Review: Motorola Edge+ is no one’s first choice, but maybe it should be

As stock Android experiences go, Motorola has found success in the past and delivered good hardware and experience with it, though it’s been a long time. Now, with the 2023 Motorola Edge+, it seems the company is maybe finding its stride again, delivering a phone that flies under the radar but should really be on a lot of buyers’ minds.

I’ve been using the Motorola Edge+ 2023 for a little over two weeks as my primary device. Often, I find that pretty difficult, especially when it means dropping a favored Pixel and using something that varies a bit in the way of Android skins. This time, the switch was almost seamless, with the Motortola Edge+ turning out to be a device deserving of the flagship daily driver title.

As with every device, the design is what tends to catch people’s eyes the most. The 2023 Motorola Edge+ takes on a pretty common silhouette with nothing that screams “unique” right out of the gate. The Edge+ is nice and thin, coming in at 8.6mm high. What helps thin out the phone is the approach Motorola took, which brings the rear and front glass panels together, meeting the aluminum frame with curved edges. Both panels are Gorilla Glass Victus and feel more than premium to the touch.

The rear panel takes on a gorgeous texture that feels very fine but not smooth. In the right light, it gives off a glittered effect with the clear glass Motorola logo punctuating the middle of the panel. At the top-left lies a sure camera array that doesn’t look too much out of the ordinary, though it also takes on the same curved right and left edges to emphasize the overall design language Motorola went for.

The front of the Edge+ 2023 is where the magic happens, as it contains a 6.67-inch 2400 x 1080 OLED that can hit 165Hz and handles Dolby Vision and a peak brightness of 1300 nits. While the Edge+ isn’t hitting 4k, or even close to it, the approach the OLED panel takes to color recreation and vibrancy of those tones makes up for the Full HD resolution.

When put up against other devices running 1440p, there’s not much of a difference to be had between the two. If you never knew the specs of the Edge+, it’d be incredibly difficult to tell that the display was running at 1080p.

On a personal level, I love the curved displays. Even though they make screen protectors more of a challenge and offer no real advantage, I feel that they make a tactile response easier to achieve when using Android’s navigation controls. Of course, that opinion is more than divisive.

On the topic of the Edge+ and its screen curves, it has a total of four on the front panel – one for each side. While I don’t mind this, our own Ben Schoon made a remark that carries some weight. When looking at the 2023 Edge+ from certain angles, the display’s bezel corner radius and outer glass panel radius don’t quite match up in angle. While the large majority of users will never notice this – seriously, never ever – the possible optical illusion is something of note.

Besides that incredibly minute detail, the rest of the device and its build quality feels great. I did have to find a case for the Edge+, though, since the phone is so slick and just slightly thinner from right to left than other devices in the past year. I had to develop a bit of muscle memory to grip the phone a little more firmly so it didn’t just fall out.

Another aspect of the device to note is the fingerprint sensor. As far as accuracy goes, it’s one of the best in the business. It’s fast and reliable and offers no performance flaws. However, it does fall victim to one downside, which is the height at which the sensor sits underneath the display.

The Motorola ThinkPhone and Edge+ share a lot of similarities, which is a huge positive. They also share a couple of negatives, which is the fingerprint sensor height in this case. For some reason, Motorola opted for a sensor that sits about 0.75-inches from the bottom of the phone. In practice, that’s a little too low for me and causes a bit of strain on my thumb.

Related: Motorola’s ThinkPhone is a professional entry into ‘flagship’

However, the Motorola Edge+ also comes with face unlock, which is also surprisingly fast and accurate. That makes up for the sensor height just a bit.

At its core, the Motorola Edge+ runs Android 13 on a SnapDragon 8 Gen 2. That 4nm SoC features an Adreno 740 GPU for better gaming performance. This chipset is the latest high-end system from Qualcomm and finds itself in the top devices from major manufacturers, like the Galaxy S23 and OnePlus 11. While we often find that true performance is not always contingent on the best processors out there, it certainly doesn’t hurt.

Motorola has done a fine job of incorporating that 8 Gen 2 into the Edge+ and pairing it with 8GB RAM does well to set the foundation for a well-performing device. Every single app I’ve run on the Edge+ up to this point has been smooth and responsive. With a high refresh rate of 165Hz, it’d be pretty easy to tell if there was a dip in performance, even when it’s set to adaptive. To add, network connection has been solid throughout my time with it and it’s nice to see dual-SIM capability – one physical SIM slot and one eSIM slot.

Though the Edge+ is built by Motorola, the company hasn’t taken unnecessary liberties in designing a skin that overtakes stock Android 13. The OS running on the 2023 Edge+ is the same one found on the ThinkPhone, which we praised for a similar software experience.

