Smart Android And Trik-Commenting on Andorid indeed never endless, because smart devices this one is often updated every certain amount of time. So that the market can always be garapnya menerinya with pleasure. And it is not denied if this device has become the lifestyle of each society. To not wonder if the 6th business information and many are turning to mobail smartphone. With Android which thoroughly dominated the mobile industry, choosing the best Android smartphone is almost identical to choose the best smartphone, period. But while Android phones have few real opponents on other platforms, internal competition is intense.
Introduction
Back in July, Motorola unveiled an exciting trio of Edge 20 smartphones with a few shared key features - HRR OLED screens, 108MP primary shooters, 5G connectivity, and 30W fast charging.
Today, we will be exploring the Motorola Edge 20. With a powerful Snapdragon 778 chipset and a 3x tele camera, the regular Edge 20 model is the most balanced one of the trio. There is a Pro model with a flagship Snapdragon 870 SoC and 5x periscope camera, while the Lite model runs on the basic Dimensity 720 platform and has no zoom camera.
Before we continue, we want to warn you not to confuse this Motorola Edge 20 with the US-exclusive Motorola Edge (2021) that is a reworked Edge 20 version, or the India-exclusive Motorola Edge 20 Fusion, which is based on the international Edge 20 Lite model.
So, the first thing you will immediately notice about this new Motorola Edge 20 is that it is not a curved smartphone like the original Edge, just on the contrary. It has lovely flat sides, screen and rear panel and is incredibly thin at 7mm. As usual, the Edge 20 is splash-proof thanks to its water-repellent build.
The Motorola Edge most impressive feature is the 6.7" OLED screen with 10-bit colors and 144Hz refresh rate. It supports a dynamic refresh rate too, but we will talk more about this in our display section. For now, let's say it sure looks great on paper.
This Edge 20 model is based on the Snapdragon 778G 5G chipset, which offers a powerful processor and GPU. It should be enough for smooth HRR gaming, and there is 5G connectivity, too. The Edge 20 Pro is the one with the flagship-grade Snapdragon 870 SoC, but it sure sounds like a bit overkill for a 1080p screen, don't you think?
Anyway, the rear camera of the Edge 20 is thoroughly interesting. It has a 108MP primary snapper with Samsung's ISOCELL HM3 sensor, followed by an 8MP camera with 3x optical zoom and a 16MP ultrawide shooter with autofocus for cool macro photos. The selfies are handled by a front 32MP camera. The Pro model offers 5x zoom instead of 3x, while the Lite model has no tele camera.
The Motorola Edge 20 also shines with 30W fast charging and clean-ish Android 11 with some cool Moto tricks.
Motorola Edge 20 specs at a glance:
- Body: 163.0x76.0x7.0mm, 163g; Glass front (Gorilla Glass 3), aluminum frame, plastic back; Water-repellent design.
- Display: 6.70" OLED, 1B colors, 144Hz, HDR10+, 1080x2340px resolution, 19.5:9 aspect ratio, 385ppi.
- Chipset: Qualcomm Snapdragon 778G 5G (6 nm): Octa-core (1x2.4 GHz Kryo 670 Prime & 3x2.2 GHz Kryo 670 Gold & 4x1.9 GHz Kryo 670 Silver); Adreno 642L.
- Memory: 128GB 8GB RAM, 256GB 8GB RAM; Unspecified.
- OS/Software: Android 11.
- Rear camera: Wide (main): 108 MP, f/1.9, 1/1.52", 0.7µm, PDAF; Telephoto: 8 MP, f/2.4, 79mm, 1.0µm, 3x optical zoom, PDAF, OIS; Ultra wide angle: 16 MP, f/2.2, 13mm, 119˚, 1.0µm.
- Front camera: 32 MP, f/2.3, (wide), 0.7µm.
- Video capture: Rear camera: 4K@30fps, 1080p@30/60/120/240fps, 720p@960fps, gyro-EIS; Front camera: 1080p@30fps.
- Battery: 4000mAh; Fast charging 30W.
- Misc: Fingerprint reader (side-mounted); NFC.
Looking at the specs of the Motorola Edge 20, we can think of only two possible issues - the omission of stereo speakers and the battery capacity. Other mid-range smartphones are offering dual speakers and 4,500mAh or more capacity, especially larger phones like the Edge 20.
Without further ado, here is the Motorola Edge 20.
Unboxing the Motorola Edge 20
Motorola Edge 20 ships within a thin blue box, which contains a 30W power adapter with a USB-C port and a USB-C cable.
The phone also arrives with a transparent silicone case, and it's already put on for your convenience.
Design, build quality, handling
The Motorola Edge 20 is not like the original model, which was called Edge for a reason - for its curved screen with, well, prominent edges. Let's say this new Edge 20 model is edgier because it has no curves whatsoever, but we do love its trendy flat edges. Yes, that's enough wordplay.
