Cameras Aside, Motorola’s New Phone Has a Competitive Edge

Battery performance continues to be one of the core strengths of Motorola phones. Despite the slim design, Moto has stuffed a large 5,000-mAh cell here. Am I a little worried when a company stuffs a big battery into a very thin phone? Perhaps. But I haven’t noticed any issues yet. Motorola says the phone has a thermal control system to avoid overheating with “built-in temperature sensors to monitor the temperature at all times.” 

The good news is that this battery can last nearly two full days on a single charge with average use. On a day when my power went out and I relied only on the Edge, it lasted the entire day, with more than seven hours of screen on time, and still had around 20 percent left by 2 am. That’s pretty spectacular.

Performance in general has been a standout too. The Edge is powered by the MediaTek Dimensity 1050 chip, and I haven’t seen any stutters or major slowdowns. The camera app can take a few extra seconds to fully load up sometimes, but games like Apex Legends Mobile ran without a hitch (the phone got only a little warm after two matches). This chip adds sub-6 5G support (mmWave too, but this is dependent on the model and where you buy it from), so you’re not relegated to the slower 4G LTE. 

The stereo speakers on this phone don’t get tremendously loud, but they sound pretty good. If you were hoping for a headphone jack though, you’ll be disappointed. You won’t find a microSD card slot either; these are features that disappeared from flagship phones, and they’re now disappearing from midrange handsets, too. You’re left with 128 GB of internal storage in the base model, though you can upgrade to 256 GB. 

One other snag? The IP52-rated water resistance. It protects the phone from rain, but not an accidental dip in water. Both the cheaper Google Pixel 6A and the Samsung Galaxy A53 have IP67 ratings, so it’s a shame Motorola couldn’t match them.  

The Edge runs Android 12 out of the box and Motorola doesn’t interfere with the operating system much, which is always a good thing. Its “Ready for” platform lets you wirelessly connect the phone to other screens around you (if they support Miracast) to enable an Android desktop experience, or you can use a cable. I found it handy when I tried it on the Motorola Edge+ earlier this year—especially to run a video call on the TV while using my phone as a webcam. I tested the new Edge with my LG C1 and it had no trouble connecting. 

Dulled Edge

So far so good, but all good things must come to an end: Cameras have notoriously been the weak link on Motorola phones, and that’s not changing here. There’s a 50-MP main camera and a 13-MP ultrawide (with a macro mode), not to mention a 32-MP selfie snapper. 

The Edge can take good photos during the day and with Motorola’s Night Vision mode, you can take some decent low-light shots if you can stay very still when pressing the shutter button. However, I’ve also seen some questionable photos come out of this phone.