After almost a year of speculation, Motorola has finally lifted the curtain on its long-awaited Edge 30 Ultra — a premium flagship that boasts several standout features designed to give the likes of Apple and Samsung a run for their money.
While one rumor from January suggested the handset would include a Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra-style 'smart stylus', that unfortunately did not turn out to be true.
Thankfully, the Edge 30 Ultra more than makes for its lack of an S Pen equivalent with several breakthrough inclusions, such as the world's first 200MP main camera on a smartphone, which is joined by a 50MP ultra-wide camera and a 12MP telephoto lens.
In our brief hands-on time with the device at the Edge 30 Ultra's Australian launch, we took some test snapshots using the phone's 200MP 'ultra-res' setting and found the results to exhibit great detail, even when zooming in to far away objects.
Of course, we were viewing the photos on the device's curved 6.7-inch 1080p OLED display (with 144Hz refresh rate), so it'll be interesting to see how well its photographic capabilities hold up on a larger, higher-resolution screen.
Additionally, the Edge 30 Ultra impressively comes with a 125W fast charging power adapter in the box, allowing its 4,600mAh battery to go from 0-50% in just seven minutes, and to fully charged in around 12-15 minutes. It also sports 50W wireless fast charging and 10W power sharing capabilities.
We're also pleased to see that the Edge 30 Ultra sports Qualcomm's top Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1 chipset, which is the same one that powers Samsung's new Galaxy Z Fold 4 and Z Flip 4 foldables.
The Motorola Edge 30 Ultra is available now in the UK for £750, while its Australian release is set for this October priced at AU$1,399. At present, Motorola has yet to offer pricing or availability information for the US, though we will update you as soon as we hear something.
In addition to its new flagship smartphone, the manufacturer also announced two additional handsets in its Edge 30 series — the Motorola Edge 30 Fusion and the Motorola Edge 30 Neo.
Powered by Qualcomm's Snapdragon 888 chipset, the Edge 30 Fusion offers a 6.55-inch 1080p OLED display with 144Hz refresh rate, along with a triple-lens rear camera array that's led by 50MP primary sensor, which is joined by a 12MP ultra-wide camera and a 2MP depth sensor. As for its battery, the Edge 30 Fusion houses a 4,400mAh with 68W fast charging capability (no wireless charging on this model, regrettably).
Meanwhile, the Edge 30 Neo sports a more compact design, with a 6.28-inch, 1080p OLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate, and is powered by a more entry-level Snapdragon 695 chipset. In terms of its camera, the Edge 30 Neo carries a 68MP primary sensor and a 13MP ultra-wide lens. Its 4,020mAh battery also supports 68W fast charging, and surprisingly offers wireless charging, too.
Available in Cosmic Gray and Solar Gold, the Edge 30 Fusion is priced at £500 / AU$899, and is out now in the UK with an Australian release date set for September 27.
The Edge 30 Neo is also available now in the UK for £350 and will arrive in Australia sometime in October for AU$599. In terms of color options, the Edge 30 Neo takes advantage of Motorola's partnership with the global color authority Pantone to offer the handset in purple-like Very Peri, which was crowned Color of the Year by the organization for 2022. Alternatively, the Edge 30 Neo is also available in Black Onyx.
In another first for the smartphone category, each of the three handsets will feature another fun addition in the form of a signature 'unboxing fragrance', which was developed in partnership with the Swiss-based company Firmenich. Smells like a winning idea to us!
