There are several smartphones that you can purchase under the Rs. 25,000 mark, and most of these handsets offer a good mix of display and camera performance, as well as battery life. The Moto Edge 50 Neo is powered by a MediaTek Dimensity 7300 chipset and is slated to receive five years of OS updates and security updates. It is one of several smartphones that compete in this price segment, such as the Nothing Phone 2a, Poco X6 Pro, Vivo T3 Pro, iQOO Z9s Pro, Realme 13 Pro, and the OnePlus Nord CE 4 5G.

The Motorola Edge 50 Neo is available in a single 8GB+256GB RAM and storage configuration that is priced at Rs. 23,999. However, the price of the handset occasionally drops under the Rs. 20,000 mark during sales on Flipkart or the company’s online store.

Motorola Edge 50 Neo Design: Stylish, Easy to Grip

• Dimensions – 154.1 x 71.2 x 8.1mm
• Weight – 171g
• Colours – Grisaille, Latté, Nautical Blue (in this review), and Poinciana

Smartphones with vegan leather finishes are becoming more commonplace these days, and the Motorola Edge 50 Neo has one too. The phone also has flat edges on all four sides, and the result is a smartphone that is easy to grip, even without a cover. That’s a good thing because the Edge 50 Neo ships with a thin plastic cover that was quite slippery, and I found myself using the phone without a cover.

The texture back panel on the Motorola Edge 50 Neo makes it easy to grip

On the back, there’s a Motorola batwing logo in the middle of the panel, while a small section at the bottom, made of plastic, contains the words “Pantone Nautical Blue”. This is included on all Motorola smartphones with colourways developed in partnership with Pantone.

Like most of the company’s smartphones released in recent years, the camera module is located at the top left corner of the rear panel, which means it won’t lie completely flat on a table or similar surface, even with the thin plastic case on. The words Dolby Atmos appear in faint letters on the top edge next to a microphone, while the bottom edge includes a USB Type-C port, a speaker grille, and a SIM card tray.

Motorola Edge 50 Neo Software: Useful Features, Unnecessary Bloatware

• Software – Hello UI
• Version – Android 14
• Latest security patch – September 1, 2024

The Motorola Edge 50 Neo runs on Android 14, and it has the company’s Hello UI, a minimally tweaked version of Google’s Android interface. It also includes several useful software features not found on smartphones from other manufacturers, including Moto Unplugged and Family Space. You can also use Motorola’s wrist-based gestures to launch the camera or turn on the flashlight.

Motorola Edge 50 Neo regularly sends out notification spam (tap to expand)

Unfortunately, the smartphone also offers unwanted software that is automatically downloaded as soon as you set up the smartphone. These apps are downloaded via the MotoHub app, which also delivers content notifications to the smartphone every couple of hours. While it’s not uncommon to see these annoyances on the more affordable Moto G series phones, it’s disappointing that they’re also seen on the company’s Motorola Edge series of smartphones.

This is one of the first handsets from Motorola that are slated to receive five years of OS upgrades and five years of security updates. While Motorola has a slightly spotty record when it comes to delivering timely software updates, it’s good to see a long-term commitment to keeping its phones up-to-date. For example, the more expensive Galaxy A35 will receive Android OS updates up to Android 18, while the Edge 50 Neo is expected to get an update to Android 19.

Motorola Edge 50 Neo Performance: Exceeds Expectations

• Processor – MediaTek Dimensity 7300
• Memory – 8GB LPDDR4X
• Storage – 256GB (UFS 2.2)

The company has equipped the Motorola Edge 50 Neo with a MediaTek Dimensity 7300 chipset, which is a significantly upgraded version of the Dimensity 7200 in terms of performance and efficiency. It’s easily one of the best 4nm chips in this price segment, and it means that Motorola’s smartphone can deal with most tasks without any issues.

