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Motorola Edge and Edge+ are official: Motorola enters the flagship space with a bang!

By Georgi Zarkov

Updated: May 14, 2020, 9:01 AM

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Motorola Edge and Edge+ are official: Motorola enters the flagship space with a bang!

Over the last few years, Motorola has become a synonym for good, affordable phones thanks to its super-popular Moto G line. The company did venture into the high-end with the reboot of the Razr brand, but apart from its price tag, the foldable phone had little in common with flagships from other brands.

Well, all that changes today. The Motorola Edge+ was just announced and it has everything a 2020 flagship should offer. It’s accompanied by the Motorola Edge, a slightly specced-down version of the Edge+. It’s not every day we see a new player enter the premium smartphone segment and we’re excited! Let’s see what the Edge+ has to offer, starting with…

Motorola Edge+ design

Like it or not, when it comes to Android flagships, curved display edges have become the feature that screams “flagship” and Motorola is going all-in with the curves. The 6.7-inch OLED display folds 90 degrees on both sides, giving the phone a very sleek look. The aspect ratio of the display is 21:9, which does make it quite tall, but on the plus side, it should be more comfortable to hold.

The extreme curve of the display is not only for appearances. Motorola is adding some software features that will make use of that extra space. The most exciting of which is the option to put trigger buttons that you can press with your index fingers while gaming. Sounds good in theory but we’ll have to try it out to see if it’s useful in practice.

In the corner of the display, there’s a tiny hole for the selfie camera, just as expected. So far, the Edge+ is ticking all the boxes. The same can be said for the back, the clean design is interrupted only by a relatively small camera bump that houses the three cameras (more about them later). The Edge+ comes in two colors: Thunder Grey and Smoky Sangria, while the regular Edge will be in Midnight Magenta and Solar Black.

Motorola proving space for a headphone jack can still be found in 2020

The phone is on the thick side, however, it’s not too heavy at 203g (iPhone 11 Pro Max is 226g). There’s a good reason for the extra bulk, this phone comes with a massive battery. Speaking of which, time to check the specs!

Motorola Edge and Edge+ specs

Unlike some other flagship duos, the Edge and the Edge+ share the same body, their differences mainly within. Here are the main specs:

Spec	Motorola Edge	Motorola Edge+
Display	6.7" FHD+ OLED, 90Hz,	6.7" FHD+ OLED, 90Hz, 10bit
SoC	Snapdragon 765	Snapdragon 865
5G	Sub-6GHz	Sub-6GHz, mmWave
RAM	4GB (NA), 6GB (ROW), DDR4	12GB DDR5
Storage	128GB, expandable	256GB UFS 3.0, not expandable
Battery	4,500mAh	5,000mAh
Charging	18W fast charging	18W fast charging, 15W wireless charging, reverse wireless charging

Motorola Power Share in action

As you can see, the Motorola Edge+ has all the bells and whistles you might expect from a 2020 flagship. From the high-refresh-rate 10bit display to DDR5 RAM, and of course, that giant battery. Even with the 90Hz option on, this phone should easily last you two days. The fast charging is not the most powerful, but Motorola says it prioritized battery capacity over charging speed, pointing out that you won't be charging the device that often anyway. Seems like a fair trade to us.

But there's something those phones have that most flagships don't have these days. That's right, a headphone jack! Motorola outlasted even Samsung and is bringing us a premium phone that has a 3.5mm jack for your favorite headphones. But that's not all the effort Motorola put towards better audio experience. The company is quite proud with the speakers of the Edge+, calling them "the most powerful stereo speakers". They're tuned by Waves, a GRAMMY award-winning company, so they should sound pretty good as well.

One thing that is missing, however, is an IP68 rating. The phones have "water repellent design" as Motorola calls it, and it does say they were tested according to IP68 standards, but without the official certificate, you should always be extra careful.

Now on to another interesting part, the cameras...

Motorola Edge and Edge+ cameras

Once again, Motorola is closely following the trends on the market and isn't cutting any corners.

Spec	Motorola Edge	Motorola Edge+
Main camera	64MP, F1.8	108MP, F1.8
Second camera	16MP, F2.2, Ultra-wide and Macro	16MP, F2.2, Ultra-wide and Macro
Third camera	8MP F2.4 2x telephoto	8MP, F2.2, 3x telephoto
Fourth sensor	Time of flight	Time of flight
Front camera	25MP, F2.0	25MP, F2.0

Yes, the 108MP sensor is back at it again. Motorola uses the pixels differently, however, opting to combine only 4 in 1 instead of Samsung's 9-in-1 solution. This means that by default, the Motorola Edge+ takes 27MP photos. With a base storage of 256GB, that shouldn't be a problem. Another interesting thing is that Motorola is using the ultra-wide-angle camera for macro shots as well, allowing you to focus on objects from a very short distance.

As we know, the tricky part comes when the photos have to be processed by the camera software. Now, Motorola has provided some sample shots that you can see below, and, of course, they look amazing.

