It's fair to say that Motorola has had an interesting trajectory over the years. The smartphone brand has managed to build up a portfolio of iconic phones throughout its history, from the DynaTAC in the early 80's to the Razr and Droid in the 2000s.
It's also lived through a Google sale and a Lenovo acquisition, before ultimately pivoting to budget and mid-range devices under the latter. For a while, the company played it safe — manufacturing phones that worked well but didn't really push the envelope in terms of design or features.
And then came the year 2020, when Motorola decided to play on its strengths (and the world's nostalgia) by releasing the second-generation Razr phone which was ... disastrous, to say the least.
Even though the launch wasn't as successful as the company likely anticipated, it was essentially a precursor for Motorola's return to form: premium flagship devices.
And that begins with the Moto Edge+.
The Verizon exclusive phone, officially available on May 14, packs a 6.7-inch edge-to-edge display, a 108-megapixel camera, a 5G modem, and a 5,000mAh battery. If any of that sounds familiar, that's because those specs are almost identical to what's inside the Galaxy S20 Ultra. But rather than ship the Edge+ to retailers with a crazy Samsung-like price tag of $1,400, Moto's offering its flagship for a far more reasonable $999.
Beyond its comparatively lower price, the Edge+ also has a far more attractive design than that of the S20 Ultra, with a stunning display that wraps 90-degrees on both sides and a sleek glass exterior.
If you couldn't already tell by the name, Motorola's positioned this phone's marketing around its signature gimmick: user-customizable edges.
Given that these kinds of "infinite" displays tend to frustrate users with accidental app launches, I truly thought the new "edge" feature would be a saving grace. Unfortunately, in practice it felt ... gimmicky and was tough to get used to. But, I'll have more on that later.
In fact, the best parts of the Edge+ actually have nothing to do with the display at all. Its standout features are really the camera, multi-day battery life, and price.
With the Galaxy S20 Ultra, it was tough to justify spending so much money on a phone that felt like it was overflowing with features that would never be used on a daily basis. But it's also the only Galaxy phone in the current lineup with an 108-megapixel camera sensor. And it takes great photos.
The Moto Edge+, however, manages to strike a balance between getting the most out of a phone without having to sacrifice too much on specs or price. It's not a bad choice if you're looking for high-end camera capabilities at a sub-$1,000 price tag.
Sleek, but also very thick
Before I received my review unit, I assumed the Edge+ was super thin and fairly lightweight. At least, it looked that way in pre-release photos. But when I took this thing out of the box, I couldn't believe how heavy and chunky it was. (My fellow TikTok addicts will know what I mean when I say this thing is "thicker than a Snicker.")
To give you an idea of just how girthy it is, the Edge+ measures in at 9.6mm thick as compared to the S20 Ultra's 8.8mm. It also weighs 7.1 ounces, which isn't as heavy as the 7.7 ounces the S20 Ultra weighs, but that's still hefty. All of which is to say the Edge+ isn't a phone I can easily slide into my back pocket and carry around comfortably.
When I reviewed the S20 Ultra, my biggest complaint was with how massive it is, especially when held in my tiny hands. The Edge+, however, is smaller in stature, which makes it feel less unwieldy even when holding it one-handed.
As for its design, I do think it's a really nice-looking device. Both the front and back are made of glass and the edge-to-edge display has a seamless look to it.
The Edge+ is available in two colors: Thunder Grey and Smoky Sangria. I had the Thunder Grey Edge+ which, in person, looks to be more like a metallic dark blue.
On the bottom of the phone you'll find a USB-C port and a speaker, while the top edge houses a headphone jack (a very rare feature nowadays). On the left side is the power button and the volume rocker.
Meanwhile, on the back of the phone is a triple-camera setup with Motorola's signature logo stamped in the middle.
In terms of durability, the Edge+ doesn't have an official IP rating for dust- and water-resistance. But, Motorola says it has a "water-repellent design that creates a barrier to protect it against moderate exposure to water." In other words: It'll be fine if it's splashed with water, but don't submerge it.
I'd also recommend putting a case on the Edge+ because it's a bit slippery. The glass back coupled with a bit of a camera bump causes it to slide off the table at times, so a case will help to add traction and balance it out when you put it down on a surface.
An optimized display
The Edge+ has a 6.7-inch FHD+ OLED screen (2,340 x 1,080 pixel resolution) with a 90Hz refresh rate and HDR10+ certification.
