Motorola Edge 20 Pro First Impressions: This Could Be A Game-Changer

| Published: Friday, October 1, 2021, 15:21 [IST]

Motorola has launched its most premium smartphone under the ambitious Edge-series portfolio. The new handset- Edge 20 Pro brings some headline features to its respective price bracket that makes it worth your attention. Priced at Rs. 36,999 for the lone variant, the handset flaunts a 10-bit AMOLED display with a segment-leading 144Hz refresh rate. It boasts a 108MP triple-lens camera system capable of 50x digital zoom and has an 11-band 5G support for future-proof connectivity.

The Edge 20 Pro is powered by the Snapdragon 870 SoC, the same chipset that supplies power to some well-known value flagships- the OnePlus 9R, Vivo X60/X60 Pro, and the iQOO 7. But what separates the Motorola handset from the lot is the software experience. Unlike any other value flagship handset, the Edge 20 Pro brings the goodness of Stock Android and that alone is a big reason to consider this handset.

That said, we used the device for over two days to pen down our first impressions.

Class-Leading 144Hz Refresh Rate Display

The Edge 20 Pro is the first handset in its respective price segment to flaunt a 10-bit 144Hz AMOLED display. The screen also gets the class-leading low latency of 576Hz, another first in its category. I have been using 120Hz refresh rate panels for a while and I can tell a slight difference in the overall responsiveness. The display is extremely fluid and snappy. The 6.7" AMOLED FHD+ display, 20 supports HDR10+ and DCI-P3 color space.

Looks Premium & Feels Sturdy

The Edge 20 Pro looks premium and feels sturdy. The subtle design with a smooth matte textured glass back feels good to touch. The aluminum alloy gives the device the required strength and both front and back get a layer of Corning Gorilla Glass 5. The Edge 20 Pro is not an ideal one-hand fit but rests comfortably in the palm, thanks to its curved back offering good ergonomics.

The 108MP triple-lens camera module stands out on the minimally designed back panel. The phone is available in two colors- Midnight Sky & Iridescent Cloud. We are testing the former and it looks pretty stylish. The handset has a Type-C charging port at the bottom, volume rockers and power button (doubles up as a biometric scanner) on the right, and a dedicated Google Assistant button on the left side. The device is IP52 water-repellent.

108MP Triple-Lens Camera With 50X Digital Zoom

The Edge 20 Pro boasts a pretty impressive camera system featuring a 108MP 1/1.52" primary lens with an f/1.9 aperture. It is accompanied by an OIS-enabled 8MP 5X periscope telephoto lens and a 16MP ultra-wide angle f/2.2 lens that doubles up as a macro sensor. The setup can record 8K (24fps), 4k (60/30fps), and FHD (60/30fps) videos. The camera setup can even shoot 4K videos (30fps) in the macro mode, which delivers some interesting results.

For selfies, the Edge 20 Pro offers a 32MP, f/2.25 aperture sensor. The camera on the Edge 20 Pro captures crisp pictures in daylight with a wide dynamic range. The portraits also revealed natural blur and the wide-angle lens delivers detailed macros; however, we noticed some focusing issues with the camera system. The 5x shots captured on the periscope lens appeared soft and lacked fine detailing.

Feature-Packed Camera App

The camera app is quite feature-packed but isn't very intuitive to use. You have to dig in a lot to find all the useful modes and settings. More on the camera performance in our detailed review where we will talk about the picture/video quality in various lighting conditions.

Motorola Edge 20 Pro Hardware & Software

We played some games and used the device for all basic and high-end tasks including 8K video recording, video editing, and multitasking, and didn't notice any lags or performance issues. The SD870 is no slouch and can perform as well as the SD888 with well-optimized software, something the Edge 20 Pro offers out-of-the-box. Additionally, the handset has 8GB LPDDR5 RAM and 128GB of UFS 3.1 storage but no higher variant, why Moto?

Needless to say, the stock Android on the handset feels very much at home and has been tweaked with some good Moto goodies. These extra Moto tweaks include- Moto Gestures (quick capture, fast torch, power touch, lift to unlock, etc.), Peek display, attentive display, and some interesting utilities such as swipe to split display for running two apps at once, volume rockers backed media controls, custom audio profiles, etc.

As far as the software is concerned, the Edge 20 Pro is eligible for an assured update to Android 12 and 13 and two-plus years of security updates. The smartphone is backed by a modest 4,500 mAh battery cell and ships with a 30W fast-charger in the box. For connectivity, the handset has Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.1, NFC, Carrier Aggregation, and MIMO technology support.

Should You Consider Buying The Motorola Edge 20 Pro?

The Edge 20 Pro is a well-packed sub-40K smartphone that brings some segment-first features and a near-stock Android software experience. It seems to be a better deal than the OnePlus 9R but the real test will happen when we pit both the handsets in the coming week.

The Motorola Edge 20 Pro is available in a single variant at Rs. 36,999 and can be bought at an effective price of just Rs. 35,499 with a card discount of 10% on ICICI and Axis bank cards.