Motorola Edge 30 Ultra review

Motorola’s dominant days are lengthy since over in the case of smartphones, however the firm has been constructing again with a sequence of quietly glorious telephones during the last yr or two. 

For essentially the most half these have been restricted to the mid-range or cheaper premium telephones, however the Edge 30 Extremely is a real blue Android flagship, with digital camera specs, charging speeds, and efficiency to rival the perfect. 

I approached the Edge 30 Extremely with a contact of scepticism – Motorola telephones don’t actually really feel very thrilling, in any case, and flagships often want a little bit anticipation to them to thrill – however that is simply the most effective telephones I’ve used all yr, and a very good Android possibility. 

Design and sturdiness 

• Modern and easy 
• Impressively slim 
• No IP ranking for water-resistance 

The Edge 30 Extremely impresses from the outset because of a smooth design that’s not fairly hanging, however is enticing sufficient in its simplicity. 

Right here within the UK the telephone is simply obtainable in black, although a white mannequin is offered elsewhere. Both approach this can be a monochrome expertise that’s a far cry from the snazzy flagships of different manufacturers. Even the digital camera module feels compact and restrained by 2022 requirements. 

Dominic Preston / Foundry

The marginally textured rear glass on my black mannequin has a form of satin sheen and a slight sparkle to it that I like however don’t love, although I do want it wasn’t interrupted by two separate Motorola logos. 

With a 6.67in show it is a pretty big telephone, although Motorola has accomplished properly at mitigating this. Each the show and physique are curved across the edges to maintain the telephone comfy to carry, whereas the thickness of 8.4mm and weight slightly below 200g make this one of many slimmer and lighter Android flagships on the market.  

The large downside right here is absolutely to sturdiness. Either side of the telephone are coated with Corning Gorilla Glass, nevertheless it’s the older and fewer robust Gorilla Glass 5 – not the newer Victus normal. Worse nonetheless, its IP ranking is a lowly IP52, which suggests it’s not totally protected in opposition to mud or water. It is going to be in a position to take rain drops, however in case you drop it within the pool this telephone most likely received’t survive.  

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That is maybe the largest concession Motorola has made to maintain its pricing down, and one of many main causes somebody would possibly hesitate to select the Edge 30 Extremely over different rivals. However in case you don’t thoughts a barely extra fragile telephone (you’ll use a case anyway … proper?) then there won’t be a lot in it. 

Display screen and audio system 

• OTT 144Hz refresh price
• Brilliant OLED panel 
• Barely tinny stereo audio system 

The show is likely one of the Extremely’s headline specs, as a result of Motorola has packed in an OLED panel with a lightning quick 144Hz refresh price. 

That’s not completely unparalleled, however to this point refresh charges above 120Hz have been restricted to gaming telephones, the place the advantages to border charges are arguably best. A display this quick is an oddity in a extra typical flagship, and whereas it’s definitely not unwelcome I do marvel how a lot it can actually add to the expertise for the typical consumer – the distinction versus a 120Hz display is extremely onerous to identify. 

Dominic Preston / Foundry

See also  OnePlus 12 review

It’s an important panel in any other case in any case, with unbelievable color vary and a peak brightness that’s nearly too vivid, however makes this straightforward to make use of even in direct daylight. The curvature on the edges is adequately subtle that even flat display followers shouldn’t have an excessive amount of to complain about, with good palm detection to forestall unintentional touches. 

Mainly, the display is nice, however you most likely shouldn’t pay an excessive amount of consideration to the 144Hz hype. 

The audio system impress much less. They’re stereo not less than, however the sound is skinny and tinny for essentially the most half. Cellphone audio system don’t matter a lot to me, and they won’t to you both, but when they’re a spec you care about then you definitely’ll discover significantly better audio from most equally priced alternate options. 

Specs and efficiency

• Strongest chipset round at launch
• 12GB RAM and 256GB storage 

The Edge 30 Extremely is powered by the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1, which on the time of writing is essentially the most highly effective Android chip obtainable – although quickly to be supplanted by the 8 Gen 2. 

Unsurprisingly, it makes this a fairly highly effective system – the truth is, it registered the second-highest rating we’ve ever seen within the Geekbench 5 multi-core CPU check, simply barely behind the Xiaomi 12S Extremely.  

