Motorola Edge 30 Ultra – a flagship-class cameraphone (smartphone review)

The Motorola Edge 30 Ultra is a flagship-class cameraphone with a massive 200MP+50+12MP rear camera and a huge 60MP selfie. Add Qualcomm’s latest SD8+ Gen 1 processor, X65 4/5G modem, 12/256GB, rapid 125W and Qi charging, and it is hard to beat.

It characteristically offers Motorola’s supreme value proposition. At $1,399 (less on sale), it is well under the cost of lesser-equipped competitors. How and why?

How? OK, the one elephant in the room – it has IP52 weather resistance when other flagships offer IP68 or more. IP52 means the ingress of dust is not entirely prevented, and it must not interfere with the safe operation of the equipment. The ‘2’means vertically dripping water shall have no harmful effect when the enclosure is tilted at an angle of 15° from its normal position. So, it is sweat and light-rain-resistant.

Why? Motorola is determined to rise to the top of the Android heap and is pulling out all stops to get there. Its ascent is based not only on price (Lenovo has deep pockets) but also on solid product features, low return rates and high user satisfaction. As we like to say, Moto has its mojo back.

That is it – no more compromises.

Australian review: Motorola Edge 30 Ultra Model XT2241-2, 12/256GB, Retapac firmware

Website	Product Page
Price:	$1,399 for 12/256GB (shop around but buy the Australian version)
Colours	Satin Black
From*	JB Hi-Fi, The Good Guys, Big W, Lenovo online
Warranty	24-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, and 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

* Grey market – no Australian warranty, and 5G won’t work

We strongly advise you to buy a genuine model with Australian firmware. It is easy to identify the Australian version – under Settings, About Phone, and Regulatory Labels, there is an Australian RNZ C-tick mark. There is also an RNZ C-Tick on the box. They use unique Australian 5G sub-6Ghz and 5G low-band frequencies, requiring local activation first.

Deep-Dive review format

It is now in two parts – a summary and a separate 300+ line database-driven spec, including over 70 tests to back up the 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(able) rating that is not as good as it should be and a Pass ‘+’ rating to show it is good but does not quite make it to Exceed. You can click on most images for an enlargement.

First impression – svelte and slim – Pass+

First, an observation. A glass slab is the most cost-effective way to deliver superior performance, better thermal management, a larger battery, and more features than a flip or fold. While the Motorola Razr uses the same processor, this has far more usable power and can handle an uber-fast 125W fast charge.

It is a 6.67” Gorilla Glass 5 slab with rounded edges (a fingerprint magnet), a thin metal frame and a nice fingerprint-resistant velvet AG glass back. Branding is an embossed Batwing logo and Motorola.

The camera hump has a seriously large 200MP sensor on top, two smaller sensors under and dual LED flash. It is quite nice in hand and looks like it belongs in the flagship class.

Screen – 6.67” 10-bit, very bright, 144Hz pOLED – Exceed

This is a glorious screen – 1.07 billion colours, 100% sRGB and full DCI-P3 colour gamut, and up to 144Hz refresh/360Hz touch in game mode.

This is a bright screen, 500nits typical, and up to 1250 peak (for HDR10+); it is great in direct sunlight.

And it is a billion times more colourful, whereas many flagships only have 8-bit, 16 million colours.

Processor – Qualcomm SD8+ Gen 1 – Exceed

It is the fastest 2022 Android processor, perfect for games and heavy use. It is also one of the hotter ones when pushed.

Moto has kept throttling down to <30%, and the CPU temperature is under 50°. Basically, it drops after two minutes to around 80% and is relatively stable from there. Even with throttling, the available power is still more than any other processor.

It has 12GB of RAM and 256GB fast UFS 3.1 storage, achieving 1250/644MBps seq. Read/Write – perfect for vloggers and videographers. It can use mountable external SSD storage and the USB-C 3.1 Gen 1 5Gbps interface delivery 890/183MBps seq. Read/Write – perfect for 4K or even 8K recordings. Oh, and it supports external TVs/monitors too.

