The design of a smartphone is often a matter of personal preference. However, most users appreciate a phone that offers a premium feel when held in hand. In my opinion, the Motorola Edge 40 excels in this aspect with its faux-leather rear panel. The Nebula Green color variant, which I had the opportunity to test, seems to be the trendiest shade of the season. It instantly became one of my favorite shades of green, rivaling the Lime Green color of the OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite 5G and the Lime color of the Samsung Galaxy A34 5G. The Edge 40 not only captivates with its color but also with its exceptional in-hand feel.
The textured surface, coupled with the phoneโs curved edges and lightweight build (measuring only 7.58mm in thickness and weighing 171g), contributes to its excellent ergonomics. Additionally, the phone features a sturdy metal frame and boasts an IP68 rating for water and dust resistance, a rarity among phones in the sub-Rs. 30,000 price range.
On the front of the Motorola Edge 40, youโll find a 6.6-inch curved-edge pOLED display with minimal bezels at the top and bottom, providing an immersive viewing experience. However, the extreme curvature on the sides of the display, combined with the slim form factor, occasionally resulted in accidental touches, giving rise to a ghost-touch-like effect during gaming sessions. Personally, I would have preferred a less pronounced curvature, similar to the one found on the Realme 10 Pro+ 5G.
With a full-HD+ resolution, the display of the Motorola Edge 40 offers excellent viewing angles. By default, the colors appear quite saturated, providing a vibrant visual experience. However, if you prefer more natural and warmer tones, you can easily switch to the โNaturalโ setting in the display settings. The display also boasts HDR10+ playback certification, although apps such as Netflix and YouTube did not detect it during my testing. The in-display fingerprint sensor works flawlessly and is conveniently positioned beneath the display, ensuring comfortable usage.
One of the standout features of the Edge 40 is its 144Hz refresh rate display, making it the sole smartphone under Rs. 30,000 in India to offer this remarkable feature. However, it appears that several apps have yet to fully utilize this capability, as my experience indicated that the display was mostly running between 60Hz and 120Hz.
Motorola Edge 40: Specifications and Software
Under the hood, the Motorola Edge 40 houses the powerful MediaTek Dimensity 8020 SoC, which is essentially an enhanced version of the Dimensity 1100 SoC. It is equipped with 8GB of LPDDR4X RAM and 256GB of UFS 3.1 storage. The phone is powered by a 4,400mAh battery, which supports 68W TurboPower fast charging. Notably, it also offers the convenience of 15W wireless charging, an unheard-of feature in this price segment.
In terms of software, the Motorola Edge 40 runs on the latest Android 13-based MyUX skin. Motorolaโs custom skin stands out among the myriad Android skins available, as it provides a clean software experience while adding several useful features. The Edge 40 comes devoid of any third-party bloatware and offers extensive customization and personalization options, such as the ability to change icons, wallpapers, fonts, and sound profiles.
Motorola also includes support for various intuitive gestures that can trigger specific tasks, adding a touch of convenience to the user experience. For instance, you can double-tap the rear panel to trigger customized actions, twist your
wrist twice to swiftly access the camera, or turn the torch on or off with two karate chop motions. These gestures enhance the overall usability of the device.
Furthermore, Motorola goes the extra mile by incorporating Lenovoโs ThinkShield security and privacy features within the Moto Secure app. This empowers users to keep a close eye on app permissions and privacy indicators related to camera, microphone, and location access.
Motorola has made a commendable commitment to its customers, pledging to provide two major Android updates and three years of security support for the Edge 40.
Motorola Edge 40: Performance and Battery Life
Thanks to the potent Dimensity 8020 SoC, the Motorola Edge 40 delivers impressive performance within its segment. Whether youโre effortlessly switching between apps, scrolling through social media, or indulging in gaming sessions, the device offers a consistently smooth experience. In games like BGMI, I was able to enjoy the โUltraโ frame rate and HDR graphics. Although I initially noticed a few stutters while playing at the highest settings, the phone soon settled into delivering a remarkably smooth performance. Call of Duty: Mobile, on the other hand, ran flawlessly without any hiccups.
