Over the past few years, Motorola has expanded its offering, splitting its phones into a number of different families. From the Moto G and Moto E that have been around for the last decade, to the more recent Moto Edge. The Moto Edge 40 Pro is the 2023 flagship (so far) and logically is comparable to theMoto Edge 30 Ultra, the top phone from 2022, in a number of regions.
However, Motorola’s launches aren’t always global, the US getting the Edge Plus (2022) - available as the Edge 30 Pro in some regions - which actually sits closer to the Edge 40 Pro in many areas. So we’re comparing this hat-trick of Moto phones, to see where the Moto Edge is heading - and if you should be looking to buy one.
Motorola Edge 40 Pro
Motorola’s 2023 flagship phone has upgraded power, a premium build and a great selection of cameras, but lacks the 200MP camera of the Edge 30 Ultra.
Motorola Edge 30 Ultra
The Edge 30 Ultra leads with a 200MP camera, making this the highest-spec camera of the family. It also offers faster wireless charging, but we’d still pick the Edge 40 Pro.
Motorola Edge Plus (2022) / Motorola Edge 30 Pro
The Edge Plus or Edge 30 Pro is cheaper than the others on this list, but the charging is slower, the camera less appealing and it’s a little less powerful.
Design and build
All three Moto models come in around the same size and weight, with all having a glass back - although the Edge 40 Pro uses Gorilla Glass Victus, while the other two use Gorilla Glass 5 on the rear. There’s an aluminium frame in both the Edge 40 Pro and the Edge 30 Ultra, with the Edge 30 Pro using a plastic frame - which probably accounts for the slightly lighter weight.
There’s a difference in waterproofing too, with the 2023 phone - the Edge 40 Pro - offering top-notchIP68 protection, while the others sit at IP52, slightly lower down the protection ratings.
But all these phones use curved glass so they’re all similar in design, although the camera housing on each is different. The Edge 30 Ultra showcases the 200MP camera sitting above the other lenses, while the Edge 30 Pro puts them in a vertical line like some of Motorola’s lower-positioned devices.
Overall, the Edge 40 Pro is the highest quality build and the design has clearly evolved over the older phones.
When it comes to the display, there’s a lot of parity across these devices. They all come in close in size at 6.67-inch, with the Edge 30 Pro listed as 6.7-inch. All the displays are OLED with a 2400 x 1080 pixel resolution for 394ppi. The Moto Edge 40 Pro steps up to 165Hz, while the other two phones only offer up to 144Hz. While there’s some spec-sheet competition here, in practical terms, you’re unlikely to find much demand for that 165Hz right now.
All phones offer the same aspect ratio,all support HDR, although the Edge 40 Pro support Dolby Vision. The Edge 40 Pro also has a peak brightness of 1300 nit, while the Edge 30 Ultra is 1250 nit; the Edge 30 Pro is reported to be around 700 nit. All support HDR10+ for punchy visuals, but the Edge 30 Pro might not be quite competitive.
The resolution and detail should be pretty much the same, however.
Hardware and specs
These three versions of the Moto Edge step-up through the Snapdragon hardware: the Edge 40 Pro has the latestSnapdragon 8 Gen 2, with the others using incrementally older hardware. Both the 40 Pro and 30 Ultra have 12GB RAM, but the Edge Plus (2022) has 8GB - if you have access to the Edge 30 Pro, there’s also a 12GB option. While having the latest hardware is obviously advantageous, there’s not going to be a massive difference in the experience, all three versions of this Snapdragon hardware offer great performance, well in the flagship phone space.
The batteries are slightly different, with the Edge 30 Pro slightly larger so might have a little additional stamina, but the big difference here is the charging. The Edge 30 Pro tops out at 68W, while the Edge 30 Ultra and the Edge 40 Pro both support 125W charging, allowing much faster top-ups.
The Moto Edge 30 Ultra, however, offers up to 50W wireless charging, while the other two land at 15W wireless; equally the Ultra has 10Wwireless power sharingso you can charge other devices from it, while both the other models are just 5W power sharing, so will be a little slower.
It’s worth noting with these devices that you get that high-power wired charger in the box.
The cameras are often the battleground for phones and there’s a big mix-up here. The Edge 30 Ultra has a 200-megapixel main camera, which version much puts it in a flagship position. The 50-megapixel ultrawide, the 12-megapixel portrait which are otherwise the same as the Edge 40 Pro.
At the same time, the Edge 40 Pro offers a 50-megapixel main camera, as does the Edge 30 Pro. The latter model plumps for a 2-megapixel depth sensor which is basically just a filler - all these models have a high-resolution 60-megapixel front camera.
Both the Edge 40 Pro and Edge 30 Ultra are in a stronger position than the Edge 30 Pro thanks to that additional portrait camera on the rear, which gives you a 2x optical telephoto, which is really useful. There is consistency in the ultrawide, however, Motorola using a 50-megapixel sensor looking to offer higher quality when stepping out to 0.6x magnification.
The lack of the 200-megapixel camera on the Edge 40 Pro suggests that we might see an Edge 40 Ultra later in 2023; whether there’s a huge difference in performance between the 200-megapixel sensor on the Edge 30 Ultra and the 50-megapixel camera on the Edge 40 Pro will have to be the subject of a closer examination in the future.
Conclusions
Motorola’s Edge family of devices isn’t the most straight-forward, with a range of models across different spec positions. We’ve compared the top-tiers of these devices to draw out the differences and it’s clear that Motorola has given the Edge 40 Pro some attention to elevate its position: better waterproofing, a brighter display and naturally newer Snapdragon hardware.
The Edge 40 Pro cameras take elements from the 2022 flagship - the Edge 30 Ultra - but doesn’t step-up to that 200-megapixel sensor. Equally, while the 125W charging makes it much faster than the Edge 30 Pro, the Edge 30 Ultra still offers wireless charging - leading us to suspect there will be an Edge 40 Ultra later in 2023.
But in this comparison, aside from those small details in the Ultra - a 200MP camera and 50W wireless charging - the Edge 40 Pro looks like a solid upgrade and the model we’d choose. However, it’s a little more expensive than the Edge 30 Ultra, which offers a similar top level experience, for a little less cash.
