Motorola Edge 20 Pro first impressions: KING of specs | Mobile News

Motorola Edge 20 Pro first impressions: KING of specs

Motorola Edge 20 Pro first impressions: It obliterates the competition on paper with its features. For less than 40,000, this Motorola flagship has an unprecedented edge.

By: AMRITANSHU MUKHERJEE
| Updated on: Aug 21 2022, 20:47 IST
Motorola Edge 20 Pro first impressions: It relies on the Snapdragon 870 platform and a near-stock Android 11 experience. (HT Tech / Amritanshu Mukherjee)
Motorola Edge 20 Pro first impressions: It relies on the Snapdragon 870 platform and a near-stock Android 11 experience. (HT Tech / Amritanshu Mukherjee) (HT Tech / Amritanshu Mukherjee)
Motorola Edge 20 Pro first impressions: It relies on the Snapdragon 870 platform and a near-stock Android 11 experience. (HT Tech / Amritanshu Mukherjee)
Motorola Edge 20 Pro first impressions: It relies on the Snapdragon 870 platform and a near-stock Android 11 experience. (HT Tech / Amritanshu Mukherjee) (HT Tech / Amritanshu Mukherjee)

Motorola has amped its game with the Edge series in India, with its Edge 20 Fusion becoming the center of attention. Ahead of the festive season, Motorola completes the family with the Edge 20 Pro – the flagship model in this series. One look at the specifications sheet and the Motorola Edge 20 Pro is the dream Android phone we all wanted this year. At 36,999, this Motorola flagship makes alternatives from Samsung, Xiaomi, OnePlus and others look pale.

Moreover, the Edge 20 Pro is not just a spec sheet showpiece. Apart from the high-end hardware, the Edge 20 Pro has got lots of Motorola's clever software enhancement paired with the classic clean stock Android experience. After spending a few hours with this 2021 Motorola flagship, I feel that this phone steals the title of the best-in-class.

Motorola Edge 20 Pro Design

Motorola Edge 20 Pro (HT Tech/Amritanshu Mukherjee)
Motorola Edge 20 Pro (HT Tech/Amritanshu Mukherjee) (HT Tech/Amritanshu Mukherjee)
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Motorola Edge 20 Pro (HT Tech/Amritanshu Mukherjee) (HT Tech/Amritanshu Mukherjee)

Expanding on the design of the standard Edge 20, the Motorola Edge 20 Pro looks classy. The design is simple and the blue gradient colour on my unit looks outstanding. Since this is an all glass-metal construction, this 185 grams worth of phone feels satisfactory to hold. The front has the same modern look with narrow bezels and a stealthy camera cutout.

The Motorola Edge 20 Pro undoubtedly looks handsome but it retains some classic Motorola quirks. The power and volume keys sit farther from your fingers, and given that the former also hosts the fingerprint scanner, it needs some crawling to reach them. The Google Assistant key also sits higher up but you don't need to use it – Assistant is just a swipe away from the homescreen.

Motorola Edge 20 Pro Features

Motorola Edge 20 Pro (HT Tech/Amritanshu Mukherjee)
Motorola Edge 20 Pro (HT Tech/Amritanshu Mukherjee) (HT Tech/Amritanshu Mukherjee)
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Motorola Edge 20 Pro (HT Tech/Amritanshu Mukherjee) (HT Tech/Amritanshu Mukherjee)

Motorola has gone all out (almost) in decking up its flagship phone for 2021. The 6.7-inch OLED display has a 10-bit panel, supports a bonkers refresh rate of 144Hz, and is protected by Gorilla Glass 5. Compared to other phones in this price, the Edge 20 Pro's display looks livelier, throwing punchy colours and higher contrasts.

That liveliness is also helped by the near-stock Android 11 experience with Motorola's tasteful tweaking. The customization options are adequate and some special Moto gestures are a breeze to experience. I am also looking forward to experience the Ready For feature that is somewhat similar to Samsung's DeX. More on that in our review.

Motorola Edge 20 Pro (HT Tech/Amritanshu Mukherjee)
Motorola Edge 20 Pro (HT Tech/Amritanshu Mukherjee) (HT Tech/Amritanshu Mukherjee)
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Motorola Edge 20 Pro (HT Tech/Amritanshu Mukherjee) (HT Tech/Amritanshu Mukherjee)

Powering this clean experience is the reliable Snapdragon 870 that, in my opinion, has proven itself with a superior balance between performance and thermal efficiency than the Snapdragon 888. On the Edge 20 Pro, it makes apps load fast and games run great so far. I have concerns about the impact of this powerhouse combo (144Hz display + SD 870) on the moderately sized 4500mAh battery – something to look forward to over the next few days.

The list does not end yet. Motorola has packed some promising camera hardware on the Edge 20 Pro. You get the same 108-megapixel main camera and the 16-megapixel ultra-wide camera combo from the Edge 20. But, the 8-megapixel telephoto camera has a periscopic lens arrangement to offer 5X optical zoom. 

Motorola Edge 20 Pro (HT Tech/Amritanshu Mukherjee)
Motorola Edge 20 Pro (HT Tech/Amritanshu Mukherjee) (HT Tech/Amritanshu Mukherjee)
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Motorola Edge 20 Pro (HT Tech/Amritanshu Mukherjee) (HT Tech/Amritanshu Mukherjee)

Periscopic zoom cameras are rare in flagships, let along sub- 40,000 phones. A quick photo session revealed good photos and great zoom performance in daylight. Stay tuned for our verdict on this camera system.

Motorola Edge 20 First Impressions

Motorola Edge 20 Pro (HT Tech/Amritanshu Mukherjee)
Motorola Edge 20 Pro (HT Tech/Amritanshu Mukherjee) (HT Tech/Amritanshu Mukherjee)
image caption
Motorola Edge 20 Pro (HT Tech/Amritanshu Mukherjee) (HT Tech/Amritanshu Mukherjee)

The Edge 20 Pro is undoubtedly the most ambitious phone Motorola has made this year. The initial experiences with this smartphone makes me wonder how Motorola can sell such a feature-rich phone at such a reasonable price. A phone like this makes the OnePlus 9R, Oppo Reno 6 Pro and iQOO 7 look obsolete.

Over the next few days, we will test out the Motorola Edge 20 Pro extensively, comparing it with its rivals. Motorola will put it up for pre-order from October 3 on Flipkart but stay tuned for our verdict.

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First Published Date: 01 Oct, 13:01 IST
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