Motorola Edge 30 – fantastic value 5G phone (smartphone review)

The Motorola Edge 30 proves you do not have to spend over a grand to get everything you want. It is currently on sale at $559 (RRP $699) at JB Hi-Fi and is one of the better phones we have tested this year.

Compared to its big brother, the Motorola Edge 30 Pro (comparison below and also on special for $799 RRP $999), all you are really missing is the Qi/reverse charging, USB-C 3.1 and a slightly slower processor.

I don’t know how Motorola can offer such incredible value (and quality) unless this is a strategy to rapidly grow market share and knock off OPPO in the #2 Android spot.

Basic Differences

	Edge 30 website	Edge 30 Pro Website
Price	$699 but currently on sale at JB for $559	$999 but currently on sale at JB for $799
Screen	6.5”, 2400 x 1080, 1.7b colours, 144Hz, AMOLED, 500 nits	6.7” 2400 x 1080, 1.7 billion colours. 144Hz, pOLED, 700 nits
Processor	Qualcomm SD778+ 5G 6nm	Qualcomm SD 8 Gen 1 4nm
RAM/Storage	8GB LPDDR5, 128GB UFS 3.1	Same but options
Battery	4020mAh 33W charger	4800mAh 33W charger (68W capable) Qi Charge and reverse charge
Wi-Fi	6e AX	Same
USB	2.0 (no Alt DP)	3.1 Alt DP 1.4
Camera – Rear	50+50+2 (Std, Wide/macro, Depth)	Same but with dual-LED colour flash
Camera Front	32	60
Size	159.4 x 74.2 x 6.8mm x155g	163.1 x 75.9 x 8.8mm x 196g
Fingerprint	Side on the power button	Optical under glass
Review	This article	Motorola Edge 30 Pro is the value flagship king (review)

Australian review: Motorola Edge 30, 8/128GB, Dual sim, Model XT2203-1, Software Channel Retapac

Website	Product Page
Price:	$699 but on special at JB for $559
Colours	Meteor Grey
From:	Special prices from JB Hi-Fi (*)
Warranty:	12-months ACL
Country of Manufacture:	China
Company	Owned by Lenovo (Est 1984) – a multinational technology company with its primary operational headquarters in Beijing and Morrisville, North Carolina. It is the world’s largest PC maker. It purchased Motorola Mobility from Google in 2014. Most of Lenovo’s smartphone business is now under the Motorola brand, with grand plans to become a ‘top five’ smartphone maker.
More	Other CyberShack Motorola news and reviews

Deep-Dive review format

The five-minute overview precedes a 300+ line database-driven spec, including over 70 tests to support our findings. It also helps us compare different phones and features.

We use Fail (below expectations), Pass (meets expectations) and Exceed (surpasses expectations or is the class leader) against many of the items below. We occasionally give a Pass ‘+’ rating to show it is good but does not quite make it to Exceed.

* Better buy genuine, or 5G won’t work

This is exclusive to JB Hi-Fi, so to buy elsewhere means it is grey market.

Look for the RCM C-Tick on the box end, and under Settings, About phone, Regulatory Labels. The only memory/storage option for Australia is 8/128GB.

We strongly warn you to buy a genuine model with Australian firmware if you want to use 5G. Read Don’t buy a grey market phone to ensure you get the Australian model.

First Impressions – Love this phone – Exceed

Big, flat, 6.5″ 1.07b colour, 144Hz capable AMOLED screen; impossibly thin at 6.79mm; nice PMMA flat back (not a fingerprint magnet); good dual 50MP plus 2MP depth camera (the camera humps sticks out); and great battery life. What is not to like?

I have the Edge 30 Pro here to compare. Side-by-side, the Pro version looks more premium with a subtly iridescent Glass back and rounded edges, but they both look pretty damned good. Weight up what you need versus desire. Do the Pro’s extra features justify the price difference? Because in everyday use, the Edge 30 will do everything you need.

