Verdict
Motorola has n’t reinvent its mid - range smartphone option , but it has complicate it with an extremely lightweight body and an improved camera . The blade ’s unique 144Hz display and super - clean software also help the Edge 30 stand out from the gang , though concerns over stamina forbid a clean sweep .
Pros
Cons
Key Features
Introduction
The Motorola Edge 30 is a mid - range phone with an fantastically slender and light trunk , seemly carrying into action , and an unusually fluid display . So far , so similar to last yr ’s Motorola Edge 20 . However , at £ 379.99 , this twelvemonth ’s model is even cheaper than its predecessor .
Not only does this make the Edge 30 a uncommon telephone set that ’s in reality get cheaper , but it also hands down undercut mid - range titans such as thePixel 6a .
While it can plain compete on price , it remains to be reckon if Motorola can match those phone for sheer quality . Last year ’s model miss a little something in a few key areas , including the camera . Has Motorola handle to up its mid - range plot ?
Design and screen
To look at , you might be forgiven for think that Motorola has simply live with the exact same excogitation as theMotorola Edge 20 . The Edge 30 has the same flimsy , straight - edged look , here rendered in a rather grim Meteor Grey .
regrettably , it does n’t feel any more premium than before , with the same kind of all - plastic construction and Gorilla Glass 3 front . I see this bland , ‘ edgeless ’ design words slightly confusing in the Edge 20 , and it ’s no clearer here .
Motorola has doubled down on induce its mid - ranger the slimmest , abstemious phone in its class , however . It ’s a mere slip of a thing at 6.8 mm flimsy and just 155 g. It ’s short and narrower than before , too , at 159.4 x 74.2 mm .
The latter is enabled by a smaller screen , but Motorola still merit some praise for get to such a featherweight of a phone – even if it lack the flagship poise of the Pixel 6a as a result .
While the Edge 30 ’s 6.5 - inch projection screen might be a little more compact than before , it ’s still a noteworthy component . An AMOLED panel head to punchy colours – a little too punchy in the nonpayment Saturated mode . I quickly budge to the more muted tone of instinctive modality , which proved to be way more colour - precise .
Its FHD+ ( 1080 x 2400 ) resolution is somewhat normal , but the Motorola Edge 30 covert ’s 144Hz refresh rate most certainly is not . Like the Edge 20 and theMotorola Edge 30 Ultra , Motorola goes above and beyond the common 120Hz refresh charge per unit .
In truth , it ’s not a specially eventful specification . The extra fluidity is n’t at all obvious in the same way as the shift from 60Hz to 90Hz is , but more smoothness is never a bad affair , especially when the Pixel 6a is still get down aside with a 60Hz refresh pace .
One fragile annoyance that I noted was that the Edge 30 ’s cleverness adjustment is poorly weighted . At 50 % brightness , I obtain it scarce viewable even indoors . Crank it justly up to near full , however , and it ’ll make a late rush towards legibility , top out out ( with auto luminousness off ) at a respectable 488 nits .
Camera
Motorola has dropped the Edge 20 ’s center - catching 108MP main camera for the Edge 30 , but I ca n’t say it ’s in particular lack . That sensor always looked more impressive on newspaper than it did in reality .
Here you get a honorable 50MP principal sensor , accompanied by a 50MP radical - spacious and a 2MP profundity sensing element . There ’s no telephotograph this time around , which is a shame , though the Edge 20 ’s 8MP zoom lens was n’t anything to write home base about .
That principal sensor seems like a better - rounded component than before . It ’s not that different in terms of size to its harbinger , it does n’t go so big on pixel bin processing caper , and it gains OIS for greater stability – specially in humbled faint condition .
The images it produces are n’t leagues better in normal lighting . They ’re merely decent , with reasonable item and satisfactory HDR performance . There are clean melioration when the sparkle drops , however , with more clarity and less stochasticity than before .
We ’re not talking about a Pixel 6a contender when the light drops , however . Night shots are far from noise - free , and can get a little too brilliant for my liking , with excessive processing robbing any gumption of shade . I also noticed some significant cereal in the sky when shooting a match of sundown guesswork .
The extremist - all-inclusive provision seems better than before . While it lacks the pop music of the main sensor , and sharpness send away off towards the edges , there is n’t a night and day difference to the chief detector when it comes to tone .
Selfie dig from the Edge 30 ’s 32MP front camera are washed out , but cutis note seem to be more accurately captured than many low-priced rivals .
Performance
Motorola has equip its phone with a warm Snapdragon 778 G Plus 5 G chip . That ’s an overclocked rendering of the Snapdragon 778 thou that powers the Motorola Edge 20 .
It ’s also the same chip that you ’ll find in the Nothing Phone ( 1 ) and , more latterly , theHonor 70 . Those are both classy mid - rangers , so the Motorola is in good companionship .
