Motorola Edge 20 Fusion review: A decent performer but that’s it

Name: Edge 20 Fusion
Item: Edge 20 Fusion
Author: Shweta Ganjoo

The Motorola Edge 20 Fusion features a well-lit display with a good rear camera setup and a long battery life.

By: SHWETA GANJOO
| Updated on: Nov 22 2021, 18:25 IST

Display is definitely one of the better aspects of the Motorola Edge 20 Fusion smartphone. (Shweta Ganjoo/HT Tech)

Motorola recently stormed the mid-budget Indian smartphone market with two new Edge series smartphones. The company launched the smarter Motorola Edge 20, which costs INR 29,999 in India and the vanilla Motorola Edge 20, which starts at INR 21,499 in the country.

Both the phones have a lot in common. For instance, they both share the same front and rear camera setups. They also feature a similar design with a 6.7-inch OLED display. In addition to this, they also come with up to 8GB of RAM that is coupled with 128GB of storage space. While they do have a lot in common, it's the Big Little Things that distinguish the Motorola Edge 20 Fusion -- which is the star of this review -- from the Motorola Edge 20.

For instance, the Motorola Edge 20 is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 778G processor and the Edge 20 Fusion is powered by the MediaTek Dimensity 800U chipset. On the other hand, the Motorola Edge 20 Fusion comes with a bigger 5,000mAh battery while the smarter Edge 20 comes with a slightly smaller 4,000mAh battery. Similarly, you get a 144Hz screen refresh rate in case of the Motorola Edge 20 smartphone, while the Edge 20 Fusion has a 90Hz display. Also, the Motorola Edge 20 comes with 2.5D Corning Gorilla Glass 3 protection while the Edge 20 Fusion comes with 2.5D glass.

Notably, the Motorola Edge 20 Fusion is not necessarily the vanilla variant in the Edge 20 series. It has its pluses and the things that make it stand close to the heels of the Motorola Edge 20 smartphone. It's also a lot cheaper than the Edge 20 smartphone. Now, the real question is -- is the Motorola Edge 20 worth your attention. Find out in the review below...

Motorola Edge 20 Fusion: Design

Let's start with the design. The Motorola Edge 20 Fusion smartphone measures 166x76x8.25mm. It is slightly bigger than the Motorola Edge 20, which measures 163x76x8.25mm. It features a plastic back with a matte finish with a plastic chassis. At the back, it has a square-shaped camera module that houses a triple rear camera setup along with an LED flash. There is also the famous Motorola logo that is placed in the middle of the screen at the back. The Motorola Edge 20 Fusion smartphone is available in Teal and Graphite colour variants and I got to use the phone in the latter shade.

Overall, the Motorola Edge 20 Fusion is a big and clunky phone. It's not exactly comfortable to use and to add to it, the back of the phone is a fingerprint magnet. Now, Motorola does ship a transparent back cover in the back which helps in keeping the phone clean, however, it doesn't make the phone look any better.

Aside from having an unimpressive design, the Motorola Edge 20 Fusion is a bulky phone. You can feel the weight of the phone while you are on a call for a long. You can also feel it drooping down the back pocket of your attire while you are on a move. And the transparent back cover just adds to this overall weight and makes the phone a tad bit bulkier than it already is.

image caption — The Motorola Edge 20 Fusion is a bulky phone. (Shweta Ganjoo/HT Tech)

Motorola Edge 20 Fusion: Display

Now comes the display.

The Motorola Edge 20 Fusion features a 6.7-inches OLED display with a Full HD+ resolution of 2400x1080 pixels. These details are the same as the Motorola Edge 20 smartphone. The only difference is that the Motorola Edge 20 Fusion features a screen with a refresh rate of 90Hz while the Motorola Edge 20 offers a screen refresh rate of 144Hz. Now, you would expect this tiny detail to make a world of difference. But it doesn't. Not unless you are playing mobile games that feature high-end graphics. In day-to-day usage, you wouldn't know the difference between a 60Hz display, a 90Hz display or a 144Hz display.

