Motorola’s new Edge Plus is here, coming to the States, and is the best phone from the company in years
Throughout the last couple of years Motorola has slowly but surely pushed its way into the flagship market with its Motorola Edge series. The Motorola Edge 30 Ultra from last year served as a statement of the company's plans for the future, and now we are getting the Motorola Edge Plus (2023).
Now, admittedly, Motorola still has some work to do when it comes to its naming methodology, as things can get quite confusing. For example, as hinted above, the Motorola Edge 30 Ultra was the manufacturer's most high-end phone in 2022. However, this year it is the Motorola Edge 40 Pro that takes that position.
What is the difference between Motorola Edge Plus (2023) and Motorola Edge 40 Pro?
To make matters even harder, the Motorola Edge Plus which the company just announced, is simply a rebranded Motorola Edge 40 Pro. Why the different names then? Well, Motorola seems to think that the Edge 40 Pro would sound more appealing to potential buyers in Europe and Latin America (where the phone was released). The name Motorola Edge Plus, on the other hand, has been given to the North American model.
We already have a Motorola Edge 40 Pro review and were genuinely impressed by it, so feel free to check it out for more details about the device and our personal experience with it. It is essentially the same phone, so you won't have to wait to find out what you would get with the Edge Plus if you were to purchase one.
The Motorola Edge Plus (2023) in a nutshell
Design and Display
The Motorola Edge Plus comes with an understated, and somewhat boring design. It has a Gorilla Glass Victus back that is soft and smooth to the touch. It also does quite well at resisting fingerprint smudges. Add to that the aluminum frame and you get one very sturdy phone. Additionally, the Edge Plus has an IP68 certification for water protection.
The phone is big, though, with a screen measuring 6.7 inches. Thankfully, the body is overall lightweight and thin, and the curved edges help you keep a firm grip on it.
The display of the Motorola Edge Plus is quite gorgeous and up to standard for a flagship phone. Besides its large size, it also has a resolution of 1080 x 2400 pixels and is capable of 165Hz refresh rate (perfect for mobile gamers). Of course, we are talking about an OLED display here, so colors and contrast are great too.
Performance and Software
The Motorola Edge Plus comes with Qualcomm's latest flagship chipset, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 — an SOC that can handle anything you throw at it, but also much better at energy efficiency than previous iterations.
Unfortunately, unlike with the Motorola Edge 40 Pro, the Edge Plus comes with only 8GB of RAM. Well, we say "only" but the truth is that would probably be enough in most cases. Then again, it is a bit of a disappointment. Storage-wise, you have the option to choose between 256GB and 512GB of UFS 4.0 internal storage.
As for the software, you have Motorola's usual Android skin, which offers almost the same original Android experience, with some additional useful features which Motorola is well known for sprinkled here and there.
Software support on Motorola phones is not popular with its consistency, but you are guaranteed 3 years of major software updates, meaning you should get Android 16 once it comes out. There should also be 4-5 years of security patches. This puts Motorola about on the same level as Google's Pixel phones.
Camera
The Motorola Edge Plus comes with a 50MP main camera, a 50MP ultra-wide, and a 12MP telephoto snapper with 2x zoom that the company has dubbed as a "portrait" camera. The front has a 60MP selfie shooter embedded in a small punch-hole in the top center of the display.
The main camera should produce some above average images throughout the day, if it is anything like the one on the Edge 40 Pro (given the hard specs provided by Motorola, the camera system should be the same as the Edge 40 Pro). The 2x telephoto meant for portraits is alright, although nothing impressive. Similarly, the ultra-wide camera performed decently during out tests.
One thing Motorola has done very well is adhere to the whole portrait photography genre. This effort is most visible in the three separate focal lengths users can shoot at while in Portrait Mode — 35mm, 50mm, and 85mm. On the software side of things, the Edge Plus seems to be doing very well with separating the subject from the background while shooting in Portrait Mode.
As for video, you can record at 8K 30fps using the main camera, or opt for 4K 60 fps for smaller file sizes. Video stabilization should also be pretty good here, if the Edge 40 Pro is taken as an example.
Battery and Charging
The battery on the Motorola Edge Plus comes with a massive capacity of 5100mAh. Unlike the Edge 40 Pro which has a maximum charging of 125W, however, the Edge Plus maxes out at 68W. Thankfully, you still get the 15W wireless and 5W of reverse-wireless charging.
Motorola Edge Plus (2023) availability and price
In the U.S., the Motorola Edge Plus will be available universally unlocked at Best Buy, Amazon and Motorola starting May 25 for a starting price of $799.99. Pre-orders will start on May 19.
In Canada, the Motorola Edge Plus will be available at Motorola with a starting price of $1299.99 on May 25, with pre-orders again on May 19.
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