I used the Motorola Edge (2026) all summer season lengthy, nevertheless it by no means received me over

I’m one of many larger Motorola followers at Android Authority. If nothing else, I’ve spent probably the most time with a Moto telephone in my pocket, starting from a number of generations of the dirt-cheap Moto G to the latest heights of the ultra-premium (and Extremely-branded) Motorola Razr Extremely. There’s simply one thing in regards to the clear Android expertise and enjoyable Pantone colours that has at all times spoken to me; what can I say?

In that point, although, I’ve watched Motorola’s Edge collection undergo the wringer. I keep in mind when it first rolled out as a flagship, solely to turn out to be an reasonably priced flagship-style possibility a 12 months or two later, and earlier than lastly settling as a sub-$600 mid-ranger. And but, there was nonetheless a lot to love in regards to the Edge, even at its cheaper value level.

Now, I’m not so certain. I’ve spent months with the Motorola Edge (2026), and I can’t assist however query nearly every thing about it. Buckle up, it’s going to be a bumpy experience.

Earlier than I’m going poking holes in Motorola’s balloon, I’ve to say I like every thing in regards to the design of the Edge (2026). It’s clear, easy, and matches comfortably in my hand — one thing that also doesn’t occur fairly often, regardless that smaller shows have turn out to be extra standard. And actually, I believe the design does lots of heavy lifting with regards to protecting the Motorola Edge (2026) in my pocket. If it didn’t look so good or match so properly, I’d have ditched it by now.

What, precisely, seems to be so good? Motorola and Pantone have as soon as once more nailed their colour decisions. The Martini Olive end I obtained feels premium, pairing a woven again panel with a barely rounded body that’s brushed to seem like metallic. It’s not — the body is plastic — nevertheless it definitely fooled me the primary time I picked up the Edge (2026), and it nonetheless feels good in spite of everything this time. Actually, it nonetheless feels sufficient like metallic to maintain fooling me. The brushed gold-like texture carries over to the digicam bump, which is massive, sq., and unmistakably Motorola.

The general look is nearly (and I do imply nearly) pretty much as good as Motorola’s different Martini Olive possibility, the Motorola Signature. That telephone really has an aluminum body and harder show glass, and it feels beautiful within the hand. Too dangerous it’ll by no means come stateside — a transfer that I believe is a mistake when the Edge (2026) is so decidedly mid-range.

Anyway, my appreciation of the Edge (2026) isn’t purely aesthetic. Its compact measurement represents an enormous (get it?) departure from its predecessors. The Edge nonetheless isn’t smaller than a closed Razr (2026), nevertheless it’s smaller than any conventional Moto. I’d describe the Edge (2026) as a whole 180-degree flip from the Edge (2025), which centered round an enormous 6.7-inch pOLED panel. This model shrinks to a 6.3-inch Excessive AMOLED, and I really really feel like I can attain all three buttons with out doing hand gymnastics.

I not really feel like I’m straining to energy the telephone on, bump the amount up or down, or press the Moto AI key — a minimum of, that’s how I’d really feel if I ever used hardware-based AI triggers. Sadly, you’ll be able to’t program the AI Key away from Moto AI both; you’ll be able to solely toggle it on or off. Actually, I want Motorola had copied Apple’s Motion Button; I’d like to set it up as a quantity toggle or a digicam set off.

Additionally, whereas I just like the Martini Olive colour that Motorola and Pantone settled on, I’m slightly shocked it’s the one colour possibility. I like enjoyable telephones, however I do know loads of individuals who would a lot somewhat have a black, grey, or white slab to drag out of their pocket — particularly in the event that they’re simply going to place it in a case anyway. The woven texture most likely received’t be for everybody, both, because it doesn’t actually add any grip.

What will probably be for everybody is that you could possibly get away with out placing the Edge (2026) in a case in case you didn’t wish to. It’s a tricky cookie, pairing IP68 and IP69 scores with MIL-STD 810H drop safety. I’m nonetheless disillusioned by way of plastic just about in all places, and the Gorilla Glass 7i show is nice, greater than nice, nevertheless it was reassuring to take this telephone for just a few days on the seashore with no second thought.

