[ad_1]
Motorola, a company best known for its budget and mid-range phones, took a big step forward in the premium phone market and launched the Motorola Edge and Edge Plus. Both phones join the Motorola Razr as high-end deals from the Chicago-based company. While the Razr was criticized for its advanced technology, the Edge and Edge Plus are packed with cutting-edge specs that rival Samsung, OnePlus, and Apple. It’s like Motorola is going to the spec grocery store and emptying the shelves.
The $ 1,000 Motorola Edge Plus is priced the same as the Samsung Galaxy S20, the same size screen as the Galaxy S20 Plus and the same 5,000 mAh battery and the 108 megapixel camera as the Galaxy S20 Ultra. (The Edge Plus is not currently available in the UK and Australia, but as a guide, the Galaxy S20 starts at £ 799 and AU $ 1,349 in those countries. The Edge will cost £ 549 in the UK.)
The Edge is understood as a slightly reduced and less expensive option. Motorola hasn’t announced the price, but the cheapest phone will launch sometime this summer. Motorola is taking a similar approach for both phones as OnePlus did with its 8 and 8 Pro ($ 999 on OnePlus), although both Edge phones use the same size screen.
Motorola Edge Plus has 5G
We have seen many 5G phones released this year, and the Edge was designed from the start to work with 5G. The Motorola Edge Plus supports sub-6 and millimeter waves of up to 5 gigabits per second. Motorola claims that its optimizations will result in “the fastest” 5G. We will have to prove those claims.
The Motorola Edge Plus was built from the ground up to be a 5G phone.
Sarah Tew / CNET
Edge Plus has a 108 megapixel rear camera
There are three rear cameras on the Motorola Edge Plus. The main camera has a 108-megapixel sensor that combines groups of four pixels to produce a 27-megapixel image. Motorola says the sensor is almost three times larger than the 12-megapixel sensors used in other phones, which could help improve brightness and reduce image noise.
I am excited to try the Edge Plus camera system in more depth. But the few photos I took looked good on the Edge Plus screen.
Edge Plus can record 6K videos with 20 megapixel photo captures during recording. Even though Edge Plus has a Snapdragon 865 processor, which is capable of recording 8K, Motorola thought that 6K is better paired with the main camera sensor.
There are three rear cameras: a main wide-angle camera, a telephoto camera, and a wide-angle camera.
Sarah Tew / CNET
There’s also a video portrait mode, a special long-exposure mode with a shutter speed of up to 32 seconds and night vision that stacks eight photos and combines them into a single shot that is brighter, sharper and more detailed.
And then, up front, housed on the piercing screen, there’s a 25-megapixel selfie camera.
Motorola Edge Plus has a 90Hz waterfall display
The name Edge refers to the 6.7-inch “endless edge” screen that wraps around the sides of the phone. While it is not the first phone to have a waterfall display, it is absolutely stunning in person. The border can illuminate different colors to show the battery charge, alarms and notifications. There is also a neat widget that you can access for shortcuts. Motorola’s built-in grip and touch suppression to minimize any accidental touch on the screen.
The screen wraps around the edges and has a small hole for the 25-megapixel front camera to pass through.
Sarah Tew / CNET
If the borders are too much, you can go to Settings and select which apps use the borders and which don’t. When the edges are off, they turn black and the screen looks like a normal normal screen. During my time with the phone, I didn’t see an “all-or-nothing” switch to turn the edge on and off.
The borders are used well in the new Moto Gametime mode. You can configure them as side buttons or change the position of the buttons on the screen so that they are in a better place for the game.
I’m not sure how useful the Edge display will be in everyday use. Obviously reminiscent of Samsung Galaxy phones and their edge displays. But gaming functionality pushes it towards gaming phones like Asus ROG Phone 2 and Black Shark 2 Pro but without the shiny logo.
Speaking of gaming phones, the Edge’s 21: 9 ratio display has a variable 90Hz refresh rate that makes animations look smoother, text and images sharper, and can make games (especially high frame rate games) are more immersive. You can also choose to override the variable setting and lock it at 60Hz or 90Hz.
The 90Hz display is impressive and automatically adjusts its refresh rate based on the content on the screen.
Sarah Tew / CNET
Motorola Edge Plus vs. Motorola Edge
In many ways, the Motorola Edge is basically the same phone with the same screen as the Edge Plus, but made with a slimmer body. It has Sub-6 5G support but not the fastest 5G millimeter wave flavor. Instead of a Snapdragon 865 found on the Edge Plus, it has a Snapdragon 765 processor. Instead of a 5,000 mAh battery, it has a 4,500 mAh battery. Instead of a 108-megapixel main camera, it has a 64-megapixel main camera.