Aided by 8 GB of RAM , performance is nice here , with a generally smooth navigation experience and no egregious stutter to spoil that 144Hz party . If you ’ve used a lot of flagship phones , you ’ll mark the difference of opinion in app start - up time , unlocking speed and the alike , but most people who go for the Edge 30 wo n’t have that point of comparison .
Geekbench 6 produced an average single - Congress of Racial Equality score of 1062 and a multi - core scotch of 2944 , though throw that we test all of the Motorola Edge 30 ’s rivals using the quondam Geekbench 5 , a direct comparison is n’t in particular useful at this gunpoint .
In terms of GPU performance , the Edge 30 edges out the similarly specced Honor 70 on each of the 3D Mark bench mark test . Put simply , this a impregnable mid - range performing artist that will run most tasks , even 3D games , pretty well .
The solitary model available in the UK afford you 128 GB of internal computer memory , which is pretty typical for a earpiece of this specification .
One of the bragging improvements over the Edge 20 is the inclusion of stereo speaker system . The resulting sound output is n’t very inscrutable or nuanced – in fact , it ’s rather tinny – but you at least get proper left - right wing separation this clip around .
Perhaps the bountiful edge ( punning unintended ) that the Edge 30 has over any of its mid - range competition apart from the Pixel 6a is its package . With one of the clean , most considered UIs in the commercial enterprise , you just do n’t have to put up with the level of bloat or distraction that you do elsewhere . That counts for a lot .
Little touches like Motorola ’s lock screen notification previews and its ever - visceral gesture shortcuts really rear the day - to - solar day experience of using the earphone . It ’s a shame that it ’s still flummox on Android 12 , however .
Battery life
Despite slimming down since the Motorola Edge 20 , the Edge 30 has managed to load down in a fractionally big battery . It ’s still slightly weedy , however , at 4,020 mAh . It explicate how Motorola has made the telephone so very svelte and lightheaded .
This is n’t too come to in general term , where I was able to get through a full sidereal day of restrained usage with 3 hours of covert on sentence and be left with a little less than 50 percentage in the cooler .
That ’s far from the best solution , with most rival mid - rangers able-bodied to stay well above the 50 % mark under similar setting . It ’s satisfactory , though .
This lesser performance is exaggerated when you push the earphone hard with media usage , however . An hour of Disney+ with the cover countersink to 50 % sapped 7 % of a charge . That ’s only a percentage point or two high than I ’d expect , but commemorate what I said about that screen luminousness . At 50 % , it ’s extremely dim , meaning it ca n’t be down all that much power .
Sure enough , when I cranked the screen up to a more viewable brightness ( around 74 % ) , the same video streaming test sap 11 % from the battery . That ’s not majuscule at all .
Motorola has packed its mid - ranger with a 33W courser . We ’ve seen quicker in cheaper phones , but it matched the Nothing Phone ( 1 ) and beats the Pixel 6a , so does n’t warrant too much grumbling .
My recap model did n’t come with tell prescribed charger , for whatever understanding . knock off up to the 125W battery charger from the Motorola Edge 30 Ultra , it hit 64 % in 30 second , and 90 % in 45 minutes . you may have a bun in the oven a 0 - 100 % time of less than an hour , which come out it in the eye of the pack .
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Should you buy it?
:
If you wish your UIs clean and uncluttered and desire to spend less than £ 400 on your telephone set , only the Pixel 6a rivals the Moto Edge 30 .
While the Edge 30 will get you through a full mean solar day of regular usage , its petite 4,020mAh shelling does n’t brook up to intensive tasks as well as its challenger .
Final Thoughts
Motorola has launched a mid - range earpiece with insidious but meaningful improvement over last class ’s Motorola Edge 20 . It ’s even modest and unclouded than before , despite receive a very similar design .
Welcome improvement have been made to the television camera scheme , with an OIS - backed main sensor and a sharper 50MP ultra - wide , while functioning is even better than before . You get a likewise slick 144Hz AMOLED show , too , while Motorola ’s clean UI proceed to be a delectation to use .
All this and the Edge 30 is a little chintzy than before , which is n’t exactly a regular occurrence in the world of smartphones these days .
It ’s not the classiest mid - ranger on the market , and a relatively little battery ensures that it ’s not the longest - lasting either . But the Motorola Edge 30 stands out as a viable lightweight alternative to its heavy , fussier rivals .
Trusted Score
How we test
We test every fluid earpiece we survey thoroughly . We use industriousness - standard mental test to compare feature properly and we use the phone as our primary twist over the revue period . We ’ll always tell you what we find and we never , ever , have money to review a merchandise .
Find out more about how we prove in ourethics policy .
FAQs
Not the unspoilt , but it ’ll get you one day of moderate usage .
Yes .
6.5 inches .
No .
Android 12 .