Efficiency elsewhere is nice too, and gaming efficiency is helped alongside by way of an FHD+ show decision of 1080 x 2400 (versus extra detailed QHD+ or 4K shows present in a number of alternate options), which even noticed two of the less complicated GFXBench graphical benchmarks break the 120fps line and actually benefit from the 144Hz display. 

What does this all imply for day-to-day use? Properly, this telephone is quick, fluid, and very responsive. It’s ok to sport on, and packs greater than sufficient energy for even essentially the most demanding smartphone customers, particularly for the reason that default model of the telephone ships with 12GB RAM and 256GB of storage – although this may range by market. 

Wi-fi connectivity doesn’t disappoint both, with Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.2 supported, together with NFC for contactless funds. 

Biometrics aren’t dangerous both: a reasonably quick fingerprint sensor is constructed into the show itself, together with a much less safe face unlock possibility in case you choose. 

Images and video 

• First telephone with 200Mp digital camera
• Nice triple digital camera, however common at night time
• No correct periscopic zoom

The Edge 30 Extremely’s headline-grabbing spec is its 200Mp, although funnily sufficient whereas it’s a stable digital camera I wouldn’t take into account it one of many telephone’s strongest factors.

Dominic Preston / Foundry

Right here Motorola is utilizing Samsung’s ISOCELL HP1 sensor, which incorporates optical picture stabilisation, paired with an aperture f/1.9 lens. Megapixel depend is way from a very powerful factor in fashionable cameras, so some scepticism is smart when producers begin throwing round such excessive decision sensors. Outcomes right here mainly impress, however show the purpose that the best decision sensor will not be essentially the finest sensor.

By default the telephone doesn’t really shoot 200Mp pictures – as an alternative it makes use of pixel-binning to mix 16 pixels collectively into one and produce 12Mp outcomes. Photographs are crisp, vivid, and (as you’d hope) wealthy intimately, all helped by a cushty HDR impact.

When you choose you can shoot at full decision for 200Mp pictures, however there’s not a lot motive to. This can get you huge pictures appropriate for printing at giant scale or cropping into aggressively, however there’s a drop in high quality as you now not get the advantages of pixel-binning, with out which every pixel is definitely fairly small. Color replica worsens, noise will increase, and pictures simply usually look a little bit worse.

The primary digital camera nonetheless holds its personal at night time, and I produced a number of night-time pictures that I’m actually proud of. It’s particularly succesful at balancing a wide range of mild sources in in any other case darkish environments, that means it’s properly suited to city-dwellers, although like most telephones it nonetheless struggles to appropriately expose the brightest lights at night time.

The primary sensor is accompanied by two others on the rear: a 12Mp, f/1.6, 2x telephoto; and a 50Mp, f/2.2 ultrawide. The ultrawide is generally spectacular, although understandably drops off a little bit at night time. The telephoto is good, however not nice – colors really feel a little bit light, element drops, and the truth that it solely zooms in to 2x feels restricted. That’s very true given the excessive decision important sensor – cropped pictures from the primary digital camera are simply pretty much as good at that zoom stage, so a 5x and even 3x telephoto would have added rather more versatility.

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Flip the telephone spherical and also you discover a 60Mp, f/2.2 selfie digital camera – as soon as once more at excessive decision, with choices to shoot on the full 60Mp, 15Mp, or 8Mp. This can be a little disappointing given the specs although – colors are off, the HDR impact struggles to kick in appropriately, and there’s clearly some overly aggressive noise discount that leaves pictures artificially mushy and clean. Selfies aren’t terrible, however they’re undoubtedly the worst a part of this digital camera expertise.

Rear video will be shot at as much as 8K, although something above 1080p is proscribed to the primary digital camera solely, which is irritating – the opposite two sensors ought to not less than be able to 4K footage. The selfie digital camera can deal with 4K not less than, although in flip this digital camera is capped to 30fps no matter decision. These limits will most likely be sufficient to place off severe videographers from shopping for this telephone, although it’s lots for video calls and recording the odd live performance.

Battery and charging 

• Unbelievable, two-day battery life 
• Extraordinarily quick 125W charging 
• Wi-fi charging too 

Most flagship telephones drop the ball on battery – it’s often the one space that cheaper telephones really excel in. 

That’s why it’s been so refreshing to search out that the Edge 30 Extremely reliably lasts me a full two days with what I’d take into account pretty typical use, killing battery nervousness totally. Unusually this isn’t seen so clearly in our battery benchmark, the place it scored a reasonably common outcome, however in day-to-day use the telephone has blown me away.

