Motorola Edge 30—is it worth 30K?

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Motorola has recently launched one of its feature-loaded and much-awaited smartphones, the Edge 30, in India. The handset is an affordable version of the edge 30 Pro, which was launched earlier with the latest and most advanced Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chipset. Meanwhile, the Edge 30 is the first smartphone in that country that comes with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 778G+ 5G chipset.

The company claimed that the smartphone comes with a long battery life, which can go all day long on a single charge. It also revealed that the latest chipset also makes the phone work leg free while operating heavy applications. 

It comes in two variants—6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage for Rs 27,999 and 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage for Rs 29,999. It aims to rival a host of notable offerings, like the Vivo V23, OnePlus Nord 2, Samsung Galaxy M53 5G, and Realme 9 Pro+. Motorola continues to promise a clean Android 12 software experience that most rival Android phones fail to offer. We also get two 50-megapixel rear cameras and a 32-megapixel selfie sensor that may attract camera-focused customers.

Motorola Edge 30
Motorola Edge 30

Price and specs of the Motorola Edge 30

Interested customers can purchase the Motorola Edge 30 at a starting price of Rs 27,999 for the 6GB/128GB variant. As far as the upper variant is concerned, it comes with a price tag of Rs 29,999 for the 8GB/128GB variant. The company has introduced the phone in two color options—one is Meteor Grey and the other is Aurora Green.  

Speaking of the specs, the Motorola Edge 30 features a 6.5-inch FHD+ POLED panel with a 144Hz refresh rate, under which users will be able to experience the HD display quality while using the phone. When it comes to durability, the device is protected by Gorilla Glass 3, which is scratch and water-resistant.  

Talking about the camera, the device is equipped with a three-camera setup at the back, under which it has a 50MP main lens along with a 50MP ultrawide lens and a 2MP depth sensor. Both 50MP camera lenses can give the customers a 4K video recording up to 30fps.  

Some phones like to sell you a gimmick or two: flashy designs, the highest resolution camera, or the fastest charging solution you can imagine in a phone! And then some phones just try to do a bit of everything and end up not good at most things. If you catch the drift, you have a sense of what we are going to say about the Motorola Edge 30. After a fantastic package that was the Motorola Edge 30 Pro, Motorola’s outing in the sub-30,000 space is an uninspiring offering.

Is the Motorola Edge 30 worth it? 

On its social media portals, Motorola claims the Edge 30 to be the slimmest, thinnest, and whatnot! It also debuts the Snapdragon 778G+ chipset, which is currently the fastest 700 series chip we have seen on our shores. It even has two 50MP cameras on the back, and a 144Hz POLED display! A drool-worthy spec sheet! But is that as drool-worthy to use as in the real world?  

Motorola Edge 30 design  

For a phone that is called the “Edge”, it is obvious to expect something edgy: something flashy that turns heads. The Motorola Edge 30 sadly is not any of that. Handsome looking? That for sure but eye-catchy it is not! By giving the Edge 30 a boxy look, Motorola tried to step into the design segment that companies like Apple, Samsung, and others are following by making the Edge 30 far lighter. As the phone is sleek (6.79mm) and lightweight (155 grams), it feels very handy and comfortable to hold. However, the back panel including the camera hump attracts smudges. Moving to the front, the Motorola Edge 30 has a decently big display of 6.5 inches with thin bezels, a selfie camera at the top center, and an in-display fingerprint sensor at the bottom.  

The Motorola Edge 30 Display is

Motorola Edge 30
Display

A big screen with a decent viewing angle, quick touch response, and poppable colors are some of the things you want from a mid-range priced phone. And the Motorola Edge 30 did check the boxes right. With a screen size of 6.5 inches, the phone offers a decent viewing experience. It features a 10-bit POLED display along with a 144Hz refresh rate. You can change the refresh rate either to 60Hz, 144Hz, or auto. Initially, I used the phone by keeping the refresh rate at 144Hz, which worked perfectly, even though the touch response was quick and did not show any lag. However, the battery consumption increased. You will notice a difference as soon as you switch to the auto mode or 60Hz refresh rate.

From binge-watching and playing games to scrolling through social media or just surfing the internet, it all managed to work impressively. When it comes to the color accuracy, the saturated mode is on by default, which results in brightening some of the colors, and someone who prefers natural colors will have to change it to the same by going to the settings.

