One thing is for sure: You can’t complain about phones being too small anymore.
That’s definitely true of Motorola’s new Edge+, a $999 flagship with a humongous 6.7-inch display and the brand new Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chip powering it. That’s the same as the recently released Samsung Galaxy S22 and S22 Ultra phones, so it’s not like Moto is keeping folks who buy the Edge+ in the stone age in terms of performance.
The phone will be available in cosmos blue and stardust white colors, but Moto didn’t share an official release date at the time of writing.
Additionally, the unlocked version of the Edge+ will be $100 off at launch for a “limited time,” but Moto didn’t clarify exactly how long that window will be after the phone launches on a mystery date. Anyway, here are the relevant specs:
6.7-inch OLED display with 144Hz refresh rate
Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1
Two 50MP lenses with a 2MP depth lens on the back
60MP selfie cam
4,800mAh battery
Support for both mmWave and sub-6Ghz 5G networks
There are some notable differences between the new Edge+ and the previous 2020 model. The screen is the same size, but the refresh rate has jumped from 90Hz to 144Hz. Can’t complain about that. One thing you can complain about is the removal of the 3.5mm headphone jack. You’ll need a USB-C to headphone jack adapter if you still prefer wired headphones.
Additionally, our reviewer criticized the 2020 Edge+ for being too heavy, at 7.1 ounces. The new one is 6.9 ounces, so weight might still be a concern for some users.
The last distinction between the 2020 model and this one is that the 2022 Edge+ isn’t Verizon-exclusive like its predecessor. It’ll be available unlocked at launch, so AT&T and T-Mobile customers will be able to get in on the action, too. However, it’ll only connect to T-Mobile and Verizon 5G networks to start, with support for the rest of the 5G carrier networks to come later.
Other odds and ends include Dolby Atmos spatial audio support for both connected headphones and the onboard speakers. The Edge+ will allegedly use this tech to make your music sound more immersive, but as Apple’s ongoing spatial audio experiment has shown, it can be hit or miss depending on the song. Moto also says the selfie cam will have improved nighttime shooting capabilities.
If you’re an Android lover who’s been looking for a bigger and smoother display, it might be prudent to hop on that $100 off promotion for the Moto Edge+ while it’s available. If both that and the new high-end processor are as good as they should be, $899 will be a pretty decent value.
I’ll just be over here enjoying my phone that I can use with one hand instead.
