Review: Motorola Edge (2022)

I’ve felt like a broken record nearly every time I’ve written about Motorola. Its Android smartphones are the epitome of the word fine. The company shoots itself in the foot by lagging behind on certain features. Notably, its poor software support window often left year-old devices without major software updates, and many of its handsets lack the basic ability to make contactless payments (handy if you’ve left the wallet at home). 

But change is afoot. The new Motorola Edge (2022) is the first of the brand’s new smartphones to get a promise of three Android version upgrades and four years of bimonthly security updates, putting it on par with the likes of OnePlus (though Google Pixels and Samsung phones edge it out). This is also one of the rare sub-$500 Motorola phones to support NFC for contactless payments in the US. 

Pair these bits of good news with the fact that the Edge is the first Motorola to ship in 100 percent recycled materials and will also be fully carbon offset—which the company claims will reduce plastic waste by 5.7 metric tons and CO₂ emissions by 83 metric tons, and all I can really say is: finally.

Photograph: Motorola

I want to quickly discuss the price of the new Motorola Edge. Its MSRP is $599, but Motorola is offering it for a “limited time” at $499. This is a practice we’ve seen before from Motorola for some time now, and while the price will jump up after a few weeks, its devices are on sale so frequently that you can expect to regularly see the Edge go for $499. The point is: Avoid this phone at MSRP. It’s also initially available through only T-Mobile, but will eventually be sold at other carriers like AT&T and Verizon, and an unlocked model will be available through Amazon and Best Buy. 

For $499, you’re getting quite a number of bleeding edge (heh) features. That includes wireless charging, which you typically won’t find on sub-$500 Android phones, as well as a 6.6-inch OLED screen with a 144-Hz screen refresh rate. The Google Pixel 6A, our favorite phone, doesn’t have wireless charging and its screen is stuck with a traditional 60-Hz refresh rate. 

You can read about how refresh rates work here, but you’re essentially seeing 144 images per second on the screen as opposed to 60, making everything from animations in the interface to video games look and feel more fluid. Most high-end phones stick to 120 Hz, and I noticed a marginal difference when compared to Google’s Pixel 6 Pro and its 120-Hz screen, but only when I put them side by side and I had to really stare up close. Regardless, a refresh rate this high is a nice perk. The Edge’s display has vivid colors and inky black levels, and it gets bright enough to read on sunny days. 

Underneath the display, toward the bottom, sits an easy-to-reach fingerprint sensor that’s reliable. Speaking of reachability, I don’t mind the Edge’s size. It’s large, yes, but Motorola has managed to slim this phone down so much while trimming its weight that it doesn’t feel too cumbersome in the hand. Seriously, it weighs just 170 grams—the 6.6-inch Samsung Galaxy S22+ weighs 26 grams more. (The lightweight nature is likely due to the plastic frame and rear.) I just wish the Edge looked more special. It feels derivative and comes in only a gloomy gray.

Battery performance continues to be one of the core strengths of Motorola phones. Despite the slim design, Moto has stuffed a large 5,000-mAh cell here. Am I a little worried when a company stuffs a big battery into a very thin phone? Perhaps. But I haven’t noticed any issues yet. Motorola says the phone has a thermal control system to avoid overheating with “built-in temperature sensors to monitor the temperature at all times.” 

The good news is that this battery can last nearly two full days on a single charge with average use. On a day when my power went out and I relied only on the Edge, it lasted the entire day, with more than seven hours of screen on time, and still had around 20 percent left by 2 am. That’s pretty spectacular.

Performance in general has been a standout too. The Edge is powered by the MediaTek Dimensity 1050 chip, and I haven’t seen any stutters or major slowdowns. The camera app can take a few extra seconds to fully load up sometimes, but games like Apex Legends Mobile ran without a hitch (the phone got only a little warm after two matches). This chip adds sub-6 5G support (mmWave too, but this is dependent on the model and where you buy it from), so you’re not relegated to the slower 4G LTE. 

The stereo speakers on this phone don’t get tremendously loud, but they sound pretty good. If you were hoping for a headphone jack though, you’ll be disappointed. You won’t find a microSD card slot either; these are features that disappeared from flagship phones, and they’re now disappearing from midrange handsets, too. You’re left with 128 GB of internal storage in the base model, though you can upgrade to 256 GB. 

One other snag? The IP52-rated water resistance. It protects the phone from rain, but not an accidental dip in water. Both the cheaper Google Pixel 6A and the Samsung Galaxy A53 have IP67 ratings, so it’s a shame Motorola couldn’t match them.  

The Edge runs Android 12 out of the box and Motorola doesn’t interfere with the operating system much, which is always a good thing. Its “Ready for” platform lets you wirelessly connect the phone to other screens around you (if they support Miracast) to enable an Android desktop experience, or you can use a cable. I found it handy when I tried it on the Motorola Edge+ earlier this year—especially to run a video call on the TV while using my phone as a webcam. I tested the new Edge with my LG C1 and it had no trouble connecting. 

So far so good, but all good things must come to an end: Cameras have notoriously been the weak link on Motorola phones, and that’s not changing here. There’s a 50-MP main camera and a 13-MP ultrawide (with a macro mode), not to mention a 32-MP selfie snapper. 

The Edge can take good photos during the day and with Motorola's Night Vision mode, you can take some decent low-light shots if you can stay very still when pressing the shutter button. However, I've also seen some questionable photos come out of this phone. 

Take a look at the sunset photo in the gallery above. The Google Pixel 6 (which sells for $599, I might add, and has dipped to $499) snapped a natural-looking scene that matched what I saw in real life. The Motorola? Er, not so much. The sky is completely blown out, and you can barely make out the sun. Boo. Take a look at the selfies I took in my office next. The results are staggeringly different, and I’d go so far as to say that this is one of the worst selfie cameras I’ve tested in some time. The Pixel 6 managed to get my skin tone right and balanced the colors of the room well, but the Edge decided that my skin is more like Benjamin Moore’s Soft Glow. 

The ultrawide is OK when there’s plenty of sunlight, but it’s next to useless in low light. I generally also don’t find much use for macro cameras, but it follows the same rule and needs a lot of light if you don’t want a grainy shot.

Most people looking for a good sub-$500 phone should go for the Google Pixel 6A. However, if you don’t care about having a great camera on your smartphone (and I know several people that don’t), then this is a good alternative to consider. It runs well, has two-day battery life, will be supported for a good length of time, and is packed with some bells and whistles that you won’t find on the Pixel, like wireless charging and a high refresh rate. 

My hope is that Motorola doesn’t stop here and continues this trend of improvements with the rest of the phones in its lineup. After that’s sorted, maybe it can devote some resources to its camera department.