Comms – Wi-Fi 6E and USB-C 3.1 Exceed

Wi-Fi 6E is strong, holding full-duplex speeds of 2400Mbps  out to nearly 10 metres with a Wi-Fi 6E router – read Netgear Orbi RBKE963 Quad-band Wi-Fi 6E AX 11000 mesh (network review). If you only have Wi-Fi 6, it will get 2400Mbps full-duplex or Wi-Fi 5 AC, 433Mbps half-duplex.

Special mention needs to be made of the full audio/video/data/charge USB-C 3.1 Gen 1 5Gbps port. That means alt DP 1.4 for USB-C to HDMI cable for a 4K TV, full Ready For Moto/Android Desktop and screen mirroring. As a power user, I want this! Most smartphones have USB-C 2.0 480Mbps ports.

LTE and 5G – Good for city/suburbs, regional cities, and rural use – Pass+

It has excellent signal strength and finds the four nearest Telco towers – it should be great anywhere there is a 4G/5G signal.

Most importantly, it has dual SIMs and ringtones, which many flagships do not.

Battery – 4610W and 125W 31-minute charge – Exceed

The battery will last two days of typical use, and heavy users will get somewhere up to a day. But that is not an issue with a 125W charger filling from 0-100 in 31 minutes. The following is on Adaptive screen mode.

• Video loop (1080, 50% volume/brightness) 22 hours and 33 minutes
• PC Mark Battery test (typical use) 16 hours and 39 minutes
• Accubattery 18 hours
• GFX Bench T-Rex (games) 8.03 hours
• Drain full load 4 hours and 15 minutes]
• 125W charge 31 minutes
• 15W Qi charge 4 hours and 33 minutes
• 50W Qi charge (not tested as we don’t have the special charger)
• 10W charge 4 hours

Unlike Samsung, Motorola includes the charger inbox.

Sound – Dolby Atmos downmix to two speakers – Pass+

• Stereo 2.0 with a top earpiece and bottom down-firing speaker
• 80dB maximum volume (good)
• BT 5.2 with Qualcomm aptX codecs and multi-point connection
• Two mics for hands-free
• Excellent left-right separation and DA makes quite a difference with DA content.

It is primarily Bright Vocal (bass recessed, mid/treble boosted) with a bit of high-bass, but the unexplained dip at 500Hz and the somewhat choppy frequency response could use work. It is firmware fixable.

Build – Solid as – Pass+

It is not a small phone at 161.76 x 73.5 x 8.39 mm x 198.5g, but it’s a good 20-30g lighter than most flagships. It has a solid alloy frame, Gorilla Glass 5 front and velvet AG glass back.

Our only issue with the phone is IP52 when almost all flagship competitors have IP68. You need to decide if it is a deal breaker.

Add Motorola’s 2-year warranty, which is ahead of Samsung by one year.

OS – Android 12 – Pass+

It will get Android 13, 14 and 15 and three years of Security patches.

It has almost pure Android with a very light My UX 3.0 user experience that is more about adding value via Moto actions and the camera app. No Motorola account is required. It adds:

• 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

Having used Samsung’s OneUI and Motorola’s My UX, I appreciate the cleaner My UX and its less intrusiveness.

Motorola Edge 30 Ultra camera – 200MP bragging rights – Pass+

Let’s get one thing clear – it may have a 1/1.22″, 200MP, .64um Samsung S5KHP1 sensor, but for most shots, you will be binning at 4:1 (50.3MP, 1.28um, Quad-Bayer), 9:1 (22.22MP – Nonapixel) or 4:1 x 2×2 (default 12.6MP 2.56um) or 16:1 4×4. Confused? You should be and assume that all shots are 12.6MP.

Add the issue of cropping the image, which is why you get video limited to 7680×4320@30fps (8K or 33MP). It has OIS and EIS to 4K@30fps and 10X digital zoom. We could not get it to shoot in 200MP mode (called Smart High resolution), and we suspect it needs a tripod and very bright light.

Don’t get me wrong – it is an excellent sensor. The reality is that Samsung and Sony 50 and 100MP sensors bin to similar finished sizes, and you would be hard-pressed to see any image difference between the Samsung S22 Ultra, OPPO FindX5 Pro, and Google Pixel 7 Pro.

