Motorola's first true 2021 5G flagship will put Samsung to shame with its blazing fast charging
Motorola is the gift that keeps on giving... literally, having given us more new Android smartphones than this writer can count on his fingers and toes in the last 12 months alone.
Incredibly enough, the Lenovo-owned brand hasn't been able to squeeze in a single flagship between Moto G-series mid-rangers and Moto E-series low-enders since April 2020, when the Snapdragon 865-powered Motorola Edge+ was unveiled to surprisingly great critical acclaim.
Obviously, that means we have yet to see a Motorola handset released packing Qualcomm's high-end Snapdragon 888 processor, which made its commercial debut at the very beginning of 2021. According to a reliable recent rumor, that's finally set to change soon, but we may have just found out an even more exciting detail about the company's upcoming hero device.
Take that, Apple and Samsung!
Focused more on camera capabilities, software support, raw speed, and well, marketing, most smartphone buyers don't seem to care very much about things like charging technology.
Otherwise, it's hard to explain why the world's top two handset vendors literally have a combined zero models on our list of the fastest charging phones money can buy right now. Motorola is in the same boat for the time being, preparing however a (not so) mysterious XT2201 device with 68.2W support.
The S20 Ultra is Samsung's fastest-charging smartphone
Even if we round that number down to 65 watts, you're still looking at way higher speeds than what the likes of the iPhone 13 Pro Max and Galaxy Z Fold 3 are capable of. Apple, for instance, has yet to break the 30W barrier on any of its hugely popular "iDevices", while Samsung's 45W record still belongs to last year's Galaxy S20 Ultra and the ancient Note 10+.
Whether this XT2201 model will end up being called the Motorola Edge X or Moto G200 (or both), its 65W+ charging speeds should rival those of the OnePlus 9, 9 Pro, and Oppo Find X2 Pro while easily defeating Google's Pixel 6 and 6 Pro, as well as Sony's Xperia 1 III and Pro-I.
To Snapdragon 888 or not to Snapdragon 888?
Alas, we don't have a definitive answer to that question yet, but before you despair, you should know that Motorola's rumored alternative for this undoubtedly ultra-advanced flagship is the unreleased Snapdragon 898.
That's right, some folks believe the company could leap straight to Qualcomm's next premium SoC, which wouldn't be all good news. That's because a commercial release by the end of this year would become highly unlikely pretty much impossible to pull off.
Of course, there's a possibility Motorola is working on both Snapdragon 888 and 898 flagships simultaneously, but given the timing of this charging speed reveal, we're almost certain the XT2201 model number is meant to designate the gaming-centric Edge X.
At the same time, we're pretty sure the Motorola Edge X will hit certain markets (including the US) under the Moto G200 5G name. It remains to be seen just how soon the company can get the high-ender out, and if it indeed ends up packing a Snapdragon 888 processor, how aggressively priced it will be to compete against Samsung, Xiaomi, Oppo, or Vivo's veterans.
With an 8GB RAM count, silky smooth 144Hz Full HD+ display, and 108 + 13 + 2MP triple rear-facing camera system previously leaked by someone who's almost never wrong about this type of stuff, the Moto G200/Edge X definitely looks like the kind of phone that could undercut even the most affordable member of the impending Galaxy S22 family.
Then again, the $600 Moto G100 only comes with a Snapdragon 870 chipset and 20W charging speeds, so perhaps we shouldn't be overly optimistic about the affordability of the presumably 5G-enabled G200.
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