Motorola Edge 2025 evaluation: Not quick sufficient

Motorola’s 2025 lineup is all about fashion, and the Motorola Edge 2025 isn’t any exception. With a beautiful PANTONE-certified vegan leather-based again, a greater water and dirt resistance ranking than you will discover on some other cellphone on this worth vary, battery life that’ll last more than you anticipate, and super-fast 68W charging, this cellphone appears to be like good doing what it does greatest.

It’s even received Moto AI packed in, and whereas all the AI options from the Motorola Razr Ultra aren’t right here, it does function a number of the most outstanding ones. But a lot of the expertise is needlessly held again by a gradual processor that struggles to do even essentially the most primary duties. Swiping residence takes far too lengthy, and duties like opening the digital camera or switching apps make this really feel extra like a cellphone half its worth.

That doesn’t suggest there aren’t any redeeming qualities right here — the digital camera is kind of wonderful, as an illustration — however the expertise is so held again by this processor that it is not possible to advocate at full worth. If you actually need one, anticipate a great deal and get it for lots cheaper, or simply select a Pixel 9a or OnePlus 13R, as an alternative.

Motorola Edge 2025: Price, availability, and specs

The Motorola Edge 2025 shall be obtainable within the U.S. unlocked on June 5 at Best Buy, Amazon, and Motorola.com for $549.99. Motorola says T-Mobile and Metro by T-Mobile, Total Wireless, Visible, Spectrum, and Xfinity Mobile can even carry the cellphone within the coming months. Canadian prospects can search for it on June 5 at Motorola.ca.

The Motorola Edge 2025 ships with a PANTONE Deep Forest vegan leather-based again and consists of 8GB of LPDDR4x RAM and 256GB of uMCP storage.

Motorola Edge 2025: What I beloved

If Motorola must be applauded for anybody factor specifically, it is the corporate’s smartphone design. While some of us shall be sad with the curved glass, it makes for a beautiful cellphone that, when mixed with the vegan leather-based again, makes it arduous to not admire it continually all through the day.

It’s additionally fairly skinny and lightweight feeling because of the tapered edges, and the selection of PANTONE Forest Green is just beautiful. It’s arduous to discover a higher trying cellphone than this, even when it means discovering a great tempered glass protector shall be powerful.

On prime of being skinny and lightweight, this is without doubt one of the elite telephones to function an IP68/IP69 water and dirt resistance ranking, that means it could take an actual beating, be put within the dishwasher, and nonetheless come out working like a champ. It’s additionally received an enormous 5,200mAh battery inside that provides this stellar battery life, and 68W charging ensures you solely want a couple of minutes to prime the cellphone up earlier than heading out the door.

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One of the weakest factors of the Motorola Edge 2024 was its digital camera which has been fastened twofold on this launch. Not solely does the Motorola Edge 2025 function upgraded 50MP ultrawide and selfie cameras, nevertheless it now options a wonderful 3x optical zoom telephoto lens on the again.

Motorola’s use of AI and PANTONE coloration tuning signifies that images taken from this cellphone typically look beautiful in any gentle. Compared to the Pixel 9a, you will get a greater high quality selfie digital camera with autofocus, plus higher zoom element because of the telephoto digital camera.

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If there’s any purpose to skip the cellphone, it isn’t the digital camera this time round. I’ve been genuinely happy with practically each picture I’ve taken. Even pictures I wasn’t positive would look good turned out nice, together with low-light images taken in the course of the Nintendo Switch 2 launch occasion at my native GameStop.

The Moto AI suite of instruments is all right here and helps maintain Motorola in competitors with the Google Pixel 9a for many AI options. Both telephones function a variety of related instruments, like AI artwork turbines, nice methods to transcribe recordings, and extra. Motorola units itself aside with some distinctive options like Catch Me Up, which might immediately take all these notifications and provide you with an government abstract, and AI playlist, which may give you a curated music playlist in seconds.

Much of that is powered by the brand new Moto AI button on the left, which might be custom-made to your liking. If you do not like this, you’ll be able to disable the important thing altogether. It’s good to have that function!

