Motorola Edge+ review

Introduction

It's been a while, hasn't it? Since the last Motorola flagship, that is. Was it the Moto Z2 Force from 2017? It certainly wasn't the Moto Z3 with its anachronistic Snapdragon 835, much less the Moto Z4 with a midrange Qualcomm chip. Alright, so some three years later we have the Motorola Edge+ to mark the company's return to the top shelf.

It's a bold return too - with a price tag of €1200, the Edge+ isn't simply expensive, it's Galaxy S20 Ultra expensive. On the other side of the Atlantic, a more reasonable $1000 makes the Verizon-exclusive Edge+ an already much more enticing proposition even before looking at what the new Moto has to offer.

And it's a lot. An Endless Edge display is atop that list - some call it a waterfall display, but the essence is that it spills over the sides of the handset in a way not even Samsungs do. An OLED panel, it supports HDR10+, and has a high-ish refresh rate - 90Hz on this one. A flagship display by the looks of it, though with a 1080p resolution (as opposed to 1440p) and 90Hz refresh rate (with a bunch of 120Hz competitors out there), the Edge bit remains the most premium feature. But you can have that same display on the Moto Edge (non-plus) with a HDR10 (similarly non-plus) certification, at half the price of the Edge+ - hmm.

A bunch of things you can't get on the lesser phone, however. The Edge+ is equipped with a high-end Snapdragon 865 chip (765G on the Edge), packs 256GB of fast UFS 3.0 storage (128GB of UFS 2.1 on the midranger) and with 12GB of RAM it's got 2 to 3 times more of it than the Edge (available in 4GB and 6GB trim levels). Okay, these differences do make a case for the top-dollar (top-euro?) pricing.

There's more too. A 108MP main cam on the Motorola Edge+ puts it in select group of phones that includes just a couple of Xiaomis and that very Galaxy S20 Ultra. Okay, exclusivity mandates a premium, indeed. Meanwhile, the plain Edge makes do with a 64MP primary camera. The 3x zoom telephoto cam of the Edge+ is neither here nor there, with competitors at this price point having 5x periscopes, but it's not a run-of-the-mill 2x module either, so we'll allow it.

Motorola Edge+ at a glance

• Body: 161.1x71.4x9.6mm, 203g; Gorilla Glass 5 front.
• Screen: 6.7" OLED, 1080x2340px resolution, 19.5:9 aspect ratio, 385ppi; 90Hz refresh rate, HDR10+ support.
• Chipset: Snapdragon 865 (7nm+): Octa-core CPU (1x2.84 GHz Kryo 585 & 3x2.42 GHz Kryo 585 & 4x1.8 GHz Kryo 585); Adreno 650 GPU.
• Memory: 12GB LPDDR5 RAM, 256GB built-in UFS 3.0 storage, no microSD slot.
• OS/Software: Android 10.
• Rear camera: Wide (main): 108MP, 1/1.33" sensor, 0.8µm pixel size, 26mm equiv. focal length, f/1.8 aperture, PDAF, OIS. Telephoto: 8MP, 1/4.4", 1.0µm, 81mm, f/2.4, PDAF, OIS. Ultra wide angle: 16MP, 1/3.06", 1.4µm, 13mm, f/2.2, AF. 6K/30, 2160p/30fps video recording.
• Front camera: 25MP, 1/2.9", 0.9µm, f/2.0, fixed focus. 1080p/30fps video recording.
• Battery: 5,000mAh, 18W wired charging support, 15W fast wireless charging, 5W reverse wireless charging.
• Misc: Optical under-display fingerprint reader; NFC; stereo loudspeakers; 3.5mm headphone jack.

A few other differentiators exist between the two Edges, like the flagship's 6K video recording capability and its two-way wireless charging support. The Edge non-plus does have a microSD slot, while the Edge+ doesn't, but 256GB sounds plenty and it's not like all high-end models have the option for expansion, so we won't mention it again.

There's a bit Moto's latest share that is moderately impressive - the headphone jack. While it's hardly news for the mid-tier model, it's a true standout feature for a flagship in 2020. Totally worth the €1200?

Motorola Edge+ unboxing

The Motorola Edge+ arrives in a relatively low-key black cardboard box. There's a bat logo and the phone's name embossed with a shiny effect to add a little pizzazz. Very little.

Inside the box you'll find the phone and below it is a sleeve full of paperwork. Underneath that is the adapter with TurboPower branding but it's not very turbo at just 18W of maximum power output. It's also got a USB Type-A output as opposed to Type-C, so it's on the QuickCharge side of the QC/PD compatibility. Motorola does provide the right cable (USB-A-to-C), of course. A zipper bag (we hadn't seen one in a while) holds a set of in-ear headphones.

In another sleeve that you need to pry out of the box' lid you'll find a silicone protective case for the phone. It has lips on the top and bottom to distance the display from the surface of a table if you're one to leave your phones face down.