Motorola Edge 20 Pro Review: Capable but Costly

There’s no denying that Motorola reveals itself in a fiercely aggressive marketplace. With manufacturers corresponding to Xiaomi, Realme, and OnePlus throwing down more and more spectacular specifications at inexpensive costs, we have now all come to be expecting our telephones to do extra, and our wallets much less. So in terms of Motorola’s newest 5G flagship, the Edge 20 Pro, the bar is prime.

Released along the funds Edge 20 Lite and mid-range Edge 20, the Edge 20 Pro sits on the prime quality with a worth to compare, at £649.99. It’s no longer to be had in the United States, the place simply the Edge (2021) is on sale.

While it is probably not obvious because of Motorola’s ever-confusing naming conventions, the Edge 20 Pro is an immediate successor to closing 12 months’s Motorola Edge. The telephones are considerably other, alternatively.

Motorola culls some options whilst boosting specifications elsewhere, leading to a handset that headlines with a 144Hz OLED reveal (with HDR10+), a 108Mp primary digital camera, and a 4500mAh battery.

Design & Build

• 7.6mm
• 190g
• IP52 water resistance

The 6.7in Edge 20 Pro is slender, at 7.6mm, and relatively comfy to carry at 190g, but this can be a huge phone – no less than for my fingers. This made one-handed use a little unwieldy from time to time, but that no doubt wasn’t a deterrent to taking part in the phone. I regarded on the Midnight Sky variant, which gives a easy three-D glass again in a matte, metal blue end.

While it’s crowd pleasing, you will want to use a case to minimise fingerprints and to stop slips as this phone in reality could be very easy. Thankfully, Motorola supplies a transparent case to get you began. The Edge 20 Pro additionally gives IP52 water resistance. So whilst it isn’t water-proof, it might probably face up to a short lived splash.

It’s simple to identify how radically other the design is in comparison to closing 12 months’s Edge. Gone is the curved Endless Edge reveal – which arguably gave the Edge a extra top rate glance (and its title!). Also lacking is the in-display fingerprint reader, one thing you would be expecting on a flagship.

Motorola opts for a side-mounted reader as an alternative, which doubles as the ability button. I discovered the reader to be normally responsive, even though it struggled if my thumb wasn’t positioned squarely.

In spite of those omissions, the Edge 20 Pro nonetheless prices £100 greater than the unique Edge – but you’ll be able to characteristic this to enhancements below the hood, which we will dive into later.

Screen

• 6.7in OLED reveal
• 144Hz refresh fee
• Full HD+
• HDR10+

While the Edge 20 Pro stocks the 6.7in OLED reveal with the unique Edge, Motorola switches it up a little this 12 months. For one, the Endless Edge reveal of the unique Edge is not more, which is a disgrace – as that in reality contributed to the top rate feel and appear of the instrument. Now you’ll be able to even discover a slender bezel across the reveal.

Motorola compensates for this cutback through introducing the next 144Hz refresh fee, alternatively, up from the unique Edge’s 90Hz. 

You can transfer to 60Hz for those who favor, or simply let the phone make a selection for you with the Auto serve as which “makes use of AI to at all times display the optimal refresh fee”. I could not see an enormous distinction between 144Hz and the Auto choice, even though leaving it on 144Hz will drain your battery sooner.

The Edge 20 Pro’s display screen itself is vibrant, and hues in reality pop because of HDR10+ beef up. The reveal reaches a surprising most brightness of 1540nits, which is excess of you’ll be able to ever want, but is sweet to have if you are out and about on a sunny day. Conversely, the reveal can dim to simply 7nits – best for middle of the night surfing!

The display screen, regardless of being Gorilla Glass 5, does not really feel as cool and glassy as I anticipated – but pictures do glance brilliant making the phone particularly fitted to streaming movies and social media surfing. 

Of path, the brilliant and vibrant reveal at the Edge 20 Pro makes it nice for gaming too. In reality, this appears to be Motorola’s actual precedence for this phone – versus images – as our benchmark assessments published. 

Specs & Performance

• Snapdragon 870 5G
• 12GB RAM
• 256GB garage

So how does the Edge 20 Pro in reality carry out? Surprisingly nicely – now that is no slight to Motorola. My revel in has been essentially with its funds G collection, so efficiency at the Edge 20 was once in reality a breath of clean air.

In my revel in, the Edge 20 Pro was once fast and responsive and was once ready to take nearly the rest I threw at it. I essentially used the phone to take photos, browse social media, message buddies, navigate town, and watch movies: it was once all easy crusing. 

The Edge 20 Pro excelled specifically in our gaming and graphics benchmarks, outdoing the OnePlus Nord 2 in nearly all assessments. The Edge 20 Pro hit a staggering 121fps within the GFX T-Rex graphics take a look at too, outdoing the OnePlus 9 (from £629/US$729) which options the extra tough Snapdragon 888. You can thank the Adreno 650 GPU for that, a graphics chip you’ll be able to additionally in finding at the Galaxy Z Flip 3 (from £950/$999).

