Motorola Edge+ (2023) Review: Moto Got Its Mojo Back


Moto Edge+ (2023): This Stylish And Powerful Flagship Offers Great Value

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Moto Edge+ (2023) - Starting at $799
The Moto Edge+ (2023) is an excellent flagship Android phone that delivers fantastic value and few compromises.


Product Pros
  • Fantastic value
  • Gorgeous display
  • Excellent speakers
  • Blazing performance
  • Solid battery life
  • Wireless charging
  • Delightful user experience

    Sharp, bright display with 120Hz refresh
    ×Fast 80W charging and included plug
    ×Excellent performance with Snapdragon 8 Gen 2
    ×Alert slider is back
Product Cons
  • Middling telephoto (2x only, no OIS)
hothardware recommended small


Our hopes were high when in 2020, Motorola returned to the Android flagship space with the $999 Moto Edge+, an excellent aluminum and glass smartphone with no-compromise specs. What followed in 2021 was a lot more perplexing. The $549 ($699 unlocked) Moto Edge (2021) landed with an all-plastic build, a completely flat LCD screen, and middling specs. And in my review, I found this handset to be underwhelming.

Then, last year, the company delivered the much improved Moto Edge+ (2022), with a glass back, a perfectly flat 144Hz OLED display, a Snapdragon 8 Gen 1, and wireless charging. While this was a decent flagship, it simply wasn’t competitive. At $849 ($899 unlocked) it was just too expensive. Plus, without a curved-edge OLED display for a second year in a row, the Moto Edge naming left me confused.

Which brings us to today’s $799 Moto Edge+ (2023), a phone with a premium metal and glass build, a curved-edge OLED screen, a Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, and proper flagship specs that’s now available unlocked from Motorola, Amazon, and Best Buy. So, is Moto back in the flagship saddle? Does this smartphone push all the right buttons? What’s still missing, if anything? Let’s find out in our full review.

Moto Edge+ (2023) Hardware And Design

While this year’s Moto Edge+ has more in common with the original Moto Edge+ from 2020 than with its immediate flat-screened predecessors – including a metal and glass build and a curved-edge OLED display – the design looks more familiar and feels more premium. That’s largely because the curved edges of this new screen are significantly less pronounced than before, and the glass back is matte instead of glossy.

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Moto Edge+ (2023) Front

Not only does this new finish look fantastic and repel fingerprints, it also feels amazing in hand and provides a decent grip. Between the velvety smooth rear surface, 8.6mm thin body, and “quad-curved” display, the 2023 Moto Edge+ is a beautiful phone. We only have one niggle here, and that’s with the lack of color options. You can have the Moto Edge+ in whatever color you want, as long as it’s Interstellar Black.

The camera bump is more of a rounded rectangle this time around, but it’s still home to a trio of shooters (50MP main, 50MP ultrawide / macro, and 12MP telephoto / portrait), a dual-LED flash, and a hidden fourth mic. A Motorola logo in the back completes the package. In front, the bezels are slim and even all around, there’s a punch hole in the top middle for the 60MP selfie camera, and an optical in-display fingerprint sensor.

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Moto Edge+ (2023) Back

On the metal frame, you’ll find the volume rocker, the power / lock key, and a third mic on the right side, but nothing on the left. The speaker, USB Type-C port (USB 3.2), primary mic, and SIM tray are located along the bottom, with another speaker and secondary mic on the top edge. In addition, the new Moto Edge+ is the company’s first handset in years to have an official IP68 rating, making it water and dust resistant.

Before we continue, watch our hands-on video:


Moto Edge+ (2023) Specs And Features

Processing and 5G Platform Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 + integrated Snapdragon X70 5G Modem
Display 6.7" FHD+ OLED, 2400x1080 resolution, 165Hz
Memory 8GB LPDDR5x
Storage 512GB UFS 4.0
Rear-Facing Cameras 50MP f/1.8 Main OIS, omni-directional PDAF - 50MP f/2.2 114º Ultra-Wide AF - 12MP f/1.6 2x Telephoto PDAF
Front-Facing Cameras 60MP f/2.2
Video Recording Up to 8k @ 30fps, 4K @ 60fps, 1080p @ 60fps, 1080p slow-mo
Battery 5100 mAh, 68W wired charging, 15W wireless charging
OS Android 13
Dimensions 161.2 x 74 x 8.6mm
Weight 203 grams
Connectivity 802.11be Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.3+LE, NFC, USB-C, LTE, 5G (sub-6GHz)
Colors Interstellar Black
Pricing Find the Moto Edge+ (2023) @ Amazon, Starting at $799