The 6.3-inch AMOLED panel additionally ensured I might use the Edge (2026) at a vivid, sunny seashore, and never simply because it was simpler to dam the glare given the smaller footprint. For no matter cause, Motorola determined to pump its pocket-sized mid-ranger with 5,200 nits of peak brightness, which is greater than sufficient. You’ll not often hit that full brightness, however the Edge (2026) is a lot seen even at three-quarter power.

I used to be additionally impressed by the Tremendous HD (2,640 x 1,216) decision, which was a lot sharp for streaming World Cup video games once I couldn’t make it to a watch celebration. I turned to the Edge (2026) for a handful of group stage video games and by no means felt like I used to be lacking the motion regardless of the tiny show. The twin Dolby Atmos audio system carried their weight, too, although I most popular them for streaming Spotify somewhat than struggling by way of soccer evaluation from Alexi Lalas. Both method, they obtained loud and punchy with out feeling mushy, which labored for me.

All instructed, if I have been shopping for the Motorola Edge (2026) purely for its design, I’d be first in line. I’d choose it up, put my SIM in it, and preserve it there for so long as I can. The issue, nonetheless, is that I’d even have to make use of the Edge (2026), which is a much less attractive proposition.

After I first regarded on the spec sheet for the Motorola Edge (2026), I assumed to myself, “That is wonderful.” I wasn’t blown away, however I picked out the MediaTek Dimensity 7450 as an anticipated annual improve and famous the 60W TurboPower charging must be fairly fast. Then I refreshed myself on the earlier Motorola Edge (2025) and realized the brand new model isn’t as a lot of an improve because it appears.

For starters, the newer chipset is the one actual improve. The 8GB of base RAM stayed the identical, solely this time it’s paired with 128GB of base storage as an alternative of 256GB — an odd alternative when there’s no slot for a microSD card. The 5,000mAh battery can be smaller than earlier than — the 2025 model packed 5,200mAh — however I’ll let that slide as a result of the telephone is a lot smaller. Extra annoying is the truth that the 60W TurboPower charging is definitely a downgrade from the earlier 68W.

However earlier than I persuade you that issues on paper equate to issues in actual life, let’s take a look at some benchmarks. I put the Edge (2026) by way of our common gauntlet, hoping that its CPU and GPU would shock me, and right here’s what I obtained in return.

For these of you protecting observe at residence, this isn’t golf. Decrease numbers aren’t good. The Motorola Edge (2026)’s efficiency just isn’t good. I did my finest to check it to telephones of pretty comparable costs, from the Google Pixel 10a at $499 to the Samsung Galaxy S25 FE at $649 and the OnePlus 15R at $699, and I didn’t count on it to beat all of them. I simply didn’t count on it to get dunked on, both.

Its 4nm Dimensity 7450 obtained crushed time and again by every thing from Samsung’s 4nm Exynos 2400 to Google’s 4nm Tensor G4, displaying that course of alone wasn’t Motorola’s drawback. There’s simply not a lot energy for the Edge (2026) to work with. The outcomes don’t enhance on the gaming facet, both, with the Edge (2026) holding it down within the basement of our stress check. No, I assume the telephone doesn’t lose steam in the direction of the top of its run — the scores don’t tail off — however the Edge (2026) by no means scored greater than half of the Pixel 10a’s worst run, both.

As a Motorola fan, that harm to write down. It will harm much less if the Edge (2026) by some means pulled off some magic in day-to-day life, however you’ll be able to guess what’s coming.

There’s simply nothing about utilizing this mid-ranger that’s as sharp as its identify (or design) would counsel. It has the punch and chopping energy of a butter knife, however provided that you let the butter soften a bit first. I encountered struggles it doesn’t matter what I requested of the Edge (2026). Pokémon Go took painfully lengthy to load and run, and easy duties like navigating my method by way of East Rutherford, New Jersey, to observe a World Cup match slowed the Edge to a crawl.