That higher refresh rate makes scrolling through apps a smooth experience and colors on the display look super vibrant even when in direct sunlight. The in-display fingerprint sensor is also very responsive. As soon as I place my thumb on the designated outline, it unlocks the phone quickly.
But while I'm all for a nearly bezel-less viewing experience, the waterfall display doesn't work as well as one would think.
Using Motorola's "Endless edge" software, you can customize how you use the edges. When you toggle the "Edge touch" feature on, you're able to tap and swipe on the edges to access quick shortcuts. When it's enabled, a small bar appears on the edge of the phone that triggers different things depending on the gesture used.
You have the option to place it on either the left or right edge of the display. I placed mine on the right since that's my dominant hand.
When you swipe to the right (or left depending on what side it's on), for example, an app drawer appears with shortcuts to specific apps that you select. I added the ones I use most: Telegram, Twitter, Instagram, Gmail, YouTube, and Slack. That way, you can simply swipe and tap rather than having to find it on the home screen.
Additionally, swiping up on the bar brings you to the background app window and swiping down brings you to your notifications window.
You can also set the double-tap gesture to either switch back to the last app you were on or to turn the edge display on and off.
And, while these edge gestures sounds great in theory, I struggled to remember they were really even an option. They're intuitive and easy to get used to, but it takes a bit of conditioning to break from the usual habit of swiping from the top and bottom of the display.
With Edge display turned on, all of your recent apps appear on the curved edges for what's supposed to be a more immersive experience. But it's actually more of an irritating experience.
There are also other glaring issues with these enabled active edges. When scrolling through Instagram, the captions under photos sort of trail off to the sides of the display. While reading articles on Chrome, the beginning and end of sentences appear darker in color than the rest of the text because it sits right on the edges.
Thankfully, the Edge+ has the option to toggle off Edge display for specific apps without turning the feature off completely. I, personally, only left it on for apps like YouTube and Spotify that aren't as text heavy.
Unlike the edge-to-edge display on the OnePlus 8 Pro which caused me to mistakenly trigger buttons or gestures when holding it with one hand, Motorola's Edge+ features grip detection and touch suppression to ensure those accidents don't happen.
There were only a few moments where I did unintentionally hit a button on a site or an app that I didn't mean to tap on, but it didn't happen nearly as often as on the 8 Pro. It also helped that I excluded the most common app offenders from this Edge display function.
I'm not a very big mobile gamer, but the Edge+ does cater to that crowd with the Moto Gametime feature. When you're playing a game, you can set certain comfort preferences like blocking incoming calls or notifications, as well as adding 'L' (left) and 'R' (right) trigger buttons that you can set where you like.
Now, here's where I think the use of the waterfall display feels truly gimmicky: Edge Lights. When you turn this feature on, the edges of the display will light up in different colored patterns depending on if you get a call, notification, or if the phone's charging.
But I didn't find any of these light alerts useful, particularly because I'm always using my phone even when it's charging. It's also usually sitting face up right in front of me so I don't really need light effects to notify me of something specific.
Sure, it's another way to truly optimize use of the edges, but if you're constantly looking at your phone anyway, it's really just another way to drain the battery.
Speedy performance, excellent battery life
Under the hood, the Edge+ has a Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 processor with 5G and runs Android 10. It only comes in one storage configuration of 256GB, but a microSD card slot can expand that capacity by up to 1TB.
As a Verizon exclusive, you'll get to take advantage of both sub-6 and mmWave 5G capabilities. While I would have loved to test it out for the purpose of this review, my small town in central Jersey is not on Verizon's map of currently supported 5G coverage areas.
The main difference between the two flavors of 5G is that sub-6 is relatively slower, though it's still very fast. Meanwhile, mmWave operates above the 6Hz band, allowing for blazing fast speeds. But because mmWave requires the use of new transmitters, it's not as widely available.
And that's just it — 5G connectivity isn't accessible everywhere. It'll take at least a couple of years to roll out nationwide. So please don't buy this phone specifically for its 5G modem unless you are planning to keep it for a while.
In terms of performance, I tested it using Geekbench 5 where my unit scored 909 for single-core and 3,224 for multi-core. That's very close to the numbers on the S20 Ultra which scored 910 for single-core and 3,232 for multi-core performance.
