Motorola Edge 30 Ultra review

Pixel-like Android 12 with some Moto mods added on top

The Edge 30 Ultra runs Android 12 with some of the closest look and feel to 'stock' that you can get. There are several in-house customizations, though they don't really affect the general Pixel-like vibe, only enhance it.

It's worth pointing out that Motorola is promising three major OS updates for the Ultra (up to Android 15). Parallel to that, you'd be getting 4 years of security updates, and we've been told that these will come in regular monthly intervals.

Anyway, immediately noticeable is the new Quick Settings interface and notification shade, one of Android 12's more striking visual changes. That means the big bubbly buttons, of which you only get 4 on the first pull, up to 8 on the second, and the full-screen notification shade.

On to widgets, which saw an overhaul with Android 12. The widget picker offers responsive previews for differently sized widgets. The new API supports dynamic coloring by tying into the Material You theming engine, allowing the widgets to adapt to the wallpaper.

Quick settings • Notification shade • Widgets

Another Android 12 staple, the Material You auto-theming feature, is here too, though it's masked behind a slightly customized Moto-specific theming engine. You can still get wallpaper-based accent colors, which will apply to Google apps and the settings menu.

Theming

Privacy is an especially big deal on Android 12, and the Edge 30 Ultra comes with the latest Google's come up with in the field. That includes the new Privacy dashboard, which offers a unified view of what permission is being used by which app and when. There are also the camera and microphone indicators in the top right corner of the screen for an immediate clue that you're being watched/listened to, but also the quick toggles to limit access to those altogether. There is also the option to determine whether an app gets your precise coordinates or an approximate location.

Privacy

The in-house features and functionality that the Edge 30 Ultra offers that Google doesn't are conveniently grouped together in the Moto app. These are mostly long-standing Moto features we've seen time and time again.

The first category is personalization - that's where the OS-native autotheming found a foster home. There is also a wide selection of Moto wallpapers in addition to Google's own, plus the option to leverage AI to create your own from the photos in your gallery.

Moto app

Then come the gestures. By now, you must have seen Moto's karate chop motion that turns on and off the flashlight and the twisting motion that launches the camera app. Both work even when the device is locked.

The lift-to-unlock gesture works well with the face unlock as it unlocks the device as soon as you pick it up and look at the screen.

A swipe-to-split function is available, too - it triggers the split-screen multitasking. You can also double-tap the back of the phone to do a custom action. Interestingly enough, the Power touch shortcuts menu is also absent from the Edge 30 Fusion.

Gestures

The display-related features are Peek Display and Attentive Display. The former works as a second-best alternative to the Always-on display feature, which is actually missing, but with some added functionality to make up for it.

The screen lights up when it detects motion that's close to the phone or when you pick it up. Once you've received some kind of notification, you can tap on it, see the message, and even interact with it from the lock screen.

Attentive Display disables the screen timeout as long as there's a face looking at the screen. Pretty useful when reading long articles, though you do probably scroll often enough for the screen not to lock anyway.

You also get Edge Lights as an alternative to a notification LED. Motorola wants us to place the phone flat on its face, though, which we're not too keen on.

Display

Then there's the Play section. In here, you'll find the Gametime utility, which offers the usual functionality of such tools like call and notification blocking and screen recording. Additionally, there are optional shortcuts for media playback when the screen is locked using the volume keys and a Dolby Atmos sound enhancement utility.

Play

Introduced in 2021, Motorola's 'ready for' platform enables a multitude of use cases that put the phone in the center of a big-screen experience. Connecting a TV or a monitor allows you to get a Windows-desktop-like environment, play a game on your phone, display it on the external screen, or even have a video chat on a larger display.

'ready for'

The connection can be made with a cable - either with the 'ready for' cable (or another USB-C MHL Alt solution) or with a USB-C-to-C cable with a compatible monitor. Alternatively, you can connect wirelessly to a Miracast-capable display.

If you don't have a mouse and/or keyboard handy, the phone's screen can be used as a trackpad and/or keyboard.

You can also use 'ready for' on a Windows-based PC - it runs within a window on your desktop. This is helpful when you want to run an Android app from your computer or multi-task between devices on just one screen.

