Motorola Edge 30 Pro officially unveiled, set to launch next month for £699

After being released in China several months ago, Motorola has finally announced the Motorola Edge 30 Pro. The flagship phone is set to launch on 4th March for £699.

Motorola will be going head to head with Samsung’s latest Galaxy S22 line, in particular the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra. Not only do the two phones have similar specs, but their stylus support is advertised as a major selling point for the flagship devices, targeting creatives and professionals alike. However, Motorola will be significantly undercutting Samsung at £699, compared to £1149 for the S22 Ultra.

Motorola’s Smart Stylus is their counterpart to Samsung’s S Pen technology. The stylus will be sensitive to pressure, and can also double as a remote control - such as a camera button. However, unlike the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra, the Motorola Edge 30 Pro will not include a stylus. A stylus with a case to hold it must be purchased separately as a bundle. Pricing for said bundle has yet to be announced, but Motorola will be releasing more details in the following weeks.

Unlike the previous Motorola Edge, the display won’t wrap around the phone. This is also a technology Samsung have moved away from, most likely in an attempt to look similar to the Apple iPhone 13. The display features a large 6.7 inch pOLED screen, with a high 144Hz refresh rate and HDR10+ support. Resolution will be FHD+ 2400 x 1080 pixels. Bezels are symmetrical but minimal, with a 88.5% body to screen ratio. Thankfully, there’s no notch, with a small pinhole cutout at the top instead for the selfie camera. The display will be protected against accidental damage and scratches with Gorilla Glass 3 technology.

As with most flagship Android phones, the Motorola Edge 30 Pro will be powered by the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1. The Qualcomm chip has suffered from various thermal and power efficiency related problems with other phones. Unfortunately, the Motorola Edge 30 Pro will come just before the release of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 Plus, which is said to address these issues in some capacity.

However, there will be a large 4800mAh battery, which Motorola claims can deliver up to 2 days of regular usage. Furthermore, the phone will support Motorola’s TurboPower technology, for fast 30W charging. Motorola claims their tech can “deliver hours of battery life” in minutes, but exact numbers haven’t been disclosed. Motorola will also include a 30W TurboPower in the box, so you can benefit from the fast charging technology without having to purchase a separate adapter. In addition to fast wired charging, there will be 15W wireless charging, with 5W reverse wireless charging to boost your other devices.

The Motorola Edge 30 Pro will come in multiple storage variants, but not all variants will be available in all regions. The phone will come with 8GB or 12GB memory, and 128GB, 256GB and 512GB storage variants. However, the 12GB / 256GB variant will be the only model that can be purchased at launch in the UK and Europe. Motorola said they may launch the additional variants in the region at a later date.

On the rear, there will be a triple array of cameras. There will be two 50 MP cameras - a main 50 MP f/1.8 wide camera with optical image stabilisation, and a 50 MP f/2.2 ultrawide camera with macro support. The third camera will be a 2 MP depth sensor, which Motorola claims can produce a better depth of field effect. The camera will support pixel binning technology for better low light shots, merging four pixels into a single pixel - the same technology used with the Samsung Galaxy S22 camera. There will be HDR 10+ video recording up to 8K 24fps. On the front, there’s a huge 60 MP camera - one of the largest selfie cameras we’ve seen.

With a Qualcomm Snapdragon X65 modem, the Motorola Edge 30 Pro will be capable of 5G speeds up to 10Gbps, with Wi-Fi 6 and Wi-Fi 6E support. This will be the same modem rumoured to be used by Apple within the upcoming Apple iPhone 14.

The phone will launch with Android 12, with Motorola’s My UX skin. The skin is quite minimal, without modifying the default Android 12 look too much. Motorola has promised 2 years or major Android updates, and 3 years of security updates, meaning the final version the phone will receive will be Android 14 in 2023/2024. This isn’t as good as Samsung’s 4 years of major Android updates and 5 years of security updates, however it’s still better than some of the competition.

Unfortunately, there will only be an IP52 rating, which means the Motorola Edge 30 Pro can withstand splashes, but can’t be dropped in water (unlike an IP68 rating, with the Samsung Galaxy S22)

The phone will feature dual stereo speakers with Dolby Atmos tuning, which Motorola claims will offer a “richer, more natural sound”.

The Motorola Edge 30 Pro will be available from 4th March at £699, and will come in Cosmos Blue and Stardust White colours.

Specifications

• Motorola Edge 30 Ultra Deals