The Edge 20 is not like your typical smartphone for a number of reasons. First - it's quite thin at 7mm and is flat all around. It also feels incredibly light for a device of such caliber. The matt rear panel is pretty good looking, while the traffic light-like camera setup is not exactly what you'd expect. Oh, and the Edge 20 is splash-proof like many other Moto phones.
We are happy that Motorola decided to overhaul the Edge design and take a completely different approach. While the original Edge was a looker, it wasn't that easy to handle. And now, the Edge 20 is the epitome of excellent handling experience with its flat metal frame, flat matt back and flat front. And weighing a mere 163g is just the cherry on the cake.
The Edge 20 has no official IP rating, but Motorola is advertising it for its water-repellent design and claims it is splash-proof. This means it is sealed well enough to survive light rain and splashes, but it should not be submerged into water.
The front of the Motorola Edge 20 is occupied by the 6.7-inch OLED screen with HDR10+, 10-bit color support, and 144Hz refresh rate. Sounds as flagship as OLEDs come, that's for sure. Protection is handled by a Gorilla Glass 3 piece - not the toughest to break, but not as easy to scratch.
The screen has reasonably thin and balanced bezels; it also has a tiny cutout for the selfie camera centered around the top.
There is no fingerprint reader underneath though, Moto Edge 20 has that biometric sensor on its side.
The last feature of interest at the front is the unbelievably thin and almost invisible earpiece. It's not acting as a second speaker though - the Motorola Edge 20 doesn't feature a stereo setup, unfortunately.
The Frosted Gray back panel is lovely. It is made of plastic and is flat, but its matte finish is what's cool. Our Gray model looks black if there is no direct light, but when this changes - the Edge 20 catches and shifts some light through its frosted panel. It's a subtle yet captivating effect.
The dark paintjob and matte coating make the back one massive fingerprint magnet. Worse - it's not that easy to clean. You can use the supplied case and avoid both smudging and wobbling, or you can opt for the Frosted Emerald or Frosted White versions (both with Aurora-like effects) and avoid the smudginess.
Motorola has put a superb triple camera on the back of the Edge 20 in a traffic light-like classic arrangement. But it's a tri-step design, quite thick at that. First, a large piece of glass is jutting out of the back - it contains the dual-LED flash and what looks like a microphone, probably for Audio Zoom. Another smaller glass is then jutting out of the first one, containing three rings, each of them sticking out even further.
So, top to bottom - the first camera is the 16MP ultrawide camera, followed by the 108MP primary shooter, and last is the 8MP tele snapper with 3x optical zoom. The whole setup is thick and makes the Edge 20 wobble when lying on a flat surface. In fact, it's one of the wobbliest phones we've experienced lately, so the case sounds like a must - it takes care of this but also makes the phone quite thicker.
Let's look at the nicely flat sides of the Motorola Edge 20 now.
The top has a lonely mic. The bottom has the mouthpiece, the dual nano-SIM tray, the USB-C port, and the loudspeaker grille. As we said, there is no second speaker on this Edge 20.
The side key is on the left, and it triggers Google's Assistant. The left has the volume key and the power button, which also houses the fingerprint scanner - always-on and blazing-fast. Both the power and volume keys are placed uncomfortably high, and it took us some time until we got used to the finger gymnastics.
The Motorola Edge 20 measures 163 x 76 x 7 mm and is amazingly light at 163 grams. For comparison, the Samsung Galaxy A72 has a similar 6.7" AMOLED, measures 165 x 77.4 x 8.4 mm and weighs 203 grams.
It was a pleasure to work and play with the Motorola Edge 20 during our time for this review. The phone is grippy and light and fits great in pockets despite its large size. We used it without a case because we wanted to experience its design, and we sure loved it, though the smudges and wobbling were somewhat distracting.
Large 144Hz OLED
The 6.7-inch OLED display is without a doubt the showstopper of the Motorola Edge 20. It's a premium panel with 10-bit color support, HDR10+ capabilities, 144Hz refresh rate and (reportedly) 576Hz touch sampling rate. The only mainstream feature on this screen is its extended 1080p resolution.
The panel has a small punch-hole around the top, and it's covered by a Gorilla Glass 3 sheet.
The 10-bit color support for the OLED screen means it can display up to 1 billion colors - that's still a rarity as most screens max out at 16 million. There is also HDR10 and HDR10+ support, as well as Widevine L1 DRM.
For now, only YouTube plays HDR10, Netflix does SDR 1080p, while Prime is limited to 480p. This seems to be down to a compatibility issue, and we hope Motorola and the streaming services sort this out quickly.
The Edge 20 display supports up to 144Hz refresh rate. This option is static, though there is a dynamic 120Hz setting in addition to the standard 60Hz option.
The touch panel is sensing with a 576Hz sampling rate, making for unbelievably low touch lag and excellent responsiveness when it comes to gaming.
Naturally, the screen has wide-gamut color support and fully covers DCI-P3 space.
And now, here come our findings of the Edge 20 display.