As for battery life, the 5,000mAh battery on the Edge+ is very impressive. While Motorola says it can last over two days, I was only able to squeeze about a day and a half before it died.
But I'm also someone who keeps tons of apps running in the background, scrolls through social media every few seconds, and keeps the brightness turned all the way up. Those of you who are the opposite will definitely be able to get to two days' worth of juice.
The Edge+ comes with Motorola's 18W TurboPower adapter for Fast Charge and supports wireless charging up to 15W. There's also a wireless power share feature that charges devices up to 5W.
A satisfactory camera
On the back of the Edge+ is a triple-camera setup that includes:
108-megapixel main camera sensor (f/1.8)
117-degree 16-megapixel ultra-wide angle sensor (f/2.2)
8-megapixel telephoto lens (f/2.4) with 3x optical zoom
Meanwhile, the front has a 25-megapixel hole-punch selfie camera.
The main sensor uses Quad Pixel technology, which combines every four pixels into one to create a 27-megapixel photo. But you can also switch into full 108-megapixel resolution to take photos using Ultra-Res mode.
I used both the Edge+ and S20 Ultra in my neighborhood to take some photos and see how the two phones' considerable cameras truly stack up.
Much like photos taken with the iPhone 11 Pro, I've noticed the Edge+ offers more of a naturally raw image that allows room for editing. In the above shot, the colors of the flowers, pots, and even the wood look a lot more balanced.
Meanwhile, the S20 Ultra is very well known for its tendency to oversaturate and sharpen images which I'm particularly a fan of.
Both the flowers and the pots look a lot more vibrant with the S20 Ultra as compared to the photo taken on the Edge+. Meanwhile, the wood appears darker and more defined.
In the photo taken with the Edge+ above, colors and highlights appear more realistic, especially the greens. But, as you can see, fine detail on the sign is blurred out, which isn't the case for the overly saturated photo taken with the S20 Ultra below.
The watermelons captured by the S20 Ultra look way too dark and even a bit unrealistic. But at least it does sharpen the sign enough to the point where you can easily read it.
Above is an example of an image taken in Ultra-Res mode. To be completely honest, I couldn't tell all that much of a difference, but it does sharpen the colors a bit more to really make them pop.
Macro mode is fairly impressive. The texture of the petals and the droplets of water look super clear.
Above is an example of 3x optical zoom on the Edge+. The left shot is indicative of my actual distance from the electrical tower; on the right is the zoomed-in image. Even when fully zoomed in, the Edge+ still manages to retain image clarity.
Night mode also works well. While I did have the help of the light from the TV in the photo of my dog above, the room was still pretty dark overall.
I also took a photo of my room with all the lights turned off and just the string lights on. You know, to help emulate the ambience of a bar or restaurant, perhaps. I'd say it came out nice and very Tumblr worthy.
Alright, on to selfies.
At 25-megapixels, the front-facing camera is capable of capturing details like the redness in my skin, the flyaways in my hair, and also the wrinkles in my t-shirt (I'm in quarantine, okay). It's also, unfortunately, spot on with that pale skin tone you see above.
Additionally, the Edge+ comes with advanced video stabilization, as well as the ability to record footage in portrait mode. But I'm not as impressed with it as I was with stabilization on the S20 Ultra, which delivered results that made it look like I was using a camera dolly.
Wrap-up
At $999, the Moto Edge+ has some standout features: multi-day battery life, fast performance, and a smooth 90Hz display. Even though it's a little heavy and thick, it really is a beautifully designed device. And while the touted Edge software doesn’t really revolutionize the experience of an infinity display, those of you who plunk down for this phone will surely manage to find a use for it.
In terms of its camera quality, however, it's all a matter of preference. There's no denying the Edge+ is capable of taking great shots that are clear and realistic in color. But I prefer the heavier image processing on the S20 Ultra, particularly because I like brighter, sharper photos overall.
If you're in the same boat, then I'd actually recommend going for the equally priced Galaxy S20, which features a 64-megapixel camera that takes comparable shots. It's also a lot slimmer and more lightweight than the Edge+.
Another great alternative is the OnePlus 8 Pro, which also starts at $999. It has two 48-megapixel wide-angle sensors that I think strike a good balance between producing soft and sharp images.
But if you're not all that particular about camera performance, then the Edge+ is still a solid choice, especially for that performance and battery life.
That said, I'm going to stick with my Galaxy S20. But nice try, Moto.
Topics Motorola
