Motorola crams its midrange phone chock-full of flagship highlights like wireless charging and IP68 water resistance
(Image credit: Motorola)
Motorola’s been pumping phones out lately, with a collection of budget G-series options, and higher-end handsets – most recently, the Edge 40 Pro and Edge Plus (2023) – but the new Edge 40 sits somewhere in the middle at £529 / roughly $665.
In a nutshell, the Edge 40 is like any midrange mix – it has some high-end bits, a few compromises, and a lower price tag than alternatives like the Motorola Edge 40 Pro and Edge 30 Ultra.
Getting into specifics, the Edge 40 has a seriously smooth 144Hz screen, which outclasses much pricier 120Hz competition like the iPhone 14 Pro and Galaxy S23 Ultra when it comes to smoothness.
(Image credit: Motorola)
The phone also has a super-sleek design, measuring just 7.45mm thin, and is available in a fancy vegan leather finish that actually covers the camera frame. If you want color options, Motorola delivers with either Black or Green in vegan leather, or for fans of traditional glass backs, a soft Blue option.
Powered by a MediaTek Dimensity 8020 processor, the Edge 40 might not pack MediaTek’s top-tier, Vivo X90 Pro Dimensity 9200 power, but for the price, it should perform like a champion.
Matched with an ample 128GB or 256GB storage, the phone also packs plenty of space for files, photos, movies, and more.
Motorola also offers its stock take on Android with at least three years of operating system updates, and four years of security updates, so future-proofing is on-point too.
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(Image credit: Motorola)
The phone’s even IP68 water-resistant, which you seldom seen at the price, and its 4400mAh battery powers up at 68W, and ships with a fast charger in the box. According to Moto, that means 15 minutes powers the Edge 40 by 50% which wipes the floor with Samsung and Apple’s nippiest charging speeds.
So, it’s pretty clear Motorola means business with its latest Edge despite its price – but how’s its camera looking? Wide open, thanks to that f/1.4 aperture lens on the main 50MP camera sensor.
There’s also a 13MP ultra-wide camera which doubles up as a macro option for close-up photography, and a 32MP selfie camera too.
(Image credit: Motorola)
While it’s just been announced for the UK thus far, it isn’t beyond reason to expect the Motorola Edge 40 to get a US launch in the coming months under a different name given that’s what Moto did with the Edge 40 Pro. Either way – folks in the UK should be happy – while this midranger will unlikely be the best camera phone of 2023, it could well be one of the best options at its price.
Basil Kronfli is a freelance technology journalist, consultant, and content creator. He trained in graphic design and started his career at Canon Europe before moving into journalism. Basil is also experienced in video production, independently running the YouTube channel TechEdit, and during his time at Future, he worked alongside the Digital Camera World team as a senior video producer.
