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Motorola unveils Edge (2021) flagship headed to Canada soon

The Edge (2021) boasts a 108-megapixel camera and runs on Qualcomm's Snapdragon 778G chipset

Motorola announced its next flagship device headed to North America: the Motorola Edge (2021).

A successor to last year’s Motorola Edge and Edge+ (of which only the Edge+ came to Canada), the Edge (2021) is an interesting, if odd, device. It’s very similar to the 2020 Edge+, but also quite different. For one, the Edge (2021) ditches the premium 800-series Snapdragon chipset for a Snapdragon 778G. However, the Edge (2021) sports a very similar main rear camera, but trades off the secondary cameras for worse sensors.

Where the Edge+ was clearly meant to be a high-end, premium flagship that competed directly with Samsung’s top-line smartphones, the Edge (2021) feels more like it straddles the line between mid-range and high-end. In fact, the Edge (2021) seems to be a mix of 2020’s Edge and Edge+.

There’s nothing wrong with that, of course, but it remains to be seen if the trade-offs (and resulting price drop) work out to a better phone for your money.

Motorola Edge (2021)

Motorola Edge

Motorola Edge+

Display

6.8-inch Full HD+ LCD display, 144Hz refresh, up to 576Hz touch latency

6.7-inch FHD+ OLED Endless Edge display, 90Hz refresh rate, HDR10

6.7-inch FHD+ OLED Endless Edge display, 90Hz refresh rate, HDR10+

Processor

Qualcomm Snapdragon 778G

Qualcomm Snapdragon 765

Qualcomm Snapdragon 865

RAM

6 or 8GB

4GB

12GB DDR5

Storage

128 or 256GB

128GB expandable up to 1TB with microSD card

256GB UFS3.0 with Turbo Write

Dimensions (in.)

168 x 76 x 8.85mm

161.64 x 71.1 x 9.29mm

161.1 x 71.4 x 9.6mm

Weight

200g

188g

203g

Rear Facing Camera

108-megapixel main with Ultra Pixel Tech, f/1.9 aperture | 8-megapixel ultra-wide angle | 2-megapixel depth

64-megapixel f/1.8 Quad Pixel | 16-megapixel f/2.2 Ultra-wide angle and Macro Vision | 8-megapixel telephoto with 2x optical zoom | time of flight sensor

108-megapixel f/1.8 Quad Pixel with OIS | 16-megapixel f/2.2 Ultra-wide angle and Macro Vision | 8-megapixel f/2.4 telephoto 3x optical zoom and OIS | time of flight sensor

Front Facing Camera

32-megapixel with Quad Pixel Tech

25-megapixel f/2.0 Quad Pixel

25-megapixel f/2.0 Quad Pixel

OS

Android 11

Android 10

Android 10

Battery

5,000mAh

4,500mAh

5,000mAh

Network Connectivity

5G (Sub-6 and mmWave), 4G/LTE, 3G, 2G

5G: Sub-6 | LTE/UMTS/HSPA+/GSM/EDGE

5G: mmWave and Sub-6 | LTE/UMTS/HSPA+/GSM/EDGE/CDMA

Sensors

Proximity, Ambient light, Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Magnetometer (compass), barometer

In-display fingerprint reader, accelerometer, gyroscope, proximity, ambient light, sensor hub, barometer

In-display fingerprint reader, accelerometer, gyroscope, proximity, ambient light, sensor hub, barometer

SIM Type

Single nano SIM

Hybrid Dual SIM (2 Nano SIMs or 1 Nano + 1 microSD

Nano SIM

Launch Date

September 2, 2021

April 22, 2020

April 22, 2020

Misc

Colours: Nebula Blue

Colours: Solar Black, Midnight Magenta

Colours: Smoky Sangria, Thunder Grey

Display

Motorola Edge (2021)

6.8-inch Full HD+ LCD display, 144Hz refresh, up to 576Hz touch latency

Motorola Edge

6.7-inch FHD+ OLED Endless Edge display, 90Hz refresh rate, HDR10

Motorola Edge+

6.7-inch FHD+ OLED Endless Edge display, 90Hz refresh rate, HDR10+

Processor

Motorola Edge (2021)

Qualcomm Snapdragon 778G

Motorola Edge

Qualcomm Snapdragon 765

Motorola Edge+

Qualcomm Snapdragon 865

RAM

Motorola Edge (2021)

6 or 8GB

Motorola Edge

4GB

Motorola Edge+

12GB DDR5

Storage

Motorola Edge (2021)

128 or 256GB

Motorola Edge

128GB expandable up to 1TB with microSD card

Motorola Edge+

256GB UFS3.0 with Turbo Write

Dimensions (in.)

Motorola Edge (2021)

168 x 76 x 8.85mm

Motorola Edge

161.64 x 71.1 x 9.29mm

Motorola Edge+

161.1 x 71.4 x 9.6mm

Weight

Motorola Edge (2021)

200g

Motorola Edge

188g

Motorola Edge+

203g

Rear Facing Camera

Motorola Edge (2021)

108-megapixel main with Ultra Pixel Tech, f/1.9 aperture | 8-megapixel ultra-wide angle | 2-megapixel depth

Motorola Edge

64-megapixel f/1.8 Quad Pixel | 16-megapixel f/2.2 Ultra-wide angle and Macro Vision | 8-megapixel telephoto with 2x optical zoom | time of flight sensor

Motorola Edge+

108-megapixel f/1.8 Quad Pixel with OIS | 16-megapixel f/2.2 Ultra-wide angle and Macro Vision | 8-megapixel f/2.4 telephoto 3x optical zoom and OIS | time of flight sensor

