Motorola Edge and Edge+ represent Moto’s return to flagship smartphones

For a while now, Motorola has been out of the “flagship” smartphone game. The company, under Lenovo’s control, has focused on mid-range and low-end devices. This has served them well, but Motorola is now getting back into the flagship market with the Motorola Edge and Edge+. We’ve been following these devices closely and now they are finally official.

	Motorola Edge+	Motorola Edge
Display	6.7-inch OLED curved “waterfall” display Left-sided single hole-punch 2340×1080 (19.5:9) 90Hz refresh rate HDR10+	6.7-inch OLED curved “waterfall” display Left-sided single hole-punch 2340×1080 (19.5:9) 90Hz refresh rate
SoC	Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 Adreno 650 GPU	Qualcomm Snapdragon 765 Adreno 620 GPU
RAM	12GB LPDDR5	4GB
Storage	256GB UFS 3.0	128GB (expandable via microSD card slot)
Rear Cameras	108MP, f/1.8, OIS 16MP ultra-wide & Macro Vision camera, f/2.2, 117° FOV 8MP telephoto, f/2.4, 3x optical zoom, OIS	64MP, f/1.8 16MP ultra-wide & Macro vision, f/2.2, 117° FOV 8MP telephoto, f/2.4, 2x optical zoom
Front Cameras	25MP, f/2.0	25MP, f/2.0
Battery & Charging	5000mAh 18W wired charging 15W wireless charging 5W wireless power sharing	4500mAh 18W wired charging No wireless charging
5G	mmWave, Sub-6GHz	Sub-6Hz
Connectivity	NFC, Bluetooth 5.1	NFC, Bluetooth 5.1
Audio	Dual Stereo speakers	Dual Stereo speakers
Ports	3.5mm headphone jack, USB Type-C	3.5mm headphone jack, USB Type-C
Security	Under-display fingerprint scanner	Under-display fingerprint scanner
OS	Android 10	Android 10
Colors	Smoky Sangria, Thunder Grey	Solar Black, Midnight Magenta

Motorola Edge+

The Motorola Edge+ is the “true” flagship of the duo since. It has the top-of-the-line Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 SoC, 12GB of RAM, and 256GB of storage. On the power front, it has a 5,000mAh battery and several high-end charging features such as “TurboPower” wireless charging and wireless power-sharing.

Power aside (by both definitions), the Motorola Edge+ isn’t drastically different from the Edge. It has the same screen size (6.7-inches) and the same “waterfall” curvature. The display is OLED, has a hole-punch, Full HD+ resolution, and a 90Hz refresh rate. The Edge+ display is also HDR10+ certified.

The “Endless Edge” waterfall display is obviously the most noteworthy design feature of the Motorola Edge series. While some people love the futuristic look of waterfall displays, others despise them for their usability issues. The good thing about Motorola’s implementation is the devices still have physical power and volume buttons, unlike some other waterfall phones. Still, the display curve is extreme, and you’ll have to decide if that’s something you can live with.

To compete with other flagship phones you need to have great cameras. The Motorola Edge+ is packing three rear cameras and one up front. The main camera is 108MP and it uses pixel binning to create 27MP images. The second camera is a 16MP wide-angle with 117-degree field-of-view and it also is capable of macro shots. The third camera is an 8MP telephoto lens. Lastly, the front camera is 25MP.

Oh, and one last thing, which is a rarity these days: the Motorola Edge+, a flagship phone, has a headphone jack. Crazy.

Motorola Edge

The Motorola Edge, as you can tell from the images, has a lot in common with the Edge+. The device is equipped with the same “Endless Edge” OLED display: same size, same resolution, same hole punch, and same refresh rate. Both devices also feature an under-display fingerprint scanner. The one display feature not present on the Edge model is HDR10+ certification.

Design and display is where the similarities mostly end. The Motorola Edge has the Snapdragon 765 SoC, 4GB of RAM, and 128GB of storage. It also has a slightly smaller battery at 4,500mAh and it does not have wireless charging. The differences continue in the camera department.

While the Motorola Edge appears to have more cameras, it actually has the same number (3). The main camera is 64MP and it uses pixel binning to output at 16MP. The second camera is 16MP wide-angle and the third is 8MP telephoto. The wide-angle camera is exactly the same as the one on the Edge+. The fourth spot in the vertical camera stack is for the laser auto-focus. On the front, the Edge has the same 25MP camera.

Pricing & Availability

In a move that won’t be surprising to many people, the Motorola Edge+ will be available exclusively through Verizon in the US starting May 14th. Motorola has done this with Verizon countless times in the past, including the recent Razr reboot, and it’s unfortunate. It’s priced at $1,000 without a contract or $41.66 per month for 24 months. In Canada, the Edge+ will be available at Bell, Rogers, TELUS, and Freedom Mobile. The device comes in two colors: Smoky Sangria and Thunder Grey.

Meanwhile, the Motorola Edge doesn’t have a concrete launch date. Motorola says it will be available in the US “later this year” and they will have more information this summer. We don’t know anything about the price, but since it’s not using the Snapdragon 865, we can assume it will be considerably cheaper.

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