The Motorola Edge 30: A Slim and Stylish 5G Phone with Some Compromises
Motorola boldly claims the Edge 30 is the world’s slimmest 5G smartphone and India’s lightest 5G phone in its segment. It’s a phone that flaunts its design at just 6.79mm thin and a weight of only 155g. This emphasis on form follows in the footsteps of its predecessor, the Motorola Edge 20, but can the Edge 30 truly deliver a balanced blend of form and function? We put it through its paces to find out.
Motorola Edge 30 Price in India
The Motorola Edge 30 starts at Rs. 27,999 for the base variant with 6GB of RAM, while the 8GB RAM variant is priced at Rs. 29,999. Both configurations come with 128GB of storage. Motorola offers the Edge 30 in Meteor Grey and Aurora Green colors, with the former being reviewed here.
Motorola Edge 30 Design: A Slim and Sleek Contender
The Motorola Edge 30 embodies design as a core element. Motorola has adopted the flattened frame trend popularized by the iPhone 12, a choice observed in many recent Android smartphones. While the corners and edges maintain a degree of rounding, this makes the Edge 30 comfortable to grip.
As noted in our initial impressions, the Edge 30’s body is crafted from polycarbonate, a material choice aimed at minimizing weight. The back panel is made of acrylic – a smart move as it appears like glass but should offer better resistance against cracks when dropped. It features a flat design centered around the Motorola logo. While fingerprints accumulate easily on this panel, the included case provides a handy solution.
“The Motorola Edge 30 feels incredibly slim and lightweight, holding it for long durations doesn’t cause hand fatigue, a significant plus for extended phone usage.”
The Edge 30 boasts an exceptionally pleasant in-hand feel, and its lightweight design makes it comfortable for long periods. Borrowing elements from its bigger brother, the Edge 30 Pro, it shares the identical camera module and boasts the same camera hardware, which we’ll explore further.
Motorola has opted for a 6.5-inch display on the Edge 30, a size found to be comfortably manageable for single-handed use. This display is interrupted by a tiny hole-punch for the front camera, which proved to be minimally distracting. The power and volume buttons are within easy reach, providing excellent tactile feedback. The SIM tray lives on the bottom, alongside the USB Type-C port and speaker. Unfortunately, a 3.5mm headphone jack is absent. The earpiece cleverly doubles as a speaker, providing stereo sound output.
Overall, the Motorola Edge 30 feels robust and features an IP52 rating for resistance to light splashes of water.
Motorola Edge 30 Specifications and Software: A Powerful Package
The Motorola Edge 30 is driven by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 778G+ SoC, a step up from the Snapdragon 778G found in the Edge 20. The Edge 30 holds the distinction of being India’s first smartphone to utilise this chipset. It supports Bluetooth 5.2, Wi-Fi 6E, NFC, and 13 5G bands. The Edge 30’s lack of expandable storage might be a concern for some buyers. Dolby Atmos and Snapdragon Sound enhancements grace the Edge 30’s stereo speakers.
The Motorola Edge 30 features a 6.5-inch pOLED display with a full-HD+ resolution, boasting an impressive 144Hz refresh rate and a 360Hz touch sampling rate. Motorola emphasizes the pOLED panel’s benefit of allowing for narrow bezels and a thinner display. The Edge 30 also enjoys Corning Gorilla Glass 3 protection over the display against scratches.
“The 144Hz refresh rate makes scrolling feel incredibly smooth, while the pOLED display provides vibrant colors and deep blacks, perfect for multimedia consumption.”
The Motorola Edge 30 packs a 4,020mAh battery, a capacity that falls slightly short of the average we’ve come to expect in recent times. This compromise was likely made to accommodate the phone’s slim form factor and light weight. It supports 33W fast charging, and Motorola includes a compatible TurboPower fast charger in the box.
Software-wise, the Motorola Edge 30 runs Android 12 adorned with Motorola’s MyUX interface overlay. Motorola has made a commitment to two years of Android OS updates and three years of security updates for the Edge 30, which should guarantee its relevance in the years to come. The trend of extended software support is not limited to flagship models – it’s a welcome addition for consumers even in the mid-range segment. We’ve seen this trend reflected in the recently launched Samsung Galaxy M53 as well.
The interface of the Motorola Edge 30 is remarkably clean, with only the Facebook app preinstalled. While there is a fair number of Google apps, most of them can be uninstalled to reclaim valuable storage space. The UI is customizable, allowing you to personalize it through the Moto app.
Motorola has incorporated features like Peek Display, which briefly wakes up the pOLED panel to reveal incoming notifications. Attentive Display is another handy feature that prevents the screen from turning off as long as you’re actively looking at it. The classic Moto Actions, allowing you to use motion gestures for tasks like turning on the camera or flashlight, remain present. Motorola’s ‘Ready For’ feature lets you mirror your smartphone’s content wirelessly onto an external display or connect it to a Windows PC.
Motorola Edge 30 Performance: Smooth and Engaging
The Motorola Edge 30 consistently delivered a smooth experience throughout our review period. Its pOLED display offered crisp visuals and excellent viewing angles. The display’s refresh rate was set to Auto by default, and we observed that the UI primarily refreshed at 90Hz. Interestingly, it switched to 144Hz on the lock screen. However, most interface interactions, including scrolling through menus, occurred at 90Hz.
