Motorola Edge 40 Pro review

introduction

The Pro is going Ultra: Motorola’s Edge 40 Pro arrives, inheriting a couple of bits from the Edge 30 Ultra, including super-fast charging and a zoom camera. Proper dust and water resistance also revert to the company’s mainstream range, and Motorola continues to push the envelope for refresh rate on a non-gaming phone. Sounds like a pretty intriguing package then.

The Edge 40 Pro is the global version of the China-only Moto X40 that’s been available for a few months already — Motorola is following the same release schedule and naming convention we observed last year. It’s unclear at this point when (or if) another incarnation with the same hardware will arrive in the US under a different name, as has been the case previously. For now, the Edge 40 Pro is launched on the European market with an MSRP of €900.

Certainly not cheap, the Edge 40 Pro offers a high-end spec sheet. The latest Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 works inside, the 6.7-inch OLED display can refresh at up to 165Hz (not your 120Hz pawn or even Motorola’s usual 144Hz), and the 4,600mAh battery it should be able to draw up to 125W of power while charging.

A pair of 50MP cameras on the back ensure your wide and ultrawide shots get plenty of light and detail, and the autofocus capability of the ultrawide promises it’ll work for close-up shots, too. New to the 40 Pro is the 12MP zoom camera, straight from last year’s 30 Ultra to replace the 30 Pro’s simple depth sensor – a very welcome development. The 60MP selfie camera is unchanged.

The Edge 40 Pro also pays close attention to design and construction. Gorilla Glass Victus on each side of the phone ensures maximum resistance to scratches and breakage, but is also curved around all edges: durability has rarely been so elegant and it’s also nice that the name “Edge” means something new . Additionally, the Edge 40 Pro is adequately IP68-rated unlike the merely splash-proof Motos of before.

Then there’s the Ready For feature that turns the Edge 40 Pro into a makeshift PC, an alternative to Samsung’s DeX that only Motorola supplies, on its high-end models. You know who you are, if you have a use case for it.

The specifications of the Motorola Edge 40 Pro at a glance:

• Body: 161.2×74.0x8.6mm, 199g; Glass front/back (Gorilla Glass Victus), aluminum frame; IP68 dust/water resistant (up to 1.5m for 30min).
• Screen: 6.67″ OLED, 1B colour, 165Hz, HDR10+, Dolby Vision, 1080x2400px resolution, 20:9 aspect ratio, 393ppi.
• chipsets: Qualcomm SM8550-AB Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 (4nm): Octa-core (1×3.2GHz Cortex-X3 & 2×2.8GHz Cortex-A715 & 2×2.8GHz Cortex-A710 & 3×2.0GHz Cortex-A510); Adreno 740.
• Memory: 256GB/512GB UFS4.0 memory, 12GB LPDDR5X RAM.
• Operating system/software: Android 13.
• Rear camera: Broad (main): 50 MP, f/1.9, 1/1.55″, 1.0µm, omnidirectional PDAF, OIS; Ultra wide angle: 50 MP, f/2.2, 114˚, 1/2.76″, 0.64µm, AF; Telephoto: 12 MP, f/1.6, 1/2.93″, 1.22µm, PDAF, 2x optical zoom.
• Front camera: 60 MP, f/2.2, (wide), 1/2.8″, 0.61µm.
• Video capture: Rear camera: 8K@30fps, 4K@30/60fps, 1080p@30/60/120/240fps, 720p@960fps, 10-bit HDR10+, Gyro EIS; Front camera: 4K@30fps, 1080p@30fps.
• Drums: 4600mAh; 125W wired, PD3.0, QC5, 50% in 7 min (advertised), 15W wireless, 5W wireless reverse.
• Various: Fingerprint reader (under display, optical); NFC; stereo speakers; Ready for support 3.5.

Motorola Edge 40 Pro unboxing

The presentation of the Edge 40 Pro is similar to the one in which the 30 Ultra presented itself. The now-black cardboard box is full-size, so you know there will be accessories inside, unlike other top-tier devices, but Motorola tries to keep a lower carbon footprint with its entirely plastic-free packaging.

Not only is the phone rated for 125W charging, but it comes with a matching charger, also branded TurboPower. Of course, a USB-C cable is also included. Also, Motorola provides a snap-on clear protective back cover in the box: Victus or whatever, glass is glass.

Mind you, the back cover may not be included in all retail packages everywhere. Likewise, don’t be surprised if you get a pair of USB-C earphones or if your Moto comes with a screen protector – we didn’t get either. The exact subset of these three you’ll get is subject to regional specifics. Everyone gets a phone, so we move on to that.