The Edge Plus is the first genuine flagship from the brand in years, and packs all the specs and features necessary to compete with the best from Samsung and Apple.
2020 has been a big year for Motorola already: first its own foldable phone, the throwback Motorola Razr, and now we have the Motorola Edge Plus – a full-fledged flagship with specs and features to match.
As the more premium smartphone sibling of the Motorola Edge, the Edge Plus is the brand’s first serious foray into flagship territory in years – and it’s 5G-capable, too.
The Edge Plus isn’t just a rebranded Z-series phone; it’s a fresh start for the company’s product line, a device pushed to extremes, and which can compete with the best Samsung Galaxy and Apple handsets – along with the growing number of 5G phones.
To get there, Motorola has jettisoned some iconic Moto features – and, yes, that means the Edge Plus doesn’t work with Moto Mods. The company is being coy about whether this means the end for the accessories, so it’s possible that an as-yet unconfirmed Moto Z5 will indeed come out that supports the beloved add-ons. However, given how Mods compatibility hamstrung Motorola phone design, we aren’t optimistic, as the Edge Plus has signaled a dramatic changed in direction for the design ethos of top-tier Motorola phones.
Not that this means the Edge Plus looks particularly original, as we found when we mistook the phone for a Samsung Galaxy S10 5G on account of its ‘waterfall’ curved display (or as Motorola calls it, ‘Endless Edge’). However, with its powerful specs, gorgeous screen, and 5G connectivity (both mmWave and sub-6), this is a phone that, on the inside at least, is thoroughly cutting-edge.
Which isn’t in any way a slam on the company – the Z-series was beloved for delivering admirable performance at a lower cost than most leading phones. The corollary here is that the Edge Plus competes with flagship phones, but it costs as much as those competitors.
We’ve had a little time with the phone, and so far, the Motorola Edge Plus lives up to its flagship pricetag. Its fast enough for browsing and gaming, the display is as vivid as they come, and the sound (both through headphones and speakers) is impressive.
Despite not being quite as high-resolution as the Samsung Galaxy S20 line’s WQHD+ display (3200x1440p), the Motorola Edge Plus’ FHD+ (2340 x 1080p) screen is sharp enough for our needs. We found the Moto Gaming overlay most helpful when it adds capacitive ‘shoulder buttons’ on the top right and top left edges of the display. This feature is hampered by the less-curved screens on other devices, like the LG V60, but the Edge Plus’ screen spills over the side far enough for the buttons to be a bit more useful.
The real standout might be the audio: when listening through the headphone jack, songs had a broader range of sound than, say, the bass-heavy sound on the iPhone 11 Pro Max (both wired through its Lightning port and wireless via AirPods Pro). The Edge Plus’ dual surround sound speakers aren’t bad, either, though we’re eager to put them up against our favorite speakers on the Google Pixel 4.
Whether those perks are unique enough to seize the spotlight, we know just having a 3.5mm jack could be enough for audio standbys.
The Motorola Edge Plus, like many phones introduced this year, was planned to be revealed at MWC 2020. When that show was shut down in the early days of the coronavirus outbreak, Motorola held off publicly launching the phone until April 22.
The Edge Plus will cost $999 (around £812 / AU$1,581), and will be released in the US on May 14 exclusively through Verizon for $41.66 per month for 24 months. Customers trading in phones can get up to $550 off the list price.
Yes, exclusively – meaning there won’t be an unlocked Motorola Edge Plus in the US. It will be sold in Canada through Rogers, Bell and Telus.
As far as we currently know, the Motorola Edge Plus is not coming to the UK. It will be available in May in a handful of EU countries, including Italy and some Scandinavian nations, at a starting price of €1,199.
