It's time to talk about this amazing collaboration from Motorola, a leader in the industry.

The collaboration between tech brands and other companies is not new; we often hear about alliances like that of OnePlus with Hasselblad or Honor and Huawei with Porsche Design, highlighting the results of these unions. However, there has been less attention towards the partnership between Motorola and Pantone, experts in color. Recently, while testing the Motorola Edge 50 Neo, I understood the impact this collaboration has had: even the most common colors can look amazing.

The model I had in my hands was gray. Although I enjoy a minimalist design, gray is not usually an exciting shade, and as a lover of vibrant colors in phones, I didn’t expect to like it. But the Edge 50 Neo is not just gray; it comes in a shade called Grisaille. This name comes from an artistic style that uses only different shades of gray, adapting the word from the French "gris."

This gray has a hue that goes beyond the color used on boats, as Grisaille is actually a medium blue, subtle enough for the dark gray to stand out. Motorola has enhanced the design of the Edge 50 Neo by using a vegan leather material for the back, which doesn’t try to mimic traditional leather. Instead, it feels soft and has a natural texture that makes it appealing, maintaining a distinction between its aesthetic and that of a low-cost phone. This material helps the color stand out more than plastic or glass.

The ability to speak of a gray phone in this way is a testament to Pantone's work with Motorola in color selection. While I like Grisaille, the real magic of this partnership comes to life when a device is launched in one of the shades selected annually by Pantone. Shortly after receiving the Edge 50 Neo, Motorola introduced an edition in the 2025 Color of the Year, Mocha Mousse, which I tried to obtain a sample of, but it proved difficult to get. Just as Grisaille is not just gray, Mocha Mousse strays from brown; it’s hard to imagine a phone in that color, as that hue is more associated with coffee beans and bears. In promotional images, it looks fantastic: warm, earthy, and subtle, but not boring.

This color is clearly different from last year's colors, like Peach Fuzz from 2024 or Very Peri from 2022. Many will recall Viva Magenta, Pantone's Color of the Year for 2023, a vibrant tone between brown and pink with hints of blue that stood out for its ability to catch the eye. This was evident in the review of the Motorola Razr Plus, where it was described as "impossible to ignore."

Motorola has been collaborating with Pantone since 2022. Instead of simply launching limited editions based on the Color of the Year, the company has explored the use of unique colors across its product range, with the Edge 50 Neo being an example featuring shades like Latte, Poinciana, and Nautical Blue. Poinciana, for example, emerges as a blend between the colors Viva Magenta and Peach Fuzz.

The synergy between Motorola and Pantone also extends to the design of the camera and display of the devices. Colors take on trends that we can observe across various fields, from fashion to automotive, although people are often unaware of it. The incorporation of Pantone colors into Motorola phones opens a window to this fascinating world of colors. Without Motorola's contribution, I probably would not have noticed Pantone's Color of the Year for 2025, but now I am paying attention to this beyond technology.

In contrast to other companies that opt for a more conventional and safe color palette, Motorola has relied on color experts to avoid boring variants and has managed to make the topic of color exciting and their phones eye-catching, regardless of the choice between a simple model or a vibrant one.