Motorola is just months away from
returning to the flagship smartphone segment after several years away. The
device in question is called the Motorola Edge+ and, as revealed by XDA
Developers today, it will be joined by a cheaper version marketed as the
Motorola Edge.
As indicated by the name and much like the
Plus-branded variant, the Motorola Edge features a so-called waterfall display
complete with sharply curved edges on either side and a small punch hole in the
top-left corner for the selfie camera.
The panel supports a Full-HD+ (2340x1080p)
resolution and a smooth 90Hz refresh rate. The latter can be downgraded to 60Hz
to save some battery or set to “auto” mode which uses “AI to always show the
optimal refresh rate.” It measures in at
a hefty 6.7-inches. But thanks to impressively thin bezels both above and below
the display in addition to the curved edges, it should feel relatively compact
in the hand.
Turning the Motorola Edge over reveals a
long, vertical camera module that houses several sensors including a
64-megapixel shooter that could be identical to the one used on the Motorola
One Hyper. It makes use of 4-in-1 pixel binning technology to produce superior
16-megapixel shots. A 16-megapixel ultra-wide-angle snapper joins the main
camera alongside an 8-megapixel telephoto alternative that could support either
2x or 3x optical zoom. Accompanying the triple-camera setup is a laser
autofocus system and a dual-LED flash. For those of you interested in the
selfie camera, Motorola has reportedly included a 25-megapixel sensor.
Motorola has fitted the Edge with the
relatively new Qualcomm Snapdragon 765 that could be used inside the Google
Pixel 5 later this year. It isn’t a flagship chipset like the Snapdragon 865
but it should still provide an extremely snappy experience for customers.
Helping ensure things run as smoothly as possible will reportedly be 6GB of RAM
coupled with 128GB of internal storage. There’s no word on whether other
variants are in the works, but the storage count should be expandable via a
microSD card slot anyway.
Like any other 2019 smartphone, the
Motorola Edge will ship with Android 10 straight out of the box. In this
particular case the Chicago-based brand’s near-stock experience is likely
because the company seems to have abandoned the Android One program. Keeping
the lights on should be a 4,500mAh battery that supports some sort of fast
wired charging, although wireless charging isn’t supported. Other features
include an in-screen fingerprint scanner and a 3.5mm headphone jack for loyal
fans.
The Motorola Edge alsos include the
Snapdragon X52 modem which supports 5G networks as standard. But whether
Motorola is planning to disable the connectivity remains to be seen at this
stage. Motorola was originally expected to announce its upcoming smartphone at
MWC 2020 in late February. The event was ultimately canceled, forcing Motorola
to shelve its own plans, but the company hasn’t yet announced a new date.
The official unveiling shouldn’t be too
far down the line but it probably won’t happen this month because of the
gradual global shutdown over the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Instead,
Motorola will probably wait until demand picks up again. The Motorola Edge will
be joined by the flagship Motorola Edge+. This model will look virtually
identical to the standard version but should boast the Snapdragon 865 chipset,
5G connectivity, a 108-megapixel main camera, and a larger 5,000mAh battery.