Our measurements show the screen maxes out at 466 nits when brightness is adjusted manually. If you enable Adaptive Brightness and the Edge 20 is exposed to bright light, its screen can go as high as 650 nits. These are some good numbers of an OLED, and you will have no problem seeing it even on the brightest of days.
The display should be capable of even higher peak brightness when showing HDR conten.
The minimum brightness we measured at point white is a mere 1.8 nit!
| Display test | 100% brightness | ||
| Black, |
White, |
||
| 0 | 466 | ∞ | |
| 0 | 650 | ∞ | |
| 0 | 416 | ∞ | |
| 0 | 595 | ∞ | |
| 0.349 | 498 | 1427:1 | |
| 0.434 | 613 | 1412:1 | |
| 0 | 378 | ∞ | |
| 0 | 787 | ∞ | |
| 0 | 396 | ∞ | |
| 0 | 825 | ∞ | |
| 0 | 443 | ∞ | |
| 0 | 650 | ∞ | |
| 0 | 504 | ∞ | |
| 0 | 805 | ∞ | |
| 0 | 511 | ∞ | |
| 0 | 716 | ∞ | |
| 0.327 | 458 | 1401:1 | |
| 0.4 | 534 | 1335:1 | |
| 0 | 439 | ∞ | |
| 0 | 588 | ∞ | |
The screen is tuned to comply with the DCI-P3 (Saturated mode) or sRGB (Natural mode) color spaces. The accuracy is good for the Saturated profile - the colors are not too saturated, but the white and gray hues are a bit bluish. You can fix that by using the Warmer setting on the Color Temperature bar. The Natural profile has superb accuracy to sRGB with an average deltaE of 2.
Now, let's talk about the refresh rate. The display offers a choice of Auto, 60Hz, and 144Hz refresh rates. Only the Auto mode is adaptive - it can switch between 48Hz, 60Hz, 90Hz and 120 Hz.
Opting for either 60Hz or 144Hz will always display content at that setting except for the Peek Display - it is always shown at 48Hz no matter what. High refresh rate gaming is possible, just make sure you enable High Performance from the Game Sidebar and restart the app.
The Auto mode maxes out at 120Hz, and it dynamically switches between 48Hz, 60Hz, 90Hz and 120Hz. The Peek Display was the only thing we saw using 48Hz. Static images and video playback/streaming always revert to 60Hz, while various HRR-compatible games and apps can use 90Hz or 120Hz.
The HRR handling is not ideal, but we've seen far worse, so we'd take it. The Auto mode seems to be working as expected, we only wish for the 144Hz to have been included in it, too.
Battery life
The Motorola Edge 20 is powered by a 4,000 mAh battery. It has a slightly smaller battery and a larger screen than the Realme GT Master, which uses the same Snapdragon 778G chipset.
The Edge 20 scored an 86h endurance rating on our battery life test - an uninspiring number, crippled by mediocre standby and so-so web time. The Motorola Edge 20 can last over a day in 3G calls; you can browse for about 11 hours or watch videos for 18 hours.
The web test was done at the highest refresh rate option, as usual. Opting for Auto refresh rate (which used 60Hz for the most part) yields just 40 more minutes, up to 11 hours and 30 mins. That's quite an insignificant difference.
Our battery tests were automated thanks to SmartViser, using its viSerDevice app. The endurance rating denotes how long the battery charge will last you if you use the device for an hour of telephony, web browsing, and video playback daily. More details can be found here.
Video test carried out in 60Hz refresh rate mode. Web browsing test done at the display's highest refresh rate whenever possible. Refer to the respective reviews for specifics. To adjust the endurance rating formula to match your own usage - check out our all-time battery test results chart.
Charging speed
The Motorola Edge 20 ships with a 30W adapter and a 3A-rated USB-C-to-C cable inside the box. The charger supports USB PD, so it can fast charge other compatible devices, too.
The phone goes from flat to 68% in half an hour when hooked on this 30W TurboPower charger. Another 10 minutes and 86% of the battery is full. That's plenty fast!
30min charging test (from 0%)
Higher is better
- Realme GT Master
100% - OnePlus Nord 2
98% - Realme GT Explorer Master
96% - Realme 8 Pro
88% - Realme GT 5G (65W)
87% - Poco X3 GT
75% - Motorola Edge 20
68% - Samsung Galaxy A52 (25W)
52% - Poco X3 Pro
50% - Motorola Edge
37% - Motorola Moto G100
37% - Samsung Galaxy A52
34% - Samsung Galaxy A52 5G
34%
A full charge takes 1 hour, and we'd say that's pretty solid, too. The phone recharges slowly after 90%. It takes 42 mins to reach 90% and about 20 mins to get the last 10%.