Day-to-day tasks, like browsing the web, responding to emails, or scrolling through social media, were easily handled by the Motorola Edge 50 Neo, but the handset also managed to offer reliable performance while playing titles like Asphalt Legends: Unite on the default graphics settings, which is selected based on your smartphone’s specifications.

Motorola Edge 50 Neo benchmark scores (tap to expand)

I also didn’t notice any frame drops, lag, or throttling while testing Call of Duty Mobile and BGMI on the handset — the latter was running on HD settings (with High framerate). After about 30 minutes of gameplay, the sides of the phone were slightly warm, but there was no thermal throttling or stuttering in the game.

We also run synthetic benchmark tests on smartphones to see how they fare against similarly priced smartphones, and the Motorola Edge 50 Neo outperformed the Nothing Phone 2a in some benchmark tests while it fell behind the OnePlus Nord CE 4, which has a more capable Snapdragon 7 Gen 3 chipset.

You can refer to the table below to see how the Motorola Edge 50 Neo fares in popular benchmark tests against the OnePlus Nord CE 4 and the Nothing Phone 2a.

Motorola has equipped the Edge 50 Neo with a 6.4-inch pOLED screen with a resolution of 1,200×2,670 pixels. This display is bright enough when used indoors and outdoors, and I found that it offered good visibility when I was outdoors in the afternoon. The phone takes a couple of seconds to automatically adjust brightness in dim environments.

The display on the Motorola Edge 50 Neo offers good visibility when outdoors

Just like other smartphones with OLED screens, you might find that the colours displayed on the Motorola Edge 50 Neo are a little too vibrant, but this is easily fixed by selecting the ‘Natural’ display mode in the Settings app. The phone’s screen refreshes at 120Hz, and scrolling in apps feels very smooth. The display gets quite dim at night, and I didn’t experience any eye strain while using it in the dark.

Motorola Edge 50 Neo Cameras: Solid Performer

• Primary camera – 50-megapixel, PDAF, OIS, up to 4K/ 30fps video
• Ultrawide camera – 13-megapixel, macro mode, PDAF
• Telephoto camera – 10-megapixel, 3x optical zoom, PDAF, OIS
• Selfie camera – 32-megapixel, AF, up to 4K/ 30fps video

The Motorola Edge 50 Neo has a 50-megapixel primary camera with a Sony LYT-700C sensor that takes excellent daytime shots. These images offer excellent colour reproduction, and there’s enough detail when you zoom in. It focuses very quickly when you point it at different subjects.

You can also use the primary camera to capture images at 2x zoom (in-sensor crop), and these images are very bright and detailed. This mode is also supported when clicking images in low-light scenarios, which makes it the best camera to use at night.

Motorola Edge 50 Neo Camera Samples. Top to bottom – Zoom, Daytime (Tap images to expand)

The telephoto camera on the Motorola Edge 50 Neo delivers detailed images, and there’s barely any smoothening or noise when you zoom in. However, it produces images that are slightly duller and less vibrant than the primary camera. It’s also less reliable when there’s not enough light, and I found myself using the 2x zoom mode on the primary camera at night.

The ultrawide camera captures decent images during the day, but colours appear slightly cooler than the ones captured with the primary camera, but it falls behind in low light scenarios. It also doubles as a macro camera, capturing detailed, bright images of subjects that are a few centimetres away.

Unlike the Moto G45, which we recently reviewed, the Motorola Edge 50 Neo captures images quickly during the daytime. There’s a slight delay when clicking images in darker locations, but it’s still considerably faster than the company’s more affordable phones. In these situations, the primary camera is the best at capturing detailed images.

Motorola Edge 50 Neo Camera Samples. Top to bottom – Low Light, Night, Macro (Tap images to expand)

There’s a 32-megapixel selfie camera located in a hole-punch display cutout on the Edge 50 Neo, and it captures sharp images when there’s enough natural light. There’s quite a bit of softening and smoothening when you click a selfie during the evening, and the camera takes a couple of seconds to capture the image — this includes the time taken to process the image.

