Right out of the gate, I liked the look of the new Motorola Edge 40. It was lightweight, has an extremely slim bezel, was easy to navigate with rounded “endless display” edges, and has an easy-to-digest price tag of $699.00 at Harvey Norman.
This release is the latest in a long line of Motorola phones starting back to 1983 with Dynatac 8000x, which Pocket-lint has called “the granddaddy of cellphones”.
This year’s Edge 40 has an elegant look derived from its sandblasted aluminium frame which pairs nicely with a matching black vegan leather back. Sidenote: the matte acrylic Luna Blue model is not available in Australia.
The latest Motorola release does, however, have a 6.55-inch pOLED display, is slender with a 7.58 mm body, and effortlessly switches from AMOLED to pOLED while maintaining an HDR10+ and a 144 Hz refresh rate.
All of this considering the Edge 40’s price range and that the phone still presents as sleek and sophisticated.
Consumers buying the Edge 40 will enjoy the same 1080×2400 resolution of last year’s Moto Edge 30 but because of the above features, the images are decent. See below for their quality.
The barely visible and sleekly designed volume and power buttons are found on the right-hand edge and next to the buttons, a USB-C lives. Sadly, there is not an optional 3.5mm headphone jack which seems to be going extinct, but the usual fingerprint reader built and Face Unlock can be found in the display.
Additionally, if you forget to charge your phone after a night out, this phone is for you with over 24 hours of battery use.
Another upgrade is that the Edge 40 went from 4020 to 4400 mAh and it features 68W TurboPower charging along with 15W wireless charging.
Staying with a solid mid-range performer, this model also trades the Qualcomm Snapdragon 778G+ 5G power plant out for the MediaTek Dimensity 8020.
While in the RAM category, the Edge 40 keeps its predecessor’s 8GB of RAM but reduces it from LPDDR5 to LPDDR4X losing only slight power efficiency.
The brand also continued their tradition of including a basic transparent protective case but one gripe I had was how quickly the phone looked dirty due to fingerprints. As a society and as a note to all phone makers, it would be amazing if all future screens and covers were smudge-proof.
The case also could leave the phone more at risk if a drop occurs, but we see Motorola managing to increase with a new ruggedness and splash-resistant IP52 up to IP68 rating as a win.
The new rating also translates to a phone which can still live another day after a swim of 30 minutes in up to 1.5 metres of fresh water.
Conclusion:
The Edge 40 may feature slender superior styling, but it still doesn’t reach the calibre of Motorola’s line of premium phones such as Moto Edge 30 Ultra. The Moto Edge 30 is, however, double the price so the newer model even if not premium is still a good mid-range option.
With the Edge 40 Pro available for purchase in select countries, we’re wondering if this means this might be just the beginning for similar iterations of the phone to be rolled over the next half a year.
Our advice: if you are in the market for a new phone, give it a couple of months to see what other devices Motorola will be launching soon to make the most informed decision.
The Edge 40 is available at Harvey Norman for $699.00 & Motorola.
PROS:
- Underwater-resistant
- Powerful Snapdragon processor
- Excellent Screen
- 24-Hour, 4,400mAh Battery with TurboPower charging
CONS:
- Other mid-range models have better cameras.
- Lack of cases
- Slight power efficiency
RATING: 8/10