To experience the full 144Hz, you will need to lock the refresh rate in the settings app. While this does feel slightly smoother, we found the difference to be minimal. We recommended leaving the refresh rate at Auto as the user experience remained highly enjoyable.
Watching video content proved engaging, and the stereo speakers complemented the display beautifully. Those primarily focused on media consumption will find the Motorola Edge 30 particularly appealing.
The in-display fingerprint scanner on the Motorola Edge 30 is a positive step, but it doesn’t quite rank among the fastest we’ve encountered. On occasion, it took longer than expected to authenticate our finger. Motorola’s inclusion of a cool fingerprint animation helps distract you during the authentication process. Face recognition was fairly swift in unlocking the phone.
“The Snapdragon 778G+ delivers powerful performance, making the Edge 30 capable of handling demanding tasks and gaming without noticeable lag.”
To gauge the Motorola Edge 30’s performance compared to its competitors, we ran various synthetic benchmarks. In AnTuTu, the Edge 30 scored 530,975 points, slightly exceeding the 524,175 achieved by its predecessor, the Edge 20. However, rivals like the OnePlus Nord 2 and Mi 11X scored higher. The Edge 30 achieved 6,672 points in the 3DMark Slingshot test, a respectable score.
Call of Duty: Mobile loaded swiftly on the Motorola Edge 30, and gameplay smoothly ran at the ‘Very High’ graphics setting with the frame rate set to ‘High’. The game remained playable at these settings without noticeable stuttering, and the stereo speakers enhanced the gameplay experience. After a 20-minute gaming session, we observed an eight percent decline in battery level, which felt somewhat high. The phone also warmed up slightly after our gaming session.
Considering the smaller-than-average battery, we were initially apprehensive about battery life. However, the Motorola Edge 30 managed to last for a full day under our typical usage pattern. In our HD video loop test, it didn’t perform as well, lasting only 11 hours and 50 minutes with the refresh rate set to Auto. Locking the refresh rate at 144Hz will undoubtedly result in even lower battery performance. The included 33W TurboPower charger proved to be quick, replenishing the phone to around 60 percent in thirty minutes and fully charging it within an hour.
Motorola Edge 30 Cameras: A Familiar But Not Revolutionary Setup
The Motorola Edge 30 boasts the same camera hardware as the Edge 30 Pro, comprising a 50-megapixel primary camera with OIS, a 50-megapixel ultra-wide-angle camera capable of macro photography, and a 2-megapixel depth camera. In contrast to the Edge 20, which had a 3X telephoto camera, the Edge 30 lacks decent zoom functionality. The camera interface remains largely unchanged and is user-friendly. It offers a Pro mode for complete manual control over exposure settings.
“The camera system produces good-quality photos in daylight, but it lacks the exceptional detail and sharpness expected in this price range.”
The Motorola Edge 30 was swift in locking focus but sometimes hesitated in HDR scenes. Daylight photos appeared good but lacked the level of detail we expected upon zooming in. It seemed the camera app enhanced sharpness while pixel-binning photos from the main camera. Photos captured at the full 50-megapixel resolution generally yielded better details.
The ultra-wide-angle camera also pixel-binned photos to 12.5-megapixels by default but lagged behind the primary camera in terms of detail. This camera offered a wider field of view but exhibited noticeable barrel distortion towards the edges of the photo.
Close-up photos of objects displayed sharpness with good detail and sufficient background separation. The camera app intelligently suggested switching to the macro camera when the subject was sufficiently close. Macro shots were detailed but exhibited warmer color tones. Portrait mode photos demonstrated accurate edge detection, and the Edge 30 allowed us to adjust the level of background blur before snapping the shot.
Low-light camera performance was satisfactory, but the phone struggled to capture optimal detail in the darker areas of the frame. Night mode significantly improved performance, resulting in a brighter overall image.
Selfie photos from the 32-megapixel camera were binned to 8-megapixels by default. Daylight selfies appeared natural with accurate colors, and Portrait mode shots delivered good background blur. Low-light selfies, when taken with an adequate light source, turned out reasonably well.
Video recording on the Motorola Edge 30 peaked at 4K for both the primary and selfie cameras. The phone effectively stabilized footage, and videos captured while walking around displayed no jitter in daylight. However, subtle jitter in the footage was noticeable while shooting videos in low light.
Verdict
Motorola has clearly prioritized design above all else on the Edge 30. If this is paramount on your list of must-haves, you’ll find the phone truly enticing. The Motorola Edge 30 continues to shine in software. The UI is clean and free of excessive bloatware apps, giving it a lean and fast feel. With Motorola’s promise of prolonged Android updates, the Edge 30 should age gracefully.
However, the Motorola Edge 30 doesn’t represent a substantial upgrade over its predecessor, the Edge 20. If you’re anticipating remarkable improvements from the new Snapdragon 778G+ SoC, prepare to be slightly disappointed. It doesn’t deliver a significant advantage over the Snapdragon 778G. The cameras are good for the price, but the output, particularly recorded videos in low light, falls short compared to the Edge 30 Pro despite sharing similar hardware.
Overall, the Edge 30 is a suitable choice for those who value design and favor a clean stock Android experience. If you’re a power user seeking superior performance, the OnePlus Nord 2 or the Xiaomi Mi 11X might be better suited. The newly launched iQoo Neo 6 also presents a strong contender to the Edge 30, and a full review will be available soon.
