The Motorola Edge 20 Fusion: A Solid Mid-Range Contender or a Missed Opportunity?
The sub-Rs. 30,000 smartphone market in India is a fierce battleground, with brands vying for consumers seeking powerful hardware and features at an attractive price point. Motorola, with its legacy of robust devices, has thrown its hat into the ring with the Motorola Edge 20 Fusion, aiming to capture this segment with a compelling blend of performance and innovative features. However, boasting a 108-megapixel primary rear camera and a MediaTek Dimensity 800U processor, can the Edge 20 Fusion truly deliver the experience we’ve come to expect from a mid-range champion? Let’s dive in and see if the Edge 20 Fusion lives up to the hype.
Motorola Edge 20 Fusion Price in India
The Motorola Edge 20 Fusion starts at Rs. 21,499 for the base variant, offering 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. The higher-end variant, boasting 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage, is priced at Rs. 22,999. Available in two captivating colors, Electric Graphite and Cyber Teal, the Edge 20 Fusion presents an attractive option for budget-conscious consumers.
Motorola Edge 20 Fusion Design
The Motorola Edge 20 Fusion stands out with its 6.7-inch display, featuring a centered camera hole and thin bezels that enhance the viewing experience. Sporting a 20:9 aspect ratio, the phone presents a tall and immersive display. However, the use of plastic for both the back and frame might be a deterrent for those seeking a premium feel.
The phone incorporates a side-mounted fingerprint scanner integrated into the power button, providing convenient access for unlocking the device. The volume buttons are positioned above the power button, requiring a slight reach. Motorola has also included a dedicated Google Assistant button on the left side. The Edge 20 Fusion is IP52 rated, ensuring protection against splashes. The bottom houses a 3.5mm headphone jack, USB Type-C port, primary microphone, and loudspeaker, while the top only features a secondary microphone.
While Motorola has managed to keep the Edge 20 Fusion relatively slim at 8.25mm and weighing 185g, the triple camera module protrudes significantly, causing the phone to wobble on flat surfaces. The plastic back panel is a fingerprint magnet, requiring frequent cleaning. Luckily, Motorola includes a case in the box.
Motorola Edge 20 Fusion Specifications
The Edge 20 Fusion proudly displays a large 6.7-inch OLED display with full-HD+ resolution and a 90Hz refresh rate, ensuring smooth scrolling and an enjoyable visual experience. The display also supports HDR10, further enhancing multimedia consumption. Powering the device is the MediaTek Dimensity 800U processor, coupled with either 6GB or 8GB of RAM, depending on the variant. Storage remains consistent at 128GB for both, with an option to expand storage up to 1TB using a microSD card in the hybrid dual-SIM tray.
Connectivity is a strength, with support for dual 5G and dual 4G VoLTE. The phone also features Bluetooth 5, dual-band WiFi, NFC, and six satellite navigation systems. Powering the device is a 5,000mAh battery, and the box includes a 30W TurboPower charger.
Motorola Edge 20 Fusion Software
The Edge 20 Fusion runs Android 11 overlaid with Motorola’s lightly skinned MyUX interface. Motorola has committed to two Android version updates for the device, ensuring its longevity. The UI retains a stock Android feel, allowing for customization of colours, fonts, and icon shapes. Moto actions, offering gesture-based control for specific actions, are also included. With the exception of Facebook and standard Google apps, the Edge 20 Fusion is largely free of bloatware, and Facebook can be easily uninstalled.
Motorola’s Ready For feature comes pre-installed, enabling users to connect their phone to an external display for a larger screen experience. Ready For PC allows connection to a Windows PC via a companion app, offering a similar experience to Samsung’s Dex. This feature, however, is limited to Windows only and does not work with Macs.
Motorola Edge 20 Fusion Performance
The Motorola Edge 20 Fusion delivers a smooth and responsive performance. App loading times are swift, and multi-tasking is handled efficiently, even with the 6GB RAM variant. Motorola has implemented a RAM boost feature that utilizes phone storage as additional RAM, enhancing performance further. This feature is enabled by default but can be disabled.
The 90Hz refresh rate, also enabled by default, contributes to a seamless scrolling experience. The side-mounted fingerprint scanner provides quick unlocking, and face recognition proves to be just as fast. The OLED panel excels in video playback. However, the speakers could use a boost in quality.