Screen 6.5” 2400 x 1080, 1.07b colours, 144Hz AMOLED – Exceed

Superb colour accurate (Wide gamut) and colourful 1.7 billion colour screen.

Is it a better screen? Technically, it wipes the floor over the Samsung S22/+.

Processor – Qualcomm SD778+ 5G – Pass+

The Qualcomm 7-series are the Goldilocks processors – just right. They have many of the previous flagship 8-series features, and this performs like an SD865. It should be suitable for most games too.

It does throttle with 25% speed loss after 15 minutes, although not as badly as the Edge 30 Pro that, after software updates, is now at 27%. Motorola has not quite yet nailed thermal management as OPPO has with the same processors.

Comms – Wi-Fi 6E, BT 5.2 and NFC – Pass+

Wi-Fi 6 5Ghz performs quite well, reaching the maximum speeds of -21dBm (great) and 2401Mbps (great) up to 2m from the router. However, this speed drops off to -49/1729 at 10m. Still, that is better than most and very usable.

It only has USB-C 2.0 implementation, so you cannot use it to mirror the screen on a TV (except via Chromecast).

4G and 5G Phone – For all city, suburb, regional, and rural use – Exceed

Not only does it have two 5G capable sims but dual ringtones as well. It found the four closest towers at better than usable signal strengths. It has all 4G and 5G sub-6GHz and Low-band support.

Battery – At least a day if note more – Pass+

We use a range of tests to ascertain endurance. The results are a little at odds, meaning that battery life depends heavily on the screen refresh rates and load.

While the 1080p video loop on 19 hours and 38 minutes at 60Hz refresh is excellent, the PC Mark 3.0 Modern Office tests at 9 hours and 8 minutes is lower than we expected.

In part, that is the 4020mAh battery (most have 5000mAh now). But that also means the 33W charger takes just over an hour to fill.

Sound – Stereo but a bit odd – Pass(able)

It gets reasonably loud at 83dB. But the sound signature is almost indescribable. There is a bit of late bass, then a dip, then a slow build to high-mid and then a dip. We suspect the Moto Crystal Talk AI is interfering with the signature as it certainly has clear voice but nothing else. It is a similar issue with the Edge 30 Pro.

Let’s just say that if you want to listen to music, use BT earphones and take advantage of the vast selection of Qualcomm aptX codecs.

You can read more, including our test tracks – How to tell if you have good music (sound signature is the key – guide.

Build – Pass+

Gorilla Glass 3 on the front is a little old hat – but it is very acceptable for the price. A plastic frame does not bother me, and PMMA (acrylic glass) is fine for the back. It is nice and slim, feels excellent in hand and is a keeper.

IP52 water resistance is a poor joke but again all you can expect at the price.

It comes with the 33W charger, buds and a bumper cover.

But the warranty is only one year, and you can find two years for similar OPPO phones.

Android – almost pure – Exceed

It ships with Android 12 and Motorola’s overlay My UX 3.0. You can reasonably expect Android 13 and two years of updates.

Android is almost pure, and the MY UX adds things like a camera app and Moto gestures. See the table at the end for all features.

Missing – no deal breakers

• No microSD and slow USB-C external data transfer rates
• A better IP rating would make this a killer device
• 3.5mm jack – no deal breaker

Motorola Edge 30 camera – Pass+

It is an interesting choice to use the 50MP Samsung S5KJN1 as the primary wide sensor and the 50MP Omnivision OV50A as the secondary ultra/wide sensor. We would have expected two of the same sensors, but it works.

In theory, it is a decent 50+50+2MP camera setup. We know the 50MP Samsung S5KJN1 sensor and what to expect. More than 100 smartphones use it, including a few Motorola g-series, Samsung Galaxy A13/23, TCL 30-series, realme 8/9i, Vivo 21T, OPPO A96 and several 2022 models coming here.

The key difference between this and the identical Edge 30 Pro setup is the Qualcomm SoC. This has about 20 trillion AI instructions per second versus 27 trillion on the Edge 30 Pro.

