A top-of-the-range smartphone can choose to focus on a
certain aspect rather than the other, but in the end it is the set of its
characteristics that establishes how good a certain model is. However, there
are users who have particular tastes or needs and therefore go to seek a
certain type of experience.
Motorola Edge Plus, a device that we have had the
opportunity to properly test over the last few weeks, has aroused this feeling
in us: it is a smartphone suitable for those who love the Motorola experience
and appreciate good design. Let's go and discover the smartphone together,
reminding you that the price is equal to 1000 euros on Amazon Italy .
Design and unboxing
The package includes a USB Type-C cable, discrete headphones
with jack cable (there are also spare rubber pads), a transparent cover and an
18W charger . The equipment is all in all complete, but we have seen much
faster chargers in this price range, so we do not feel like fully promoting its
content. What a certain type of user will like is the presence of the 3.5 mm
audio jack for headphones placed at the top, while in the lower part there are
speaker, USB Type-C 3.1 port (there is both video output and OTG function),
microphone and trolley for the SIM (only one nanoSIM can be inserted).
The left side is completely "empty", while on the
right we find the power button and the volume rocker. These elements are small
in size, since space is left for the Motorola Edge Plus' unique feature, namely
the curved edges of the screen , which are very pronounced. The power button is
not difficult to find due to its knurling, but using these small keys is
certainly more inconvenient than the classic buttons we are used to. In any
case, the front design with a hole for the camera placed in the upper left and
curved side edges is very pleasing from an aesthetic point of view.
The same can be said of the backcover, which in the Thunder
Gray color, the only one available on the market, is able to generate good
plays of light. We also didn't mind the camera module with three large lenses
flanked by the Dual LED flash, the ToF sensor (for depth of field) and,
slightly higher, by a second microphone (at the bottom right there is also a
third). One aspect that did not convince us is the protrusion of the cameras, as
the smartphone "dances" a little too much when placed on a flat
surface. For the rest, the grip is good and we know Motorola: it is difficult
to build a smartphone wrong.
The materials are metal and glass and the feeling is
"premium" right from the start. The constructive solidity is
excellent, but we are talking about a smartphone with the dimensions of 1611 ..
x 71.4 x 9.6 m, for a weight of 203 grams. As soon as you pick up Motorola Edge
Plus you immediately notice that it is not exactly the most comfortable device
on the market: the weight may still be fine, but what has made us turn up our
noses a bit is the high thickness. Don't get us wrong, Motorola Edge Plus can
still be used well during everyday life, but compared to the convenience of
other solutions in this price range, the comparison does not hold up.
The fingerprint sensor place under the display has always
proved reactive, but the Face Unlock is missing. Pulling the strings of the
speech, Motorola Edge Plus is a smartphone that convinces in terms of design,
although it is not exactly the handiest device on the market.
Technical features
Under the body we find a Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 octa-core
processor operating at the maximum frequency of 2.84 GHz (1 x 2.84 GHz + 3 x
2.42 GHz + 4 x 1.8 GHz), flanked by an Adreno 650 GPU , 12GB of LPDDR5 RAM and
256GB of UFS 3.0 internal memory (not expandable). In short, the configuration
is very similar to that of the various top of the range that we tested this
year. There is very little to say: in terms of performance we are essentially
at the top, so no problem from this points of view.
As for the display, we find a 6.7-inch OLED panel with Full
HD + resolution (2340 x 1080 pixels), 93% screen-to-body ratio and 90 Hz
refresh rate. Moto Display functionality (you can interact with notifications
when the screen is off), but the peculiar feature are the curved edges. In this
case they create an excellent effect: at the first start there was certainly a
"wow".
However, the passage of time has made us realize that in
this case the edges are a little too pronounced for our taste. For the rest, we
are face with a valid screen: the brightness is good (although we have seen
better in this range), the colors are well balanced and the refresh rate of 90
Hz is in our view, as we have repeated more times, the right compromise to
offer increased fluidity without burdening too much on the battery. There is no
shortage of Widevine L1 DRMs (guaranteed HD content on streaming platforms such
as Netflix and Amazon Prime Video) and the main applications are displayed
almost all in full screen.
Of course, there are still some software that don't want to
go and cover the part in front of the hole, but in general you can enjoy a good
experience and the panel is of excellent quality. Also interesting is the
possibility to double tap on a special bar to see the content only in the
"central" parts of the screens.
The photographic sector on paper might seem very
interesting, but instead it is precisely here that Motorola Edge Plus loses a bit
of appeal. The front camera is 25MP (f / 2.0), while at the rear we find a
triple rear camera from 108MP (f / 1.8) + 16MP (f / 2.2, ultra-wide, 117
degrees) + 8MP (f / 2.4, telephoto lens ). The three rear sensors can even
record videos in 6K / 30fps, but we advise you not to go beyond 4K / 30fps or
1080p / 30fps for good stabilization. The front camera instead comes in at
1080p / 30fps.
