The Motorola Edge 40 Neo slims and swims for less
Colourful budget blower delivers decent specs for little cash
Motorola has always been a top choice when it comes to value-minded phone shopping, with some of the best affordable and mid-range smartphone models on offer. The Motorola Edge 40 Neo continues that trend, with a super skinny body that’s also water resistant, a pair of capable cameras and a rather tasty touchscreen – all for a penny under £300.
At a barely-there 7.89mm thick, the Edge 40 Neo is impressively thin for a budget handset, and it looks the part thanks to Moto’s continued partnership with colour experts Pantone. You can snap one up in Soothing Sea or Caneel Bay shades, which are finished with vegan leather, or go for the acrylic-backed Black Beauty for something a little more subtle. All can survive a dunking thanks to an IP68 rating.
A curved-edge display is another unusual inclusion at this price, helping the expansive 6.55in pOLED panel sit comfortably in your palm. It has a 2400×1080 resolution, supports HDR10+ video, and has a gamer-friendly 144Hz refresh rate that puts other budget-minded phones like the Google Pixel 7a to shame. Moto reckons it can deliver a peak 1300 nits brightness, too, so it should cope well outdoors under bright sunshine.
Around the back there’s a 50MP main snapper with optical image stabilisation, paired to a 13MP ultrawide that also doubles as a macro shooter. Up front you get a 32MP selfie cam.
Inside, power comes from a MediaTek Dimensity 7030 CPU and either 8 or 12GB of RAM. Storage is either 128 or 256GB, depending on where you are in the world (not every country will get both options). The 5000mAh battery should comfortably manage to last all day, and the Edge 40 Neo will do rapid 68W charging over USB-C.
The Motorola Edge 40 Neo is on sale in Europe, the Middle East and Africa right now, and will be hitting the UK in mid-September. You’ll be able to buy one straight from the Motorola website for £300. There’s no plan to launch it in the USA.
Motorola also just took the wraps off the Moto G84 5G and the Moto G54 5G, which take a step down on specs but keep the conspicuous colour options. The Moto G84 5G lands for £250 in Viva Magenta, Marshmallow Blue and Midnight Blue options, while the £180 Moto G54 5G can be had in a green vegan leather – but only for a limited time.
The Moto G84’s highlights include a 6.5in OLED screen with 120Hz refresh rate, IP54 dust and water resistance, Dolby Atmos-approved audio, and a dual lens camera made up of 50MP main sensor and 8MP ultrawide with macro mode. It’s powered by a Snapdragon 695 CPU, has a 5000mAh battery, and is good for 30W wired charging.
The Moto G54 swaps to LCD display tech and switches to a MediaTek Dimensity 7020 processor.
Tom Morgan-Freelander
Deputy Editor 