The camera app is pure Google Camera 8.4 features (not all features are supported)

• Wireless Mic Support
• New Auto Exposure Feature
• HDR Enhanced and HDR + Option
• Astrophotography Mode
• Night Sight
• Google Lens
• Bar code and QR code
• Framing hints option for better photos
• Social share feature that helps to share photos instantly up to social media apps
• 4K video recording resolution is available
• Video Stabilization – EIS on front and back primary lenses/sensors
• New video stabilisation options like cinematic pan, standard mode, active pan mode & more
• Many others like photosphere, panorama, and time-lapse
• Lens Blur, Slow Motion, Playground, RAW support, and more
• It is the same that runs on Google Pixel phones.

Camera Summary

• 1X Day Primary sensor – the colours are excellent with good dynamic range. Good details in the background, shadows, and highlights.
• 5X Day: Primary sensor – forget it
• 10X Day: Primary sensor: as per 5X
• Ultra-wide: Second 50MP sensor: Excellent colour and details, although you can tell it is a different sensor to the primary.
• 50MP – 1X no AI post-processing is better on detail and has slightly more natural colours
• Macro: The 50MP UW sensor takes excellent macro shots.
• Indoor office light: Colours are fine, but the background focus is off.
• Bokeh Depth: A 2MP sensor helps for bokeh shots. But it has slightly softened the foreground and sharpened the background and has issues with definition around the ‘dog’s black ears.
• Dark <40 lumens: The standard (not night mode) is quite good with excellent details, although there is quite a lot of noise.
• Night mode loses some of the detail, saturates the colour, and removes a lot of noise
• Selfie: The 32MP selfie has natural skin tones and details and a range of filters to enhance any image.
• Video (we are not video experts): You can shoot at 1080p@30fps with some OIS (optical image stabilisation

CybeShack’s view – Motorola Edge 30 has amazing value and features

We had to remind ourselves that this is a $559 device (RRP $699) with features we expect to pay at least $200 more for. On that basis alone, it gets our unreserved buy recommendation.

There is a lot to like – perhaps it is the Goldilocks of the Motorola Edge 30 series – just right.

Competition

Pretty well all phones now over $300 are 5G. So, you can actually spend as little as $299 and get a decent, boring, but entirely functional phone. And remember that you don’t have to buy an expensive 5G plan – 4G is fine.

• OPPO Find X5 Lite – uber-value (review) $649 RRP $699
• OPPO Reno8 Lite 5G – top of its class (review) $599
• Samsung A53 5G – a decent 5G smartphone for $699 (review) $540 RRP $699)

While all three competitors are excellent, the Motorola Edge 30 (now $549) is the category leader.

Motorola Edge 30, 8/128, dual sim

Brand	Motorola
Model	Moto Edge 30
Model Number	X2203-1
Price Base	8/128
Price base	$699 (JB special $559)
Warranty months	12-months ACL
Tier	Upper mid-range with lower=premium features
Website	Product Page
From	JB-Hi-Fi exclusive
Country of Origin	China
Company	Owned by Lenovo (Est 1984) – a multinational technology company with its primary operational headquarters in Beijing and Morrisville, North Carolina. It is the world’s largest PC maker. It purchased Motorola Mobility from Google in 2014. Most of Lenovo’s smartphone business is now under the Motorola brand, with grand plans to become a ‘top five’ smartphone maker.
Test date	1-20/7/2022
Ambient temp	9-15°
Release	Apr-22
Other models not for Australia (Don’t buy)	Don’t buy anywhere except JB Hi-Fi. Avoid other colours, RAM/Storage.