The second rear sensor is a 50MP, .64um Samsung S5KJN1 that bins to 12.5MP 1.28um, used as an Ultra-wide and macro lens. It is the primary sensor in over 150 mid-range phones. This has Autofocus – far more useful than most fixed-focus ultra-wide cameras.

The third sensor is a 12MP, 1.22um, used for Portrait and 2x optical zoom Telephoto. It has a very bright f/1.6 aperture for low light but is not great as a zoom lens.

The front selfie camera is an Omnivision OV60A, 60MP, .61um that bins to 15MP and 1.22um. It will take videos up to 4K@60fps, HDR with EIS (electronic image stabilisation). You can select binning – 8MP Quad Pixel, 15MP Quad Pixel or 60MP (not binned).

So the rear camera is really 12.6+12.5+12MP, and the selfie is 15MP.

Camera Overview

Before we get to the results, we must be clear that we only test ‘point-and-shoot’ – what Joe and Jane Average do. Our mark of a good shot is good dynamic range (brightness and contrast), accurate colours (is what you see what you get?), decent detail in the highlights and shadows (HDR), low noise (visual static) and that feeling – ‘What a great shot’.

It is more than an acceptable point-and-shoot camera. What is a little disappointing to a photophile is that the images are not as good as Samsung S22 Ultra or OPPO FindX5 Pro.

Let’s put that in perspective. If you listen to Spotify (et al.), as most do, you get low-res, compressed, lossy music, but it sounds good to you. If you are an audiophile, you will commit hari-kari before you listen to that.

All I want to say is that Motorola needs to do more work on its photography prowess before the 200MP bragging rights mean more than that. I wanted to say it took the best photos – they are good but not great.

Camera Results

• 1X Day Primary sensor: the colours are good but not quite right. Good details in the background, shadows, and highlights.
• 2X Day Primary sensor: natural colours and good detail
• 4X Day Primary sensor: Good colour and details – particularly good background with little noise
• 8X Day: Primary sensor: Pushing its limits with a noisy background – still pretty good
• 16X – not bad, but at the limit of the sensor’s capability
• Ultra-wide: 50MP sensor: Slightly muted colour and details. You can tell it is a different sensor from the primary.
• Macro 50MP sensor: excellent details and colours and not as critical about 4cm focus distance.
• Indoor office light: Slightly muted colours, good details but a slightly out-of-focus background
• Bokeh Depth: Slightly muted colour, good detail and bokeh background. But it is software-driven – no depth sensor in sight.
• Dark <40 lumens: The standard mode (not night mode) is quite decent, picking up details from the screen.
• Night mode: Saturates the colour, adds missing detail and removes much noise
• Selfie: The 60MP (bins to 8MP or 15MP) has natural skin tones, good detail and a range of filters to enhance any image.

Video (we are not video experts):

• Primary sensor: You can shoot at 8K@30fps (no stabilisation) 4K@60/30fps with OIS and HDR, and the day/office light results are very good.
• Ultrawide sensor: You can shoot 4K@30fps with no OIS and 1080p@60/30fps with EIS.
• Selfie: 1080p@60fps with EIS.

CyberShack’s view – Motorola Edge 30 Ultra tries hard and succeeds in most, but not all, ways

Initially, I put the camera foibles down to early firmware. But we retested with the 29 November firmware and the 1 November security patch (three after the launch – excellent), which made little difference. There was a slight improvement in camera quality.

To be blunt, it has a way to go to better the Samsung S22 Ultra and OPPO FindX5 Pro cameras. Consider that a challenge, Motorola.

Would I buy it?

For the price, it is very good. If I had typical needs, then yes. But I need Qi charge (OPPO and Samsung), the best camera (OPPO FindX5 Pro), and the S-Pen is useful to me for work (Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra). I can live without IP68 water resistance, but I never have a toilet-dunked phone.

