The last time Motorola introduced a flagship smartphone was in July 2017 with the Moto Z2 Force. But today, Moto is back. The Lenovo-owned firm is reentering the flagship smartphone space with the Edge and the Edge+. Motorola had committed to using the Snapdragon 765 and 865 in its handsets this year, and that"s what these two phones have, respectively.
The Edge+ is the true flagship of the bunch, and unfortunately, this one is exclusive to Verizon. But carrier exclusivity aside, the company really tried to push the boundaries to make a unique device that stands out from the pack. Motorola says that the Edge+ has the largest battery of any smartphone, the fastest 5G, and it has the highest resolution camera.
The Motorola Edge+ was built from the ground up for 5G. It supports both mmWave and sub6 on Verizon"s network for up to 4Gbps data speeds, using Qualcomm"s Snapdragon X55 modem. Note that the Motorola Edge, which is going to be sold unlocked, is sub6 only.
Both devices have a 6.7-inch 21:9 90Hz OLED display. It supports 10-bit color, for over a billion shades of colors, and it supports HDR10+. While the sides are curved, Motorola says that it put a lot of work into grip and touch detection, so the form factor won"t result in problems with usage.
There are also new software features, all of which live in the Moto app, as Motorola wants to stick to its tradition of offering a near-stock Android experience. Edge Touch is one of those new features, and it allows you to use the curved edges for navigation. Another feature is Edge Lights, which is pretty self-explanatory.
For the camera, the main sensor on the Edge+ is 108MP (f/1.8), using quad pixel binning for 27MP photos. It also has an eight-megapixel 3x zoom lens and a 16-megapixel ultra-wide sensor. The size of the main sensor is 1/1.33", making it one of the biggest smartphone camera sensors around.
For the regular Edge, the main sensor is 64 megapixels (f/1.8) with a 1/1.72" sensor size, and then there"s an eight-megapixel 2x zoom lens and a 16-megapixel ultra-wide sensor. Unfortunately, neither smartphone is promising 4K 60fps video capture, although the Edge+ is offering 6K 30fps recording.
The Motorola Edge+ also packs 256GB of UFS 3.0 storage with Turbo Write, 12GB RAM, and a 5,000mAh battery that supports 18W wired charging, 15W wireless charging, and 5W power sharing. For the Edge, there"s 128GB of storage, just 4GB RAM, and a 4,500mAh battery that only supports 18W wired charging.
One other thing that Motorola focused on is audio quality. Yes, both of these devices actually have a 3.5mm audio jack, something that"s hard to find on a premium smartphone these days, unless you buy from LG. But the company is also promising the loudest speakers, using Waves MaxxAudio for the best quality.
The Motorola Edge+ will be available on Verizon starting on May 14 for $999.99, or $41.66 a month for 24 months. If you"re opening a new line, you can save up to $550 with a trade-in, and you"ll get a $150 Verizon e-gift card if you"re switching from another carrier. In Canada, the Edge+ is coming to Bell, Rogers, TELUS, and Freedom Mobile. Finally, the Edge will be available later this year, and more information will be available this summer.