Motorola Edge 40 Professional first impressions: A feature-packed flagship

First Impressions

Whereas it’s removed from the best-looking Android gadget round, the Moto Edge 40 Professional packs quite a lot of fascinating options and high-end specs right into a £799 cellphone.

Introduction

Motorola has struck gold lately with its price range and foldable choices, nevertheless I’ve by no means been fairly so impressed with its conventional flagship gadgets. The Edge 40 Professional might change that.

With a stacked spec sheet, together with the newest Qualcomm flagship chipset, critically snappy charging and a duo of 50MP rear cameras, the Moto Edge 40 Professional definitely ticks quite a lot of packing containers I search for in a brand new cellphone.

I’ve spent a few days forward of its launch with the brand new cellphone, and listed here are my early ideas on the OnePlus 11 rival.

Design and Display

• 165Hz show, FHD+ decision
• Closely curved panel
• Black and blue color choices

Throughout a interval when many telephones try to supply one thing slightly extra distinctive by way of design, the Motorola Edge 40 Professional is a bit boring as compared. There’s minimal aptitude right here, particularly with this black unit Motorola despatched me for evaluation, with a curved display screen and primary digicam association on the again. It appears to be like completely effective, simply not stand out.

It does really feel effectively constructed, although. The matte end on the again is welcome, avoiding a heavy build-up of smudges and whereas I all the time favor the usability of a flat display screen, as you’d discover on the iPhone 14 or Pixel 7, the closely curved panel right here will definitely enchantment to some.

It’s nice to see Motorola giving the Edge 40 Professional an IP68 score for added safety from the weather, and the display screen is roofed in Gorilla Glass Victus too.

The show itself makes a powerful first impression. It’s a vivid and vibrant 6.67-inch OLED panel, with a really speedy max 165Hz refresh price. I’m not satisfied you’ll have the ability to discover a lot distinction between the 165Hz and 120Hz modes, but it surely’s a pleasant characteristic to have.

If I used to be being choosy, I’d say that FHD+ decision does make for a picture that isn’t as sharp because the 1440p OnePlus 11. Put the 2 telephones subsequent to one another and the extra pixels on the OnePlus make photographs pop extra. Nevertheless, it’s common for a cellphone at this worth to have an FHD+ display screen, and it’s the identical decision discovered on the Galaxy S23 and S23 Plus.

Motorola says Dolby Imaginative and prescient is supported in suitable apps, whereas there’s HDR10+ for Amazon Prime Video HDR playback. I’ll check the efficiency for each of those additional within the full evaluation.

Digicam

• Triple rear digicam array
• Major 50MP digicam, f/1.8 aperture
• Numerous videography modes

There are definitely quite a lot of megapixels packed into the Edge 40 Professional.

On the again, there’s a large 50MP digicam with an f/1.8 aperture and optical picture stabilisation (OIS). Subsequent up there’s one other 50MP sensor, this time with a 114-degree ultrawide lens. The rear triple digicam array is accomplished with a 12MP digicam devoted to portrait images because of its 2x zoom. Flip the cellphone over to its entrance and there are much more megapixels, 60 of them to be exact.

There are quite a few further options constructed into these cameras too. There’s a devoted macro mode that utilises all these megapixels inside the ultrawide digicam to drag out sharp particulars if you rise up near a topic, whereas video-specific evening imaginative and prescient modes intention to enhance low-light videography. 

Persevering with with video and Motorola has added a portrait bokeh mode, utilizing AI so as to add in that blurry background impact you’ll get with a lot bigger digicam sensors. These modes on different telephones are likely to look slightly faux, even the Cinematic Mode on the iPhone 14 leaves quite a bit to be desired, and I haven’t been that impressed with Moto’s interpretation right here. All too typically the bokeh appears to be like overblown and it struggles to maintain up with the motion of the digicam.

There may be extra to the perfect digicam telephones than simply megapixels, however the two 50MP fundamental cameras make first impression with loads of element, good colors and speedy seize. Extra testing will should be finished to see how these snappers evaluate to the easiest available on the market, although.

Efficiency

• Excessive-end Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chip
• 12GB RAM
• As much as 512GB storage

Whereas the design is perhaps slightly bit forgettable, Motorola hasn’t reduce many corners with regards to inside efficiency. It is a true flagship if specs are essential to you.

Like lots of the greatest Android telephones we’ve already reviewed in 2023, the Edge 40 Professional is powered by Qualcomm’s highly effective Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset. It is a incredible chip, with dependable efficiency and options like Wi-Fi 7. The chip is paired with greater than sufficient RAM at 12GB and both 256 or 512GB of storage.

I’ve solely been utilizing the Moto Edge 40 Professional for a few days, so not lengthy sufficient but to totally decide efficiency however every little thing appears very clean to this point. I wouldn’t anticipate the rest, particularly if you consider the quick display screen and top-end internals.

The thought of pace continues with the charging expertise of the Edge 40 Professional. With the included 125w charger, the cellphone can, in accordance with Motorola, go from 0-100% in 23 minutes. I’ve finished my very own assessments and this definitely appears achievable. 

It’s not the quickest charging I’ve ever seen on a cellphone earlier than – that crown nonetheless sits atop the Realme GT 3 – however having the ability to go from a depleted cellphone to a full one in lower than half an hour is a critically useful characteristic to have.

There’s wi-fi charging too (as much as 15w with an appropriate charger) and reverse wi-fi charging at 5w for juicing up Qi-enabled equipment, like a smartwatch or earbuds.

Motorola has saved the software program pretty clear right here. Whereas there are a selection of Moto apps and additions, all of them add, reasonably than deduct, from the expertise. ReadyFor for instance, allows you to lengthen the cellphone expertise over to a monitor, giving more room for video games and productiveness. Motorola can also be promising three main OS updates and 4 years of safety updates.

Early Verdict

Whereas it’s not a looker, the Moto Edge 40 Professional packs quite a bit right into a £799 cellphone. Loads of top-end specs, all of the megapixels you could possibly ask for and critically snappy charging. The OnePlus 11 and Galaxy S23 have a real rival.