After years of absence, Motorola returns to the more expensive smartphone market with the Edge. The device is especially notable for its curved screen and price of 599 euros. In this Motorola Edge review you can read whether the phone is worth buying.
Motorola Edge
MSRP € 599,-Colour Black
OS Android 10
Screen 6.7 inch OLED (2340 x 1080)
Processor 2.3GHz octa-core (Snapdragon 765)
RAM 6GB
Storage 128GB (expandable)
Battery 4,500 mAh
Camera 64, 16 and 8 megapixels (rear), 25 megapixels (front)
Connectivity 5G, 4G (LTE), Bluetooth 5.0, Wi-Fi, GPS, NFC
Format 16.1 x 7.1 x 0.92cm
Weight 188 grams
Other Fingerprint scanner behind screen, splash proof
Website www.motorola.com/en 6.8 Score 68
- Pros
- Beautiful design
- Relatively inexpensive 5G smartphone
- Battery life
- Large 90Hz screen
- Negatives
- Substandard update policy
- Curved screen edges
- Not waterproof and dustproof
- Cameras in the dark
Motorola has been making budget smartphones with a competitive price-quality ratio for quite some time, but kept aloof in the more expensive segment in the Netherlands for years. The Motorola Edge marks the return, but does not compete in price and specifications with the thousand-euro devices such as the OnePlus 8 Pro and Apple iPhone 11 Pro. The Edge has a suggested retail price of 599 euros and positions itself as a cheaper alternative to the top models, without sacrificing functions such as 5G support. In this Motorola Edge review you can read how that works out.
High-profile design
The design of the Edge immediately catches the eye. Minimal bezels above and below the display and a continuous screen over the sides give the device a futuristic appearance. The glass look reminds me of the Huawei Mate 30 Pro, but the Edge comes across as more refined. A downside is that the phone is only splash-proof. Nice are the presence of a 3.5 mm port to connect your headphones and the stereo speakers, which sound better and louder than average.
The screen is 6.7 inches on the large side and cannot be operated with one hand. Due to the full-HD resolution, the screen looks great and the OLED display delivers beautiful colors. The refresh rate is at 90Hz higher than usual (60Hz), making the image look smoother. Competing smartphones like the OnePlus 8 and Oppo Find X2 Neo also have a 90Hz screen. The screen has a small hole for the selfie camera. The fingerprint scanner is behind the display and works properly.
The curved screen edges
Update 13-7-2020: Motorola states that the screen problems were caused by an earlier software version, and that version QDP30.70.48 and newer fixes these problems. There is indeed no longer any visible green effect on my test sample.
A small portion of Edge models suffer from screen issues. I see dozens of users on the internet complaining about a green cast, purple dots or black spots. My test sample also shows a green effect on the edges - see the photo above.
The Edge's curved screen edges have pros and cons. Motorola offers options in the settings menu to light up the edges for notifications and you can start your favorite apps with swipes and switch between recently used apps. This works properly. However, the pros do not outweigh the cons for me. The vertical edges look darker than the rest of the screen due to shadows and make part of your text, photo or other media slant. This doesn't look nice. Motorola is also aware of this: by tapping the edge twice, the edges turn themselves off and your media is more visible. Unfortunately, the software doesn't remember your preference, leaving you tapping into each app.
Hardware
I am more positive about the specifications of the smartphone. The Edge has a fast Snapdragon 765 processor with 6GB of RAM and has a large 128GB storage memory with a micro-SD card slot. The 4500 mAh battery effortlessly lasts a day and a half. Because Motorola supplies a relatively slow 18W USB-C plug, charging takes a long time with two hours. Wireless charging is unfortunately not possible. With its 5G modem, the Motorola Edge is suitable for 5G internet, which will be available in the Netherlands from the summer of 2020.
The triple camera (normal, wide-angle and zoom) on the back shoots 'just good' photos during the day. Sharp, colorful and true to nature. The usefulness of the zoom lens is limited with two times magnification. In the dark, the Edge's camera does noticeably less well and the pictures look too dark, with a lot of noise and less accurate colors. By the way, the 'smart' camera software for better pictures is pretty stupid because it doesn't always recognize objects well. A cleaning sponge falls into the 'food' category, to give just one example.
Nice software, bad update policy
The Motorola Edge runs on a barely modified version of Android 10, which I'm very happy with. The update policy, on the other hand, is below par. Motorola only promises an update to Android 11, which will be released in the fall. In fact, the device will receive version updates for half a year, after that, in principle, nothing more. Security updates appear every three months for two years. That's shorter and less frequent than for many competing smartphones. The lousy update policy is the main reason for me not to recommend the Motorola Edge.
Conclusion: Buy Motorola Edge?
The Motorola Edge is a smartphone with two faces. The device looks beautiful because of the curved screen edges, but they also have a negative influence on the user experience. In addition, some of the phones suffer from screen problems. And Motorola's software is very user-friendly, but lacks a good update policy. The Edge's hardware leaves a good impression, but cuts down on things like wireless charging, camera performance in the dark, and a water-resistant housing. After two weeks with the Motorola Edge, I find it difficult to recommend the smartphone over competing models like the Huawei P30 Pro, OnePlus 7T, Samsung Galaxy S10 Lite and Poco F2 Pro. They aren't perfect either, but they have downsides that I can live with. Whether the Motorola Edge is a good choice for you depends mainly on your wishes.