Night Vision, what Motorola calls its night mode, is also quite impressive, if the samples are to be believed. Look at this picture showing the difference it makes:

But we'll have to test the cameras ourselves and compare the images to other phones of the same class before we can say if it's flagship-grade.

Overall, a good set of cameras on both devices. No periscope super-zoom lenses, but those push the price way up, so we're not surprised they're missing.

Motorola Edge+ software

The Motorola flagships bring something we didn't expect: a new Android skin. Don't worry, though, the developers over at Motorola know people aren't fans of bloated skins with apps that duplicate the functionality that Google already offers with its apps. That's why Motorola's new My UX only adds a few features on top of the "stock" Android that allow users to further customize their phones. You'll be able to create your own themes by choosing from a variety of colors, fonts, icon shapes and even fingerprint-reader animations.

Some of the My UX customization options

The custom software is also needed to make the most of that curved-edge display. Custom menus you can pull from the side, in-game triggers, battery indicators and notification lights are all part of the edge experience.

Motorola Edge+ price and release date

Now, for the most important part: the price. We know what you're thinking and you're right. The Motorola Edge+ is $999.99. It goes on sale exclusively on Verizon May 14. You can get it for $41.66/month with a two-year contract. If you opt for a new line with Verizon, you can save up to $550 by trading in an old smartphone, or up to $250 if you're already on Verizon and want to upgrade your phone. Customers switching from another carrier will also get a $150 Verizon e-gift card.

In Canada, the new Motorola Edge+ will be available at Bell, Rogers, TELUS and Freedom Mobile.

The Motorola Edge doesn't have a price and release date yet, but it will go on sale in the States later this year, according to Motorola, with more details coming this Summer.

$1,000 is a lot of money for any phone, but the Motorola Edge+ isn't offering any less than other flagships of that price, so why should it be cheaper? In fact, let's compare the Edge+ to the two Android high-end phones it will stand against in the US market.

Motorola Edge+ vs Samsung Galaxy S20 vs OnePlus 8 Pro: specs comparison

Motorola Edge+, Samsung Galaxy S20 and OnePlus 8 Pro

To make the comparison as fair as possible price-wise, we'll use the Galaxy S20 and the 256GB version of the OnePlus 8 Pro, which is also $999. So, let's see how the three stack on paper.

Spec	Motorola Edge+	Galaxy S20	OnePlus 8 Pro
Display	6.7" FHD+ OLED, 90Hz, HDR10+	6.2" QHD OLED, 120Hz, HDR10+	6.8" QHD OLED, 120Hz, HDR10+
SoC	Snapdragon 865	Snapdragon 865	Snapdragon 865
5G	Sub-6GHz, mmWave	Sub-6GHz	Sub-6GHz
RAM	12GB DDR5	12GB DDR5	12GB DDR5
Storage	256GB UFS 3.0, not expandable	128GB UFS 3.0, expandable	256GB UFS 3.0, not expandable
Battery	5,000mAh	4,000mAh	4,510mAh
Charging	Fast charging, wireless charging, reverse wireless charging	Fast charging, wireless charging, reverse wireless charging	Fast charging, wireless charging, reverse wireless charging
Ports	USB Type-C 3.1, 3.5mm jack	USB Type-C 3.1	USB Type-C 3.1
Main camera	108MP, F1.8	12MP, F1.8	48MP, F1.8
Other rear cameras	16MP, F2.2, Ultra-wide and Macro 8MP, F2.2, Telephoto ToF sensor	12MP, F2.2 Ultra-wide 64MP, F2.0 Telephoto	48MP, F2.2, Ultra-wide 8MP Telephoto 5MP Color filter
Front camera	25MP	10MP	16MP

Now, there are many nuances a simple table like that can't show properly, for more details check the full specs-sheet comparison. What quickly becomes apparent, however, is that the Motorola Edge+ easily keeps up with the Galaxy S20 and OnePlus 8 Pro. Yes, its display isn't Quad HD and doesn't support 120Hz, but the S20 also has to switch to 1080p if you want the full 120Hz (at least for now).

When it comes to battery, the Motorola is the clear winner but the OnePlus compensates with faster charging. In size and weight both phones are almost identical, which shows how much battery capacity Motorola would have had to sacrifice for even faster charging.

And while we're in the era of the true wireless earbuds, many still haven't replaced their favorite wired headphones. The Motorola Edge+ could be what they have been waiting to upgrade to. Sure, LG flagships still have the headphone jack as well, but they're not quite on par in other areas.

In the camera department the battle is just as fierce. The Motorola brings the required hardware to the table, but it's yet to prove itself when it comes to image quality. Software updates are coming out for the OnePlus and the Samsung all the time, bringing more and more camera improvements. Will Motorola be able to keep up? Time will tell.

It's never bad to have more choice and with Motorola entering the premium segment, users have a few awesome devices to choose from. Yes, the prices are high but if you're patient and wait a few months, the deals are destined to come.