Motorola Edge 40 Pro review

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Introduction

The Pro is going Ultra - Motorola's Edge 40 Pro comes along, inheriting a couple of the Edge 30 Ultra's bits, including super-fast charging and a zoom camera. Proper dust and water resistance returns to the company's mainstream lineup, too, and Motorola continues to push the boundaries for refresh rate on a non-gaming phone. Sounds like a pretty intriguing package then.

The Edge 40 Pro is the global version of the China-only Moto X40 that's already been available for a few months - Motorola is following the same release schedule and naming convention we observed last year. It's unclear at this point when (or if) another incarnation with the same hardware will make its way to the US under a different name, as has been the case before. For the time being, the Edge 40 Pro is launching on the European market with an MSRP of €900.

Certainly not cheap, the Edge 40 Pro delivers a very high-end spec sheet. The latest Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 ticks inside, the 6.7-inch OLED display can refresh at up to 165Hz (not your pedestrian 120Hz or even Motorola's usual 144Hz), and the 4,600mAh battery should be able to take up to 125W of power when charging.

A couple of 50MP cameras on the back ensure that your wide and ultrawide shots can get plenty of light and detail, and the ultrawide's autofocusing capability promises it's going to work for closeup shooting too. New for the 40 Pro is the 12MP zoom camera, coming straight from last year's 30 Ultra to replace the simple depth sensor on the 30 Pro - a most welcome development. The 60MP selfie camera is unchanged.

The Edge 40 Pro puts a lot of focus on design and build too. The Gorilla Glass Victus sheets on each side of the phone ensure top-tier scratch and shatter resistance, but they're also curved along all of their edges - durability has rarely been this elegant, and it's also nice that the 'Edge' name means something again. On top of that, the Edge 40 Pro is properly IP68-rated unlike the merely splash-proof Motos of before.

Then there's the Ready For functionality that turns the Edge 40 Pro into a makeshift PC - an alternative to Samsung's DeX that only Motorola provides, on its higher-end models. You know who you are, if you have a use case for it.

Motorola Edge 40 Pro specs at a glance:

• Body: 161.2x74.0x8.6mm, 199g; Glass front/glass back (Gorilla Glass Victus), aluminum frame; IP68 dust/water resistant (up to 1.5m for 30 min).
• Display: 6.67" OLED, 1B colors, 165Hz, HDR10+, Dolby Vision, 1080x2400px resolution, 20:9 aspect ratio, 393ppi.
• Chipset: Qualcomm SM8550-AB Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 (4 nm): Octa-core (1x3.2 GHz Cortex-X3 & 2x2.8 GHz Cortex-A715 & 2x2.8 GHz Cortex-A710 & 3x2.0 GHz Cortex-A510); Adreno 740.
• Memory: 256GB/512GB UFS4.0 storage, 12GB LPDDR5X RAM.
• OS/Software: Android 13.
• Rear camera: Wide (main): 50 MP, f/1.8, 1/1.55", 1.0µm, Omni-directional PDAF, OIS; Ultra wide angle: 50 MP, f/2.2, 114˚, 1/2.76", 0.64µm, AF; Telephoto: 12 MP, f/1.6, 1/2.93", 1.22µm, PDAF, 2x optical zoom.
• Front camera: 60 MP, f/2.2, (wide), 1/2.8", 0.61µm.
• Video capture: Rear camera: 8K@30fps, 4K@30/60fps, 1080p@30/60/120/240fps, 720p@960fps, 10-bit HDR10+, gyro-EIS; Front camera: 4K@30/60fps, 1080p@30/60fps.
• Battery: 4600mAh; 125W wired, PD3.0, QC5, 50% in 7 min (advertised), 15W wireless, 5W reverse wireless.
• Misc: Fingerprint reader (under display, optical); NFC; stereo speakers; Ready For 3.5 support.

Motorola Edge 40 Pro unboxing

The Edge 40 Pro's presentation is similar to what the 30 Ultra showed up in. The now-black cardboard box is full-size, so you know there will be accessories inside, unlike some other top-tier devices, but Motorola does try to keep a lower carbon footprint with its entirely plastic-free packaging.

Not only is the phone rated for 125W charging, it comes with a charger to match, TurboPower-branded too. A USB-C cable is also included, naturally. Additionally, Motorola provides a clear snap-on protective back cover in the box - Victus or otherwise, glass is glass.

Mind you, the back cover may not be included in all retail bundles everywhere. Similarly, don't be surprised if you receive a pair of USB-C earbuds or if your Moto comes with a screen protector - we didn't get either one. Which exactly subset of these three you'll get is subject to regional specifics. Everyone gets a phone though, so let's move on to that.