To everyone’s surprise, Motorola released its first genuine flagship in years – the Motorola Edge Plus. The phone boasts top specs, a gorgeous display, and a trio of rear cameras. With 5G connectivity on tap as well, the phone tried hard to compete with heavyweights from Samsung, Apple, and OnePlus.
It can connect to both sub-6 and mmWave 5G networks, which should make it even more attractive for customers of multiple carriers. Sadly, though, this is where the phone’s availability undercuts its value. It is only sold through Verizon in the US, with no plans to release an unlocked version, and uncertain global availability.
In the US, the Motorola Edge Plus costs the same as the Galaxy S20. This means it’s more affordable than the Galaxy S20 Plus or Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra; even though it packs the same powerful Snapdragon 865 chipset, 12GB of RAM, and 5G connectivity.
Curious about what goes into creating a powerhouse smartphone? Get a peak #BehindtheScenes, making #MotorolaEdgePlus! #AbsoluteEverything pic.twitter.com/Og4YOhY9tG
— motorola (@Moto) May 13, 2020
Specs
As with other flagship android phones, the Motorola Edge Plus has the Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 processor with 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage. The phone doesn’t support microSD cards (exception: Vanilla Edge), but with 256GB on board, few will miss it.
Motorola Edge Plus’ display is on point; it houses a 6.7-inch OLED panel. Limited to Full HD+ (2,400 x 1,080) resolution, Motorola was still smart to adopt the fast screen trend. It went with a 90Hz panel; which may not reach the 120Hz from phones such as the S20 Ultra, but it matches the Google Pixel 4 XL and OnePlus 8. Motorola even jumped on the curved screen trend, albeit two years too late. The steely curved glass side edges extend the display and include software buttons.
The Motorola Edge Plus also carries a super 5,000mAh battery. This matches most leading flagships, such as the V60, while surpassing others. The phone also supports wireless charging. However, one downside of the battery is its relatively longer charging time; where competing phones are going for 30W-50W wired charging, the Motorola Edge Plus stocks to 18W wired charging. Motorola’s excuse? You won’t have to charge it all that often.
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The phone also has traditional Moto Actions; it’s nice to be able to open the camera app with a quick double wrist-twist and take advantage of the triple rear camera. Especially the whopping 108MP main shooter, although its 16MP ultra- wide camera and 3x telephoto make it quite worthwhile.
The zoom capabilities are on par with those on some other flagships, though not to the length of the best top-tier handsets. This makes it one of the few obvious areas where the Motorola Edge Plus doesn’t quite outperform the best smartphones out there.
Price
The Motorola Edge Plus officially entered the market on the 30th of April (only in the US). It starts at $999 (around £800 / AU$1,550), although in the US it’s only available through Verizon.
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Motorola hasn’t mentioned when the Edge Plus will be available in the UK, Australia, or elsewhere (barring India). There’s just one version of the Motorola Edge Plus, so unlike other flagships there’s no pricier model with more storage or RAM. It comes in two colors: a pinkish Smoky Sangria and a dusky, bluish Thunder Grey.
Takeaway
Unfortunately for Motorola, the pricey Edge Plus is launching into a market where smartphone sales are plummeting – and worse, its limited availability makes it hard to get in the US and elsewhere. Which is a shame. While the Motorola Edge Plus is expensive for a Motorola phone, costing as much as a baseline Samsung Galaxy S20 (in the US at least), it keeps up with its rivals in almost every category – and offers a few unique extras to boot.