Both the primary rear camera and the selfie shooter on the Motorola Edge 50 Neo support video recording at 4K/ 30fps, and the former also supports optical image stabilisation (OIS). Once again, the primary camera is the best for recording video when there’s not enough natural light — setting it to record video at 1080p resolution delivered the best results in my testing.

Motorola Edge 50 Neo Battery: Endurance champ

• Battery Capacity – 4,310mAh
• Wired Charging: 68W TurboPower (USB Type-C), 15W (Wireless)
• Charger: 68W (included)

The company has equipped the Motorola Edge 50 Neo with a 4,310mAh battery, slightly smaller than other similarly priced smartphones. However, the handset easily delivers more than one day of battery life on a single charge, with around 5.5 hours of screen on time with some gaming and social media usage and the remaining 18 hours with the device in standby mode.

The Motorola Edge 50 Neo delivered more than a day of battery life on a charge

You get a 68W charger in the box, which fills up the battery in just over an hour. You can even charge the handset with a Qi-compatible wireless charging pad (or a wireless power bank) at 15W, but this is considerably slower and takes the handset well over two hours for a full charge. Nevertheless, it’s nice to see wireless charging included on a smartphone at this price point.

We performed an HD video battery loop test on all smartphone review units, and the Motorola Edge 50 Neo lasted for around 21 hours before it had to be charged again. Keep in mind that this test only covers local video playback, so battery life may vary based on how the handset is used.

Motorola Edge 50 Neo Review: Verdict

The Motorola Edge 50 Neo offers an excellent balance between performance and price, and the smartphone’s biggest strengths are the Dimensity 7300 chip and the reliable rear camera setup. It also supports fast wired charging, along with wireless charging — if you need it.

The Motorola Edge 50 Neo is worth considering at its current price

The company has also promised five years of OS and security updates for the Motorola Edge 50 Neo, which is unprecedented in this price segment. However, the notification spam and unwanted app downloads were disappointing to see on this handset.

Based on the time I’ve spent with the smartphone, the Motorola Edge 50 Neo offers good value for money. Other smartphones in this price segment include the Nothing Phone 2a (Review), the OnePlus Nord CE 4 5G (Review), iQOO Z9s Pro (Review), and the Realme 13 Pro 5G .

Starfield is just days away from launch and ahead of that the Bethesda RPG has seen several leaks. Copies of the game are currently in the hands of select reviewers and even some players who obtained it illegally, before sharing a plethora of screenshots and gameplay videos online. One such clip that’s now causing concern for fans about Starfield’s scope was first leaked on a Chinese forum, over the weekend, which suggested that a player could run non-stop in one direction for 40 minutes, before being met with a ‘Boundary Reached’ message. The videos have since been removed, though players are now questioning the legitimacy of developer Bethesda’s claims.

Bethesda’s Head of Publishing Pete Hines, who’s apparently played Starfield for a minimum of 130 hours, responded to a fan’s tweet asking if players would be able to explore entire planets. He responded with, “Yup, if you want. Walk on, brave explorer.” As the aforementioned leak came pouring in, the comment was met with numerous fans accusing the studio of lying about the game’s depth in exploration. While many have been defending the game by saying that the Boundary Reached message is from the tutorial segment of the game, some game journalists who’ve been reviewing it have also begun vaguely pushing back against complainers. “This is actually not entirely accurate,” Windows Central’s Jez Corden said on X (formerly, Twitter). “Just wait for the reviews. The half-truths being spread are being done in bad faith sometimes.”

It certainly doesn’t help that during June’s Starfield Direct presentation, game director Todd Howard claimed that players could select any spot on an unknown planet and land there, causing many to believe that exploration would be seamless — akin to No Man’s Sky, where planetary beings, vegetation, and conditions are procedurally generated. However, in Starfield’s case, this could mean that planets are seamlessly explorable in chunks. Even if we consider that the leaked clip/ image wasn’t from the tutorial segment and look at the ‘Boundary Reached’ menu that pops up on the screen, we’re presented with three options. You can fast-travel back to your ship, press cancel and walk around until an invisible wall halts you, or you can ‘Open Planet Map’ to explore another region on the map.