On the pro side

• Full implementation of UBS-C 3.1 Gen1 (OPPO and SAMSUNG)
• 10-bit 1.08 billion colour screen (OPPO but not Samsung)
• 200+50+12MP camera setup will be awesome when it gets it right (OPPO MariSilicon and Samsung get more from smaller sensors)
• 125W charging inbox (OPPO 80W SuperVOOC is about the same charge time, and Samsung does not provide a charger, let alone a fast one)

On the negative side

• Qi charge (OPPO and Samsung)
• IP52 is no match for IP68 (OPPO and Samsung)

As long as we have done our job in letting you know, we see it as a terrific value device from which you will get many years of use.

Motorola Edge 30 Ultra, Motorola Edge 30 Ultra, Motorola Edge 30 Ultra

CyberShack Smartphone comparison v 1.1 (E&OE)

Motorola Edge 30 Ultra 12/256GB, Dual SIM

Brand	Motorola
Model	Motorola Edge 30 Ultra
Model Number	XT-2241-2
Price Base	12/256
Price base	$1,399
Warranty months	24-months ACL
Their	Flagship
Website	Product page
From	JB Hi-Fi, Big W, Lenovo online,
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.
More	CyberShack Motorola news and reviews
Test date	20-25/11/2022
Ambient temp	16-24°
Release	1/09/2022
Other models not for Australia (Don’t buy)	Different ram/storage/colour variants

Screen

Size	6.67″
Type	pOLED
Flat, Curve, 2D, 3D	Rounded
Resolution	2400 x 1080
PPI	395
Ratio	20:9
Screen to Body %	92.12%
Colours bits	10-bit 1.07 billion colours
Refresh Hz, adaptive	60Hz fixed 144Hz fixed game mode Auto 48, 60, 90, 120, and 144 stepped adaptive.
Response 120Hz	Max touch rate 360Hz
Nit typical test	500 (501 tested)
Nits max, test	1100 (1040 tested) 1250 peak (not tested)
Contrast	Infinite
sRGB	Natural – 100% (Tested 97%)
DCI-P3	Saturated – 70% of 1.07 billion colours
Rec.2020 or other	Natural and saturated plus temperature adjustment
Delta E (<4 is excellent)	3
HDR Level	Capable of HDR10+ playback scaled to screen capability
SDR Upscale	No
Bluelight control	Yes
PWM if known	250Hz
Daylight readable	Yes
Always on Display	Yes
Edge display	No, but it has Edge Lighting for notifications.
Accessibility	All Android 12 features
DRM	L1 for FHD HDR playback
Gaming	Up to 360Hz touch
Screen protection	Gorilla Glass 5
Comment	Excellent 10-bit, 1.07 billion colour screen with greater subtleties in colour than Samsung S22/+.

Processor

Brand, Model	Qualcomm SD8+ Gen 1
nm	4
Cores	Octa-core (1×3.19GHz + 3 x 2.75GHz + 4 x 1.80GHz
Modem	X65
AI TOPS	27
Geekbench 5 Single-core	1320
Geekbench 5 multi-core	4381
Like	Fastest 2022 processor
GPU	Adreno 730
GPU Test
Open CL	6411
Like	Closer to Exynos 2100
Vulcan	6717
RAM, type	12GB LPDDR5
Storage, free, type	256GB UFS 3.1
micro-SD	No
CPDT internal seq. Read MBps	1250
CPDT internal seq. write MBps	644
CPDT microSD read, write MBps	N/A
CPDT external (mountable?) MBps	890/183 Mountable – excellent and reflects USB-C 3.1 Gen 1 5Gbps interface
Comment	Fast and externally mountable SSD storage means videographers can use this.
Throttle test
Max GIPS	337,098
Average GIPS	270,352
Minimum GIPS	235,294
% Throttle	27% drops at 9 minutes
CPU Temp	50°
Comment	Most SD8+ Gen 1 run hot, and the glass slab is best suited to keeping it cooler. The drop is acceptable to gamers and power users, but we recommend not using a case with heavy loads.

