Motorola Edge 70 Pro+ was recently launched in India at a starting price of Rs. 47,999. Here’s our review.
Here's our review of the new Motorola Edge 70 Pro+
It is no secret that smartphones are getting more expensive by the day. Hence, a mid-range handset, which would have launched as a sub-Rs. 40,000 device last year, now ships with a price tag nearing Rs. 50,000. The result is a lower value proposition. Brands have now shifted their focus from meaningful hardware upgrades to the design, in-hand feel, and other relatively cost-efficient measures, almost creating the illusion of an upgrade.
However, with the launch of the Motorola Edge 70 Pro+, Motorola took a slightly different approach. Nearly a month after the arrival of the Pro model, the company unveiled its Pro+ sibling with two major upgrades: 15W wireless charging support and a 50-megapixel telephoto camera on the back, both of which were noticeably missing on the former. Priced at Rs. 47,999, is the Motorola Edge 70 Pro+ worth spending that extra Rs. 9,000 over the Pro model? Let's find out.
One thing Motorola really needs to invest in is hiring a new designer, at least for its premium smartphones. The Moto G37 Power, a budget smartphone, and the Motorola Edge 70 Pro+, the flagship premium Edge series handset, sport an almost identical design. The company's reliance on Pantone-certified colour options seems like a stopgap measure at best. It no longer serves as a standout feature.
Motorola Edge 70 Pro+ sports an ergonomic design
With that out of the way, I would like to point out that up close, Motorola has indeed made subtle changes to the camera module. The camera module is finished in a metal-like material, while the rest of the rear panel features an extremely premium-looking satin finish. The phone feels amazing to touch, whether you graze your finger against the grain or with it. The metallic colour gradient on the Motorola logo gives a great visual break, giving a more well-rounded appeal to the handset.
Weighing just about 190g, the Motorola Edge 70 Pro+ feels really light in your hand. However, the massive camera makes the phone top-heavy. Similarly, when laid flat on its back, the handset wobbles a lot, which is the new smartphone reality we all have to live with.
The Motorola Edge 70 Pro+ is just 7.19mm thick, and the curved display further complements its overall thickness. However, this is a double-edged sword, which works for and against the Edge 70 Pro+. For example, the thin metal chassis on the side is not confidence-inspiring, which might make you want to put on a case right away.
Motorola Edge 70 Pro+'s camera module
In terms of ergonomics, the Motorola Edge 70 Pro+ is a mixed bag. The power button and volume controls on the right side of the handset are perfectly placed, with my thumb intuitively landing on the power button most of the time. Reaching the volume controls also does not require any hand gymnastics.
Despite being a relatively large phone, the Motorola Edge 70 Pro+ is almost perfect for one-handed operations. However, reaching the top-left corner of the screen remains a challenge. It ships in three Pantone-curated colour options, namely Chicory Coffee, Stormy Sea, and Zinfandel. I got to test the Pantone Zinfandel shade, which is also the most visually appealing among the lot.
Motorola Edge 70 Pro+ Pantone-curated colour options look premium
The now-dated design philosophy aside, Motorola has done well with the Edge 70 Pro+. I would have still appreciated a more experimental look.
The Motorola Edge 70 Pro+ comes with one of the best displays in its price segment. The handset shares the display with the Pro model. Hence, there is no visual difference between the two. The 6.8-inch panel is large enough to act as a portable cinema in your pocket. The 1.5K resolution standard, with 1,272 pixels horizontally and 2,772 vertically, delivers sharp visuals, as one expects from a phone of this price.
Motorola Edge 70 Pro+ features a curved AMOLED display
Motorola has not made any compromises when it comes to refresh rate either. The panel on the Motorola Edge 70 Pro+ refreshes up to 144Hz, making it perfect for scrolling through websites or swiping through menu screens. There are barely noticeable jitters that enhance the overall user experience.
However, the quality of the display is really tested when it comes to colour reproduction. And I was glad to find that the Extreme AMOLED display of the Motorola Edge 70 Pro+ did not disappoint in that aspect either. To check colour accuracy and display sharpness, I first played various 8K-resolution test videos. The phone consistently presented colourful and vibrant visuals, owing to a 100 percent DCI-P3 colour gamut.
Motorola Edge 70 Pro+'s display presents sharp visuals
The Motorola Edge 70 Pro+ also shone, quite literally, in terms of peak brightness. The company claims a peak brightness of up to 5,200 nits in high-brightness mode (HBM). In real-life usage, the display remained visible throughout, even under direct sunlight. The surprisingly low reflections also translated into a crisp online reading experience.
It also supports HDR10+ content. To test the same, I watched the Vir Das-starrer Happy Patel on Netflix and binged Fresh Off the Boat on Jio Hotstar. The deeper blacks and the apt colour saturation improved the overall content-watching experience.
The Motorola Edge 70 Pro+ is powered by an octa-core MediaTek Dimensity 8500 Extreme chipset, built on a 4nm process. The “Extreme” version of the 2024-released chipset might be new, but its base remains almost two years old. The Dimensity 8500 chip has powered various flagship smartphones in the last two years. Hence, the Motorola Edge 70 Pro+ never feels out of its depth, even if pushed to its limits.
In day-to-day usage, the Edge 70 Pro+ remains smooth. I really liked that the performance is consistently decent. Consistency translates into reliability and trust. You never feel like the phone, at its core, is based on a one-generation-old flagship chipset. However, its competitors with Snapdragon chipsets do offer a better price-to-power ratio.
