Motorola Edge 30 Ultra hands-on review

Introduction

Motorola just pulled the wraps off a trio of new Edge 30 smartphones to join the two from earlier this year. In addition to the vanilla and the Pro, we now get the Neo and Fusion, but also the new king of the hill - Edge 30 Ultra.

As luck would have it, we just got our hands on a review unit, and while it's too early for the full scoop, we do have some initial thoughts to share. Plus, we got to shoot some 200MP samples, so there'll be a handful of those later on as well.

A global version of the already available in China Moto X30 Pro, the Edge 30 Ultra packs some serious hardware. Alongside the 200MP primary camera, there's a 50MP ultrawide shooter with AF and a 12MP 2x telephoto unit - modest, but present nonetheless. A 60MP selfie unit completes the picture on the front.

Motorola likes its displays smoother than the rest, so the Edge 30 Ultra uses a 144Hz OLED panel, and it's a curved one too - the Edge name is particularly fitting then. The latest Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 means the performance department hasn't been neglected either. Another headline feature is the 125W charging capability - we'll wait and see what that actually translates to in real-world charging speed.

Motorola Edge 30 Ultra specs at a glance:

• Body: 161.7x73.5x8.4mm, 199g; glass front, glass back, IP52 rating.
• Display: 6.67" OLED, 1B colors, 144Hz, HDR10+, 1200 nits (peak), 1080x2400px resolution, 20:9 aspect ratio, 393ppi.
• Chipset: Qualcomm SM8475 Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 (4 nm): Octa-core (1x3.19 GHz Cortex-X2 & 3x2.75 GHz Cortex-A710 & 4x1.80 GHz Cortex-A510); Adreno 730.
• Memory: 128GB 8GB RAM, 256GB 12GB RAM, 512GB 12GB RAM; UFS 3.1.
• OS/Software: Android 12.
• Rear camera: Wide (main): 200 MP, f/1.9, 1/1.22", 0.64µm, PDAF, OIS; Ultra wide angle: 50 MP, f/2.2, 117˚, 1/2.76", 0.64µm, AF; Telephoto: 12 MP, f/1.6, 1/2.93", 1.22µm, PDAF, 2x optical zoom.
• Front camera: 60 MP, f/2.2, (wide), 0.64µm.
• Video capture: Rear camera: 8K@30fps, 4K@30/60fps, 1080p@30/60/120/240fps, gyro-EIS; Front camera: 4K@30fps, 1080p@30fps.
• Battery: 4610mAh; Fast charging 125W, Fast wireless charging 50W.
• Misc: Fingerprint reader (under display, optical); NFC; stereo speakers; Ready For support.

Motorola Edge 30 Ultra unboxing

The Edge 30 Ultra ships in Motorola's newly adopted packaging that's entirely plastic-free. The sturdy two-piece recycled cardboard box works just as well as a fancier enclosure but comes with lower carbon footprint.

The contents of our retail bundle include a 125W TurboPower adapter, a USB-C cable, and a clear protective case. The phone itself has a pre-applied screen protector too. Both are included in select countries though, so don't be too surprised if your Edge 30 Ultra ships without one or both of them. Similarly, some countries will get a USB-C headset - missing in our box.