Time to full charge (from 0%)
Lower is better
- Realme GT Master
0:30h - OnePlus Nord 2
0:31h - Realme GT Explorer Master
0:33h - Realme 8 Pro
0:38h - Realme GT 5G (65W)
0:39h - Poco X3 GT
0:48h - Motorola Edge 20
1:01h - Poco X3 Pro
1:08h - Samsung Galaxy A52 (25W)
1:30h - Samsung Galaxy A52 5G
1:39h - Motorola Moto G100
1:54h - Samsung Galaxy A52
2:03h - Motorola Edge
2:32h
The Edge 20 does not support wireless charging. There is no reverse charging option either.
Speaker
The Motorola Edge 20 has one bottom-firing speaker, unlike the original Motorola Edge, which had a stereo setup. It scored an average score in our loudness test, and it sure isn't among the loudest we've heard.
The audio quality is notably good, though. We can hear the bass and well-presented high-pitched tones. The mid-tones are a bit muted, and so they could have been better, but even as is - the Edge 20 sounds better than most of the phones we've picked for our tool below.
Use the Playback controls to listen to the phone sample recordings (best use headphones). We measure the average loudness of the speakers in LUFS. A lower absolute value means a louder sound. A look at the frequency response chart will tell you how far off the ideal "0db" flat line is the reproduction of the bass, treble, and mid frequencies. You can add more phones to compare how they differ. The scores and ratings are not comparable with our older loudspeaker test. Learn more about how we test here.
Clean Android 11, Moto perks, Ready For
The Motorola Edge 20, just as all recent Moto phones, offers a stock Android look but with a fair share of in-house features added on top. The latest addition is the 'Ready For' functionality, which is something like DeX for OneUI by Samsung.
The majority of the proprietary features are arranged in the Moto app. The first category is personalization allowing you to choose the icon shapes, the quick toggles appearance, the accent colors and the font. There is also a wide selection of wallpapers, the same ones you'd find in the Google Wallpapers app, plus some Moto-specific interactive ones.
Moto App • Personalization
Then come to the gestures. By now, you all must have seen the karate chop motion that turns on and off the flashlight and the twisting motion that launches the camera app. Both work even when the device is locked.
The lift-to-unlock gesture works well with the face unlock as it unlocks the device as soon as you pick it up and look at the screen.
A new addition is the swipe-to-split function that triggers the split-screen functionality.
There is also Power touch. When you double-tap the power button, a shortcut menu appears where you can arrange apps, tools and even contacts for quick access.
Gestures
The display-related features are Peek Display and Attentive Display. The former works as a second-best alternative to the Always-on display but with some added functionality. The screen lights up when it detects motion that's close to the phone or when you pick it up. Once you've received some kind of notification, you can tap on it and see the message itself and even interact with it from the lock screen.
As for the Attentive Display, it's pretty self-explanatory - it disables the screen timeout as long as there's a face looking at the screen. Pretty useful when reading long articles, though you do probably scroll often enough for the screen not to lock anyway.
Display
All of these aside, the rest is pretty much Android 11 as Google intended it to be. Google's apps handle the multimedia, too - you get Photos and YT Music.
Notification grouping keeps your notification shade tidy and focuses on your conversations. Notification cards from ongoing conversations from your messaging apps will appear on top as high-priority compared to other app notifications. Notification Bubbles are available, too.
Bubbles is one of the long-awaited features for messaging apps that Facebook's Messenger has had for years now. The apps that support the feature will prompt you with a notification in the form of a floating, interactive bubble. Tapping on it will open up the chart for a quick reply, just like Messenger.
Nearby Share with other devices running a recent Android version is also possible, making file transfers easier than ever.
And lastly, we have the updated power menu that now displays shortcuts to connected devices such as home automation or Chromecast through the Google Home app.
Lockscreen • Homescreen • Folder view • App drawer • Notifications • Quick toggles
Motorola introduced the Ready For platform earlier this year - it enables you to use the phone as the heart of a big-screen setup for several use cases.
By connecting a Miracast-capable TV, you can get a Windows-desktop-like experience, play a game on your phone, display it on the external screen, or even have a big-screen video chat experience. If you don't have a mouse and/or keyboard handy, the phone's screen can be used as a trackpad and/or keyboard.
Ready For Wireless • Wired with Windows PC
You can also use Ready For on a Windows-based PC - it runs within a window on your desktop. This is helpful for when you want to run an Android app from your computer or to multi-task between devices on just one screen.
Here, you can also enable Phone mode and view your phone's screen on the Ready For big desktop screen, which is on your Windows desktop. That's some inception-level multi-tasking!
Ready For desktop experience
Another use case of Ready For on a Windows PC is for video calls, where you can use the phone's camera to capture yourself and an external display to see the other participants.
Ready For • How to close Full Screen app
The final Ready For use case is for gaming on a bigger screen - be it TV or laptop/monitor. You connect an external controller and run the game on the phone, with the obvious benefit being the larger display for gameplay.
Performance and benchmarks
The Motorola Edge 20 is one of the first smartphones we meet running on the Snapdragon 778G 5G chipset. It is manufactured by TSMC on a 6nm process and is similar to the Snapdragon 780G, which is used on other phones.
