Motorola’s Edge+ launch was spoiled a day early
You won’t have to wait until Motorola’s April 22nd event to find out what the Edge+ can do. Droid Life reports that a premature blog post confirmed many of the flagship Android phone’s specifications for the US version exclusive to Verizon (Engadget’s parent company), including tidbits that weren’t immediately available before. The Edge+ will have a 6.7-inch 1080p OLED screen whose curved edges explain its name, a 90Hz refresh rate, a Snapdragon 865 processor, 12GB of RAM and 256GB of built-in storage. So far, it’s what you’d expect from a high-end Android phone in 2020.
It’s in the cameras where Motorola might do more to stand out. The rear camera array won’t be completely revolutionary with its 108MP, hardware-stabilized f/1.8 main sensor (pixel-binned to produce 27MP shots most of the time), but there should be a 16MP ultra-wide camera and an 8MP telephoto cam to produce zoomed-in shots without cropping. There’s a 25MP front-facing shooter as well. Curiously, the Edge+ can record up to 6K — better than the 4K that’s still commonplace, but not 8K like you see with the Galaxy S20 family.
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There’s all sorts of added minutiae in the since-pulled report. It’s poised to have some of the fastest 5G out there, with peak speeds of 4Gbps if you can find a good connection. There’s a huge 5,000mAh battery, but you’ll be limited to either 18W wired charging or 15W wireless. It’ll run Android 10 (with promises of an upgrade to Android 11), too.
There may be one leak people don’t enjoy: the price. The Edge+ is said to cost $1,000 outright, or just shy of $42 per month over two years. That puts it into direct competition with the Galaxy S20, iPhone 11 Pro and other phones that command a high premium. It might be a tougher sell as a result. While it can certainly compete in key areas, it may have trouble standing out when Apple and Samsung have virtually cornered the high-end smartphone world.
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