At the start of the year if you'd told me one of my favourite phones of 2024 would be a Motorola, I probably would have laughed and asked for another round of whatever you were drinking.

That may sound harsh but although Motorola has been doing mobile phones longer than just about anyone, I haven't seen too many flagships with all the bells and whistles lately.

Enter, a flagship with all the bells and whistles... and I do mean ALL...

The motorola edge 50 pro (they seem to market it in lower-case, so I'll follow suit) is a thing of beauty. For a while there, all the flagship phones had curved-edge displays like this and I was a massive fan. In fact, I'm a fan of curves in general. Who wants sharp edges and pointy corners when you can have the comfort of a curve in your hand? It just seems more streamlined - more stylish somehow.

Not only is the edge 50 pro curved at the sides, the back panel also sweeps up to the rear camera module in a delightfully seamless way. While there are pearl-like, smooth-backed options in other colours available in overseas markets, here we're only getting Black Beauty, in a matte, vegan leather finish - and I couldn't be happier about it.

There are two main problems with a phone as slim and curvy as this. Firstly, if it has a shiny glass back it may be pretty but it'll also be slippery. This vegan leather variant keeps the handset firmly gripped in your hand - and also prevents unsightly smears and fingerprints.

The second edge-centric drawback is the "accidental touch issue" and I'll admit, that is still a tiny niggle with the edge 50 pro.

If you've used a curved display like this 6.7-inch, super-HD screen before, you've probably found yourself stabbing away at an icon or virtual button wondering why nothing's happening - only to realise because you're holding the edge of the screen as well, the phone thinks you're touching it in several places at once. This really isn't a massive hassle - especially once you know it's a possibility - and it's only happened a few times since I've been using it.

My real problem with the edge 50 pro is trying to find something wrong with it.

At NZ$1,099.00, it's right in the zone where other phones usually leave something important off to keep the price down. Not this time. IP68 water and dust resistance? Check. Triple-lens rear camera array with 3 X optical zoom? Check. 4K video capture? Check. Support for NFC and eSIM? Check. Case included in the box? Check. Wireless charging? Check.

What's more, it charges fast, thanks to the powerful 125W charger that also comes in the box. Battery life is up there with the best performing handsets I've tried as well.

This is probably partly due to the efficiency of the Qualcomm Snapdragon 7 Gen 3 chip running the show. In the video below, I rather unfairly refer to the 7 Gen 3 as "last year's chip," which is not really accurate - it's more like this year's 8 Gen 3's smaller sibling; ever so slightly slower, especially when it comes to operations like down and uploading.

However, unless you were to compare two phones with these two chips side-by-side, I really don't think you'll be disappointed with the performance here. I know I haven't been.

For example, the camera app opens straight away and works without any lag or stutter, no matter which mode or setting you choose. I've been very happy with my pics to date, be they ultra-wide landscapes like this...

Or making use of the 10MP telephoto lens for shots like this...

Not only does the edge 50 pro come with all the features I want in a phone, right now it also comes with a free pair of moto buds+ true-wireless earbuds.

Like the handset, the moto buds+ are premium performers, again ticking most - if not all - of my ear-wear requirements. Top notch battery life, from both the case and the buds themselves. You can charge the case wirelessly. The buds are water resistant and thanks to the selection of ear tips and the stem design they're great for exercising with.

The moto buds+ are tuned by Bose and the default sound is very clean, leaning towards a little dry - although you can adjust the EQ via app or let AI manage it for you, depending on what's playing. You also have the options of either Hi-Res mode for discerning listeners or Gaming mode for less latency.

My one major criticism is the on-board touch controls. These are customisable to a degree but there's no single tap - only double and triple taps or a long press. Although this obviously eliminates accidental play/pause presses when inserting or removing the buds, it's weird not to be able to resume listening with a single tap. And you can't assign the volume controls to the long-press function either - which also seems less than natural. Maybe it's just a personal preference.

On the "Plus" side, the bass response is impressive - especially for earbuds - and I've also been blown away by how strong and reliable the connection is. I can leave my phone on my desk and keep listening all over the house.

Remember, you get the moto buds+ for free when you buy the edge 50 pro, which I already considered fantastic value for money.

Unlike other 2024 flagships, Motorola doesn't seem to be making much noise about AI, although something called "moto ai" seems to be responsible for a lot of the edge 50 pro's photographic and cinematic tricks. I'm a fan of this more low-key approach - it's only August and I've already had more than my fill of AI hype for one year. At least with this phone, Motorola seems content to let AI do its best work mostly unseen, in a more integrated, under-the-hood way.

I could spend all day singing this phone's praises but let's just say my usual approach when reviewing a device hasn't quite worked this time. I usually ask myself, "What's wrong with this phone? Where does it come up short? What more could it do?" When the answers to those questions are, "Nothing," "Nowhere" and "Not much," then there's not a lot more to say.