Worse, the Edge (2026) runs sizzling. I don’t imply slightly heat, both; the Edge generally felt prefer it had an outdated Tensor chip inside. I needed to tuck it again into my pocket on a protracted photograph stroll, and I completed my stress testing with the telephone sitting flat on my desk so I solely needed to faucet the show with my fingertips.

I’ve loads of questions in regards to the present state of Howdy UX, too. It’s not way back that Motorola’s most annoying quirks (its bloatware) have been reserved for its Moto G collection. I knew to count on the horrible, ad-laden 1Weather app and a gaming folder that was actually only a shortcut to the Play Retailer in disguise. Now, they’re on the Edge (2026), too. You additionally get Chime for banking, Perplexity, and Copilot proper out of the field. I’m all for having a favourite AI agent, however to throw Moto AI in there and make me stability three of them feels a bit a lot.

I’ve additionally harped on Motorola greater than as soon as about its weak replace dedication, and I’m disillusioned to report that it’s no higher right here. Sure, two years of Android help and three years of safety patches is healthier than what the Moto G collection will get, nevertheless it’s far behind the seven years a lot of Motorola’s equally priced rivals supply. And, when a few of these rivals are cheaper and ship higher benchmarks than the Edge (2026), it turns into a lot simpler for me to steer you in one other path.

I’m prepared to present the Edge (2026) yet one more likelihood, although, as a result of I nonetheless must stroll you thru its battery life. The telephone nonetheless packs a 5,000mAh cell, and it’s backed by 60W TurboPower wired charging, and that must be price one thing. So, listed here are the benchmarks you’ve been ready for.

On this case, I’ll name the Edge (2026) respectable. It ties the iPhone 16e in most classes, and a minimum of comes inside putting distance of the Pixel 10a just a few instances. Motorola’s 5,000mAh cell solely comes out because the outright winner when it comes to digicam efficiency, however a minimum of that’s one check it may be pleased with. Sadly, the Edge (2026) has a battery almost 1,000mAh bigger than the iPhone 16e, so these marginal wins aren’t really that spectacular.

On the charging facet, the Motorola Edge (2026) is rather more spectacular. Its 60W TurboPower charging will get the 5,000mAh cell again on its ft in below an hour, beating the OnePlus 15R by nearly 10 minutes. Motorola lastly will get its likelihood to run circles across the Pixel 10a, too, beating Google’s mid-ranger by nearly half an hour. You’ll want a suitable USB PD PPS charger to succeed in these prime speeds (Motorola’s 68W block might be your finest guess), or you’ll be able to cost 15W wirelessly in case you don’t thoughts a for much longer wait.

Regardless of the underwhelming efficiency, I needed to carry out hope that Motorola’s cameras might carry me again into the fold. In spite of everything, its colour science has at all times been fairly pure, and the shut relationship with Google has given Motorola loads of useful photo-editing instruments to get near the very best digicam telephones. However with a trio of digicam sensors that carry over lots from its predecessor, I knew I’d have to check the Edge (2026) earlier than giving it a passing grade.

Certain, its 50MP main sensor can be succesful, however that’s by no means been Motorola’s battle. The stacked LYTIA 710 sensor (an replace from the earlier LYTIA 700) permits higher mild seize with its deeper pixels, boosting the Edge’s low-light efficiency. The extensive most aperture of ƒ/1.8 does the identical, backed by OIS for decently regular photographs. Motorola’s 50MP ultrawide sensor doubles as its macro digicam with a most aperture of ƒ/2.0, and the 10MP telephoto sensor provides 3x optical zoom and maxes out at 30x Tremendous Zoom. So, with that fast rundown, let’s get to some digicam samples.

Of this primary row, how will you not select the 2 seashore chairs on the far proper as a favourite? It’s one of many final pictures I captured with the Edge (2026), and I like every thing about it. The colours are spot on, the element is nice, and there’s just a bit little bit of pure falloff with the fence posts within the background. It most likely helps that I want to seize pictures at 2x zoom, as I discover the sphere of view rather more snug for many scenes.

