Motorola Edge 40 review

Familiar Moto-modded stock-ish look

The Edge 40 doesn't stray from Motorola's usual path when it comes to software. You're getting a nearly AOSP-looking version of Android (13, in this case), augmented by a handful of proprietary features. Unfortunately, the Edge 40 is only promised to get 2 OS upgrades over the course of its software support, even though it will get security updates all the way to January 2028 (a little under 5 years).

Regardless of what the future holds for the Edge 40 support, we still believe that the clean appearance is a selling factor generally applicable to all Moto devices, while the added functionality helps widen the appeal for even more users.

One thing that readily sets apart AOSP (or Pixel) versions of Android, and in turn Motorola's, from essentially all manufacturers' overlays is the Quick Settings and notification shade. That means big and bubbly buttons, of which you only get four on the first pull, up to 8 on the second, and a full-screen notification shade.

Widgets are another thing some makers like to take their own path, but Motorola sticks with Android's interface, introduced with v.12 and carried over for another OS version. The widget picker offers responsive previews for differently-sized widgets. The 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

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

Personalization

As is usually the case, Motorola has added a handful of useful extras. They are all placed in a Moto settings app that lists them in categories. The Moto app itself has a new fresh look this year.

Moto app

The first category is personalization - that's where the OS-native auto-theming is housed on Moto phones. 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.

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 split-screen multitasking. You can also double-tap the back of the phone to do a custom action.

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.

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. Here, you'll find the Gametime utility, which offers the usual functionality of 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

With recent versions, Google has been investing heavily in the privacy and security aspects of Android. This includes things like the Privacy dashboard, which offers a unified view of what permission is being used by what 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.

Secure folder is pretty self-explanatory. It is a vault to keep your sensitive apps and files. There are a few interesting network protection options on board, like the ability to block certain apps from accessing the network while you are connected to an unsecured Wi-Fi hotspot.

Other interesting security features include the ability to lock your network and security settings for as long as your screen is locked. Also, the ability to scramble your pin input interface for higher security. You can access all of these security and privacy settings through a separate Moto Secure app shortcut as well.

Security and privacy

Motorola's 'Ready For' platform (now more often styled with capitalized words, though not with any significant consistency), introduced in 2021 and available on high-end Motos like this one, 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.

Performance and benchmarks

The Edge 40 has the Mediatek Dimensity 8020 chipset inside. On paper, the SoC looks like sort of a rebadged Dimensity 1100 and that one never got too popular - we've only reviewed a single device with it, the Poco X3 GT. Made on a 6nm process, the D8020 features an octa-core CPU with a 'classic' 2x4 configuration (4x2.6 GHz Cortex-A78 & 4x2.0 GHz Cortex-A55) and a Mali-G77 MC9 GPU.

We know of two memory configurations for the Edge 40 - 128GB and 256GB (as reviewed), each featuring 8GB of RAM.

The Edge 40 put up a solid performance in GeekBench, posting notably higher results than that Poco X3 GT we mentioned - so there must be something else beyond the cores and clock rates that differentiates the CPUs of the D8020 and D1100.

While the Pixel 7 and 7a have an advantage over the Moto under single-core load (thanks to the beefier prime cores), the Edge 40 actually wins the multi-core comparison. Naturally, the Edge 40 is not on the same level as SD 8 Gen 2 devices, like its Pro stablemate. Conversely, SD695 handsets can't match the Moto's performance, particularly under multi-threaded loads, where even the SD778 struggles to keep up.

GeekBench 5 (single-core)

Higher is better

• Motorola Edge 40 Pro
  1482
• Motorola Edge 30 Fusion
  1073
• Google Pixel 7
  1051
• Google Pixel 7a
  1051
• Realme 10 Pro+
  842
• Nothing Phone (1)
  820
• Motorola Edge 40
  799
• Xiaomi 13 Lite
  795
• Poco X5 Pro
  781
• Galaxy A54
  770
• Redmi Note 12 Pro+
  767
• Poco X3 GT
  693
• Moto G82
  671
• Sony Xperia 10 V
  667

GeekBench 5 (multi-core)

Higher is better

• Motorola Edge 40 Pro
  4896
• Motorola Edge 30 Fusion
  3458
• Motorola Edge 40
  3320
• Google Pixel 7
  3288
• Google Pixel 7a
  3191
• Nothing Phone (1)
  3024
• Xiaomi 13 Lite
  2936
• Poco X5 Pro
  2930
• Galaxy A54
  2703
• Realme 10 Pro+
  2371
• Poco X3 GT
  2310
• Redmi Note 12 Pro+
  2208
• Moto G82
  1977
• Sony Xperia 10 V
  1897

In Antutu, the Pixels do manage to stay ahead of the Moto, though the Edge 40 does maintain a lead over the Poco X3 GT. 7-series Snapdragons also can't quite keep up with the D8020's pace here.