'ready for' on a Windows PC

Another use case of 'ready for' on a Windows PC is for video calls, where you can use the phone's camera to capture yourself and an external display to see the other participants.

The final Ready For use case is for gaming on a bigger screen - be it TV or laptop/monitor. You connect an external controller and run the game on the phone, with the obvious benefit being the larger display for gameplay.

Performance and benchmarks

The Edge 30 Ultra relies on the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 for its computing tasks, and it's the best available chip in the Android world, the silicon of choice for the late 2022 releases. It already proved its worth in the battery section - the SoC is lauded for its improved efficiency, and we know it to offer slightly better performance than the non-plus version.

The handset exists in four RAM/storage configurations, but not all will be available everywhere. The base version is 8GB/128GB, our review unit is the 12GB/256GB spec, and 8GB/256GB and 12GB/512GB ones have also been spotted.

In GeekBench, the Moto scored in line with expectations and placed near the top of the chart of potential competitors. Dedicated 'High performance' modes on the OnePlus 10T and Zenfone 9 (both with the same chipset) squeeze marginally higher numbers, but those are hardly relevant outside of academic arguments. The differences are more dramatic and in the Moto's favor when comparing against the OnePlus 10 Pro, Xiaomi 12 Pro, or Galaxy S22+.

GeekBench 5 (single-core)

Higher is better

• Realme GT2 Explorer Master
  1336
• Xiaomi 12S Ultra
  1324
• OnePlus 10T (High performance mode)
  1321
• Asus Zenfone 9 (High Performance)
  1313
• Motorola Edge 30 Ultra
  1276
• Realme GT2 Pro
  1238
• Motorola Edge 30 Pro
  1196
• Xiaomi 12 Pro
  1169
• Samsung Galaxy S22+
  1165
• Motorola Edge 30 Fusion
  1073
• OnePlus 10T
  1043
• OnePlus 10 Pro
  975
• Asus Zenfone 9 (Dynamic)
  927

GeekBench 5 (multi-core)

Higher is better

• Asus Zenfone 9 (High Performance)
  4338
• Xiaomi 12S Ultra
  4300
• Motorola Edge 30 Ultra
  4265
• Realme GT2 Explorer Master
  4021
• OnePlus 10T (High performance mode)
  3907
• Xiaomi 12 Pro
  3682
• Motorola Edge 30 Pro
  3658
• Asus Zenfone 9 (Dynamic)
  3606
• Samsung Galaxy S22+
  3528
• Realme GT2 Pro
  3501
• Motorola Edge 30 Fusion
  3458
• OnePlus 10 Pro
  3447
• OnePlus 10T
  3401

The situation is similar in Antutu, though here, the Moto managed to inch ahead of the 'high-performing' OP10T even if a victory over the Zenfone 9 remained elusive. The Xiaomi 12 Pro and the OP10P are once again lower down the chart.

AnTuTu 9

Higher is better

• Asus Zenfone 9 (High Performance)
  1083092
• Motorola Edge 30 Ultra
  1074722
• Realme GT2 Explorer Master
  1045876
• Xiaomi 12S Ultra
  1039412
• OnePlus 10T (High performance mode)
  1016958
• Xiaomi 12 Pro
  985226
• Realme GT2 Pro
  966251
• Motorola Edge 30 Pro
  941895
• Samsung Galaxy S22+
  886916
• OnePlus 10 Pro
  886248
• Motorola Edge 30 Fusion
  827929
• OnePlus 10T
  786238
• Asus Zenfone 9 (Dynamic)
  783425

GFX Aztek ES 3.1 High (onscreen)

Higher is better

• Asus Zenfone 9 (High Performance)
  67
• Motorola Edge 30 Ultra
  65
• OnePlus 10T
  60
• OnePlus 10T (High performance mode)
  60
• Realme GT2 Explorer Master
  59
• Motorola Edge 30 Pro
  59
• Asus Zenfone 9 (Dynamic)
  57
• Samsung Galaxy S22+
  50
• Motorola Edge 30 Fusion
  43
• Xiaomi 12S Ultra
  38
• OnePlus 10 Pro
  37
• Xiaomi 12 Pro
  36
• Realme GT2 Pro
  36

For who knows what reason, the edge 30 Ultra didn't quite meet expectations in GFXBench, however, consistently posting lower scores than similarly equipped models.