Aspects like the app drawer and Quick Settings panel within the notification shade are basically untouched, save for a couple of minor additions that essentially help round out the device. Even the lock screen houses Google Home and Wallet shortcuts, just like stock Android 13 on the Pixel lineup.

The only real difference lies in the “Personalize” page and lock screen overlay, which Motorola calls the “Peak Display.” The personalize page is Moto’s version of the “Wallpaper & style” tool on Android and features unique tools like additional icon shapes, fingerprint animations, and edge light customization. The latter changes the color of the notification light that appears on the outer curves of the Edge+.

The Edge+ delivers a quality Android 13 experience that doesn’t deviate too far from a smooth stock experience. The cherry on top is the promise of 3 years of Android OS support and 4 years of security updates from Motorola, which has recently upped its game in terms of device longevity.

While the overall software performance and design of the Edge+ won me over pretty fast, it took some time for me to gauge the battery life of Motorola’s latest flagship – a very long time. At 5,100 mAh, you know battery life is going to be good, but you don’t know how good until you put the Edge+ through its paces. That means web browsing, games, pictures, calls, texts, and a ton of idle on-screen time.

Try as I might, I really struggled to kill the phone’s battery. During normal use, I could get one and a half days, easy. In an effort to kill it, I still lasted a full day. As insanely good as this battery is in comparison to the modern flagship landscape, the most annoying part is how Motorola approaches charging it.

Just as with the Motorola ThinkPhone, the Edge+ hit a full 100% in just about 45 minutes with the 68W TurboPower charger. At even just 20 minutes, the phone was up to 65% and given the overall performance of the battery, that’s basically a full day of use. While I don’t recommend topping off at 65% every day, you could get away with a 20-minute charge on the regular. Things go a little slower when you opt for 15W wireless charging or using a brick under the included 68W USB-C charger.

Let’s circle back around the nice little camera array on the rear panel; that setup consists of four cameras. The main sensor is a 50MP wide-angle lens, accompanied by a 12MP telephoto lens with 2x optical zoom, and a 50MP ultra-wide lens.

Megapixel count is all well and good, but what really counts – in real-life experience – is what the Edge+ can do in post-processing. We’ve seen this with the Galaxy S23 series up against the Pixel 7 Pro. The S23 comes with an impressive array but what hinders its RAW power – good joke, eh? – is the post-processing Samsung does after the fact. Even though the Pixel’s cameras aren’t as good on paper, Google’s Tensor chip turns photos into fantastic images.

Getting back to the Edge+, our time with the Motorola phone has us placing the Edge+ more in line with the Pixel, as far as post-processing goes. Details are precise, color is accurate – albeit a little over-saturated – and natural bokeh from the main sensor is pretty great.

If I were told I’d have to use the Edge+ as my go-to mobile camera, I’d have no issue.

The Motorola Edge+ took me by surprise. For a company that has been keeping up with the competition but is slow to take risks, it has dive-bombed into 2023 with a device that not only looks the part, but performs well and makes use of practical battery life.

If you were to choose a go-to device in 2023 for under $1,000, your options would consist of the Pixel 7 Pro ($899) and Galaxy S23, based on good software performance and overall quality. Do yourself a favor and add the Edge+ to that list.

For $799, you’re right on par with the devices above. As someone who favors the Pixel 7 Pro because of the software experience and ease of use, I have no problems making the switch to the Edge+. It has a great battery life, quick charging, a competent camera, and an Android experience that’s pleasant to use. Not to mention you’re looking at four years of support from Motorola, which is a good start.

Motorola surprised us this year and produced a flagship device deserving of high praise for a price that isn’t quite a slap in the face. If the Edge+ 2023 isn’t on your device radar, maybe it really should be.

Buy the Motorola Edge+ 2023

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The new Motorola Razr+ phone is stunning — and we got to try it

Motorola just announced not one but two new Razr flip phones, both with foldable displays that flip open just like your dad’s original Razr — but with a twist.

It’s been a couple of years since Motorola released a Razr in the US. During that time, the company went back to the drawing board and collected lessons learned, and out of that brief hiatus are two flip phones: the $999 Razr+ and the Razr, the latter of which lacks a release date or price.

You can preorder the Razr+ starting June 16 from motorola.com and through select carriers. In-store availability will kick off on June 23. All major US carriers will offer the Razr+, with the exception of Verizon. If you want to use it on Verizon, you’ll need to buy the unlocked version directly from Motorola.

Let’s unpack the Razr+ first since it’s the phone we know the most about.

Available for preorder starting June 16, this revamped version of Motorola's foldable phone gives you plenty of screen space — even when it's folded up.