Screen

Size	6.5″
Type	AMOLED
Flat, Curve, 2D, 3D	Flat
Resolution	2400 x 1080
PPI	401
Ratio	20:9
Screen to Body %	86.70%
Colours bits	10-bit 1.07 billion colours
Refresh Hz, adaptive	Auto, 60 or 144Hz. Auto steps from 48/60/965/120/144Hz dependent on content
Nit typical/test	500 (tested 482)
Nits max/test	700 (Tested 702)
Contrast	Infinite
sRGB	100% (Tested 96%)
DCI-P3	70% of 1.07 billion colours
Rec.2020 or other	Natural and saturated plus temperature adjustment
Delta E (<4 is excellent)	<2
HDR Level	Capable of HDR10+ playback scaled to screen capability
SDR Upscale	No
Bluelight control	Yes
PWM if known	250Hz quite low
Daylight readable	Yes, but it lacks enough brightness for direct sunlight
Always on Display	Yes
Edge display	No
Accessibility	All Android 12 features
DRM	L1 for HD HDR playback – No FHD HDR yet
Gaming	Up to 240Hz finger touch response and 13ms G-t-G
Screen protection	Gorilla Glass 3
Comment	Excellent 10-bit, 1.07 billion colour screen with greater subtleties in colour than Samsung S22/+. Adaptive stepping usually sits at 48 or 60Hz.

Processor

Brand, Model	Qualcomm SD778+ 5G
nm	6nm
Cores	Octa-core (1×2.5GHz + 3×2.4 Hz+ 4×1.8GHz)
Modem	X53
AI TOPS	Estimate 20
Geekbench 5 Single-core	828
Geekbench 5 multi-core	2863
Like	Similar to Exynos 2100 and Qualcomm SD865
GPU	Adreno 642L
GPU Test
Open CL	2587
Like	SD865
Vulcan	3307
RAM, type	8 LPDDR4X
Storage, free, type	128GB (97GB free) UFS 3.1 with Performance Booster  2.0
micro-SD	No
CPDT internal seq. Read MBps	1150 (reflects UFS 3.1)
CPDT internal seq. write MBps	565 – excellent
CPDT microSD read, write MBps	N/A
CPDT external (mountable?) MBps	30/22 OTG only
Comment	Fast internal storage but slow USB-C 2.0 external storage
Throttle test
Max GIPS	278,413
Average GIPS	231,639
Minimum GIPS	204,355
% Throttle	25%
CPU Temp	50°
Comment	Gamers will be concerned, but it is typical of the high-end Qualcomm SD that needs lots of thermal management. Moto has issued firmware updates to the 30 Pro that suffered 27% throttling.

Comms

Wi-FI Type, model	Wi-Fi 6E AX VHT160 Hot spot supports WPA2 and 3 (important for older devices)
Test 2m -dBm, Mbps	-21/2401
Test 5m	-33/1921
Test 10m	-49/1729
BT Type	5.2
GPS single, dual	Dual <3m accuracy
USB type	USB-C 2.0 480Mbps
Alt DP, DeX, Ready For	No
NFC	Yes
Ultra-wideband	No
Sensors
Accelerometer	Yes combo
Gyro	Yes combo
e-Compass	Yes
Barometer
Gravity
Pedometer
Ambient light	Yes
Hall sensor
Proximity	Yes
Other
Comment	Excellent speeds although a little variable – tests are best of three

LTE and 5G

SIM	Dual Sim
Active	Both 5G capable, both active except when one is in use
Ring tone single, dual	Dual ring tones – excellent
VoLTE	Carrier dependent
Wi-Fi calling	Carrier dependent
4G Bands	1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12 ,13, 17, 20, 26, 28, 32, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 66
Comment	All Australian and most world bands
5G sub-6Ghz	n1, 3, 7, 8, 20, 28, 38, 40, 41 66, 78
Comment	All Australian 5G sub-6 and low bands
mmWave	No
Test Boost Mobile, Telstra
UL, DL, ms	25.7/26.5/27ms
Tower 1 -dBm, fW or pW	-77, from 4.2 to 20pW
Tower 2	-88 from 1.6 to 4.2pW
Tower 3	-90. approx 1pW
Tower 4	-94, approx 1pW
Comment	Good strong reception and found four towers – suitable for city, suburbs, regional and rural use. Dual ring tones are a bonus.