GFX Aztek ES 3.1 High (onscreen)

Higher is better

• Asus Zenfone 9 (High Performance)
  67
• Motorola Edge 30 Ultra
  65
• OnePlus 10T
  60
• OnePlus 10T (High performance mode)
  60
• Realme GT2 Explorer Master
  59
• Motorola Edge 30 Pro
  59
• Asus Zenfone 9 (Dynamic)
  57
• Samsung Galaxy S22+
  50
• Motorola Edge 30 Fusion
  43
• Xiaomi 12S Ultra
  38
• OnePlus 10 Pro
  37
• Xiaomi 12 Pro
  36
• Realme GT2 Pro
  36

GFX Aztek ES 3.1 High (offscreen 1440p)

Higher is better

• OnePlus 10T
  46
• OnePlus 10T (High performance mode)
  46
• Asus Zenfone 9 (High Performance)
  46
• Realme GT2 Explorer Master
  46
• Xiaomi 12S Ultra
  46
• Motorola Edge 30 Ultra
  43
• OnePlus 10 Pro
  43
• Realme GT2 Pro
  42
• Xiaomi 12 Pro
  41
• Motorola Edge 30 Pro
  39
• Asus Zenfone 9 (Dynamic)
  33
• Samsung Galaxy S22+
  31
• Motorola Edge 30 Fusion
  26

GFX Aztek Vulkan High (onscreen)

Higher is better

• Asus Zenfone 9 (High Performance)
  69
• Motorola Edge 30 Ultra
  62
• OnePlus 10T
  60
• OnePlus 10T (High performance mode)
  60
• Motorola Edge 30 Pro
  60
• Realme GT2 Explorer Master
  59
• Samsung Galaxy S22+
  51
• Asus Zenfone 9 (Dynamic)
  47
• OnePlus 10 Pro
  41
• Xiaomi 12S Ultra
  39
• Realme GT2 Pro
  39
• Xiaomi 12 Pro
  37
• Motorola Edge 30 Fusion
  35

GFX Aztek Vulkan High (offscreen 1440p)

Higher is better

• Asus Zenfone 9 (High Performance)
  52
• OnePlus 10T
  51
• OnePlus 10T (High performance mode)
  51
• Xiaomi 12S Ultra
  51
• Realme GT2 Explorer Master
  50
• OnePlus 10 Pro
  48
• Realme GT2 Pro
  46
• Motorola Edge 30 Pro
  45
• Xiaomi 12 Pro
  45
• Motorola Edge 30 Ultra
  43
• Asus Zenfone 9 (Dynamic)
  36
• Samsung Galaxy S22+
  34
• Motorola Edge 30 Fusion
  23

Things returned to normal in 3DMark, with the Moto again placing high on the chart.

3DMark Wild Life Vulkan 1.1 (offscreen 1440p)

Higher is better

• Xiaomi 12S Ultra
  10533
• Asus Zenfone 9 (High Performance)
  10469
• Motorola Edge 30 Ultra
  10248
• Asus Zenfone 9 (Dynamic)
  10178
• Xiaomi 12 Pro
  9664
• OnePlus 10 Pro
  9610
• Realme GT2 Pro
  9487
• Motorola Edge 30 Pro
  9406
• Samsung Galaxy S22+
  7405
• Motorola Edge 30 Fusion
  5797

The Edge 30 Ultra didn't prove too stable under sustained load. In the CPU throttling test, it took just around three minutes to drop from its maximum performance to around 80% of it, and around 12min into the test, it settled at about 65%, where it stayed for the remainder of the one-hour test. Admittedly, the Moto's initial result was unusually high, hence the percentage drop looks very steep, but the average and the lowest scores are about the same as what we got on the OnePlus 10T, for example.

The OP kept its composure a lot better in the 3DMark stress test, where the Edge 30 Ultra plummeted all the way down to 44% of its initial score. Then again, the OnePlus doesn't really allow high refresh/frame rates in gaming, so what good is all that stability.

CPU throttling test • 3DMark Wild life stress test