Motorola Edge 30 Performance  

Motorola with its Edge 30 brings the Snapdragon 778G+ 5G chipset to India. The phone runs on Android 12 and performs amazingly well. The Edge 30 is free of bloatware or any pre-installed apps, hence offering you a great user experience with its clean and easy-to-use UI. From loading the apps, and using multiple apps, to doing other basic daily activities like calling, browsing the internet, playing games, and using social media applications, whatever task you throw at the phone, it handles it with ease and class without throwing any tantrums or bothering you in many ways.  

If you are a gaming enthusiast, the Motorola Edge 30 is a phone you may like. From lightweight games like Subway Surfer and Temple Run to high-end games like Call of Duty and BGMI, among others, the phone can provide you with an impressive gaming experience. You will enjoy the better graphical performance when compared to phones using the Snapdragon 778G or the Snapdragon 695 chip.  

Software

Then there’s the software experience, which is easily one of our favorites. You get the Google Pixel-like user interface with Material Design elements, which are all clean and sorted out. It looks funky and is devoid of any bloated apps or adware. There’s enough for customization fans to play with. The Motorola Edge 30 also supports gestures, one mode, video call effects, and much more. With the video call effect, you will be able to blur the background, audio zoom, and track the subject. This will make your video calling experience more exciting and enjoyable.

The phone also shows the total duration of phone usage, and that, too, is divided into sections and apps wisely. It further shows how many notifications you have received and unlocked, under the Digital wellbeing and parental controls section. You can set up bedtime mode and focus mode to stop getting disturbed or distracted by notifications and alerts.  

The phone is equipped with two stereo speakers that support Dolby Atmos and Snapdragon Sound. The audio was loud and clear and thus helped in enhancing the entertainment experience. Even when the phone is connected with earphones, the sound performance was stellar. Talking about the calling experience and Wi-Fi or internet connectivity, the phone offers 5G technology, which is still something yet to come in the country.  

Motorola Edge 30 Camera  

When you get excellent camera performance from phones ranging under Rs. 25,000, like the Oppo F21 Pro, among others, your expectations for the Motorola Edge 30 rise. For me, the images clicked did not impress; they are just average. The Motorola Edge 30 sports a triple camera setup. It has a 50MP main rear camera, a 50MP ultra-wide angle, a 2MP depth camera, and a 32MP front camera.  

The pictures extracted the colors accurately, and the clarity and sharpness were also fine. However, compared to the camera outputs from other phones in this price range, you might be a bit disappointed. The night vision mode is very good, though. The front camera, on the other hand, takes boosted images and fails to detect skin tone under most lighting conditions. It does not mean the photos are bad, but it depends on the kind of colors users prefer. Notably, the front camera can record 4K videos. 

Night mode

Battery  

Battery capacity is another area that disappoints! At a time when companies are offering 4500-5000mAh batteries along with a 65W charger and faster, the Motorola Edge 30 has a 4,020mAh battery. Though this could be one of the reasons behind the light weight of the phone! We cannot expect a good battery backup with around a 4000mAh battery and a 144Hz display. It will give you only around a day of battery life on a single charge with normal usage of around 4 hours. This includes calling, surfing the internet, scrolling through social media, and more.

If you are in the mood to watch a 3-hour-long movie, or play high-end games for around 30 minutes or more, you will have to charge the phone twice a day. The phone comes with a 33W charger and hence it takes around 50 minutes to an hour to get fully charged from 10 percent.  

Conclusion  

Trying to ace the spec sheet makes the Motorola Edge 30 struggle in most areas. With this phone, you get a decent design and overall performance. But, the phone fails to impress with its camera output and battery backup, especially for its price. The phone does bring the Snapdragon 778G+ SG to India, and it is slim and lightweight. But these things do not make it easy to ignore the competition with phones in the same price range. When it comes to better cameras with fun modes, the Oppo F21 Pro and Realme 9 Pro+ are better options. For better battery life with fast charging, you can consider the likes of the Xiaomi 11i Hypercharge and the Realme 9 Pro+. Even the Xiaomi 11 Lite NE 5G is a good lightweight option to consider.

However, the Motorola Edge 30 offers one of the nicest Android experiences in this price range. Not just this, but also one of the fastest chipsets in this segment. If you are seeking a solid Android experience with a powerful chip and a good display, you can consider it. The phone is also future-ready with 5G support (13 bands), and you get carrier aggregation for a more stable connection. For those wanting good cameras, strong battery life, and faster charging, the competition has better products to offer. 

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