Equip yourself well, but without leaving your salary … This is the dilemma when it comes to renewing your smartphone for a 5G smartphone. Which one to buy among the dozens of mid-range products that claim to offer a lot for a reasonable price?
If we refer to its technical sheet, the Motorola Edge 20 gives the impression of having serious advantages. A real comeback after the miss of his foldable smartphone launched by the manufacturer in 2020? That’s what 20 minutes wanted to check.
A stunning OLED display
Motorola? This pioneering brand in mobile telephony has experienced a thousand upheavals over the past ten years. Bought by Google in 2011, then sold to Lenovo in 2014, the American company has since been trying to come back to the top. Its Edge 20 smartphone launched at 500 euros could contribute.
Surprisingly light (163 grams, which is almost 40 grams less than most smartphones) and thinness (0.7 mm thick), its first asset is its size. With its 6.7 ” / 17cm screen, the Edge 20 is one of the biggest, like Apple’s iPhone 13 Pro or Google’s Pixel 6 Pro. And surprise once in hand: protected by Gorilla Glass 3, this screen displays an unexpected quality at its price level. OLED, with a Full HD + definition (1080 x 2400 pixels), its image quality is truly stunning. The contrasts displayed are remarkable in performance and the colors invigoratingly warm.
Ready for gaming
A little extra for real gamers: its refresh rate can reach 144 Hz. Thus, the Edge 20 goes further than some more expensive rivals who are satisfied with 120 Hz for the best. It is now an important criterion when buying a smartphone. By multiplying the number of images displayed on the screen per second (here 144, therefore), the Edge 20 offers increased fluidity. The layman’s eye will not see much difference, no doubt, for traditional use. Sharp, that of gamer eager for reactivity, will be satisfied.
Unfortunately, this first good impression is balanced by the presence of a single speaker on board the Edge 20. This is an incomprehensible paradox for a smartphone with a screen of such quality that we would have liked to be able to enjoy at home, without headphones or earphones.
Almost all convincing photos
It is obviously on the photo section of the Edge 20 that the eye then points. And force is to admit that in this matter, the device is rather well armed. Equipped with a module of three rear sensors * including a main sensor of 108 megapixels, the Edge 20 does not disappoint.
We took it for a walk for a few days and saw its versatility in photos. Wide-angle, 3x optical zoom (30x digital), successful night photos and portraits with well-balanced cropping, the smartphone fulfills its mission.
Small disappointment when it comes to selfies, however: our self-portraits lack sharpness. This is all the more disturbing given that the Edge 20 is equipped with a 32-megapixel sensor. However, we appreciate the panoply of fourteen filters available, including a “Color Pop” filter which isolates the subject in color in a black and white universe. No need to go through a third-party application to achieve this result. Enough to flatter your ego and draw more attention to yourself …
Amply sufficient autonomy
Where Motorola succeeds is in the autonomy of its Edge 20. Its 4,000 mAh battery allows it to reach 18 hours of use, practically more than enough to meet the daily needs in entertainment, internet surfing and messaging.
The smartphone seems to take advantage of the embedded Snapdragon 778G processor, less greedy than its predecessor, the 888 (which equips most high-end terminals). A supplied 30-watt charger allows it to replenish power in about an hour, which isn’t too bad.
The gaps that annoy
So, yes, the Edge 20 offers good value for money. And we can say that this return to form Motorola augurs a comeback of the manufacturer. There are still a few annoying gaps.
In addition to this damn second speaker that is definitely missing, the Edge 20 can obviously not go further to maintain its price at 500 euros: no waterproofing, non-expandable 128 GB memory and mini-jack socket to absent subscribers should be taken into consideration before purchasing.
If the adventure tempts you, it should however be compared to the Samsung A52 5G, a little less expensive (449 euros) and a little better equipped (it is waterproof, has a jack plug), but less good in photo. Alternative: the convincing Mi10T Pro 5G from Xiaomi which, at an equivalent price, offers greater autonomy, but its 6.67 ” screen is LCD and not OLED.
* Front: 108 megapixels (26mm equivalent, f / 1.9); 16 megapixel wide-angle (13mm, f / 2.2); 8 megapixel telephoto lens (79mm, f / 2.4). Rear: 32 megapixels (f / 2.3).