With a brilliant 144Hz reveal and robust graphics efficiency, it is transparent that Motorola has prioritised gaming within the Edge 20 Pro.

If you might be after a gaming phone, you’ll be able to simply need to come to a decision whether or not you would need a phone that is optimised for gaming, or spend money on a devoted gaming phone that may take care of different issues too, just like the Asus ROG Phone 5 – the most productive gaming phone available on the market.

Ports & Connectivity

Unlike the unique Edge, you will not discover a 3.5mm headphone jack at the Edge 20 Pro, so you will have to depend on its Bluetooth 5.1 connection for headphone listening as an alternative.

Otherwise, there is a USB-C 3.1 port, used for each charging and for connecting to the Ready For adaptor which comes integrated (extra in this later). With DisplayPort 1.4 beef up, the Ready For connector must beef up outputs of as much as 8K at 60Hz.

The Edge 20 Pro is a dual-SIM phone with NFC beef up, dual-band Wi-Fi 6, and naturally, 5G connectivity, which is a pleasing little bit of future-proofing. Admittedly, you will not in finding 5G networks in every single place, so if you are no longer choosy, do not fail to remember succesful 4G handsets just like the Poco X3 Pro (from £229).

Cameras

• 108Mp primary digital camera
• 8Mp telephoto
• 16Mp telephoto
• 32Mp entrance digital camera

A 108Mp primary snapper sounds spectacular on paper, but how does it in reality carry out? Unfortunately, my ideas right here echo what I’ve stated about different Motorola telephones I’ve reviewed. It’s simply ok. Not unhealthy, no longer nice. 

First off, the 108Mp answer does not in reality kick in by itself. You’ll need to dive into the settings to permit it. Bigger does not mechanically imply higher even though. Like maximum telephones that tempt consumers with a prime megapixel depend, the Edge 20 Pro’s pixel-binning crunches the general answer all the way down to 12Mp.

(*20*)

That must nonetheless permit nice images – because the iPhone 13 and Google Pixel 5 have proven, either one of which provide 12Mp primary cameras; but footage appear to lack at the Edge 20 Pro. 

While pictures in vibrant sunlight glance sharp, brilliant and vibrant, there’s a noticeable lack of element while you use the telephoto lens or shoot in low mild prerequisites. Edges (paradoxically) begin to blur and surfaces and textures seem easy and boring. If the lighting fixtures is simply too low, you’ll be able to additionally get started seeing a aggravating quantity of graining.

This could also be the case for the 32Mp front-facing digital camera. You’ll be fantastic if you are in a well-lit room or in sunlight, but there’s a lack of element and added grain if you are in much less beneficial mild. 

In some circumstances, I additionally discovered that during portrait mode struggled to constantly blur the background, leading to a blotchy impact within the foreground:

You can see examples of different footage within the slideshow under.

With an RRP of £649, this in reality should not be the case. You can pick out up the ZTE Axon 30 Ultra for a similar value and get one of the crucial absolute best digital camera efficiency we have now observed. In reality, even the £399 OnePlus Nord 2, the present king of mid-range telephones, severely inspired us with its images.

It’s a disgrace the cameras don’t seem to be reasonably extra succesful, as this is able to make the Edge 20 Pro a perfect all-rounder. If you might be on the lookout for a phone with an excellent digital camera, take a look at those main digital camera telephones as an alternative.

Then once more, if you do not care a lot about cellular images, the most important competitor to the Edge 20 Pro is the Realme GT 5G, which gives a Snapdragon 888 chip, a 120Hz AMOLED reveal and 65W rapid charging. It prices below £500 too, making its middling cameras reasonably extra justifiable. 

Battery Life & Charging

• 4500mAh battery
• 30W Turbo Charge

The Edge 20 Pro’s Turbo Charge function lets in 30W rapid charging. In my revel in, I may just juice up the 4500mAh battery through 36% from 0 in quarter-hour, whilst half-hour crowned it as much as 61%. 

That’s no longer unhealthy if you are in a hurry and want a couple of additional percents straight away, and it is no doubt an improve from the unique Edge’s 18W Fast Charging. It’s simply no longer the quickest round. The Nord 2 gives a 4500mAh battery with 65W Fast Charging, whilst loopy 120W Fast Charging at the top rate mid-range Xiaomi 11T Pro (£599/649€) replenishes its huge 5000mAH battery in about 20 mins.

In our PC Mark Work 3.0 battery take a look at, the Edge 20 lasted 11 hours and a couple of mins with the display screen refresh fee set to 144Hz – so you’ll be able to be expecting no less than a complete day’s use even at complete throttle. 

In the actual global, you most likely would possibly not have the reveal working for 11 hours instantly, so that you must be capable of squeeze out extra use. I may just simply pass an afternoon with out charging the phone (with refresh fee set to Auto), and the general few % would closing for over an hour, from time to time two.