I’m additionally fairly happy with the picture within the middle, which exhibits off what the 10MP telephoto sensor can do. It recreated the colours of each the water tower and the sky properly, and I’m relieved the Edge (2026) didn’t attempt to carry the leaves within the foreground into focus — a problem I encountered with one other composition I attempted earlier within the day.

Though this row continues the superb colour recreation, it begins to indicate a few of the Edge’s weaknesses. The soccer participant’s face is a bit simplified off to the left, and the leaves surrounding the steeple are muddied within the darker areas. I do actually just like the photograph I captured of Audi Subject when leaving after a match, as I believe the Edge (2026) nailed the lighting on the help columns and the underside of the bleachers.

In the event you’ve learn any of my earlier opinions, you’ll know that the ultrawide digicam is never my favourite, and that rings true right here too. I used it a lot, attempting to suit the whole lot of Audi Subject’s west stand into one shot, however the distortion of the followers in entrance is inconceivable to disregard. The colours are good, although, and the picture of the lifeguard station does a greater job of maximizing its area of view with out bending the foreground an excessive amount of.

I’ll toss in just a few macro samples as properly, as I’m so glad Motorola didn’t attempt to sneak devoted {hardware} in on us. The 50MP ultrawide sensor is definitely at its sharpest when close-up, with actually sharp particulars within the wooden carving and the metallic lighthouse. I can’t consider I’m saying this, however the digicam works higher as a macro sensor than an ultrawide digicam.

I can respect when a telephone digicam offers its portrait mode measurements in millimeter equivalents, so the Edge (2026) was proper up my alley. It’s a lot simpler to leap between focal lengths when you’ll be able to image the digicam lens in your thoughts, and I spent nearly all of my time between the nifty 50mm and the on a regular basis 35mm portrait modes. The unreal bokeh will get slightly tighter every time you zoom in, which mimics a mirrorless digicam properly, although the depth of area at 24mm is perhaps slightly deeper than I would love. I do know it’s a large portrait, however I’d want a softer background straight out of digicam.

Cease me in case you’ve heard this earlier than, however the Motorola Edge (2026) is strongest when utilizing its main digicam. Sadly, that doesn’t cowl a lot of the zoom vary. The 1x zoom pattern above might be the sharpest of the bunch, adopted carefully by the 2x crop subsequent to it, however then megapixels turn out to be tougher to search out. As quickly as you hit 3x zoom, you need to depend on the smaller telephoto sensor, which continues to be first rate given the far-off topics, however there’s a noticeable shift within the colour profile.

At 6x zoom, the sand within the foreground seems to be slightly crushed — which is humorous as a result of it’s sand — however the particulars within the lifeguard chair itself aren’t too dangerous. I believe 6x zoom is in regards to the restrict of what I’d put up on social media, although, as a result of the subsequent three samples surrender the main points fairly shortly.

Motorola desires to name its long-range zoom Tremendous Zoom, however I’ve to say there’s not a lot tremendous about it. The 10x shot is okay, a minimum of in case you give attention to the orange towel and blue chair within the foreground, however the textual content on the lifeguard jackets seems to be muddy, and the kid within the far background is tough to make out. The textual content solely seems to be extra AI-generated as you zoom in additional, whereas the towel seems to be flatter, the ocean seems to be blurrier, and the seashore itself seems to be extra like mud.

At 30x zoom, if you’re relying closely on a small 10MP sensor, you’d be forgiven for considering the left jacket stated “S88P” and the fitting jacket had a smear of fowl poop on it. In actuality, that reads “SHBP” and the flash of colour is the American flag. Not nice, positively not tremendous.

The Edge (2026)’s 50MP selfie digicam is likely to be excessive — I don’t want that many megapixels for my face — however I can’t argue with the result. I just like the element in each selfies, and the portrait detection round my head is fairly good right down to the smallest of hairs. Not a lot to complain about, simply unsure we want megapixels for the sake of megapixels.