The SD778G packs an octa-core Kryo 670 CPU in a 1+3+4 configuration, with a Cortex-A78-based prime core (up to 2.4GHz), three more of those clocked at 2.2GHz, and a quartet of Cortex-A55 derivatives ticking at up to 1.9GHz.
The GPU is Adreno 642L, which should be perfectly capable of handling intensive 3D games, including HRR ones.
Finally, a built-in Snapdragon X53 5G modem is also part of the package.
The Motorola Edge 20 is available in two storage versions - 128GB and 256GB (UFS) - both with 8GB LPDDR4X RAM. There is no microSD expansion slot.
And now, let's see some benchmark scores.
The Snapdragon 778G CPU is as powerful as the one inside the Poco X3 Pro's Snapdragon 860 chip. The performance is also close to what Dimensity 1200 CPU within the OnePlus Nord 2.
GeekBench 5 (multi-core)
Higher is better
- Realme GT 5G
3555 - Motorola Edge+
3295 - Realme GT Explorer Master
3050 - Realme GT Master
2917 - Motorola Moto G100
2860 - OnePlus Nord 2
2792 - Poco X3 Pro
2574 - Motorola Edge 20
2550 - Poco X3 GT
2310 - Motorola Edge
1862 - Google Pixel 5a 5G
1337
GeekBench 5 (single-core)
Higher is better
- Realme GT 5G
1139 - Realme GT Explorer Master
1020 - Motorola Moto G100
950 - Motorola Edge+
910 - OnePlus Nord 2
814 - Realme GT Master
785 - Motorola Edge 20
762 - Poco X3 Pro
735 - Poco X3 GT
693 - Motorola Edge
586 - Google Pixel 5a 5G
574
The Adreno 642L GPU seems quite capable of putting up a gaming show even if it's not a chart-topper.
GFX Manhattan ES 3.0 (onscreen)
Higher is better
- Poco X3 GT
97 - Poco X3 Pro
93 - Motorola Edge+
89 - Motorola Moto G100
89 - Motorola Edge 20
70 - Realme GT 5G
60 - Realme GT Explorer Master
60 - OnePlus Nord 2
59 - Realme GT Master
57 - Motorola Edge
48 - Google Pixel 5a 5G
48
GFX Car Chase ES 3.1 (onscreen)
Higher is better
- Realme GT 5G
55 - Realme GT Explorer Master
50 - Motorola Edge+
48 - Motorola Moto G100
47 - Poco X3 Pro
38 - Poco X3 GT
38 - OnePlus Nord 2
38 - Motorola Edge 20
29 - Realme GT Master
27 - Google Pixel 5a 5G
19 - Motorola Edge
18
3DMark Wild Life Vulkan 1.1 (offscreen 1440p)
Higher is better
- Realme GT 5G
5872 - Realme GT Explorer Master
4255 - OnePlus Nord 2
4224 - Motorola Moto G100
4114 - Poco X3 GT
3991 - Poco X3 Pro
3401 - Motorola Edge 20
2494 - Realme GT Master
2481 - Google Pixel 5a 5G
1674
Finally, the AnTuTu score isn't that great, and it hints at mid-range class all-round performance.
AnTuTu 9
Higher is better
- Realme GT 5G
810433 - Realme GT Explorer Master
717879 - Motorola Moto G100
681559 - OnePlus Nord 2
598022 - Poco X3 GT
578505 - Realme GT Master
529263 - Motorola Edge 20
488574 - Google Pixel 5a 5G
373168
The Motorola Edge 20 is equipped well enough to handle all current apps and games, plus it has adequate hardware to offer a lag-free Ready For desktop experience. It didn't throttle after multiple benchmark runs and its chassis didn't hot, just slightly warm.
We decided to run a couple of stress tests as it looked like the Edge 20 has adequate cooling for its internals. And indeed, we got some particularly good numbers!
When using the GPU at 100%, the Motorola Edge 20 managed to keep a stable performance with a total score of 98.9%. That's an imperceptible drop!
Then we ran the CPU throttle test, and it concluded that the Edge 20 can keep 78% of its maximum performance over the course of one hour of 100% peak CPU usage. That's an excellent number for a smartphone with a passive cooling solution.
3D Mark • 3D Mark • CPU Stress Test
Overall, we are happy with the performance of the Motorola Edge 20. It is great for this class, allows for stutter-free experience and smooth HRR gaming. The phone also gets an excellent mark for stability and sustained performance. We couldn't have wished for more.
Intriguing triple camera on the back
The Motorola Edge 20 has a rather interesting tri-camera setup on the back. There is a 108MP primary, an 8MP tele snapper with 3x optical zoom, and a 16MP ultrawide shooter that can do macro shots thanks to the available
The Motorola Edge 20's primary camera employs a 108MP Samsung ISOCELL HM2 1/1.52" sensor with 0.7µm pixels and an f/1.9 24mm wide lens. The color filter is Nona-Bayer, meaning 9 sensor pixels are combined into one 2.1µm, and the output resolution is 12MP. PDAF is available, though there is no optical stabilization. This is the only camera that supports Night Mode.
