Motorola ThinkPhone review

Introduction

Seeing a new face on the market is always refreshing. Or, in this particular case, a few very old familiar ones branching out into the smartphone realm. The legendary ThinkPad laptop brand traces its roots back to IBM and the 1990s. It was later acquired as part of IBM's personal computer business by Lenovo in 2005. The other major name involved in the creation of the ThinkPhone is Motorola Mobility - another legendary company that changed hands to Google ownership in 2011 and then joined Lenovo's ranks in 2014. This, of course, is an oversimplification of the timeline and the depth of the various acquisition events, but the Motorola ThinkPhone is definitely one of the end products of this storied history.

So what we have in our hands here is a unique, up to this point, product introduced by Lenovo and imbued with the traditional ThinkPad aesthetics and some features and created by Motorola for the actual phone guts and the Android OS.

Motorola ThinkPhone specs at a glance:

• Body: 158.8x74.4x8.3mm, 189g; Glass front (Gorilla Glass Victus), aramid fibre back, aluminum frame; IP68 dust/water resistant (up to 1.5m for 30 min), Drop-to-concrete resistance from up to 1.3m, MIL-STD-810H compliant.
• Display: 6.60" P-OLED, 1B colors, 144Hz, HDR10+, 1080x2400px resolution, 20:9 aspect ratio, 399ppi.
• 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 8GB RAM, 256GB 12GB RAM, 512GB 12GB RAM; UFS 3.1.
• OS/Software: Android 13.
• Rear camera: Wide (main): 50 MP, f/1.8, 1/1.5", 1.0µm, multi-directional PDAF, OIS; Ultra wide angle: 13 MP, f/2.2, 120-degree, 1.12µm, AF; Depth: 2 MP, f/2.4.
• Front camera: Wide (main): 32 MP, f/2.5, 0.7µm - ROW model; Wide (main): 16 MP, f/2.0, 1.0µm - PRC model.
• Video capture: Rear camera: 8K@30fps, 4K@30/60fps, 4K@30fps HDR10, 1080p@30/60/120/240/960fps, gyro-EIS; Front camera: 4K@30fps, 1080p@30/60fps.
• Battery: 5000mAh; 68W wired, 15W wireless.
• Misc: Fingerprint reader (under display, optical); NFC; stereo speakers.

Neither company pulled any punches here. The design of the ThinkPhone is very reminiscent of the iconic ThinkPad look. The materials, the surfaces and, the colorway, even the slightly boxier design of the middle frame are all noticeable nods to the design. Plus, the durability aspect ThinkPads are known for has carried over to the ThinkPhone, with a MIL-STD-810H and IP68 ingress protection rating and Gorilla Glass Victus.

As for Motorola's part, the ThinkPhone is rocking flagship hardware like a 6.6-inch, 144Hz, 10-bit, HDR10+, P-OLED display, stereo speakers, a large 5,000 MAh battery with 68W wires and 15W wireless charging. Clearly, the ThinkPhone has been in development for some time, as evidenced by its slightly older but still very powerful Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 chipset. Its camera setup leaves a bit to be desired, like a dedicated telephoto. Still, it looks pretty potent on paper with a 50MP main snapper and a 13MP ultrawide.

Before we dive deeper into the Motorola ThinkPhone, let's take a look at its retail box.

Unboxing

The ThinkPhone comes in a box made entirely of recyclable cardboard. It looks the part, too, with Motorola opting for a natural brown-ish color and soy ink printing. The two-piece box itself is still very sturdy, though. The phone itself has a little cardboard cradle, and so does the charger. There is plenty of protection to survive shipping, all while being ecological.

Our review unit came with what we consider a decent accessory set by modern standards. Namely - a 68W PD "TurboPower" charger and a USB Type-C to Type-C cable are included in the box. As per the press material, certain markets will also be getting a USB Type-C headset, a protective case and a protective film for the display in the box or a subset of these. You need to check with your local retailer for more info.