This indicates that exploration on the planet isn’t necessarily over and that you could certainly land at any given point of the map and explore, before eventually hitting that roadblock — where I’m assuming the game is unable to continue loading the area in real-time. A lot of this discourse will surely be cleared once the reviews are out on August 31, which will undoubtedly touch upon the exploration mechanic since that’s been one of Bethesda’s key selling points. Expectations for Starfield are extremely high, with the developer continuously touting its massive size, in addition to new information about a Jail system and the debate about it being locked to 30fps on consoles.

Starfield is out September 6 on PC and Xbox Series S/X. Those who pre-ordered the Premium Edition are granted a five-day early access, starting September 1.

Infinix Hot 50 Pro was launched in global markets as the latest 4G offering by the brand owned by China’s Transsion Holdings. The new Hot series phone comes in three colour options and runs on a MediaTek Helio G100 SoC, coupled with 8GB RAM and up to 256GB storage. The Infinix Hot 50 Pro features a 6.78-inch display and is backed by a 5,000mAh battery. The new smartphone has an IP54 rating for water and dust resistance and boasts a 50-megapixel rear camera unit. 

Price and sale details of Infinix Hot 50 Pro are yet to be announced. It is available in Glacier Blue, Sleek Black, and Titanium Grey colours. 

Infinix Hot 50 Pro Specifications

The dual SIM (nano) Infinix Hot 50 Pro runs on Android 14-based XOS 14.5 and features a 6.7-inch full-HD+(1,080×2,436 pixels) AMOLED IPS LTPS display with up to 120Hz refresh rate and 1,800nits of peak brightness. The display has a hole punch cutout for the selfie shooter and always on support. The handset runs on MediaTek Helio G100 SoC, coupled with 8GB of RAM and up to 256GB of onboard storage. The onboard storage can be expanded up to 2TB using a microSD card while the memory can be virtually expanded up to 16GB.

Infinix Hot 50 Pro’s rear camera setup includes a 50-megapixel Hi-5022Q primary sensor and a 2-megapixel secondary shooter. Selfies and video chats are handled by an 8-megapixel camera. It has integrated Infinix AI features as well.

Connectivity options on the Infinix Hot 50 Pro include Bluetooth 5.4, NFC, FM Radio, a 3.5mm audio jack, OTG, USB Type-C port, and Wi-Fi. Sensors onboard are an e-compass, G-sensor, gyroscope, light sensor, and proximity sensor. It has an in-display fingerprint sensor for authentication and an IP54-rated build. The phone carries dual speakers with support for DTS Sound and Hi-Res audio.

The Infinix Hot 50 Pro is backed by a 5,000mAh battery with 33W fast charging support. It measures 7.4mm thick and weighs 190 grams.

Samsung’s latest Galaxy Book4 Series has arrived, and it’s set to transform the way we think about laptops. With impressive models like – the Galaxy Book4 Pro, Galaxy Book4 Pro 360, and Galaxy Book4 360 – Samsung is pushing the boundaries of innovation and performance.

Galaxy Book4 Pro and Galaxy Book4 Pro 360

Let’s start with the Galaxy Book4 Pro Series, which promises an unparalleled user experience. These laptops boast a stunning 14-inch and 16-inch display that delivers vibrant colours and smooth visuals, making every task a delight. The Pro 360 model goes a step further by offering S Pen compatibility for creative tasks and a Vision Booster feature to optimize display visibility even in bright sunlight.

Under the hood, both models are powered by the latest Intel Ultra Core processors, ensuring top-notch performance and efficiency. Whether you’re multitasking, editing videos, or running demanding software, the Galaxy Book4 Pro Series can handle it all with ease.

