Are you looking for a premium mid-range smartphone that offers a stunning design, impressive features, and a clean Android experience? If yes, then you might want to check out the Motorola Edge 40. This phone was launched in May 2023 and is available in four colors: Nebula Green, Lunar Blue, Eclipse Black, and Viva Magenta. In this article, we will review the Motorola Edge 40 and see what makes it stand out from the crowd.
What’s in the box?
The Motorola Edge 40 comes with a 68W charger, a USB Type-C cable, a SIM ejector tool, a protective case, a pair of earphones, and some documentation. The phone also supports 15W wireless charging and reverse wireless charging, but you will need to buy a compatible wireless charger separately.
How does it look and feel?
The Motorola Edge 40 has a sleek and slim body that measures 158.4 x 72 x 7.6 mm and weighs 167 g or 171 g depending on the back material. The phone has an IP68 rating, which means it can resist dust and water up to 1.5 meters for 30 minutes. You can choose between a glass back or an eco-leather back, which gives the phone a premium and elegant look.
The phone has a 6.55-inch P-OLED display that supports a 144 Hz refresh rate, HDR10+, and 1200 nits of peak brightness. The display has a resolution of 1080 x 2400 pixels and a 20:9 aspect ratio, resulting in a pixel density of 402 ppi. The display has curved edges that give the phone a bezel-less appearance and enhance the viewing experience. The display also has an under-display fingerprint sensor for biometric authentication.
The phone has a dual-camera setup on the back and a single camera on the front. The main camera is a 50 MP sensor with an f/1.4 aperture, multi-directional PDAF, and OIS. The secondary camera is a 13 MP ultra-wide sensor with an f/2.2 aperture and AF. The selfie camera is a 32 MP sensor with an f/2.4 aperture.
The phone has a metal frame with a power button and a volume rocker on the right side, a Google Assistant button on the left side, a SIM tray on the top, and a USB Type-C port and a speaker grille on the bottom. The phone does not have a 3.5 mm headphone jack, but it supports Bluetooth 5.2 and NFC for wireless connectivity.
How does it perform?
The Motorola Edge 40 is powered by the MediaTek Dimensity 8020 chipset, which is a 6 nm octa-core processor that consists of four 2.6 GHz Cortex-A78 cores and four 2.0 GHz Cortex-A55 cores. The phone also has a Mali-G77 MC9 GPU for graphics performance. The phone comes with 8 GB of RAM and 128 GB or 256 GB of internal storage, but there is no option to expand the storage via a microSD card.
The phone runs on Android 13, which is the latest version of the operating system. The phone has a clean and stock Android interface, which means there is no bloatware or unnecessary apps. The phone also supports Moto Ready For, which is a feature that allows you to connect the phone to a monitor, keyboard, and mouse and use it as a desktop computer.
The phone delivers a smooth and fast performance, thanks to the powerful chipset and the high refresh rate display. The phone can handle multitasking, gaming, and productivity tasks with ease. The phone also supports 5G connectivity, which offers faster data speeds and lower latency.
How is the battery life?
The phone has a 4400 mAh battery that supports 68 W wired charging and 15 W wireless charging. The 68 W charger can fully charge the phone in just 10 minutes, which is very impressive. The phone also has a reverse wireless charging feature that lets you charge other devices by placing them on the back of the phone. The battery life of the phone is decent, as it can last for 30 hours of continuous usage.
How are the cameras?
The Motorola Edge 40 has a dual-camera setup on the back and a single camera on the front. The main camera is a 50 MP sensor with an f/1.4 aperture, multi-directional PDAF, and OIS. The secondary camera is a 13 MP ultra-wide sensor with an f/2.2 aperture and AF. The camera features include dual-LED flash, HDR, panorama, and night vision. The camera can record 4K videos at 30 fps, 1080p videos at 30/60/120 fps, and 720p videos at 960 fps. The camera also supports HDR10 and gyro-EIS.
The selfie camera is a 32 MP sensor with an f/2.4 aperture. The camera features include HDR and night vision. The camera can record 4K videos at 30 fps and 1080p videos at 30/120 fps.
The camera performance of the phone is good, but not great. The main camera can capture detailed and sharp photos in daylight, with good dynamic range and colors. The ultra-wide camera can also take decent shots but with some distortion and noise. The night mode can improve the low-light photos, but not by much. The selfie camera can take good selfies but sometimes overexposes the background.
The video quality of the phone is also good, but not great. The phone can record stable and smooth videos, with good audio and colors. The HDR10 and gyro-EIS features can enhance the video quality, but the phone lacks a dedicated zoom camera or a telephoto lens.
What are the pros and cons?
The Motorola Edge 40 is a great phone that has many pros, such as:
- A sleek and slim design with an IP68 rating and an eco-leather option
- A 144 Hz P-OLED display with HDR10+ and 1200 nits of brightness
- A powerful MediaTek Dimensity 8020 chipset with 8 GB of RAM
- A clean and stock Android 13 interface with Moto Ready For support
- A 68 W fast charging and 15 W wireless charging feature
- A 50 MP main camera with OIS and a 32 MP selfie camera
The phone also has some cons, such as:
- No microSD card slot for storage expansion
- Average battery life for a 4400 mAh battery
- No 3.5 mm headphone jack
- Average camera performance in low-light conditions
- Inconsistent software update policy from Motorola
What are the alternatives?
The Motorola Edge 40 is priced at ₹ 26,999 for the 8 GB + 256 GB variant, which is a competitive price for a premium mid-range phone. However, there are some alternatives that you can consider, such as:
- Samsung Galaxy F54 5G: This phone has a 6.7-inch Super AMOLED Plus display with a 120 Hz refresh rate, a Samsung Exynos 1380 chipset, a 108 MP main camera, and a 6000 mAh battery. It is priced at ₹ 24,999 for the 8 GB + 256 GB variant.
- OnePlus Nord CE 3 5G: This phone has a 6.7-inch Fluid AMOLED display with a 120 Hz refresh rate, a Snapdragon 782G chipset, a 50 MP main camera, and a 5000 mAh battery. It is priced at ₹ 24,915 for the 8 GB + 128 GB variant.
- POCO F5: This phone has a 6.67-inch AMOLED display with a 120 Hz refresh rate, a Snapdragon 888 chipset, a 64 MP main camera, and a 4520 mAh battery. It is priced at ₹ 26,999 for the 8 GB + 256 GB variant.
Conclusion
The Motorola Edge 40 is a phone that offers a lot of value for money. It has a stunning design, a smooth display, a powerful performance, and a fast charging feature. It also has a clean Android experience and a decent camera setup. The phone has some drawbacks, such as the lack of a headphone jack, a microSD card slot, and a good battery life. However, these are minor issues that can be overlooked for the overall quality of the phone. The Motorola Edge 40 is a phone that deserves your attention if you are looking for a premium mid-range 5G phone.