Lastly, there’s video. The Edge (2026) tops out with 4K decision at 30fps, which is sub-part for this value level — above $500 sometimes will get you 4K at 60fps. I felt prefer it was wonderful for capturing the Norwegian supporters’ part doing its well-known row on the World Cup, pairing first rate sound with fairly good stabilization so I might present the expertise off to my mates, however if you wish to seize in 4K high quality, you’ll be sacrificing on the smoothness of the footage.

If you wish to take a look at full-resolution variations of those samples (and lots of extra), you are able to do so at this Google Drive hyperlink.

I couldn’t let you know the final time I used a overview system for fairly this lengthy. It’s nearly inconceivable to take action when the telephone launch calendar is what it’s, particularly as fall rolls round. And to make my choice much more shocking, this can be a telephone I’ve used for months and discover very arduous to advocate at MSRP.

Usually, if I take advantage of one thing for this lengthy, it’s as a result of I find it irresistible. I normally must make excuses to spend extra time with it, or perhaps transfer a special SIM into it simply to maintain service for slightly longer. This time, I caught with the Edge (2026) as a result of I hoped it could flip a nook. I hoped it was simply an replace or two away from competing in a crowded mid-range market, and that its slim type issue would turn out to be a spotlight as an alternative of its solely hope. That didn’t occur.

Though Motorola’s design is pretty much as good now because it was once I first fired up the Edge (2026), that’s nearly the one factor I can reward. Certain, its wired charging is nice (it’s actually good), nevertheless it’s technically a downgrade from final 12 months. I took the Edge (2026) to soccer video games each eight rows from the sphere and 80 rows from the sphere, and its cameras didn’t sustain with both match. Its Dimensity 7450 chipset tried to burn a gap in my pocket, and it did so with out ever outpacing its competitors. Combine in Motorola’s dangerous software program habits making their technique to a better value level with none additional years of help, and I’m simply type of bummed.

This doesn’t really feel like a telephone from the identical firm that simply launched the excellent Razr Extremely (2026) and Razr Fold. It appears like a field that’s checked as a result of it must be, not as a result of anybody ought to spend $600 on it. And remember that’s $50 greater than the value of the Motorola Edge (2025), too. Sure, all telephones are getting costlier this 12 months, however only a few are making such extreme cutbacks whereas additionally elevating costs.

So, in case you’re searching for some other place to spend your mid-range cash, you’re in luck. The Google Pixel 10a ($499 at Amazon) is downright wonderful, and it’s even cheaper than the Edge (2026). Whereas it comes with a barely older Tensor G4 chip, it’s nonetheless highly effective sufficient to go Motorola in nearly each benchmark, and it does so with loads of Gemini options onboard. Granted, the Pixel 10a solely packs two cameras on the again, so that you’ll lose slightly zoom vary, however you may discover higher zoom high quality alongside the best way.

Samsung’s Galaxy S26 FE ($799.99 at Samsung) is yet one more choose that’s extra worthwhile than the Edge (2026), although barely costlier. I haven’t used the brand new mannequin simply but, nevertheless it ought to carry slight enhancements over the Galaxy S25 FE, which was excellent with well-rounded cameras, a number of years of software program updates, and stable battery life. Samsung’s construct high quality sometimes tops Motorola’s too, so that you’ll get harder supplies on your cash.

If you wish to enterprise additional exterior the primary mid-range Android market, I’d additionally counsel both the Nothing Cellphone 4a Professional ($499.99 at Amazon) or the iPhone 17e ($599 at Amazon). The previous is the costliest of Nothing’s finances choices, swapping the semi-transparent industrial design for a metallic physique with an industrial digicam bump and pairing it with a giant, spherical Glyph Matrix. I like Nothing’s black-and-white software program, which brings cleanliness to in all places that Motorola has began to carry muddle.

The latter is your finest (solely) possibility for an inexpensive iPhone. It provides the facility of an A19 chip, however anchors it with a thick Face ID notch, a single rear digicam, and a 60Hz refresh price. However hey, it’ll get years and years of updates, which is greater than Motorola is prepared to supply.