The telephoto camera uses an 8MP OmniVision OV08A10 1/4.4" sensor with 1.0µm pixels and f/2.4 78mm lens for 3x optical zoom. Both OIS and PDAF are available for this shooter.
The ultrawide camera is the same as the original Moto Edge - a 16MP OmniVision OV16A10 1/3.06" sensor with 1.0µm pixels behind f/2.2 17mm lens. Autofocus is available, and thus you can also shoot macro photos at about 4-8cm distance.
The selfie camera has a 32MP OmniVision OV32B40 1/3" Tetra-pixel sensor with 0.7µm pixels. It sits behind a 28mm f/2.3 lens. The focus is fixed. The default output is 8MP.
The default Motorola camera app has gone through some changes in the past couple of software versions, but the main way of navigating through the menus and camera modes remains the same.
The camera modes are arranged in a customizable carousel formation, with the hamburger menu holding a couple of other shooting modes. There's also a Pro mode giving you almost full control over the camera's settings like white balance, ISO, autofocus, exposure and shutter speed up to 32s for all three rear snappers.
Camera app
Additional settings for each camera mode can be found by swiping up in the viewfinder, including video resolution. The gear icon for the general settings menu it houses even more settings, including photo resolutions.
One thing we've noticed in there is that the videos are set to H.265/HEVC encoding by default, so you might want to revert to H.264/AVC if you want the best compatibility when playing those videos on other devices.
Just like on previous models, the resolution is handled badly by the Motorola camera app. You have two choices for the rear camera megapixels - 12MP or 8MP and whatever you choose here applies to all three cameras.
The default setting is 12MP, as it should be for the main camera, and this forces the ultrawide and telephoto cams save their images in 12MP.
You can get native 8MP for the telephoto shooter by opting for 8MP, but this will cripple the main and ultrawide resolutions.
There is a solution, though it's not a good one - use Pro mode. The manual option saves images as expected - 12MP for main, 16MP for ultrawide, and 8MP for zoom. But using the Pro mode all the time takes away part of the processing, and it's not for the average smartphone user. So, for the purpose of this review, we shot our samples as it was intended - default Photo mode with Auto HDR, default 12MP resolution. But we can't say we're happy with how Motorola is handling the resolution selection.
Daylight photography
The primary camera saves 12MP photos unless you opt for the dedicated 108MP mode. The daylight images we took this sunny day turned out excellent for this class. The resolved detail is plenty, and the dynamic range is good, but not over the top even if the Auto HDR is quite trigger happy.
We want to praise the great foliage rendition we observed across all photos. There is almost no noise either.
The sharpening is a little bit too much for our taste, but the images are not over-sharpened. Sometimes they do look a bit more artificial, we'd say. And the colors, while close to real life, are not as accurate - there is a barely noticeable reddish tinge.
Overall, we are happy with the photos from the main camera, we got more than we hoped for in this price range.
Main camera, 12MP
One way to get more natural-looking photos is to shoot in 108MP mode and then resize the image down to 12MP. Doing that yields an unprocessed photo with balanced sharpness and even more detail.
The dynamic range is a bit lower, but you get even better contrast and accurate colors (the reddish tinge is gone here).
The untouched 108MP photos are rather unimpressive - the detail is poor, and you can easily spot plenty of image artifacts.
Main camera, 108MP
The Edge 20 has a 16MP ultrawide camera, yet its photos are saved in 12MP for reasons we've explained already.
Anyway, the ultrawide images are okay - they do fit a lot in the frame, the corners are not smeared with proficient straightening, and the photos offer high contrast and dynamic range. But the resolved detail is mediocre, and the colors aren't that accurate.
Ultrawide camera, 12MP
The ultrawide camera supports autofocus, and that's why it can also do close-up photos, replacing the traditional 5MP macro snappers. And surprise, surprise, in Macro mode, the photos are saved in 16MP.
Macro is a separate mode in the viewfinder, and it introduces a crop with the same coverage level as the main cam. This means the photos we were happy to see finally in their native resolution were first cropped and then upscaled back to 16MP. Just when we thought Motorola has gotten its resolution control right at least once.
The resolved detail is okay if there is enough light, and the colors are nice and punchy. The contrast is great, too. But the noise levels are high, and upon pixel peeping, you can tell these images were upscaled. Hardly everyone is into pixel peeping these days anyway, so it may not be the big issue we make it out to be. After all, these are some great-looking closeups.
Macro with ultrawide, 16MP
The 8MP telephoto camera saves 12MP images by default, too.
Anyway, the 12MP 3x zoom photos are nice - they offer enough detail for a tele camera, present good colors, contrast, and dynamic range. The detail is okay though not stellar, because of the 8MP to 12MP upscaling.