Front Facing Camera

Motorola Edge (2021)

32-megapixel with Quad Pixel Tech

Motorola Edge

25-megapixel f/2.0 Quad Pixel

Motorola Edge+

25-megapixel f/2.0 Quad Pixel

OS

Motorola Edge (2021)

Android 11

Motorola Edge

Android 10

Motorola Edge+

Android 10

Battery

Motorola Edge (2021)

5,000mAh

Motorola Edge

4,500mAh

Motorola Edge+

5,000mAh

Network Connectivity

Motorola Edge (2021)

5G (Sub-6 and mmWave), 4G/LTE, 3G, 2G

Motorola Edge

5G: Sub-6 | LTE/UMTS/HSPA+/GSM/EDGE

Motorola Edge+

5G: mmWave and Sub-6 | LTE/UMTS/HSPA+/GSM/EDGE/CDMA

Sensors

Motorola Edge (2021)

Proximity, Ambient light, Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Magnetometer (compass), barometer

Motorola Edge

In-display fingerprint reader, accelerometer, gyroscope, proximity, ambient light, sensor hub, barometer

Motorola Edge+

In-display fingerprint reader, accelerometer, gyroscope, proximity, ambient light, sensor hub, barometer

SIM Type

Motorola Edge (2021)

Single nano SIM

Motorola Edge

Hybrid Dual SIM (2 Nano SIMs or 1 Nano + 1 microSD

Motorola Edge+

Nano SIM

Launch Date

Motorola Edge (2021)

September 2, 2021

Motorola Edge

April 22, 2020

Motorola Edge+

April 22, 2020

Misc

Motorola Edge (2021)

Colours: Nebula Blue

Motorola Edge

Colours: Solar Black, Midnight Magenta

Motorola Edge+

Colours: Smoky Sangria, Thunder Grey

Speaking of price, Motorola confirmed the Edge (2021) will be available in Canada “in the coming months,” but didn’t share any details about price. However, Motorola did mention that the phone would be available with Rogers, Freedom Mobile and other Canadian carriers.

In the U.S., the Edge (2021) will cost $699.99 (about $884.68 CAD) but with a limited-time, introductory discount of $200, making it just $499.99 (or $631.91 CAD). The phone will be available in the U.S. starting September 2nd, with pre-orders opening on August 23rd.

Decent specs, two OS upgrades and more

With that out of the way, let’s dig into the specs to see what you get for your money. The Motorola Edge (2021) offers either 6 or 8GB of RAM, 128 or 256GB of storage, a 5,000mAh battery and a 6.8-inch FHD+ LCD display with a 144Hz refresh rate. Despite keeping the ‘Edge’ name, Motorola ditched the edge display this time around, with the Edge (2021) offering a flat panel. Some may dislike the move, but I had several issues with the curved edges on the Edge+. Thanks to the 778G, the phone also boasts support for Sub-6 and mmWave 5G.

The Edge (2021) comes with a charger in the box and supports 30W TurboPower charging. The phone is IP52 water-resistant and runs Android 11 out of the box. Motorola promised at least two major OS upgrades (so the 2021 Edge should get Android 12 and 13) and two years of security updates. That’s certainly not great by current standards, but definitely better than what Motorola promised for the Edge+ at launch (to be fair, the company was quickly bullied into offering longer software support for the phone).

Speaking of software, Motorola also confirmed that its ‘My UX’ experience would ship on the Edge (2021). It offers a combination of theme customizations (nearly identical to what Pixel phones offered in Android 11) and several other features via a Motorola app, such as the twist gesture to launch the camera.

Camera could be good

Motorola also spent time highlighting the camera on the Edge (2021). As I mentioned up top, the camera seems fairly similar to last year’s Edge+ with a few cost-saving downgrades. I’ll be interested to see how it performs in real-world testing, but I’m not getting my hopes up. I wasn’t a fan of the Edge+ camera, and given that the Edge (2021) hardware is at best the same and in most cases worse, I expect it’ll be a similar story this time around.

First, the main rear camera offers a 108-megapixel shooter, just like last year. It’s also got a 1/1.52-inch optical format, f/1.9 aperture, 0.7µm pixel size and uses what Motorola calls ‘Ultra Pixel’ tech, which is a fancy way of saying the Edge (2021) combines nine pixels into one to improve low-light performance. There’s also an ‘Ultra-res’ mode that will let users take full 108-megapixel photos.

Next up is an 8-megapixel ultra-wide-angle camera with a 119-degree field of view (FOV). It also has Macro Vision if you want to take close-up shots, an f/2.2 aperture and a 1.12µm pixel size. Finally, the third camera is a 2-megapixel depth camera with an f/2.4 aperture and 1.12µm pixel size.

Around the front is a 32-megapixel selfie camera with f/2.25 aperture, 0.7µm pixel size and ‘Quad Pixel’ tech, which is similar to Ultra Pixel tech but combines four pixels into one instead. The selfie camera is an improvement over the Edge+ on paper, but it remains to be seen how it performs in real-world testing.

Ultimately, the Edge (2021) looks like it could be a decent phone. On paper, it looks like a promising device that maintains a lot of what made the Edge+ good, while also cutting a few areas to keep the price down. That said, I’m worried the price might still be too high in Canada, especially if the camera experience is subpar again this year.

Of course, we’ll have to wait for a full review of the Edge (2021) to know whether it offers better value this year. Keep your eyes on MobileSyrup for a review and more about the Canadian launch of the Edge (2021).

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