Motorola Edge 30: The thinnest 5G smartphone on the market

Motorola has launched the Edge 30, the latest addition to its Edge family of smartphones, and it promises to be the thinnest 5G smartphone on the market.

The Edge 30 is Motorola’s successor to the Edge 20, a device designed primarily for the international market. Motorola is touting the Edge 30 as the slimmest 5G smartphone available, coming in at a svelte 6.79mm.

The Edge 30 is powered by the Snapdragon 778G Plus, with up to 8GB of RAM and up to 256GB of storage. The Snapdragon 778G was already a solid chipset for mid-range devices, including the Edge 20, with the 778G Plus providing increased GPU and CPU performance, at least on paper. In reality, the difference may not be noticeable in everyday tasks.

Camera and display

While the Edge 30’s performance may not offer a significant upgrade, the phone’s camera and display provide a nice improvement over the previous generation.

The camera features a 50MP ultrawide sensor, a 50MP main camera, and a 32MP front-facing camera. Beyond megapixels, Motorola has improved the software behind the camera, offering instant all-pixel focus. The feature is designed to use 100% of pixels when focusing, instead of the standard 3%. This allows the camera to focus faster and deliver better accuracy in almost any light. The camera also includes optical image stabilization (OIS), which eliminates shakes and small movements.

See also: Motorola Edge (2021) review

The Edge 30 also delivers improved camera functionality for content creators, with features specifically designed to better interact with apps like Instagram, TikTok, and WhatsApp. The software provides better facial rendering and noise reduction in photos, while front-camera videos should see a marked improvement. Otherwise, the FHD+ OLED display complements the camera, providing a 144Hz refresh rate and HDR10+ support.

Additional features

The Edge 30 also includes a 4,020mAh battery. Motorola’s wired 30W charger can provide hours of power from just a few minutes of charging.

The phone also includes Dolby Atmos through its dual stereo speakers, providing users a spatial sound experience.

In addition to 5G, the Edge 30 also includes Wi-Fi 6E. The latest Wi-Fi standard uses the 6GHz spectrum to provide more stable connections, internet speeds in excess of 1Gbps, and lower latency. As a result, everything from streaming video to online gaming should benefit, providing a smoother overall experience.

Price and availability

The Edge 30 has a starting MSRP of €449.99 (~$479) for the 128GB model. The phone is available in select markets in Europe and will roll out to select markets in Asia, Australia, India, Latin America, and the Middle East in the coming weeks.

Since its introduction, Motorola’s Edge series has been a solid option, often providing a better user experience than their stats alone would indicate. The Edge 30 seems poised to continue that trend.