The biggest difference is the price. We still don’t know exactly what it will be, but we have to assume that if the Motorola Edge Plus costs $ 999, the Motorola Edge will be cheaper when it launches sometime this summer.
The Motorola Edge is a slightly smaller and more affordable version of the Edge Plus.
Motorola
I must also bear in mind that in the USA. USA Edge Plus is exclusive to Verizon, but Edge will be sold unlocked. We hope to test both phones for a review.
Specifications of Motorola Edge Plus vs. Motorola Edge, OnePlus 8 Pro, Samsung Galaxy S20 Plus, Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra
|
Motorola Edge Plus |
Motorola Edge |
OnePlus 8 Pro |
Samsung Galaxy S20 Plus |
Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Screen size, resolution |
6.7-inch FHD OLED |
6.7-inch FHD OLED |
6.78 inches AMOLED; 1,440×3,168 pixels |
6.7 inches Dynamic AMOLED 2X |
6.9-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X |
|
Pixel Density |
N / A |
N / A |
513ppi |
525ppi |
511ppi |
|
Dimensions (inches) |
6.34×2.81×0.38 in |
6.36×2.8×0.37 in |
6.51×2.93×0.35 in |
2.9×6.37×0.30 in |
2.99×6.57×0.35 in |
|
Dimensions (mm) |
161.1×71.4×9.6 mm |
161.6×71.1×9.29 mm |
165×74.4×8.5 mm |
73.7×161.9×7.8mm |
76.0×166.9×8.8mm |
|
Weight (ounces, grams) |
7.16 oz; 203g |
6.63 oz; 188g |
7.02 oz; 199g |
6.56 oz; 186g |
7.76 oz; 220g |
|
Mobile software |
Android 10 |
Android 10 |
Android 10 |
Android 10 |
Android 10 |
|
Camera |
108 megapixels (standard), 8 megapixels (telephoto), 16 megapixels (macro / ultra wide angle) |
64 megapixels (standard), 8 megapixels (telephoto), 16 megapixels (macro / ultra wide angle) |
48 megapixels (standard), 48 megapixels (ultra wide angle), 8 megapixels (telephoto), 5 megapixels (‘color filter’) |
12 megapixel (wide angle) camera, 64 megapixel (telephoto), 12 megapixel (ultra wide angle), time of flight |
108 megapixel (wide angle), 48 megapixel (telephoto), 12 megapixel (ultra wide angle), time of flight camera |
|
Frontal camera |
25 megapixels |
25 megapixels |
16 megapixels |
10 megapixels |
40 megapixels |
|
Video capture |
6K |
4K |
4K |
8K |
8K |
|
Processor |
Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 |
Qualcomm Snapdragon 765 |
Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 |
64-bit octa-core processor (maximum 2.7GHz + 2.5 GHz + 2.0 GHz) |
64-bit octa-core processor (maximum 2.7GHz + 2.5 GHz + 2.0 GHz) |
|
Storage |
256GB |
128GB |
128GB, 256GB |
128GB, 512GB |
128GB, 512GB |
|
RAM |
12GB |
10GB |
8GB, 12GB |
12GB |
12GB, 16GB |
|
Expandable storage |
Up to 256GB (UFS 3.0) |
Up to 1TB |
No |
Up to 1TB |
Up to 1TB |
|
Drums |
5,000 mAh |
4,500 mAh |
4,510 mAh |
4,500 mAh |
5,000 mAh |
|
Fingerprint sensor |
Onscreen |
Onscreen |
Onscreen |
Onscreen |
Onscreen |
|
Connector |
USB-C |
USB-C |
USB-C |
USB-C |
USB-C |
|
Headphone jack |
yes |
yes |
No |
No |
No |
|
Special features |
5G enabled, 90Hz refresh rate display |
5G enabled, 90Hz refresh rate display |
5G enabled; Deformation load; reverse wireless charging; waterproof (IP68); 120Hz refresh rate |
5G enabled; 120Hz refresh rate; waterproof (IP68) |
5G enabled; 120Hz refresh rate; 100X zoom; waterproof (IP68) |
|
Price without contract (USD) |
$ 999 – Verizon Exclusive |
TBD |
$ 899 (8GB RAM / 128GB), $ 999 (12GB RAM / 256GB) |
$ 1,199, $ 1,349 |
$ 1,399 (128GB), $ 1,599 (512GB) |