Battery

mAh	4020
Charger, type, supplied	33W 5V/3A/15, 9V/3A/27W, 11/3A/33W, 12V/2.5/30W Supplied USB-A to USB-C cable supports <3W.
PD, QC level	PD capable – Overcharge protection may influence results
Qi, wattage	No
Reverse Qi or cable	No
Test (60Hz)
Charge % 30mins	27%
Charge 0-100%	1 hour and 6 minutes
Charge Qi, W	N/A
Charge 5V, 2A	5 hours 51 minutes
Video loop 50%, aeroplane	19 hours and 38 minutes @60Hz
PC Mark 3 battery	9 hours 58 minutes Accubattery 18 hours
GFX Bench Manhattan battery	Would not run
GFX Bench T-Rex	337 minutes (5.62 hours) 6415 frames
Drain 100-0% full load screen on	4 hours and 6 minutes
Watt full load	1350-1721mA
Watt idle Screen on	311mA
Estimate loss at max refresh	Probably about 30% less battery at 144Hz
Estimate typical use	Heavy users will need a daily top-up. Typical users may get two days.
Comment	It is a smaller battery than the typical 5000mAh crop, so battery life is reduced by about 35%. The SoC and AMOLED screen are efficient, and if we had selected 60Hz instead of Auto, we might have seen a few more hours.

Sound

Speakers	Top forward, up-firing and bottom down-firing stereo.
Tuning	No
AMP	Qualcomm Aqsitic sound
Dolby Atmos decode	Dolby Atmos decode to 2.0 speakers
Hi-Res	No
3.5mm	No
BT Codecs	SBC, AAC, aptX (HD, Adaptive, TWS, LDAC, LDHC (V1/2/3)
Multipoint	Can connect to two devices
Dolby Atmos (DA)	Yes – auto, movie, music, voice and games mode
EQ	No
Mics	Dual with noise cancelling
Test dB – all on EQ flat DA off
Volume max	83
Media (music)	80
Ring	82
Alarm	82
Notifications	75
Earpiece	55
Hands-free	Dual mics and some noise-cancelling with adequate volume.
BT headphones	Excellent left-right separation and DA makes quite a difference with DA content.

Sound quality

Deep Bass 20-40Hz	Nil
Middle Bass 40-100Hz	Nil
High Bass 100-200Hz	Very late start and a slow build to 300Hz
Low Mid 200-400Hz	Slow build to 300hz the dips to 500Hz
Mid 4000-1000Hz	Builds from 500Hz to 1kHz
High-Mid 1-2kHz	Flat
Low Treble 2-4kHz	Flat
Mid Treble 4-6kHz	Flat
High Treble 6-10kHz	decline to flatten 7kHz
Dog Whistle 10-20kHz	Decline from 7Hz to 20Hz
Sound Signature type	One of the oddest, almost indescribable sound signatures. It has a little upper bass, poor low-and-mid-mid, strong high-mid (clear voice 1-4kHz) and some low-treble for some crispness. We tested with and without Dolby Atmos, and it was worse still with the latter. We suspect it is to do with Moto’s Crystal Talk AI to clean up voice between 1-4kHz, and it does that at the expense of all else.
Soundstage	Only as wide as the phone, and DA settings don’t add any wider sound stage. Left and right separation is good.
Comment	The sound signature is poor with no low/mid/high-bass, no real mid and the only flat section is low-and-mid-treble. Fortunately, the headphones do take advantage of Dolby Atmos! But conversely, the voice is crisp!

Build

Size (H X W x D)	159.38 x 74.236 x 6.79 mm
Weight grams	155
Front glass	Gorilla Glass 3
Rear material	PMMA
Frame	Plastic
IP rating	IP52 is low level water resistant
Colours	Meteor Grey
Pen, Stylus support	No
In the box
Charger	33w
USB cable	USB-C to USB-C 3W capable cable
Buds	Yes – USB-C
Bumper cover	Yes
Comment	It has a charger in the box (Samsung does not), buds and a bumper cover. Well made.

