Comes with a useful set of cameras and Snapdragon 870 processor!
Motorola used to be so relevant back in the 80s, and their smartphones were also really good early 2015, before and during Lenovo’s purchase. However, a few years passed and most Motorola stores in the Philippines closed, and they slowly drifted away from the PH market. With the release of the Motorola Edge 20 series, it looks like Motorola is back for another round. Lenovo already set foot once again for their mobile division and Motorola has since started again marketing and releasing budget phones in the country.
The Motorola Edge series serves as one of the first flagships, or “high-end” phones that the company would be releasing for the PH market since their come back, and we’re glad to say they are actually valuable and worth your cash. Other than the Edge 20 Pro, the Edge 20 Fusion is also available.
Motorola Edge 20 Pro
Starting with the screen, it’s a 6.7in. AMOLED panel with 20:9 aspect ratio and 144Hz refresh rate! (That’s comparable to gaming phones with even higher prices!) This display supports HDR10+ and has DCI-P3 colour gamut. In addition, the phone is IP52 rated for splash protection and the display is protected by 2.5D Corning Gorilla Glass 5. The phone is built on a premium aluminium frame.
The cameras are also pretty useful, a true and genuine “triple camera setup” unlike other brands and models. The main shooter is 108mp, this is coupled by an 8mp periscope with 5x optical zoom and a 16mp ultrawide with 119° FOV. The periscope has OIS since you do have to zoom in at the farthest of targets. Motorola did not state any form of stabilisation for the main and UW sensors however. The main camera can record up to 8K@24fps, and 4K@30 or 60fps.
The selfie camera is 32mp, but this is not stated in Motorola’s website. This front camera has a Pro mode, Dual Capture, Live Filter and Night Vision with beautification features. What’s impressive about this front camera is that it can record 4K video, although because the camera hardware is not stated in Motorola’s website, we doubt if it has OIS like the periscope camera
For the performance, the phone is flagship in all respects. It uses a Qualcomm Snapdragon 870 processor with 12GB RAM and 256GB UFS 3.1 storage for an ultra fast read and write. The phone is 5G-ready. While not the highest flagship (that would go for the SD888+), it’s still a flagship phone nonetheless and can compete even against phones with SD888 as their chipset.
The phone ships with MyUX based on Android 11. This UI is actually very similar to OxygenOS wherein it’s very very close to stock Android, but with slightly modified features to further improve the experience. For biometrics and security, you have a side-mounted fingerprint scanner, facial recognition as well as Lenovo’s ThinkShield security suite.
For battery, the phone comes with a fair capacity of 4500mAh coupled with 30W fast charging. According to Motorola, the phone can last up to 34h on a single charge, based on regular use.
For audio, the phone misses out on the audio jack sadly, but this is partly compensated by stereo speakers tuned by Waves Maxx Audio and a triple mic setup (one of which is a noise-cancellation mic). For connectivity, the phone supports dual band Wi-Fi, global bands, NFC and Bluetooth 5.1
In the Philippines, the phone is priced at a surprisingly valuable Php29,990 which is cheaper than phones of the same calibre. In addition, unlike phones with similar prices, this one feels less gimmicky on paper and actually has all the things you need, be it casual use, gaming or photography. Nothing feels gimmicky here. The lack of the headphone jack may turn some people off but it’s one of the few features you gotta give up.
The phone is cheaper during its pre-order stage. During the pre-order stage, the phone is priced at Php27,995 with the same configuration, and has freebies worth Php11,995. These include the Yoga ANC headset and a travel adapter. Pre-orders start on 21st October
Motorola Edge 20 Fusion:
We never believed that the Fusion would actually be released here. Honestly, we believed that the Lite will be released first but oh well here we are. The Fusion is the middle child of the series which means it’s more powerful than the Lite but not as much as the Pro.
Like the Pro, the Fusion comes with a 6.7in. OLED screen. Although the refresh rate was toned down to just 90Hz. It’s still a punch hole, and that is still a fast refresh rate that is still typically seen on newer phones these days. Because it’s OLED, it supports HDR10+ and DCI-P3 colour gamut.
For the camera, it retained the Pro’s 108mp camera, but the other complementary cameras have been toned down as well. Instead of a 16mp ultrawide, you get an 8mp ultrawide with 118° FOV instead. The telephoto is absent and has been replaced by a gimmicky 2mp depth sensor intended for bokeh effects. As the Fusion is a cheaper variant, there has to be some compromises and compensation. The phone did keep the same 32mp front camera as the Pro variant.
While the Fusion uses the same 108mp camera, the phone cannot record in 8K and you’re locked with 4K@30 or 60fps, which is still not terrible as this is still a very high resolution video that would just eat up storage if you frequently use it.
The phone uses a Mediatek Dimensity 800U 5G processor. While obviously not as powerful as the Snapdragon 870, it’s still a higher midrange processor, equivalent to either the Snapdragon 750G or the 765G. In the Philippines, the phone comes with 8/128 configuration. The 6GB RAM available in India is not available for us unfortunately.
The battery is slightly larger than the Edge 20 Pro while also keeping the same 30W fast charging as its higher-tier sibling. The battery is rated at 5000mAh. Like the rest of the series, the phone ships with MyUX based on Android 11 and comes with the ThinkShield security suite.
For audio, the phone luckily did not skip out the 3.5mm headphone jack so you don’t have to buy unnecessary dongles or wireless earphones to use your headphones. This headphone jack would cost you a single microphone however, but to us, that’s a fair trade.
Like the Edge 20 Pro, the Fusion has a Google Assistant button, support for NFC, dual-band Wi-Fi and IP52 splash resistance. For security, it has a side-mounted fingerprint scanner as well as the option for facial recognition.
In the Philippines, the phone is priced at a valuable Php16,995 and is further discounted during its pre-order stage to just Php15,995 which is Php1000 less than the original price. It has freebies worth Php3,995. The freebies include Lenovo’s smartwatch and a wireless headset. Pre-orders have started since 15th October.
Sources: Motorola Philippines (Edge 20 Pro), Motorola Philippines (Motorola Edge 20 Fusion)