Benchmarks reveal a solid performance. The Edge 20 Fusion garnered 369,120 points in AnTuTu, while Geekbench 5 single-core and multi-core tests yielded 585 and 1,741 points, respectively. GFXBench’s T-Rex and Car Chase benchmarks resulted in 69fps and 17fps, respectively, slightly lagging behind the OnePlus Nord CE 5G.
In Battleground Mobile India (BGMI), the Edge 20 Fusion flawlessly handled HD graphics and High frame rate settings, delivering a smooth gaming experience without lag or stutter. After 21 minutes of playing, the phone experienced a 4 percent battery drop but remained barely warm to the touch. Motorola’s Gametime feature allows for blocking calls and notifications during gameplay, ensuring an uninterrupted gaming experience.
The Edge 20 Fusion delivers a solid battery life, easily lasting a day and a half with typical usage. Our HD video loop test showed a runtime of 15 hours and 26 minutes with the display refresh rate set to 90Hz, slightly behind the OnePlus Nord CE 5G’s performance of 19 hours, 59 minutes. Using the included 30W TurboPower charger, the Edge 20 Fusion reached 52 percent in 30 minutes and 88 percent in one hour.
Motorola Edge 20 Fusion Cameras
The Motorola Edge 20 Fusion features a triple camera setup comprising a 108-megapixel primary camera, an 8-megapixel ultra-wide-angle camera with autofocus, and a 2-megapixel depth sensor. The ultra-wide-angle camera doubles as a macro camera. For selfies, the phone boasts a 32-megapixel front camera.
The camera app boasts a user-friendly interface, prominently displaying the Photo and Video modes, while other modes are conveniently tucked away in a menu. The Spot Colour mode allows for capturing black-and-white images with a single highlight colour of choice. Dual Capture, a unique feature, enables simultaneous recording of photos or videos with the primary and selfie cameras.
The 108-megapixel primary camera captures pixel-binned 12-megapixel shots by default. Daylight photos taken in overcast conditions demonstrate good detail and legibility of text, even in distant objects. However, darker areas lack definition. The ultra-wide-angle camera delivers a wider field of view but with a slightly different color tone compared to the primary sensor. The level of detail in ultra-wide-angle photos falls short of that captured by the primary camera.
The Edge 20 Fusion excels in close-up shots, producing crisp images with well-defined edges and a subtle depth effect in the background. The ultra-wide-angle camera also offers the possibility of capturing 8-megapixel macro shots with good detail. Portrait shots show accurate edge detection, effectively separating the subject from the background with adjustable blur levels.
Low-light photos exhibit low noise but appear slightly smoothened. Activating Night Mode yields a brighter output with enhanced detail within shadows.
Selfies captured with the 32-megapixel front camera, pixel-binned to 8-megapixel shots, showcase good detail and a natural appearance. However, color reproduction proves inconsistent. Portrait mode allows for adjustable background blur. Low-light selfies retain a good level of detail.
Video recording capabilities peak at 4K for the primary camera and 1080p for the selfie camera. While video stabilization is available, it is disabled by default. The Edge 20 Fusion effectively stabilizes footage shot at 1080p; however, 4K footage exhibits occasional shakes. Low-light footage displays a shimmer effect during movement.
Verdict
The sub-Rs. 25,000 segment is a highly competitive market, with recent releases like the OnePlus Nord CE 5G, Samsung Galaxy F62, and Realme X7 5G demanding attention.
The Motorola Edge 20 Fusion steps into this arena with a compelling proposition. Starting at Rs. 21,499, the phone offers an affordable entry point for budget-conscious consumers. Its powerful hardware, coupled with a clean, near-stock Android UI, caters to those seeking a pure Android experience. Motorola’s aggressive pricing, undercutting the OnePlus Nord CE 5G by Rs. 2,000, makes the Edge 20 Fusion a strong contender in this segment.
While the Edge 20 Fusion boasts a competitive price and powerful hardware, it does have some drawbacks. The plastic construction might feel underwhelming for some users, and the protruding camera module can prove inconvenient. Battery life, though decent, lags behind competitors like the OnePlus Nord CE 5G. Despite these shortcomings, the Motorola Edge 20 Fusion delivers a solid overall experience, justifying its place as a compelling option within the sub-Rs. 25,000 market.