Software & Apps

• Android 11
• DisplayPort 1.4 beef up
• Ready For adaptor supplied

Like different Motorola telephones I’ve reviewed, the Edge 20 Pro gives a blank Android 11 revel in with gestural navigation beef up and no bloatware. All the pre-loaded apps are from the Google suite, so it is as shut as you’ll be able to come to a natural Android revel in with out purchasing a Google phone.

Motorola provides its personal UX prospers, which I’ve come to like, just like the three-finger screenshot shortcut or ‘karate-chop’ movement flashlight shortcut. You can now additionally get right of entry to a shortcuts menu through double-tapping the ability button. All of that is performed tastefully, so that you by no means really feel like Motorola’s implementing its UX onto you. 

Not but ‘Ready For’ this

Motorola’s Ready For function means that you can solid your phone to an exterior observe, PC, or TV, each wirelessly or stressed. The phone ships with the Ready For adaptor, which is composed of a USB-C connector on one finish and an HDMI connector at the different.

Motorola positions this option as a large promoting level. There are a number of guarantees right here to consolidate the Edge 20 Pro right into a one-stop cellular workstation, hooked up gaming platform, webcam – the checklist is going on. I used to be excited to take a look at it.

When I solid the phone to my TV and fired up YouTube there was once a disappointing lag and stuttering. This might be all the way down to my community connection, but that might counsel someone with a gradual connection would combat to take pleasure in this option.

It additionally turns out a little redundant to make use of the Ready For function to get right of entry to streaming apps if the ones apps can also be accessed immediately out of your sensible TV or quite a lot of affordable media streamers like a Google Chromecast.

To use Ready For together with your PC you’ll be able to want to set up the Ready For Assistant (you’ll be able to in finding the hyperlink against the ground of Motorola’s web page). 

I explored the Ready For desktop revel in on my computer and located the revel in in a similar way clunky. You want to open the Assistant after which scan a QR code out of your phone to sync and release the provider.

Again, it is obscure why someone would go for Motorola’s cellular desktop instead of a real PC.

It can be nice to have a phone that may double up as a PC, but Ready For is not fairly but in a position – no less than no longer in its present shape.

Don’t get me unsuitable: I believe it is a nice concept to make computing as mild and transportable as conceivable, particularly as we cut up our time between running at house and the place of business (who desires to lug round a computer anyway?).

Motorola will simply have to determine how one can make the function extra handy and as tough as present choices, so do not purchase the Edge 20 Pro essentially for this.

Price & Availability

The Motorola Edge 20 Pro prices £649 and is in the stores immediately from Motorola or Lenovo (father or mother corporate) in Blue Vegan Leather or Midnight Blue. You can in finding it from Amazon, Argos, and John Lewis, and Very. At the instant, we will most effective see choices with 12GB RAM and 256GB garage. 

The handset is not to be had in the United States, consumers can discover a very equivalent Motorola Edge (2021) for $699 (lowered to $499 at time of writing).

On the contract facet, the Edge 20 Pro is to be had from Vodafone and Carphone Warehouse.

£649 is a steep value when taking into account that the cameras don’t seem to be a showstopper, and the Ready For device nonetheless has some kinks to determine – but maximum main flagship telephones will price you no less than £100 extra, whilst additionally capping at 120Hz refresh charges.

If you do not thoughts elevating your funds, take a look at the most productive flagship telephones available on the market. And there are many nice mid-range telephones with equivalent options to imagine.

Verdict

The Motorola Edge 20 Pro has some respectable issues going for it. Mainly the spectacular 144Hz OLED reveal and strong parts leading to top-notch efficiency.

It’s additionally nonetheless the case that choosing a Motorola handset will get you a virtually inventory Android revel in with most commonly helpful additions.

It may appear to be a good selection then but the competitiveness of the broader phone marketplace make the Edge 20 Pro appear missing – particularly with that ‘Pro’ moniker and the asking value of £649.

When it comes all the way down to it, the handset is lacking too many flagship options for to justify this determine, together with right kind waterproofing, wi-fi charging and correctly rapid charging. Then there may be the truth that the cameras are most effective in reality ready to pump out top of the range ends up in just right lighting fixtures prerequisites.

The reality is, you’ll be able to get equivalent and extra well-rounded telephones at inexpensive mid-range costs – the Google Pixel 6, Realme GT 5G and OnePlus Nord 2, for instance – preventing the Edge 20 Pro scoring any upper. 

Specs

Motorola Edge 20 Pro: Specs

• Cameras: 108MP primary, 8Mp telephoto, 16Mp ultra-wide perspective, 32MP entrance
• Battery: 4500mAh w/ 30W TurboEnergy charging
• Display: 6.7in OLED, 144Hz refresh fee, HDR10+, DCI-P3
• Audio: Bottom-ported speaker
  Protection: IP52 Water-repellent, integrated silicone case
• Processor: Qualcomm Snapdragon 870, Adreno 650 GPU
• Storage: 12GB RAM/256GB garage UFS 3.1
• Security: Side-mounted fingerprint sensor
• Dimensions: 163mm x 76mm x 7.99mm
• Colours: Midnight Sky
  Operating device: Android 11
• Memory: 12GB RAM