Motorola Edge 20 series launched: Moto takes the cheaper route

The Motorola Edge series was the firm’s first proper flagship phone line in a while, and we thought the Edge Plus was a pretty solid device in this regard. It’s high time for a follow-up, and that would be the new Motorola Edge 20 series.

We’ve actually got three devices in the family compared to just two last time out. There’s the Edge 20 Lite which brings up the rear, the standard Edge 20, and the top-level Edge 20 Pro (seen above). All three devices offer 108MP main cameras with nona-binning (presumably the Samsung Isocell HM2), a 32MP selfie camera in a punch-hole cutout, 5G, high refresh rate OLED screens, and 30W charging via an included charger.

Motorola Edge 20 Pro

The Edge 20 Pro opts for the Snapdragon 870 instead of the top-end Snapdragon 888 chipset. This is an interesting choice given that last year’s Edge Plus delivered the Snapdragon 865, which was the top SoC in Qualcomm’s portfolio at the time.

“We found that (Snapdragon) 870 was good enough for what we wanted to achieve,” a Motorola representative said in response to an Android Authority question. They added that pricing was another consideration in choosing the Snapdragon 870 instead of the 888. And the phone is cheaper than the $999 Edge Plus was at launch according to UK and European pricing (more on that later).

Motorola’s Pro device also delivers a 6.7-inch 144Hz OLED panel and a 4,500mAh battery. Moving to the cameras, we’ve got a 108MP main camera, a 16MP ultra-wide camera that offers a macro mode, and an 8MP 5X periscope lens (capable of up to 50X digital zoom).

Edge 20

The standard model maintains some of the same features as the Pro variant, such as the main and ultra-wide cameras and the 144Hz OLED screen. But Motorola has opted for a thinner design at 6.99mm, also resulting in a phone with a 4,000mAh battery.

Other notable differences include swapping out the Snapdragon 870 in favor of the mid-range but still beefy Snapdragon 778G SoC and switching out the 5X periscope camera for a 3X 8MP telephoto lens. Expect to find the Edge 20 in 6GB/128GB or 8GB/128GB options.

Edge 20 Lite

Like the idea of the Edge 20 series but don’t want to spend a ton of money? That’s where the Edge 20 Lite comes in. The cheapest device in the family settles on a budget-focused Dimensity 720 chipset, 6GB of RAM, and 128GB of storage.

The phone also packs a 6.7-inch 90Hz OLED screen, a 5,000mAh battery (with the aforementioned 30W charging), and a triple rear camera system. The latter consists of a 108MP main camera, an 8MP ultra-wide camera with macro mode, and a 2MP depth sensor.

Motorola Edge 20 series pricing

Those wanting the top-flight Edge 20 Pro will need to spend £649.99 or €699.99 for the sole 12GB/256GB model. The phone is available in blue vegan leather, Midnight Blue, and Iridescent White.  Want the vanilla Edge 20 instead? Then you’ll be spending £429.99 or €499.99, with color options including Frosted Emerald, Frosted Grey, and Frosted White. Meanwhile, the Motorola Edge 20 Lite starts at £299.99 or €349.99. The device is available in Electric Graphite and Lagoon Green.

Moto says all three phones will be available in Asia, Europe, and Latin America. Meanwhile, the Edge 20 Lite and Pro models will also be available in the Middle East. There’s no word yet on US availability, though Motorola did hint that an Edge series phone would launch stateside later this year, saying, “Motorola is excited to share its commitment to deliver a new 5G Edge family device in North America this fall.”

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