During extended gaming sessions, I did observe the phone getting slightly warm around the camera module, which is to be expected. Considering the slim form factor, I must commend Motorola for ensuring excellent heat dissipation, which ultimately leads to sustained performance.
In terms of benchmark scores, the Motorola Edge 40 achieved 7,64,083 points in AnTuTu (v10), putting it behind the current segment leader, the Poco F5, which scored 1,094,798 points. In Geekbench 6, the phone garnered 1,103 and 3,588 points in the single-core and multi-core tests, respectively.
With moderate usage and no gaming, the Motorola Edge 40 can comfortably last an entire day on a single charge. However, if you engage in gaming sessions for around an hour, you may need to recharge the device by the end of the day. On average, the Edge 40 provided me with approximately 7 hours and 30 minutes of screen-on time. In our HD video loop test, the phone lasted an above-average duration of 15 hours and 31 minutes.
Thankfully, the phone supports 68W fast charging, which consistently charged the Edge 40 from zero to 75 percent in just 30 minutes. Additionally, it offers 15W wireless charging, a convenient feature for users who have wireless chargers at home or work.
Motorola Edge 40: Camera Capabilities
The Motorola Edge 40 boasts a dual-camera setup, headlined by a 50-megapixel f/1.47 primary camera with optical image stabilization (OIS). Accompanying it is a 13-megapixel sensor equipped with an ultra-wide lens, which is also capable of capturing macro shots. For selfies, the Edge 40 features a 32-megapixel front-facing camera.
The primary camera captures impressive details, although it tends to oversharpen the images at times. Moreover, the colors can appear slightly oversaturated to deliver a vibrant look. While the software attempts to improve the dynamic range through post-processing, the results can be hit or miss. Thanks to the wide aperture, the primary camera achieves a shallow depth of field when capturing close-up subjects. In low-light conditions, it strikes a good balance between details and colors, providing well-exposed shadows and controlled highlights.
The ultra-wide camera performs admirably, considering its price point. Some distortion is evident around the edges, which is common for ultra-wide lenses. However, this sensorโs autofocus capability sets it apart, enabling high-resolution macro shots from very close distances. This implementation far surpasses
es the 2-megapixel macro sensors found in many smartphones across different price ranges. However, the color accuracy of the macro shots could be improved.
The rear main camera also offers portrait mode at 24mm, 35mm, and 50mm focal lengths. While subject segmentation is generally accurate, the blur effect can appear unnatural, and skin tones may appear too soft when capturing human subjects.
The front-facing camera struggles to capture accurate skin tones most of the time, often resulting in a slight red hue in selfies taken with the Motorola Edge 40. Although the portrait mode provides a creamy background blur, it can sometimes blur out parts of the subjectโs face.
When it comes to video recording, the Motorola Edge 40 supports resolutions of up to 4K at 30fps or 1080p at 60fps. The overall color reproduction and dynamic range performance of both the rear and front cameras are pleasing. The rear cameraโs inclusion of OIS contributes to decent stabilization. Additionally, the phone offers a Horizon lock feature that maintains the frameโs orientation even when the phone is flipped upside down while recording 1080p videos.
Verdict
The Motorola Edge 40 presents a capable hardware package wrapped in a sleek and curvy body, exuding a premium aesthetic from a distance. It offers an excellent in-hand feel, an immersive multimedia experience, and commendable performance. The software experience is both feature-rich and clean, providing users with an enjoyable interface.
Furthermore, the Edge 40 introduces features that are virtually unheard of in its segment, including an IP68 rating, a 144Hz pOLED curved-edge display, and wireless charging.
However, the camera capabilities of the Edge 40 require further refinement. Although the hardware and features appear solid on paper, Motorola needs to optimize the camera performance to maintain a competitive edge.
If you seek an all-around smartphone under Rs. 30,000 and are willing to compromise slightly on the camera quality, the Motorola Edge 40 is worth considering. However, itโs important to note that the Redmi Note 12 Pro+ 5G and the Samsung Galaxy A34 5G offer slightly better camera performance.