Comms

Wi-Fi Type, model	Wi-Fi 6E QCA6490 HE160
Test 2m -dBm, Mbps	6GHz -29/2401
Test 5m	-42/2401
Test 10m	-54/2161 (15M -69/166)
BT Type	5.2
GPS single, dual	Dual <3m accuracy
USB type	USB-C 3.1 5Gbps Display Port 1.4
ALT DP, DeX, Ready For, Screen mirror	Yes, by USB-C/HDMI and Wi-Fi
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 Wi-Fi 6E speeds

LTE and 5G

SIM	Dual Sim
Active	Both are 5G capable, and both are 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	B1/2/3/4/5/7/8/12/13/17/18/19/20/25/26/28/32/34/38/39/40/41/42/43/48/66
Comment	All Australian and most world bands
5G sub-6Ghz	n1/2/3/5/7/8/20/28/38/40/41/66/77/78
Comment	All Australian 5G sub-6 and low bands
mmWave	No
Test Boost Mobile, Telstra
UL, DL, ms	22.9/32.6/38
Tower 1 -dBm, fW or pW	-86/2.5-6pW
Tower 2	-88/1.6pW
Tower 3	-90/1.3pW
Tower 4	-99/190fW
Comment	It has seven antennae and gives excellent signal strength seeing four towers. Overall it should be a good city, suburbs and regional use phone.

Battery

mAh	4610
Charger, type, supplied	125W 5V/3A/15W, 9V/3A/27W, 15V/3A/45W, 20V/6.25A/125W
PD, QC level	Care you must use the 5W cable supplied, or it will only charge at a maximum of 60W
Qi, wattage	50W (needs Motorola 50W Wireless charger)
Reverse Qi or cable	10W
Test (60Hz or adaptive screen)	Adaptive mode screen
Charge % 30mins	Full
Charge 0-100%	31 minutes – 125W
Charge Qi, W	4 hours and 33 minutes
Charge 5V, 2A	Approx 4 hours
Video loop 50%, aeroplane	22 hours 33 minutes
PC Mark 3 battery	16 hours 39 minutes Accubattery 18 hours
GFX Bench Manhattan battery	Would not run
GFX Bench T-Rex	482 minutes (8.03 hours) 6589 frames
Drain 100-0% full load screen on	4 hours 15 minutes
mA full load	2000-2500mA
mA Watt idle Screen on	250-300mA
Estimate loss at max refresh	Probably about 20% less battery
Estimate typical use	Heavy users will need a daily top-up. Typical users may get two days.
Comment	This is a power user’s phone with a 31-minute recharge (with the 125W adapter) and Qi charge.

Sound

Speakers	Top forward, up-firing and bottom down-firing stereo.
Tuning	No
AMP	Qualcomm Aqusitic sound
Dolby Atmos decode	Dolby Atmos decode to 2.0 speakers
Hi-Res	No
3.5mm	No
BT Codecs	SBC, AAC, aptX and variants and LDAC
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	80 (good)
Media (music)	75
Ring	80
Alarm	80
Notifications	70
Earpiece	60
Hands-free	Decent noise reduction and volume levels were quite good and clear.
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	Slowly building to 400Hz.
Low Mid 200-400Hz	Still building to 400Hz.
Mid 4000-1000Hz	Dip at 500Hz but flat
High-Mid 1-2kHz	Flatish
Low Treble 2-4kHz	Flatish
Mid Treble 4-6kHz	Flatish
High Treble 6-10kHz	Steep decline to 20kHz
Dog Whistle 10-20kHz	Steep decline to 20kHz
Sound Signature type	It is primarily Bright Vocal (bass recessed, mid/treble boosted), but the unexplained dip at 500Hz and the somewhat choppy frequency response could use work. It is firmware fixable. At first, we suspected Moto’s Crystal Talk AI was influencing the sound quality, but it was similar with that feature off.
Soundstage	Slight bias to the bottom speaker. Only as wide as the phone and DA settings don’t add any wider sound stage. Left and right separation is adequate.
Comment	The sound signature is average, helped with a bit of high-bass.

