom. 

The 4,500mAh battery powering it might seem a little on the small side for such a high resolution, high refresh rate display, but it comes with support for 125W charging and even 50W wireless charging and 10W reverse wireless charging (a rarity at this price point). 

Of course, this being a Moto, you get a clean and premium design with a vegan leather finish and even IP68 dust and water resistance, which is again rare in this segment. Round that off with a new, but still elegant, interface over Android 14, and the Motorola Edge 50 Pro seems to be a very formidable proposition. But that price tag means it finds itself up against some very stiff competition, which includes a variety of devices. 

Refusing to give the latest Motorola a massive edge over the competition are these five smartphones which stand in the path of every consumer going “Hello, Moto (Edge 50 Pro)”:

iQoo Neo 9 Pro 5G: The Sub-Rs 35,000 No-Brainer

Price: Rs 34,999 onwards

Some phones seem to overwhelm every other device in their price range. The iQoo Neo 9 Pro is just that in the sub-Rs 35,000 zone. The phone brings budget flagship specs in a segment known for premium mid-segment devices – it runs on the powerful Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor (the favourite of 2023 premium flagships), paired with LPDDR5X RAM and UFS 4.0 memory, giving it a massive speed edge over the Moto Edge 50 Pro. 

The phone also comes with a 6.78-inch LTPO AMOLED display with a 144 Hz refresh rate just like the Moto Edge 50 Pro, and has a larger 5,160mAh battery with 120W charging, although with no wireless charging. Its cameras are a little on the basic side – a 50-megapixel Sony IMX920 main sensor, an 8-megapixel ultrawide, and a 16-megapixel selfie sensor – but it too comes with Android 14 out of the box, and well, its Fiery Red variant is perhaps the most spectacular looking device in the market right now, courtesy its red and white vegan leather back with seams.

Nothing Phone 2: Something Really Edge-y 

Price: Rs 35,999 onwards 

It was launched at Rs 44,999 but has since got a few price cuts, and the latest of these puts the Nothing Phone (2) right in the path of the Motorola Edge 50 Pro. The Phone (2) remains one of the most distinct phones out there, thanks to its LED-laden transparent back with Nothing’s famous Glyph interface. 

It also boasts some very good hardware, coming with a 6.7 inch FHD+ AMOLED display with 120Hz refreshing rate and remarkably slim and symmetrical bezels, and a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 processor, which is a little on the older side but still a step ahead of the Snapdragon 7 Gen 3 on Moto Edge 50 Pro. 

Dual 50-megapixel cameras (one main with OIS, one ultrawide) on the back handle photography, and selfies are the responsibility of a rather good 32-megapixel front-facing snapper. Its 4,700mAh battery is bigger than the one on the Edge 50 Pro, but not only does it charge at a much slower 45W, but comes with no charger in the box. It charges wirelessly at 15W, which is handy but is again slower than what the Moto Edge 50 Pro. 

That said, its NothingOS is easily the cleanest Android interface out there – something Motorola itself was once famous for.

Redmi Note 13 Pro+: Premium-ly Note-able Opponent

Price: Rs 31,999 onwards

The most premium Redmi Note of them all is a device that poses a challenge to every phone released in the range of Rs 30,000 – Rs 35,000, and the Motorola Edge 50 Pro is not exempt from this Note-able threat. 

The Redmi Note 13 Pro+ comes with a curved 6.67-inch AMOLED display with 1.5K resolution and a refresh rate of 120 Hz and is a sight for sore eyes with a vegan leather back variant featuring colour-blocking around the cameras. 

Among those cameras is one of the best snappers in the segment – a 200-megapixel main sensor with OIS, and 4X lossless zoom, although its 8-megapixel ultrawide and 2-megapixel macro sensors are not as Note-worthy. 

The Note 13 Pro+ also comes with a large 5,000mAh battery with support for 120W charging, although there’s no wireless charging support. 

It runs on the very efficient  MediaTek Dimensity 7200-Ultra processor and has been recently updated to the much-talked-about HyperOS on top of Android 14. Like the Motorola Edge 50 Pro, the Redmi Note 13 Pro+ also comes with IP68 dust and water resistance, making it quite a proposition. 

OnePlus Nord 3 5G: Still Crazy Value For Money 

Price: Rs 29,999 onwards

The market is already abuzz with talk of the soon-to-come OnePlus Nord 4 (the Nord CE4 was launched recently), but that does not change just how good a device the OnePlus Nord 3 still is. 

And that is because within its minimalistic burdenless design lies some very formidable hardware, topped off by very efficient software. 

The OnePlus Nord 3 boasts a 6.74-inch full HD+ Fluid AMOLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate and its show is run by the flagship level MediaTek Dimensity 9000 processor, which remains a superb chip despite being a little old. 

That’s not the only flagship feature of this Nord – it also features a 50-megapixel Sony IMX 890 camera, a flagship favourite, although its 8-megapixel ultrawide and 2-megapixel macro companions are not quite in the same class. Keeping the phone running is a large 5,000mAh battery, and this being a OnePlus, of course, it charges super fast – 80W, although it comes with no wireless charging support. 

The phone runs on the largely uncluttered OxygenOS and is due to be updated to Android 14 soon. Quite a Nod-ic level challenger this.

Poco X6 Pro: Wild Card In Budget Flagship Party 

Price: Rs 26,999 onwards 

It comes with a much lower price tag, but take it from us – the Poco X6 Pro genes have more flagship-killer than mid-segmenters in them. 

And that is because driving the phone is the MediaTek Dimensity 8300 Ultra processor, which many consider to be close to the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 in terms of performance.  

That is not all, the phone’s 8GB + 256GB and 12GB + 512GB RAM and storage variants come with UFS 4.0 storage and LPDDR5X RAM, unlike the UFS 2.2 on the Motorola Edge 50 Pro. The phone also comes with a 6.67-inch 1.5K resolution AMOLED display with 120Hz refresh rate and has a camera setup comprising a 64-megapixel main sensor with OIS, an 8-megapixel ultrawide sensor, and a 2-megapixel macro sensor on the back, while a 16-megapixel sensor in front handles selfies. 

Keeping the phone running is a 5,000mAh battery which charges at a quick 67W, although not as quick as the Moto Edge 50 Pro, and with no wireless charging. The phone was the first to come with Xiaomi’s hyped HyperOS in India and has a vegan leather bright yellow variant which will turn heads. 

That chip, display and RAM at that price make it a great option for anyone looking for flagship performance on a relatively tight budget. Those considering the Moto Edge 50 Pro might be tempted by this not-at-all loco Poco.