AnTuTu 9

Higher is better

• Motorola Edge 40 Pro
  1273764
• Motorola Edge 30 Fusion
  827929
• Google Pixel 7
  813114
• Google Pixel 7a
  765281
• Motorola Edge 40
  688347
• Nothing Phone (1)
  592789
• Poco X3 GT
  578505
• Xiaomi 13 Lite
  534143
• Poco X5 Pro
  531398
• Realme 10 Pro+
  522376
• Galaxy A54
  506678
• Redmi Note 12 Pro+
  498710
• Moto G82
  380812
• Sony Xperia 10 V
  357142

In graphics benchmarks, the Pixels maintain an edge over the Edge 40, and SD 8 Gen 2 devices are in a league of their own (though they are pricier, obviously). The Moto does inch ahead of the sort of similarly equipped Poco X3 GT on a regular basis, and it's also notably more powerful than the rest of the midrange competition.

GFX Aztek ES 3.1 High (onscreen)

Higher is better

• Motorola Edge 40 Pro
  86
• Google Pixel 7a
  50
• Google Pixel 7
  49
• Motorola Edge 30 Fusion
  43
• Motorola Edge 40
  33
• Poco X3 GT
  29
• Nothing Phone (1)
  23
• Xiaomi 13 Lite
  23
• Galaxy A54
  19
• Realme 10 Pro+
  16
• Redmi Note 12 Pro+
  16
• Moto G82
  12
• Sony Xperia 10 V
  11

GFX Aztek ES 3.1 High (offscreen 1440p)

Higher is better

• Motorola Edge 40 Pro
  60
• Google Pixel 7a
  32
• Google Pixel 7
  31
• Motorola Edge 30 Fusion
  26
• Motorola Edge 40
  21
• Poco X3 GT
  20
• Nothing Phone (1)
  15
• Xiaomi 13 Lite
  15
• Galaxy A54
  13
• Realme 10 Pro+
  11
• Redmi Note 12 Pro+
  11
• Moto G82
  7.9
• Sony Xperia 10 V
  7.8

GFX Aztek Vulkan High (onscreen)

Higher is better

• Motorola Edge 40 Pro
  98
• Google Pixel 7a
  49
• Google Pixel 7
  46
• Motorola Edge 30 Fusion
  35
• Motorola Edge 40
  31
• Poco X3 GT
  28
• Nothing Phone (1)
  23
• Xiaomi 13 Lite
  23
• Galaxy A54
  19
• Realme 10 Pro+
  15
• Redmi Note 12 Pro+
  15
• Moto G82
  13
• Sony Xperia 10 V
  11

GFX Aztek Vulkan High (offscreen 1440p)

Higher is better

• Motorola Edge 40 Pro
  68
• Google Pixel 7a
  33
• Google Pixel 7
  31
• Motorola Edge 30 Fusion
  23
• Motorola Edge 40
  20
• Poco X3 GT
  19
• Xiaomi 13 Lite
  17
• Nothing Phone (1)
  16
• Galaxy A54
  13
• Realme 10 Pro+
  10
• Redmi Note 12 Pro+
  10
• Moto G82
  8.2
• Sony Xperia 10 V
  8.1

GFX Car Chase ES 3.1 (onscreen)

Higher is better

• Motorola Edge 40 Pro
  112
• Google Pixel 7a
  62
• Motorola Edge 30 Fusion
  62
• Google Pixel 7
  59
• Motorola Edge 40
  43
• Poco X3 GT
  38
• Nothing Phone (1)
  33
• Xiaomi 13 Lite
  33
• Poco X5 Pro
  28
• Galaxy A54
  25
• Redmi Note 12 Pro+
  22
• Realme 10 Pro+
  21
• Moto G82
  16
• Sony Xperia 10 V
  16

GFX Car Chase ES 3.1 (offscreen 1080p)

Higher is better

• Motorola Edge 40 Pro
  127
• Google Pixel 7
  66
• Google Pixel 7a
  64
• Motorola Edge 30 Fusion
  63
• Motorola Edge 40
  50
• Poco X3 GT
  44
• Xiaomi 13 Lite
  39
• Nothing Phone (1)
  37
• Galaxy A54
  31
• Realme 10 Pro+
  27
• Redmi Note 12 Pro+
  26
• Moto G82
  21
• Sony Xperia 10 V
  19

3DMark Wild Life Vulkan 1.1 (offscreen 1440p)

Higher is better

• Motorola Edge 40 Pro
  12230
• Google Pixel 7a
  6646
• Google Pixel 7
  6569
• Motorola Edge 30 Fusion
  5797
• Motorola Edge 40
  4476
• Poco X3 GT
  3991
• Xiaomi 13 Lite
  2969
• Nothing Phone (1)
  2921
• Galaxy A54
  2818
• Realme 10 Pro+
  2252
• Redmi Note 12 Pro+
  2248
• Moto G82
  1211
• Sony Xperia 10 V
  1205

3DMark Wild Life Extreme (offscreen 1440p)

Higher is better

• Motorola Edge 40 Pro
  3660
• Google Pixel 7a
  1859
• Google Pixel 7
  1848
• Motorola Edge 40
  1261
• Xiaomi 13 Lite
  828
• Galaxy A54
  808
• Redmi Note 12 Pro+
  630
• Realme 10 Pro+
  622
• Sony Xperia 10 V
  358

Sustained performance on the Edge 40 is not too shabby either. We recorded a very modest and gradual rampdown in the one-hour CPU throttling test we run, and essentially rock-solid stability in the 3D Mark stress tests.

CPU throttling test • 3DMark Wild Life stress test