It’s right down to a mixture of the environment friendly 8+ Gen 1 chip and a fairly beneficiant 4610mAh battery, however what issues is that I often go to mattress with 70+% battery left, and might run the telephone till bedtime the subsequent night time earlier than returning to the charger. 

Dominic Preston / Foundry

Even higher, after I do go to cost it is extremely quick. The 125W wired charging right here is among the many quickest obtainable. In my check it restored 58% of the battery in simply quarter-hour, with a full cost in lower than half an hour. 

Wi-fi charging is right here too, and can work with any Qi-compatible charger. The telephone really helps as much as 50W wi-fi charging speeds, however this requires the corporate’s official TurboPower 50W Wi-fi Charging Stand, and on the time of penning this isn’t even on sale within the UK, so it’s not clear if or once you’d have the ability to benefit from it. 

Software program and updates 

• Ships with Android 12 
• Near ‘inventory’, however with further options 
• Three Android updates promised 

Software program is one other key energy right here. The 30 Extremely runs Android 12 out of the field (no Android 13 simply but), and the expertise is fairly near what folks consider as ‘inventory Android’, which it’s lean, easy, and simple to make use of. The visuals are basic Android, and Motorola hasn’t reinvented the wheel in the case of the format or organisation of the OS. 

What it does add is a number of further tips. My favorite are the always-on show notification controls: faucet and maintain on an icon to learn your notifications with out opening the telephone, with fast swipe choices to dismiss them and even use app-specific choices like marking a message as learn. It’s fast, straightforward, and one thing I want each Android telephone supplied. 

Basic Motorola choices return right here, together with customisation choices and some gesture-based shortcuts like a double karate chop to activate the torch. It’s all elective, however principally useful. 

Dominic Preston / Foundry

Lastly, there’s the corporate’s Prepared For software program. This works wired or wirelessly, enables you to join the telephone to a pc to share recordsdata or management the telephone remotely, and even pair with a show with a desktop-style interface in an effort to have a rudimentary laptop set-up on the go.

Motorola has additionally promised that the telephone will obtain three years of Android model updates, which suggests it ought to end up with Android 15 a number of years from now. That’s not fairly the perfect software program assist promise round for Android – Samsung wins that prize with 4 years of model updates – nevertheless it’s fairly shut, and pretty much as good as what Google gives with its Pixel 7 flagships.

Worth and availability 

Essentially the most stunning factor concerning the Edge 30 Extremely is just the value: at £749/€899 that is comfortably cheaper than most equally specced rivals, and gives distinctive worth for a flagship.

Sadly there’s no phrase but on whether or not the telephone will ever launch within the US, however you should buy it now within the UK and Europe from Motorola itself, Amazon, or most different telephone retailers.

For extra choices, try our ranked charts of the perfect telephones and finest Android telephones to see what different manufacturers have to supply.

Verdict

The Motorola Edge 30 Extremely is a wonderful Android flagship that excels in nearly each spec whereas costing lower than the competitors.

Efficiency is among the many best possible on the market, battery life and charging each exceed expectations, and the software program is up there with Google’s personal in the case of a clean and easy Android expertise.

Dominic Preston / Foundry

There are downsides. The low IP ranking will definitely rankle some, and whereas the digital camera system is sweet it’s nonetheless firmly middle-of-the-pack – you’ll get higher pictures from photo-focussed flagships just like the Google Pixel 7 Professional or Vivo X80 Professional.

However these are small costs to pay given, properly, the small worth it’s a must to pay. At £749/€899 the Edge 30 Extremely is so aggressively priced that it’s straightforward to disregard the few faults, making this the most effective worth flagships round proper now.

Specs

• Android 12
• Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1
• 8/12GB RAM
• 128/256/512GB storage
• 6.67in, 144Hz OLED show (1080×2400)
• Cameras:
  • 200Mp, f/1.9 important digital camera with OIS
  • 50Mp, f/2.2 ultrawide digital camera
  • 12Mp, f/1.6, 2x telephoto digital camera
  • 60Mp, f/2.2 selfie digital camera
• 4610mAh battery
• 125W wired charging
• 50W wi-fi charging
• In-display fingerprint sensor
• Stereo audio system
• Wi-Fi 6E
• Bluetooth 5.2
• NFC
• Gorilla Glass 5 (entrance and rear)
• 161.8 x 73.5 x 8.4mm
• 198.5g