Build

Size (H X W x D)	161.76 x 73.5 x 8.39 mm
Weight grams	198.5
Front Glass	GG5
Rear material	Alloy
Frame	GG5
IP rating	52 – light rain and possibly the only significant compromise for this otherwise excellent device.
Colours	Starlight White Interstellar Black
Pen, Stylus support	No
In the box
Charger	125W
USB cable	USB-C to USB-C 5W capable cable
Buds	No
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	November 2022
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
OS upgrade policy	Three upgrades
Security patch policy	Regular security patches for at least three years
Bloatware	Pure Android – all Google Apps. You can uninstall Facebook.
Other	Play: Gametime Audio
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 is more for enterprise use

Motorola Edge 30 Ultra rear camera

Rear Primary	Wide – Primary
MP	200MP bins to 15MP
Sensor	Samsung S5KHP1
Focus	PDAF Omni Directional
f-stop	1.9
um	.64 bins to 2.56
FOV° (stated, actual)	74.8-87.5°
Stabilisation	OIS
Zoom	10x digital
Rear 2	Ultra-wide and Macro
MP	50 bins to 12.5
Sensor	Samsung S5KJN1
Focus	AF
f-stop	2.2
um	.64 bins to 1.28
FOV (stated, actual)	114
Stabilisation	No
Zoom	No (Video 1080p@60fps)
Rear 3	Portrait and Telephoto
MP	12MP
Sensor	Sony IMX663
Focus	PDAF
f-stop	1.6
um	1.22
FOV (stated, actual)
Stabilisation	No
Zoom	2X Optical (Video 1080p@60fps)
Special
Video max	8K@30fps
Flash	Yes
Auto-HDR	Yes
	Shooting modes: Ultra-Res Pro (w/ Long Exposure) 360° Panorama AR Stickers Live Filter Dual Capture Night Vision Portrait (w/ HDR) Scan Spot Colour Other features: Burst shot Timer Assistive Grid Watermark Leveller Selfie Photo Mirror Selfie animation Face Beauty RAW photo output HDR Active photos Quick Capture (twist-twist)
QR code reader	Via Google Lens
Night mode	AI

Motorola Edge 30 Ultra front camera

Front	Selfie
MP	60MP bins to 15
Sensor	OmniVision OV60a
Focus	Fixed
f-stop	2.2
um	.6 bins to 1.2
FOV (stated, actual)	76.1-88°
Stabilisation	No
Flash	Screen fill
Zoom	Fixed
Video max	4K@60fps
Features	Shooting modes: Pro (w/ Long Exposure) Live Filter Dual Capture Auto Night Vision Portrait (w/ HDR) Spot Colour Artificial intelligence: Auto Smile Capture Gesture Capture Shot Optimisation

Camera Results

Comment

• 1X Day Primary sensor: the colours are good but not quite right. Good details in the background, shadows, and highlights. • 2X Day Primary sensor: natural colours and good detail • 4X Day Primary sensor: Good colour and details – particularly good background with little noise • 8X Day: Primary sensor: Pushing its limits with a noisy background – still pretty good • 16X – not bad, but at the limit of the sensor’s capability • Ultra-wide: 50MP sensor: Slightly muted colour and details. You can tell it is a different sensor from the primary. • Macro 50MP sensor: excellent details and colours and not as critical about 4cm focus distance. • Indoor office light: Slightly muted colours, good details but a slightly out-of-focus background • Bokeh Depth: Slightly muted colour, good detail and bokeh background. But it is software-driven – no depth sensor in sight. • Dark <40 lumens: The standard mode (not night mode) is quite decent, picking up details from the screen. • Night mode: Saturates the colour, adds missing detail and removes much noise • Selfie: The 60MP (bins to 8MP or 15MP) has natural skin tones, good detail and a range of filters to enhance any image. • Video (we are not video experts): o Primary sensor: You can shoot at 8K@30fps (no stabilisation) 4K@60/30fps with OIS and the day/office light results are very good. o Ultrawide sensor: You can shoot 4K@30fps with no OIS and 1080p@60/30fps with EIS. o Selfie: 1080p@60fps with EIS.

Rating Explanation – Motorola Edge 30 Ultra

Features	8.5
	It adds USB-C 3.1 Gen 1 for mountable storage and connection to a TV. The 20:9, 10-bit screen and 125W charger are formidable features.
Value	9.5
	Excellent price has better specs than the Samsung S22 and S22+, but there are some compromises that pro users would understand.
Performance	9
	It is the most powerful processor, Wi-Fi 6E and more. Needs more work on the camera software.
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 and lacks IP68.
Rating out of 10	8.7