The battle for 2023 mobile raw power supremacy has already begun, at least on the Android smartphone scene, with Motorola following in Vivo and Xiaomi's footsteps today to beat Samsung to the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 punch.
Of course, you'll have to wait a little to actually check out Qualcomm's hot new ultra-high-end processor in action inside a commercial Moto X40 unit, especially if you don't live in China. Regional sales in the world's largest smartphone market are only scheduled to kick off next Thursday, December 22, presumably followed by a global expansion under a couple of other names at some point during the first quarter of 2023.
It's currently unclear if there will be any notable differences between this China-exclusive X40 device and European and North American models likely to be dubbed Edge 40 Pro and Edge+ (2023) respectively, so for the time being, let's focus on what we know (and love to see):
Moto X40 - key strengths, features, and selling points
While most "mainstream" Android handset vendors seem to be stuck with the same "old" 120Hz screen refresh rate standard, struggling to stand out from the crowd by adopting various other groundbreaking technologies and, let's be honest, gimmicks, Motorola is taking things to the next level... after the 144Hz capabilities of last year's Edge X30, aka Edge 30 Pro, aka Edge+ (2022).
Yes, the Moto X40 comes with super-advanced 165Hz display refresh rate skills only matched by gaming beasts like the Asus ROG Phone 6 Pro, thus guaranteeing one of the most fluid gaming experiences any mobile device out there is capable of.
Interestingly, Motorola (or should we say "Lenovorola"?) continues to sit out the screen resolution wars, equipping the 6.7-inch OLED X40 with a fairly modest (by flagship standards, at least) 2400 x 1080 pixel count. On the bright side, the undoubtedly gorgeous panel does promise to get incredibly bright and accurate at showing no less than a billion colors (just like the aforementioned ROG Phone 6 Pro).
Naturally, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 SoC expected to be used on Samsung's entire Galaxy S23 family around the world is an even bigger selling point for the Moto X40 than its silky smooth and ultra-colorful screen. This bad boy purportedly improves the CPU and GPU performance of its predecessor by 35 and 25 percent respectively, and as if that wasn't impressive enough, efficiency is also vastly enhanced, which means a phone's battery life could go up without the cell capacity actually growing.
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That's probably the reason why the X40 only packs a 4,600mAh battery, which is both smaller than what some of 2022's best phones have to offer and smaller compared to the X30's 5,000mAh ticker. With 125W fast charging in tow (up from only 68W speeds last year), it's hard not to view this thing as an overall heavyweight contender for the title of best 2023 handset.
Other specs and an irresistible pricing structure
In addition to the pixel wars, Motorola is also refusing to engage in a megapixel conflict with the likes of Samsung and Xiaomi, "settling" for a 50MP primary shooter joined by a 50MP secondary camera and a 12MP tertiary sensor on the back of the Moto X40.
Around the front, the 60MP single selfie snapper sounds largely unchanged from what the X30 provides in that department as well, while an IP68 water and dust-resistant glass body, 15W wireless charging support, and up to 12 gigs of RAM paired with as much as 512GB internal storage space complete a spec sheet that doesn't really have many important things lacking.
But by far the most remarkable detail about Motorola's latest flagship (with Android 13 pre-installed on the software side of things) is just how low it's set to start in China in terms of its retail pricing.
If you're lucky to live around those parts, you'll only have to spend the rough equivalent of $490 on an entry-level 128GB storage variant with an 8GB RAM count, while the 12/256GB and 12/512GB configurations will set you back CNY 3,999 ($575) and CNY 4,299 ($615) respectively, which is... stupidly affordable for such a powerful, breathtakingly smooth, blazing fast, and yes, objectively good-looking device with a love-it-or-hate-it "four-curved" design.
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Adrian, a mobile technology enthusiast since the Nokia 3310 era, has been a dynamic presence in the tech journalism field, contributing to Android Authority, Digital Trends, and Pocketnow before joining PhoneArena in 2018. His expertise spans across various platforms, with a particular fondness for the diversity of the Android ecosystem. Despite the challenges of balancing full-time parenthood with his work, Adrian's passion for tech trends, running, and movies keeps him energized. His commitment to mid-range smartphones has led to an eclectic collection of devices, saved from personal bankruptcy by his preference for 'adequate' over 'overpriced'.
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