If I had anybody critique about Moto AI, it is that I want it have been a bit extra proactive. Catch me up could be nice if it mechanically ran once I unlocked the cellphone after an prolonged time period, as an illustration. I believe this is a wonderful begin, although, and Motorola will definitely tweak and enhance issues over time.

Motorola Edge 2025: What’s not good

The MediaTek Dimensity 7400 inside this cellphone holds all the things again considerably. It’s not a foul processor, nevertheless it does not belong in a $550 cellphone. Period. Motorola sells the worldwide mannequin of this cellphone beneath the Motorola Edge 60 Fusion title, and it is roughly 30% cheaper than the Motorola Edge 2025.

As I’ve used this cellphone over the previous week, I’ve encountered quite a few efficiency points, together with hitches, lags, and stutters. These will not be current within the Google Pixel 9a or the OnePlus 13R, each of that are in the identical worth vary.

Turning off the foolish RAM Boost function helped efficiency for me, nevertheless it did not erase the lags and stutters utterly. This processor can also be not performant sufficient to even run Minecraft’s Vibrant Visuals setting at a playable body charge. It’s actually a disgrace as a result of, whereas this processor is marginally quicker than final yr’s Edge 2024 processor, it pales compared to different telephones at this worth vary.

While Motorola says the show is healthier than final yr’s, my very own checks inform me in any other case. The small bump in decision is not definitely worth the tradeoff in refresh charge, and this show has mura points along with utilizing coloration dithering to pretend deeper colours than the panel can truly produce. Motorola nonetheless ships it with the superb full DC dimming mode that I lauded the Motorola Edge Plus 2023 for, however the aggressive dithering means this is not an ideal show for delicate eyes.

The Motorola Edge 2025 is just slated for 2 OS upgrades and three years of bi-monthly safety updates. By comparability, Google and Samsung supply seven years of each at this worth vary, and corporations like OnePlus supply 5 years, additional lowering the worth of this cellphone.

Motorola Edge 2025: Competition

Motorola’s largest downside is that there’s steep competitors at this worth level. If you are shopping for unlocked, your cash is healthier spend on a Google Pixel 9a or a OnePlus 13R. My suggestion could be the OnePlus 13R for a number of causes.

The OnePlus 13R contains a considerably quicker processor — practically 200% quicker, truly — plus 4 OS updates and 6 years of safety updates. That’s double what Motorola provides. It’s not going to have fairly as many AI options as Moto AI provides, however I do not suppose these issues are system sellers, simply enjoyable stuff to have.

The Google Pixel 9a is a superb second selection that is available in a bit cheaper at $499. The Pixel 9a additionally delivers a quicker processor than the Motorola Edge 2025, however not as quick because the OnePlus 13R’s processor. It upgrades the software program replace coverage to seven years of OS and safety updates, although, so this can be a cellphone that you could probably maintain on to for a very long time.

Motorola Edge 2025: Should you purchase

You can buy this if…

• You can get an ideal deal from a provider.
• You love Motorola’s design, together with the superb vegan leather-based backs.
• You need a cellphone with wonderful battery life and quick charging.

You shouldn’t purchase this if…

• You get simply irritated by telephones with slower processors.
• You need to maintain on to your cellphone for greater than three years.
• You hate curved screens.

For the second yr in a row, Motorola has made a wonderful Edge cellphone that is just too costly for its personal good. The firm did an ideal job of additional enhancing construct and digital camera high quality, nevertheless it did not focus sufficient on the weakest hyperlink of final yr’s cellphone: the gradual processor.

This yr’s is healthier, nevertheless it’s nonetheless not ok for a $550 cellphone. You’ll expertise loads of stutters and lags as you utilize the cellphone, and whereas turning off RAM Boost helps some, the expertise is just worse than different telephones you may get for a similar worth. Plus, with solely three years of updates, it is going to final half so long as a Pixel 9a or OnePlus 13R. Maybe subsequent yr, Motorola.