Despite their powerhouse performance, these laptops are incredibly lightweight and offer exceptional battery life, keeping you productive on the go without worrying about running out of juice.

Now, let’s dive into the specifics of the Galaxy Book4 Pro Series. Featuring a stunning 3K Dynamic AMOLED 2X display, these laptops deliver an immersive visual experience with vibrant colours and an ultra-smooth 120Hz refresh rate. The Pro 360 model takes things up a notch with its touch-sensitive screen and S Pen support, allowing for seamless navigation and precise creativity.

But it’s not just about the display – the Galaxy Book4 Pro Series is powered by the latest Intel Core Ultra processors, delivering up to 7% more performance than previous generations. With advanced NPUs for AI tasks and Intel Evo Edition certification for smooth operation, these laptops are designed to handle even the most demanding workloads.

And let’s not forget about portability – both models are among the lightest ultrabooks on the market, making them perfect for professionals who are always on the move. Plus, with fast charging capabilities, you can get up to 35% battery in just 30 minutes, ensuring you’re always ready to go.

Buy Now

Galaxy Book4 360

Next up, we have the Galaxy Book4 360 – a sleek and lightweight 2-in-1 laptop that’s perfect for those who value versatility. With its slim design and sharp display, this laptop is a joy to use whether you are working, streaming, or creating content.

Measuring just 13.7mm thick and weighing only 1.46 kg, the Galaxy Book4 360 is incredibly portable without sacrificing performance. Its 15.6-inch Super AMOLED display delivers vivid colors and ultra-fast response times, while the touchscreen and S Pen compatibility add an extra layer of convenience and creativity.

Under the hood, the Galaxy Book4 360 is powered by the latest generation of Intel Core processors, ensuring smooth performance for all your tasks. And with long-lasting battery life and fast charging capabilities, you can stay productive all day long, no matter where you are.

Seamless Integration with the Galaxy Ecosystem

One of the standout features of the Galaxy Book4 Series is its seamless integration with other Galaxy devices. Whether you’re using your smartphone as a webcam, enhancing photos with AI, or editing videos with ease, the Galaxy ecosystem ensures that everything works together seamlessly, making your life easier and more productive.

In conclusion, the Samsung Galaxy Book4 Series is more than just a set of laptops – it’s a game-changer for creators, professionals, and anyone who demands excellence from their devices. With cutting-edge technology, stunning displays, and seamless integration, these laptops are designed to empower you to do more, wherever you are.

 A showdown between former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson and social media influencer-turned-fighter Jake Paul on Friday is the latest one-two punch from Netflix, as the media giant hopes to cash in on sports’ sprint to streaming.

The intergenerational showdown has all the makings of a crossover hit, with 58-year-old Tyson bringing in the old guard and 27-year-old Paul, who achieved early fame on YouTube, appealing to the younger, screen-toting social media junkies.

Available to all of Netflix’s more than 280 million subscribers for no additional fee, it could be a welcome change for American boxing fans accustomed to shelling out extra to watch marquee matches on long-time broadcaster HBO.

“The trend in all sports right now is moving some of their properties to streaming,” said Bob Dorfman, a veteran San Francisco-based sports marketing analyst.

“This is two huge personalities – it does have the potential to be the biggest streaming sports event.”

The American subscription television network HBO announced in 2018 it was dropping live boxing from its programming, ending a 45-year relationship with the sport and leaving a broadcasting vacuum in its wake.

Netflix has dabbled in sports content before, with exhibition golf and tennis events and the wildly popular docuseries “Formula 1: Drive to Survive,” which is credited with boosting the auto racing circuit’s popularity in the US.

The fight at the 80,000-capacity AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, its first live boxing event, works in favor of Netflix’s strategy of providing proprietary content that viewers cannot find elsewhere.

While the fight will not have traditional advertising, it has sponsors whose messages will be part of the live streamed event.

Advertising is not a major contributor to the streamer’s current revenue, though its ad-supported tier is quickly growing, with 70 million subscribers reported this week, up from 40 million in May.