At first glance, the Razr+ looks a lot like Samsung’s Galaxy Z Flip 4. It’s a foldable phone that flips open to reveal a large display on the inside. But the key differentiator between the Razr+ and the Flip 4 is immediately noticeable once you wake the front screen of the phone.

Almost the entire front of the Razr’s housing (when folded) is covered in a display. To be exact, the front display measures 3.6 inches. It’s a pOLED display, with a 144Hz refresh rate and has HDR10+ and 10-bit support. What does all of that mean? Motorola didn’t just put a basic display on the front of the phone and call it a day. Those stats would be impressive for the main display of any flagship smartphone. In comparison, the front display on the Z Flip 4 is a very crammed 1.9 inches.

With all of that screen real estate, you can do pretty much anything you would do on the internal display — that means playing games, using apps (I tested TikTok, Google Maps and Chrome, all of which worked but were a little cramped) and even using it as a viewfinder for the camera app. In addition to accessing all of your phone’s apps, there are predesigned phone panels for select apps and third-party vendors who’ve worked with Motorola that allow you to do things like control your Spotify music, check your calendar or view the weather.

When the Razr+ is folded, it measures a total of 15.1mm thick. The hinge provides a gapless design, meaning you can’t see through the phone when it’s closed — something that’s not possible on any of Samsung’s Galaxy Flip phones.

If you start using an app on the front screen and then open the phone, Motorola’s App Continuity feature will automatically transfer the app’s state to the inner screen. But new to the Razr+ is a button that shows up on the front display when you close the phone, asking if you want to continue using the app on the external screen. It’s an optional feature that you can control on a per-app basis and one that feels very well thought out. I can see using Google Maps on the internal display to start navigation, then closing the phone and tapping the button to launch Maps and continue with your directions.

The Razr+ has a total of three cameras. There are two on the front of the phone that, when opened, become your rear-facing cameras. There’s a 12-megapixel main camera with OIS, and a 13-megapixel wide-angle and macro camera with a 108-degree field of view.

The third camera, a 32-megapixel shooter, is located at the top of the Internal display, just like a traditional selfie camera.

For Razr fanatics, you’ll notice the Razr Chin that’s been a staple of the Razr’s design since it originally launched is gone. Motorola got rid of it in order to increase the size of the front display, and it also allows things to be nearly borderless.

Speaking of the internal screen, it’s a 6.9-inch FHD+ pOLED display with HDR10+, a very smooth 165Hz refresh rate and 1,400 nits peak brightness. My favorite part about the display, though? The crease in the middle of the screen isn’t all that noticeable. At least not as much as the Flip 4’s crease.

Powering the Razr+ is the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 processor, 8GB of memory and 256GB of storage. It also has an NFC chip for wireless payments.

There’s a 3,800mAh battery inside that can be topped off using 30W charging. And it can even accept wireless charging but at a head-scratching low speed of just 5W.

There are three color options for the Razr+: Infinite Black and Glacier Blue will be available everywhere; however, the Viva Magenta color option will be a T-Mobile exclusive or available through motorola.com. The Viva Magenta model forgoes a matte glass back like the other two options, replacing it instead with a matching vegan leather back.

Motorola is promising three years of major OS upgrades to the Razr+, with four years of bimonthly security updates. The Razr+ and Razr are both IP52 certified, meaning they’re protected from limited dust and light spraying water.

After using the Razr+ for about an hour, the thing that stuck out was that the large front display feels like something you’d want to do things like reply to messages or check email on. But really, it’s going to be best used for digesting medium-size amounts of information and, at times, interacting with it. Think of it as a bigger version of how most people interact with a smartwatch. Glanceable but actionable.

Preorders for the Razr+ kick off in two weeks on June 16. There’s only one model, priced at $999 from motorola.com. Select carriers will take part in the preorder, but we’re waiting to hear which ones. In-store availability will start a week later on June 23.

In the coming months, Motorola will release the more affordable Razr. It uses the same chassis as the Razr+ but lacks some of the higher-end features that the Razr+ has in order to hit the lower price point.

The main difference is the external display shrinks down to a 1.5-inch pOLED display, similar to the previous Razr foldables and the Galaxy Z Flip 4. Another key difference is instead of matte glass on the outside of the phone, all three color options are covered in vegan leather. It’ll launch in Sage Green, Vanilla Cream and Summer Lilac.

The internal display is the same 6.9-inch screen, with a slightly slower 144Hz refresh rate.

One benefit to using a smaller external screen is that it frees up space to increase the battery size. The Razr’s battery is bumped up to 4,200mAh, from 3,300mAh on the Razr+, and will turbo charge at 30W, and wirelessly charge at 5W.

It’s powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 7 Gen 1 processor, and will come with 8GB of memory and 128GB of storage.