The Camera app is the classic one: among the various
features that peek out, there are Night Vision, Portrait, Macro, Time-Lapse and
Slow motion (up to 240 fps in HD).
The triple rear camera snapsaverage photo . The colors are
well balanced and the quality is good during the day, while the shots come out
a little less well at night. The dedicated function manages to solve the
situation properly, although in some particular contexts it cannot work
miracles. The maximum achievable zoom is 10x, but better not to go beyond 3x.
The shots of the front camera are average and can easily be
exploited for the classic uses. In short, we are talking about a photographic
sector that will certainly convince less demanding users, but which cannot
really stand out when compared with the other top of the range. As always, if
you want to better understand what we are talking about, find some uncompressed
photos in oursDrive folder dedicated to Motorola Edge Plus .
One of the biggest selling points of Motorola Edge Plus is
the 5000mAh battery . In fact, we arrived safely in the evening even with 90 Hz
always active and in certain cases we brought home the day with 40% of
remaining charge. These are excellent results, which make us understand once
again how much 90 Hz is the right compromise for those looking for both
fluidity and autonomy. Too bad only for the 18W charger, which is fast but not
as fast as other solutions we have seen recently.
The IP68 certification is also missing, but otherwise
everything is in place, from wireless charging at 15W to 5G, passing through
Wi-Fi 802.11 a / b / g / n / ac / ax (Wi-Fi 6), for 5W reverse wireless charging,
for NFC and Bluetooth 5.1.
The SIM slot is single, an aspect that we find in several 5G
smartphones but that always makes your nose turn up a bit. The audio sector is
excellent, which is stereo and has a good maximum volume (our tests showed 77.4
dBA).
Software
The operating system is Android 10 in essentially stock
version (the security patches are from June 1, 2020, at the time of writing).
The changes compared to the other devices we tested in the recent past are
practically nil. In other words, we find the classic Moto application, which
contains a bit of all the customizations made by the company (from Moto Actions
to Moto Display), there are the usual good gestures and there is no type of
bloatware.
In short, the experience is what we know and among other
things here the fluidity of the system also benefits from the panel with a
refresh rate of 90 Hz.
Performance and benchmarks
Motorola Edge Plus is in all respects a flagship in terms of
performance. In fact, the presence of a Snapdragon 865 SoC and the latest
market standards (such as LPDDR5 RAM) are felt positively and position this
smartphone at the top from the point of performance.
To provide you with concrete information, the device
achieved a total of 587930 points on AnTuTu Benchmark . On Geekbench, however,
it recorded 914 points in single-core and 3375 points in multi-core. In short,
the numbers are quite positive.
Just to give you a more complete picture, it is good to
analyze other smartphones in this price range. For example, Xiaomi Mi 10 Pro
recorded a total of 599259 points on AnTuTu during our test. In short, in terms
of performance we are there.
Gaming
Given the specs, the general expectations for Motorola Edge
Plus and gaming are high. However, it is still interesting to analyze its
performance with Call of Duty Mobile, ARK: Survival Evolved and Dead by
Daylight Mobile and above all its gaming mode.
In fact, the company has implemented Moto Gametime , a
feature designed to optimize the gaming experience. This mode is activated when
any title starts and places a button on the left of the screen. Through the
latter it is possible to access the various possibilities, from the opening of
Facebook and Whatsapp in Picture-in-picture up to the screenshots, passing
through the blocking of notifications and calls and above all for the
activation of triggers.
Surely some of you are wondering what we are talking about,
since Motorola Edge Plus does not have "physical" triggers like, for
example, those of Red Magic 5G. The company's "gimmick" is
interesting: take advantage of the curved edges to position, via software,
areas that act as triggers. In this way, the user can move L and R where he
wants so, for example, to aim by pressing the upper left and shoot by pressing
the upper right of the upper edge, just as if it were a controller. This is
certainly an interesting method to take advantage of the peculiarity of the
display, but having software triggers is not the same as having physical ones.
During the game, in fact, using this feature is not always
very comfortable and there is also the risk of making involuntary touches due
to the speed of the game. In any case, we must applaud Motorola for having
thought and put into operation a gem of this type.
As for the games, Call of Duty Mobile runs smoothly with
details on "Very High" and FPS set to "Max" . You can also
activate the various secondary options, from depth of field to shadows in real
time. Essentially, COD Mobile runs at its best on Motorola Edge Plus.
Arriving at ARK: Survival Evolved, one of the most
resource-hungry titles, the game also runs well at "Epic", a very
interesting result.
Given this last result, it is essentially obvious to say
that Dead by Daylight Mobile also works at its best, that is with preset details
on "High" and frame rate limit of 60 fps.
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