The mega-event is the sign of a lasting love affair between sport and streaming, said Neal Pilson, the former president of CBS Sports, though he predicts streaming and traditional broadcast will exist side-by-side for the foreseeable future.

“This is a one-time-only event… It’s more as a novelty in my view. It doesn’t change the industry,” said Pilson, president of Pilson Communications.

“The industry is still going to be driven by the league deals (like) MLS, NFL, Major League Baseball.”

Amazon Prime picked up Thursday Night Football in 2021 and MLS signed a 10-year mega-deal with Apple TV in 2022 worth a reported $2.5 billion.

Major League Baseball signed a deal with Apple for “Friday Night Baseball,” a weekly doubleheader, in 2022, as well.

Leagues have been gravitating to streaming both because it reaches a global audience, including younger viewers, who are not watching traditional television.

MLS Commissioner Don Garber said the Apple streaming platform allows MLS to better take advantage of the sport’s global fanbase.

“We were seeing the difficulty of getting an audience and getting the economics right with local and regional television – we saw that in 2018,” Garber said this week at the Paley International Council Summit.

“We wanted to go to the market with a global package… We have a subscription that’s global, every one of our 600 games is treated like ‘Monday Night Football’.”

© Thomson Reuters 2024

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

Baldur’s Gate 3’s second patch is right around the corner, with Larian Studios suggesting that it’s a ‘chonky’ one. In a community update post on Steam, the developer revealed that the patch will be focused on improving performance issues, specifically in Act 3, where players have reported laggy cutscenes and stutters when the camera pans around. In addition to fixing bugs that halted quest progression, our companion, the cheerful Tiefling Karlach, will be getting a new optional ending — a closure that is described as ‘fiery’ and ‘poignant’. The lengthy blog post also touches upon some cut content that was discovered recently by data miners, some of which have now been revealed as a consequence of bugs.

One such case is the ruthless drow Minthara’s reactivity in the game, whose dialogue was seemingly heavily cut down and felt inconsequential. Larian has now isolated the ‘very, very stupid’ bug, which prevented about 1,500 lines of content from triggering when necessary and will soon release a fix. “The game is super reactive and there were a couple of bugs that caused some of the companions to not react as they should. And so that felt like the content was not showing up,” Larian CEO Swen Vincke told IGN, adding that her dialogue triggered in previous versions — early access, I’m assuming — and further development caused it to drown out.

Baldur’s Gate 3 Review

The amount of new information data miners extracted caused some to believe that she was supposed to have an origin quest — similar to companions like Astarion or Shadowheart. Vincke assured in the interview that Minthara was just a side character, though once she’s fixed, they might consider doing ‘something extra’ with her. It also appears as if the team is looking into expanding Baldur’s Gate 3’s epilogue, which felt brief and abrupt to most players. As per Larian, the epilogue was heavily trimmed out of fear that the ending cinematics would’ve played out for way too long. The game already has cutscenes that run for over 174 hours. However, due to popular demand, the team will now expand on it, and we’ll get to see its first results starting with patch #2, which introduces a new ending for Karlach that doesn’t end in misery.

Larian Studios is also adding a new ‘Withers’ Wardrobe of Wayward Friends’ feature, which lets you get rid of co-op party members who join your campaign. The developer dropped a funny advertisement for it, which details that you can place any unwanted party members in our NPC skeletal friend’s closet and they’ll be gone. As for whether Baldur’s Gate 3 will feature a physical wardrobe at our camp or if it’s generated when you speak to Withers, only time will tell. Besides that, Larian is also cooking up the option to customise our character’s appearance midway through the campaign, though there’s no release window for it, yet. With each new hotfix and update, third-party mods have had trouble keeping up. So, support for customisation will be added ‘at some point.’

Baldur’s Gate 3 is out now on PC. The PS5 version releases on September 6, while the Xbox Series S/X version is slated for release sometime this year.