Motorola Edge 70 Pro+ is great for gaming
For those who are interested in numbers, I ran the usual benchmark tests on the Motorola Edge 70 Pro+. There is definitely a massive improvement from its predecessor in terms of performance. However, the OnePlus Nord 6, which is significantly cheaper, outperformed the phone on various tests.
| Benchmark | Motorola Edge 70 Pro+ | Motorola Edge 60 Pro | OnePlus Nord 6 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Display Resolution | 1.5K | 1.5K | 1.5K |
| Chipset | MediaTek Dimensity 8500 Extreme (4nm) | Mediatek Dimensity 8350 Extreme (4 nm) | Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 (3nm) |
| AnTuTu v10/11 | 18,44,700 | 14,13,220 | 22,66,546 |
| PCMark Work Performance 3.0 | 16,435 | 19,111 | 12,132 |
| Geekbench 6 CPU Single Core | 1,723 | 1,368 | 2,083 |
| Geekbench 6 CPU Multi Core | 6,434 | 4,466 | 6,437 |
| Geekbench AI CPU (Quantized) | 1,510 | 2,123 | 3,760 |
| Geekbench AI GPU (Quantized) | 994 | 973 | 2,637 |
| 3DM Wild Life | Maxed Out | Maxed Out | Maxed Out |
| 3DM Wild Life Unlimited | 14,301 | 11,148 | 17,246 |
| 3DM Steel Nomad Light | 1,501 | 1,226 | 1,730 |
Coming to its gaming performance, I found the Motorola Edge 70 Pro+ to be an extremely capable device. I started with lighter titles, like Subway Surfers and Temple Run 2. Both games ran without any issues; I played them for 35 to 40 minutes each. Then, I moved on to Battleground Mobile India (BGMI). I first played the game at the medium (default) graphics preset for 15 minutes.
Once satisfied, I changed the presets to Quality and UHD. The Motorola Edge 70 Pro+ was still running the game with zero frame drops, averaging 60 fps. The story remained the same with Asphalt Legends. The phone also performed well in terms of thermal management, thanks to its vapour chamber cooling solution and a 4,600 sq mm heat-dissipation area. However, I did notice that the handset does get a little warm around the deco after an hour of uninterrupted gaming.
Motorola Edge 70 Pro+ can handle your day-to-day tasks with ease
Lastly, the Android 16-based Hello UI offers a near-vanilla Android experience, which is always impressive. You can read more about the OS here.
The most significant upgrade on the Motorola Edge 70 Pro+ over its Pro sibling is the new 50-megapixel periscope telephoto camera, which offers up to 3x optical zoom and up to 50x digital zoom, enhanced by AI. It is a great addition to an already decent camera setup, which includes a 50-megapixel Sony LYT-710 primary sensor and a 50-megapixel ultrawide camera, with a 112-degree field of view.
Just like the Pro model, the primary 50-megapixel Sony shooter on the Motorola Edge 70 Pro+ delivers great daytime camera performance, with decent dynamic range. The colour accuracy is also impressive. In portrait mode, the edge detection and shadow rendering are also good, offering a well-rounded camera experience.
Motorola Edge 70 Pro+ day-time camera performance
In portrait mode, the autofocus works great. The camera can quickly recognise the subject and clearly separate it from the image background. It also gets the skin tones just right. However, under artificial lighting, the phone tends to brighten the complexion by a shade or two, which you can learn to live with or easily fix in post.
Motorola Edge 70 Pro+ telephoto camera performance
The ultrawide lens is also a decent shooter. With a 112-degree field of view, it can capture a large enough frame to fit a football team. However, it does not lose much in detail. Coming to the new periscope telephoto camera, the 50-megapixel shooter performs well up to 5x zoom, while retaining most details. However, beyond this, pictures appear flat and pixelated, even with the post-capture AI image processing.
Motorola Edge 70 Pro+ portrait photography
The night-time performance of all three shooters is good as well. There is minimal light scattering, too. The camera captures beautiful bokeh effects when pointed at direct light sources, elevating the photographs.
Motorola Edge 70 Pro+ night-time camera performance
On the front, the 50-megapixel selfie camera inherits the same skin-tone capture issues as the primary rear camera. Along with the bads, the selfie shooter also brings over the good aspects. You can capture impressive portrait shots with the selfie camera in both dimly lit and well-lit environments.
The most underwhelming aspect of the Motorola Edge 70 Pro+ is the battery. The phone packs a 6,500mAh battery, which is notably smaller than the competition, barring a few exceptions. On the PCMark Battery Performance 3.0 test, the handset ran for 11 hours and 48 minutes, which is surprisingly low for a 6,500mAh cell. However, with casual usage, the phone will easily last you a day.
Motorola Edge 70 Pro+ provides sub-par battery life
While the battery drains relatively fast, the Motorola Edge 70 Pro+ charges faster. Thanks to its 90W fast charging support, the handset charged from 0 to 50 percent in about 30 minutes, while reaching 84 percent of charging in an hour. However, it took about an hour and 10 minutes to reach the 100 percent mark.
At a relatively high price tag of Rs. 47,999, the Motorola Edge 70 Pro+ offers few upgrades over the Pro model, which is about Rs. 9,000 cheaper. If the periscope telephoto camera and wireless charging support are deal-breakers for you, the Pro+ might make sense, even at this price point. However, in my opinion, the premium is not worth the two upgrades. In a world where the Edge 70 Pro does not exist, yes, the Motorola Edge 70 Pro+ would make more sense, thanks to its well-rounded nature.
Motorola Edge 70 Pro+ is a well-rounded option, but slightly overpriced
However, offering similar products across different price points makes sense for both the brand and its customers. If you want more performance and a longer battery life, you can consider the OnePlus Nord 6, which is priced significantly lower. Apart from this, the Nothing Phone 4a Pro offers similar features and a more innovative design at a similar price.
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