Screen refresh rate aside, the display is definitely one of the better aspects of the Motorola Edge 20 Fusion smartphone. It is bright with the right amount of contrast. What's good about this phone is that it is easy to read even under the bright morning sun.

The Motorola Edge 20 Fusion’s rear camera setup is definitely one of the best features of the phone. (Shweta Ganjoo/HT Tech)

Motorola Edge 20 Fusion: Camera

Coming to the camera, the Motorola Edge 20 Fusion features a triple rear camera setup consisting of a 108MP primary sensor, an 8MP ultra-wide-angle sensor and a 2MP depth sensor. On the front, it has a 32MP selfie shooter. The Motorola Edge 20 smartphone gets the same specifications. Specs aside, the Motorola Edge 20 Fusion features a good camera setup if not a great one.

Let's talk about the rear camera setup first. The Motorola Edge 20 Fusion's rear camera setup is definitely one of the best features of the phone. It snaps Insta-ready photos no matter what the lighting conditions are. The images are crisp and clear with ample depth. What's good about this phone is that it snaps equally balanced pics even in low light conditions with no trace of noise at all. It helps that the on-device algorithm smoothen out the images quickly. The overall impact is that you get clear and sharp images no matter which lens settings you choose.

While rear camera setup is an ace performer, the front camera fails to impress. The images clicked in low-light conditions and indoor lighting conditions lack clarity and even when the phone manages to capture decent images with the night mode on, the images tend to be a shade warmer than I like -- an issue that I also noticed in case of the images clicked via the rear camera setup. However, the issue is more pronounced in case of the images clicked via the front camera than the rear camera setup.

Motorola Edge 20 Fusion features a rear-mounted fingerprint scanner and face recognition features for security. (Shweta Ganjoo/HT Tech)

Motorola Edge 20 Fusion: Performance

Now, one of the most important aspects of this review: performance.

The Motorola Edge 20 Fusion is a reliable phone when it comes to performance. It handles everything that you throw at it with ease and poise. My weekday includes never-ending emails and messages, at least a bunch of calls, around an hour of social media time and at least an hour on various OTT services watching my favourite shows or a new movie. On the weekends, which is when I spend the maximum time apart from my phone, I binge watch series and shows which includes a mix of Netflix Originals like Money Heist and Dynasty (you can judge me later!) and comedy shows like One Mic Stand on Amazon Prime Videos. On workdays, the Motorola Edge 20 Fusion smartphone easily lasts for a day and on weekends, a bit longer.

Performance aside, the Motorola Edge 20 Fusion runs on Android 11 with Motorola's MyUX interface on top. It comes with the Facebook and Google apps pre-installed. The overall interface is clean and fuss-free to use. You also get Moto Actions, which lets you open apps and perform certain tasks using gestures.

Coming to the battery, the Motorola Edge 20 Fusion features a 5,000mAh battery with support for TurboPower 30 fast charging technology. And as I mentioned before, it lasted for a day and a half on the usual workdays and a little more on the weekends, when I prefer maintaining a distance from the phone.

Performance, software and battery aside, the Motorola Edge 20 Fusion features a rear-mounted fingerprint scanner and face recognition features for security. Both these features work flawlessly each time and unlock the phone in a blink of an eye. The audio, however, is a bit of a bummer. The Motorola Edge 20 Fusion is loud. In fact, it is so loud that you can hear music playing in one room, in the other room even with the door closed. However, it's not clear or balanced at all and it lacks texture. Now, I don't expect it to sound as good as my AirPods, but is some clarity too much to ask for?

Motorola Edge 20 Fusion: Conclusion

Now, the million-dollar question: Is the Motorola Edge 20 Fusion worth buying or not?

In a nutshell, yes. The Motorola Edge 20 Fusion features a well-lit display with a good rear camera setup and a long battery life. To add to that, it is really easy to use thanks to its clear UI and it works smoothly even under duress. However, the front camera and the sound are a bit of a bummer and the design is a bit basic. But if you can ignore that, the Motorola Edge 20 Fusion is a good pick.

Rating

3.5 out of 5

Price

INR 21,499/-

Product Name

Edge 20 Fusion

Brand Name

Motorola

Pros