You can get 8MP zoomed images by lowering the resolution of all cameras, using the Pro mode, or manually downsize the photos to 8MP. No matter what you choose, it's a hassle Motorola could have avoided in the first place.
Telephoto camera 3x, 12MP
The portrait mode defaults to the main snapper, but you can also use the telephoto camera for portraits - there is a zoom switch on the viewfinder.
The 12MP portraits from the primary cam are great - the subject separation is proficient enough, the person is detailed and well exposed, the simulated background blur is likable, too.
As it is with these modes, if you have messier hair or a more complex haircut, do expect poorer results.
Portraits, 12MP
As we mentioned, shooting portraits with the tele camera is also possible, but we don't recommend it. The separation and the blur are as good, but the photos are often too noisy and/or blurred.
3x Portraits, 8MP
Low-light photography
The 12MP low-light photos from the main camera are great - there is enough detail, the noise levels are kept low, the contrast is great, the color saturation is likable, and the exposure is balanced. Thanks to the Auto HDR, we observed fewer clipped highlights than usual.
Even if the camera doesn't offer OIS, all photos we took with the main camera were focused and sharp - we did not have a single blurred one due to camera shake.
Main camera, 12MP
Night Vision is available only on the main camera, takes about 2-3 seconds, and it works brilliantly. It restores all clipped highlights and makes for a brighter photo where that's possible. It introduces more noise to some scenes though.
Night Mode, 12MP
The low-light photos from the ultrawide camera offer low noise levels, good colors and are well exposed, too. There is only one issue with them, but it's enough to ruin them - they are quite soft and are out of focus. All of them!
We guess having autofocus on the ultrawide camera is a double-edged sword, and Motorola has cut itself on this one.
Ultrawide camera, 12MP
The telephoto camera is a reliable shooter at night. Thanks to the optical stabilization, the snapper offers good photos with enough resolution, satisfactory sharpness, lively colors, and the contrast is okay. The images are noisy and a bit dark if compared to the main camera, but for a telephoto - these are some solid samples.
Tele 3x camera, 12MP
And here are photos of our usual posters taken with the Motorola Edge 20. Here's how it stacks up against the competition. Feel free to browse around and pit it against other phones from our extensive database.
Motorola Edge 20 against the nubia Red Magic 6R and the Realme GT Explorer Master in our Photo compare tool
The selfie camera on Motorola Edge 20 has a 32MP Quad-Bayer shooter behind f/2.2 fixed-focus lens. It saves 8MP images by default, as it should, but if you want - you can set it up to save 32MP photos instead.
The 8MP selfies are great - they are sharp and detailed, with accurate colors, good contrast, and the dynamic range can be boosted by the Auto HDR option where necessary. A bit noisy, though.
Note that if the light isn't ideal, the sharpness will suffer a noticeable drop.
Selfies, 8MP
You can save 32MP photos, too, but we cannot recommend this mode. The images are soft and noisy and often look out of focus.
Selfies, 32MP
Portraits are possible with the front camera, and they aren't bad - the subjects are detailed, and the colors are great, plus - the blur looks nice. The separation is rather bad, though and clipped cheeks, ears and other body parts are occasional.
Portrait selfies, 8MP
Video recording
The Motorola Edge 20 records 4K videos at 30fps and 1080p videos with up to 60fps. The other snappers are limited to 1080p@30fps. Optional electronic stabilization (EIS) is available only on 1080p@30fps mode across all snappers.
Audio zoom is available across all modes thanks to the three microphones across the phone. It can be turned on/off.
The video bitrate is super generous at 62Mbps in 4K and 20Mbps for 1080p. Audio is always captured stereo with a 256Kbps bitrate.
The 4K clips from the main camera are good - the detail is plenty, and noise is nowhere to be found. The dynamic range deserves praise, the contrast is great, too.
The colors are not that accurate though, they are a bit cooler than they should have been. And the sharpening is a bit excessive.
Still, these are some solid 4K videos for this class.
The 4K low-light videos are rather disappointing - they are soft and overrun by noise.
The ultrawide camera also offers good 1080p videos. They present enough detail for such type of camera, there is no visible distortion, and the corners look great. The dynamic range is commendable as usual, the noise is low, too. The colors and the contrast can benefit from some fine-tuning - more saturation and a bit higher contrast should be enough.
The 1080p videos from the 3x tele camera are the ones with the most natural look - they have spot-on while balance and vibrant colors, the contrast is great, dynamic range is good as well. The videos are not the sharpest, but we'd say they do offer enough detail, and the balanced processing helps for a very natural look. We liked what we saw.
Finally, here is the Motorola Edge 20 in our video comparison database.
2160p: Motorola Edge 20 against the nubia Red Magic 6R and the Realme GT Explorer Master in our Video compare tool
The competition
The Motorola Edge 20 seems like a great smartphone with thoughtfully picked features and a competitive price of €480. It is one of the few devices to offer 144Hz refresh rate support for its OLED screen; there is powerful enough hardware, a versatile camera on the back, and a clean Android package with a cool Ready For desktop-like experience.