For cameras, you’re getting two rear-facing cameras. There’s a 64-megapixel main camera and a 13-megapixel ultrawide/macro camera. The selfie camera comes in at 32 megapixels.

One noticeable difference I found while using the Razr for a few minutes was that it feels heavier than the Razr+, which is directly related to the increased battery size. It didn’t feel too heavy, but there was a notable difference that’s worth mentioning. I’m really curious how the vegan leather exterior is going to hold up over time. It’s sure to change in color as it gets a patina and the occasional light scratch that leather is prone to get.

Once we have more details to share about pricing and timing of the Razr launching in the US, we’ll be sure to share them with you.

Motorola Says iPhone Owners Are Switching to Get Foldable Phones

From Samsung to Motorola and Google, just about every major Android phone maker has released a foldable phone. But there's one big, non-Android outlier: Apple. And according to Motorola, that's prompting some iPhone users to make the switch. 

Specifically, Motorola has seen 20% of new Razr users coming from Apple products. That data point is from 2021 following the launch of the previous-generation Razr. 

"This is definitely the family that we have the most amount of iPhone users switching to us," Allison Yi, Motorola's head of North America product operations, said to CNET ahead of the company's Razr Plus launch.

Foldable phones still account for a fragment of the global smartphone market, but the category is growing quickly as tech giants search for the next major evolution of the mobile phone. Market research firm International Data Corporation estimates that worldwide shipments of foldables will increase more than 50% in 2023 compared to 2022. Motorola's Razr line faces the most competition from Samsung's Galaxy Z Flip series, although Samsung hasn't broken out its sales numbers to specify its percentage of iPhone converts.

This year is shaping up to be a milestone moment for foldables with the arrival of newcomers including Google and OnePlus, giving Motorola and other early entrants like Samsung more competition. Apple, however, is still noticeably absent from the foldable phone race, and that isn't likely to change anytime too soon.

Apple hasn't launched a foldable iPhone, nor has it announced any plans to do so. But these renders by YouTuber ConceptsiPhone imagines what a foldable iPhone could look like. 

Ming-Chi Kuo, an analyst with TF International Securities known for his Apple product predictions, tweeted in April 2022 that he doesn't expect Apple to release its first foldable gadget until 2025. A study from Counterpoint Research suggests there's certainly demand for a foldable iPhone, at least in the US. Among the respondents, 39% named Apple as their preferred brand for a foldable phone, while 46% named Samsung -- one of the earliest and most dominant players in foldable phones. Only 6% said Motorola.

The new Razr Plus and 2023 Razr are the company's latest attempts to change that. The $1,000 Razr Plus, announced on Thursday and launching on June 23, has a giant cover screen that the company is betting will set it apart from rivals like the Galaxy Z Flip 4. Motorola is also launching a cheaper version of the Razr later this year for an undisclosed price that will be less expensive than the Plus model.

But whether it's competition from Samsung or eventually the long-rumored iPhone Flip, Motorola isn't fixated on its rivals.

"It's not about what our competition is doing," Yi said. "It's more of what the consumer needs are, what consumers are wanting, rather than really focusing on competition."

The Motorola Razr Plus 

As first-timers like Google are just getting into foldable phones in 2023, companies like Motorola and Samsung are already brainstorming what could be next. Both companies earlier this year showcased concept devices with rollable or slidable screens that can expand as needed earlier. Motorola's take involves a smartphone-sized device that can unroll to extend its display with the press of a button. It's still a concept, and Motorola hasn't said when or if this rollable phone will graduate to becoming a real product. 

But Jeff Snow, Motorola's product manager for premium and flagship devices, said he could eventually see it becoming an "offshoot" of the Razr we know today. While both the Razr and the rollable concept aim to make phones more portable, they execute that goal through different means. The Razr's clamshell shape enables it to fold shut, function as a regular phone when opened or serve as something in between when propped open halfway. The rollable concept changes its shape in a different way by expanding and contracting its screen.

"It's a little bit of a different experience," said Snow. "But we see it becoming part of the same category." 

Motorola's rollable phone concept

Motorola is also evaluating larger book-style foldables like the Galaxy Z Fold, although Yi said she couldn't comment on future products. Snow also said there's "merit to that form factor," but the company would have to make sure it's not compromising the regular phone experience while also providing improved productivity and content consumption. 

"That space is taking off," he said. "It's something we'll pay attention to."

For now, the Razr Plus is Motorola's biggest attempt at standing out in a crowded market, especially as Samsung and Apple continue to command the global smartphone market. The combination of technology improving and broader awareness around foldables makes now the right time for a new Razr, according to Yi.

"Sometimes you see the technology is ready, but the market is not ready to accept it," she said. "And consumers are not willing to adapt or adopt. But in this case, we really feel that this is the right time."