OS

Android	12 – almost pure Android
Security patch date	1-Jun-22
UI	My UX 3.0 Personalise: Styles, Wallpapers, Layout Display: Peek Display, Attentive Display Gestures: Power Touch, Quick Capture, Fast Flashlight, Three-finger screenshot, Pick up to silence, Screenshot toolkit, Media controls Play: Gametime Audio
OS upgrade policy	Two upgrades
Security patch policy	Regular security patches for at least two years
Bloatware	Pure Android – all Google Apps. You can uninstall Facebook.
Comment	My UX 3.0 adds value to pure Android
Security
Fingerprint sensor location, type	Under glass optical
Face ID	Yes 2D only
Other	Lenovo ThinkShield
Comment	ThinkSheild is more for enterprise use

Motorola Edge 30 rear camera

Rear Primary	Wide
MP	50MP bins to 12.5
Sensor	Samsung S5KJN1
Focus	PDAF Omni Directional
f-stop	1.8
um	1 bins to 2
FOV° (stated, actual)	73.4-86°
Stabilisation	OIS
Zoom	10x digital
Rear 2	Ultra-Wide and Macro
MP	50 bins to 12.5
Sensor	Omnivision OV50a
Focus	AF
f-stop	2.2
um	.64 bins to 1.28
FOV (stated, actual)	118 (114°)
Stabilisation	No
Zoom	No
Rear 3	Depth
MP	2MP
Sensor	Omnivision OV2b1B
Focus	Fixed
f-stop	2.4
um	1.75
FOV (stated, actual)	N/A
Stabilisation	No
Zoom	No
Video max	4K@60fps. 1080p with OIS
Flash	Dual
Auto-HDR	Yes
	Dual Capture Spot Colour Night Vision (RAW) Auto Night Vision (RAW) Cinemagraph Portrait Cutout Live Filter in Photo mode Panorama AR Stickers Pro Mode (w/ Long Exposure)
QR code reader	Via Google Lens
Night mode	AI

Motorola Edge 30 Front camera

MP	32MP bins to 8MP
Sensor	OmniVision OV32B40
Focus	Fixed
f-stop	2.4
um	.7 bins to 1.4
FOV (stated, actual)	69.7-82.1
Stabilisation	No
Flash	Screen fill
Zoom	10x digital
Video max	4K@30fps
Features	Dual Capture Spot Colour Auto Night Vision (RAW) Cinemagraph Portrait Live Filter in Photo mode Group Selfie Pro Mode (w/ Long Exposure)
Comment	1X Day Primary sensor – the colours are excellent with good dynamic range. Good details in the background, shadows, and highlights. 5X Day: Primary sensor – forget it 10X Day: Primary sensor: as per 5X Ultra-wide: Second 50MP sensor: Excellent colour and details, although you can tell it is a different sensor to the primary. 50MP – 1X no AI post-processing is better on detail and has slightly more natural colours Macro: The 50MP UW sensor takes excellent macro shots. Indoor office light: Colours are fine, but the background focus is off. Bokeh Depth: A 2MP sensor helps for bokeh shots. But it has slightly softened the foreground and sharpened the background and has issues with definition around the ‘dog’s black ears. Dark <40 lumens: The standard (not night mode) is quite good with excellent details, although there is quite a lot of noise. Night mode loses some of the detail, saturates the colour, and removes a lot of noise Selfie: The 32MP selfie has natural skin tones and details and a range of filters to enhance any image. Video (we are not video experts): You can shoot at 1080p@30fps with some OIS (optical image stabilisation)

Motorola Edge 30 ratings

Features	8.5
	It has everything you need (bar Qi wireless charge)
Value	9.5
	Excellent price, especially if you can pay less than RRP
Performance	9.5
	Good SoC, but throttling makes it less desirable to gamers.
Ease of Use	8.5
	Good upgrade policy, and My UX adds some value to stock Android.
Design	8
	It is a glass slab with no distinguishing features
Rating out of 10	8.8
Comment	Exceptional value and performance

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