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Motorola's bonkers 'Frontier' flagship with 200MP camera is reportedly 'almost finalized'

By Adrian Diaconescu

Updated: Mar 23, 2022, 9:56 AM

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Motorola Android

Motorola's bonkers 'Frontier' flagship with 200MP camera is reportedly 'almost finalized'

Hardcore Motorola fans excited to see the Lenovo-owned brand returning to the Android flagship arena with a (relatively affordable) bang may not want to hurry and order the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1-powered Edge+ (2022) as soon as it goes on sale stateside.

That's because another high-end smartphone might already be right around the corner, and at least on paper, this looks even more impressive than the stylus-supporting model also known as the Edge 30 Pro internationally.

A spec junkie's wet dream

Codenamed "Frontier" and rendered a couple of times in great detail and excellent quality over the last couple of months, the 6.7-inch or so beast is apparently "almost finalized." That's according to a typically reliable Twitter leaker, who actually doesn't mention the next Moto-branded flagship by name (or internal codename).

But it's crystal clear that "Digital Chat Station" is talking about the device that we've come to refer as the Frontier, especially with said insider also corroborating the ultra-advanced specifications of this fast-approaching bad boy.

The new Edge Plus (pictured here) sounds like a lightweight next to the Motorola Frontier (rendered above).

Based on multiple such leaks and predictions, we can be all but certain now that the Motorola Frontier spec sheet will include a 6.67-inch FHD+ curved OLED screen with silky smooth 144Hz refresh rate support, a centered hole punch housing a 60MP selfie shooter, an absolutely insane-sounding 200MP (or 194MP) primary rear-facing camera, and a 4,500mAh battery equipped with blazing fast 125W wired charging and 50W (or at the very least 30W) wireless charging capabilities.

On top of everything, Motorola's ultimate Galaxy S22 Ultra killer could very well prove to be one of the world's first handsets to pack an as-yet-unannounced SM8475 processor. That's almost certainly not the final marketing name of Qualcomm's unusually quick follow-up to the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 SoC, which actually also made its commercial debut inside a Motorola device late last year.

It's perhaps needless to highlight that many of those cutting-edge specs will totally blow the S22 Ultra out of the water, at least in theory, with the Frontier's charging speeds in particular sounding (in lack of a better word) insane. The same goes for a triple rear camera system expected to include a 50MP ultra-wide-angle lens and 12MP telephoto sensor in addition to a 200MP main snapper, but when it comes to real-life photography skills, it's generally wise to take a wait and see approach with unreleased devices.

Not long to wait now (presumably)

While "almost finalized" could mean one of many different things, with any phone going through a range of development and production stages that can take anywhere between a few weeks and a few months, something tells us the "Frontier" is really not that far on the horizon.

If we were to hazard a guess, we'd probably expect Lenovo to unveil both this hot new Motorola flagship and its own-brand Halo gaming phone at some point by June.

A fairly interesting Lenovo Halo handset could also come soon.

Described as a "savior model" today, the 6.67-inch Lenovo Halo was itself rendered back in January, and now some of its key specs are also corroborated by a second trusted source, seemingly including a flat 144Hz OLED display, 16MP front-facing camera, 50MP main shooter on the back, and a 5,000mAh battery supporting 68W charging speeds. Also, a 4nm-based SM8475 chipset that may or may not be called Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 Plus.

If the Lenovo Halo and Motorola Frontier are indeed meant to trump the raw power of Samsung's popular Galaxy S22 family this summer, it'll become very interesting to see if the world's largest handset manufacturer will keep with tradition and wait until early 2023 to adopt Qualcomm's next top-shelf processor.

Of course, it's not exactly "traditional" for a chip like the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 to be upgraded so soon... unless its Plus sequel follows in the footsteps of last year's Snapdragon 888+, which wasn't all that different from the regular 888.

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Adrian, a mobile technology enthusiast since the Nokia 3310 era, has been a dynamic presence in the tech journalism field, contributing to Android Authority, Digital Trends, and Pocketnow before joining PhoneArena in 2018. His expertise spans across various platforms, with a particular fondness for the diversity of the Android ecosystem. Despite the challenges of balancing full-time parenthood with his work, Adrian's passion for tech trends, running, and movies keeps him energized. His commitment to mid-range smartphones has led to an eclectic collection of devices, saved from personal bankruptcy by his preference for 'adequate' over 'overpriced'.