Motorola Edge 40 Pro review

Competition

The Motorola Edge 40 Pro's launch price of €900 for a 12GB/256GB version puts it in a sort-of flagship territory. The absolute best on the market do maintain price tags above €1000, so the Moto feels like more of a flagship on a budget, or a flagship killer if that's still a thing.

The most obvious competitor to the Edge 40 Pro we can think of, on account of software similarities, is the Google Pixel 7 Pro. The base 128GB version has an MSRP of €900, but goes for 100 less now, while speccing the Pixel's storage to match the Moto's will have you looking at the same €900 price tag by current going rates. We'd call it a tie for display quality - the Pixel's is higher-res, while the one on Moto has a higher refresh rate. The Edge wins comfortably for battery life and charging speed, it's packing a newer chipset and higher-speed memory, and Moto's software may even be better than the Pixel's - thanks to the added proprietary bits. We'd give the nod to the Pixel as a cameraphone, of course, but the Edges' selfies are arguably better.

It's a similar camera situation against another potential competitor, the OnePlus 11 - the OP is superior overall, but is no match when it comes to selfies. The Moto's display is brighter and has that 165Hz refresh rate, and we'd be inclined to prefer those over the OP's higher resolution. Battery life and charging speed are mostly a toss-up between the two, but the Moto software is the one we'd prefer here.

It gets a bit trickier if you're eyeing the Moto and want to see how it stacks up against Samsungs. The current Galaxy S23+ is a good €200 more expensive, so we'd say it's over budget, but we're looking at deals on the S22+ for €800, and that's more of a sensible price point. The Moto scores a few victories on the fundamentals - battery life, charging speed, chipset performance. Another tie for display quality here, with the Moto having the high refresh rate, the Galaxy being brighter, but neither is a decider. Perhaps the Galaxy would be our overall pick for cameraphone once again.

Moto Edge 40 Pro money also buys you a Xiaomi 13, the non-Pro one. Smaller as it may be, the 13's display is brighter than the Moto, but its refresh rate maxes out at 'only' 120Hz. It's not as quick to charge as the Edge 40 Pro, but lasts about as much on a full battery. Camera performance is hardly going to settle it either. It's a rather different package, physically, the Xiaomi 13, and it's precisely its compactness that may entice you against the full-size Moto, and the MIUI vs. Moto-modded AOSP could also divide people.

Google Pixel 7 Pro • OnePlus 11 • Samsung Galaxy S22+ 5G • Xiaomi 13

Verdict

All things considered, the Edge 40 Pro does a lot right and makes few missteps. If we were to complain about something, it would be daylight photo quality that somehow doesn't live up to the hardware's potential. It's by no means bad (well, portrait mode aside) - it's just not impressive in any way. The other thing we could think to mention as a con is the slippery finish on the back, but that's easily classified as nitpicking.

That slippery finish has Victus underneath, and the high-end glass on both sides coupled with the fine curves all around and a dust- and water-resistant build mean the Edge 40 Pro is as pretty to look at as it is durable (at least in theory). Motorola's boundary-pushing in the display field makes the Edge 40 Pro the only non-gaming phone with a 165Hz refresh rate, and if you're one to enjoy extra smoothness, this one delivers. Battery life and charging speed are among the best in class, and the speakers, if not necessarily the best-sounding, are plenty loud too.

Motorola's software strikes possibly the best balance of looking like Google's own take on Android, while offering proprietary added-value functionality. The promise for long-term support is also most welcome, and the top-tier chipset should help as well.

And while the camera is just okay in daylight, it comes into its own at night, with dependable auto night mode implementation across the board and better-than-most zoomed-in shots. The great selfies can also be a selling point for the right user.

To sum it all up, the Motorola Edge 40 Pro is an all-round very capable package that should be able to satisfy the needs of the vast majority of users, and deserves a recommendation.

Pros

• Premium glass/metal build with attractive curves all around, IP68 rating.
• Super smooth 165Hz display, good adaptive refresh rate handling.
• Excellent battery life, super-fast charging.
• Loud stereo speakers.
• Clean Android interface, updates up to Android 16, additional Moto custom bits, 'Ready For' PC-like capability.
• Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 is as snappy as they come.
• Competent camera setup with standout low-light performance; particularly nice selfies too.

Cons

• Back panel is about as slippery as possible.
• At 2x zoom, the tele camera has a reach that's too short.
• Daylight photo quality from the ultrawide and the telephoto is unimpressive.
• Portrait mode results are disappointing.