Unfortunately, there are plenty of €500 smartphones with flagship-grade features ready to fight for a spot on the market. Let's look at some of these and see if the Motorola Edge 20 can stand its ground next to them.
The first offer that comes to mind is the nubia Red Magic 6R - the only handset that can offer a similar 144Hz OLED screen at €500. It trumps the Edge 20 with a flagship Snapdragon 888 5G chip, pressure-sensitive shoulder triggers for gaming, stereo speakers, and faster charging. It omits splash protection, a zoom camera and a Ready For alternative. We guess you should decide on which package makes more sense to you.
The Realme GT Master Explorer is about to launch in Europe at about €500, and it's one of the best phones you can get at that price with one of the worst names. The GT ME has a unique design, the current second-best chip in the world - the Snapdragon 870, and a tri-camera rear setup with an impressive 50MP primary with OIS with good 2x lossless zoom and 4K at 60fps capturing. There are also stereo speakers and impressively fast 65W charging. The Edge 20's inferior in almost all aspects but the splash resistance, the longer zoom, and the Ready For support. If you like the Realme GT ME, but you don't want to wait for its release, the Realme GT is even faster but not as fancy as far as cameras are concerned.
The recently launched Galaxy A52s by Samsung runs on the same Snapdragon 778G 5G SoC and offers a large 120Hz Super AMOLED screen. Its quad-camera omits a zoom snapper, but the 64MP primary has OIS, which helps a lot at night. The Galaxy A52s is fully water-resistant, packs two loudspeakers, an under-display fingerprint scanner; then there are rarities like a 3.5mm jack and a microSD slot. If only the A52s had DeX support, it would have been the better choice. Alas, it doesn't, so once again, it's up to you to weigh on the pros and cons.
Finally, the €300 splash-proofed Poco F3 is a budget offer worth considering. It packs a couple of flagship essentials such as a 120Hz AMOLED and Snapdragon 870 5G chip, loud stereo speakers, and long-lasting battery life. It cannot match the Edge's software experience and camera versatility, but at that price, it's something you should at least consider.
ZTE nubia Red Magic 6R • Realme GT Explorer Master • Samsung Galaxy A52s 5G • Xiaomi Poco F3
Obviously, no other than Motorola can offer Read For support, so let's see the in-house competition.
The Moto G100 was the Ready For pioneer, and it's still quite attractive. It has a slower 90Hz LCD screen but has a more powerful Snapdragon 870 5G chip and a much better battery life. There is no zoom camera on the G100, but you do get a second ultrawide selfie camera for what's that worth. The G100 costs about the same as the Edge 20, so unless you need the more powerful SoC or you find the G100 at a bargain price, we'd choose the Edge 20.
The other two Edge 20 phones are good alternatives. The Edge 20 Lite relies on the budget Dimensity 720 5G chip with support for up to 90Hz refresh rate and drops the zoom camera, but it is about €150 cheaper at €340 and offers much better battery life. We are not sure if we'd be okay with that entry-level chip, but the price difference is sensible, and the Lite should be considered for that.
Edge 20+ and Edge 20
Then there is the Edge 20 Pro, which will bring three upgrades for €200 on top of the Edge 20 - a more powerful Snapdragon 870 chip, a 5x telephoto camera, and a beefier battery. Seems a bit overpriced, though, doesn't it?
Motorola Moto G100 • Motorola Edge 20 Lite • Motorola Edge 20 Pro
Our verdict
The Motorola Edge 20 seems like the most balanced smartphone among the Edge 20 trio. It has the most reasonable pick of features - a 144Hz OLED, powerful but not overkill Snapdragon 778G 5G chip, a versatile triple camera going from 0.5x up to 3x, and a large enough battery with fast charging.
We loved the display, and it is indeed a flagship-worthy one, the Edge 20 can handle games very well, including high framerate ones, and its camera is dependable despite its weird resolution handling.
One of the key features of this Motorola Edge 20 is the vanilla-like Android OS with Ready For desktop-like experience, and it runs well, delivers on the promises, and can be a powerful tool for those of you who multi-task heavily on a number of devices.
The Edge 20 is not ideal - it doesn't have stereo speakers, the battery life is subpar, and the camera app and processing are in need of a few tweaks.
But even that doesn't take away from the fact that it is the best offer within the Edge 20 trio, and among the best €500 phones you can get.
Pros
- Attractive splash-proofed design.
- Excellent 144Hz OLED display.
- Fast charging.
- Clean Android 11, and Ready For is not a gimmick.
- High-framerate gaming supported and dependable sustained performance.
- Good photo camera quality, day and night.
- Great daylight videos.
Cons
- No stereo speakers.
- Average battery life.
- Poor low-light videos.
- Photo resolution settings don't make a lot of sense.
0 Response to "Motorola Edge 20 review"
Post a Comment