Moto Edge+ (2023) Display Quality

The 2023 Moto Edge+ boasts a 6.7-inch 165Hz FHD+ (2400 x 1080 pixels, 394ppi) OLED screen with curved edges that supports HDR10+ and Dolby Vision. It's a gorgeous display, with punchy colors, deep blacks, wide viewing angles, and minimal bezels. You can set the refresh rate to 60Hz, 120Hz, 165Hz, or auto (up to 120Hz). Plus, at 1300 nits (peak), it’s bright enough to read in direct sunlight.

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Moto Edge+ (2023) Display

Moto Edge+ (2023) Camera Performance And Image Quality

When it comes to imaging, the Moto Edge+ (2023) packs the company’s best shooters yet. The camera specs are solid, and include a 50MP f/1.8 1.0-micron main shooter with omni-directional PDAF and OIS, a 50MP f/2.2 0.64-micron 114-degree combination ultrawide / macro with AF, and a 12MP f/1.6 1.22-micron 2x telephoto / portrait lens with PDAF (no OIS). In front, there’s a 60MP f/2.2 0.61-micron selfie camera.

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Moto Edge+ (2023) Camera Pod

While image processing has never been Motorola’s forte, the Moto Edge+ takes pictures that are generally on par with the flagship competition. There’s still room for improvement, though – especially when shooting in low light or zooming in – but overall, these shooters deliver pleasing results. Beyond OIS and 4-to-1 pixel binning, it’s clear that Moto is leveraging the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2’s mighty ISP here.

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Moto Edge+ (2023) Telephoto (5x Zoom)

Besides the standard pro, portrait, and night photography modes, the Moto Edge+ also includes the company’s usual shooting modes – like spot color, dual capture, and more. While these are pretty cool, this phone is missing a few critical features. The camera interface still lacks zoom presets for anything beyond 2x, so quickly zooming in to 3x, 5x, or 10x is a chore, and the front shooter doesn’t support night mode.

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Moto Edge+ (2023) Ultrawide

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Moto Edge+ (2023) Main Camera (1x)

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Moto Edge+ (2023) Telephoto (2x Zoom)

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Moto Edge+ (2023) Telephoto (5x Zoom)

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Moto Edge+ (2023) Telephoto (10x zoom)

As for video capture, the main camera records at 8k 30fps (unstabilized) while all shooters support up to 4k 60fps (stabilized), including the macro and 2x telephoto lenses. But this phone’s real party trick is Horizon Lock (ultrawide, 1080p 30fps), which keeps the horizon level even if you rotate the phone a full 360 degrees. It’s one of the features Qualcomm demoed at the Snapdragon Summit, and it’s really impressive..

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RedMagic 8 Ultrawide (Night Mode)

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Moto Edge+ (2023) Main Camera (Night Mode Off)

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Moto Edge+ (2023) Main Camera (Night Mode On)

Additional modes include portrait video (main, 1080p 30fps), HDR10+ (main, 4k/1080p 30fps), slow-motion (main, 1080p 960/240/120fps), and time lapse (8k/4k/1080p 30fps). No matter what mode you’re in, the Moto Edge+ records video with stereo audio, and supports audio zoom. It’s also worth noting that portrait mode offers three zoom levels for stills – 35, 50, and 85mm – which all use the dedicated 2x telephoto camera.

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Moto Edge+ (2023) Ultrawide (Macro Mode)

The resulting photos are generally quite lovely. Images are reasonably sharp, with accurate colors and exposure. Low-light performance is fine as long as you enable night mode – though this tends to overexpose scenes. Zooming to 2x and beyond switches to the telephoto lens, which doesn’t perform as well as the main shooter (and lacks OIS). Any magnification beyond 4-5x results in a significant loss of detail.

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Moto Edge+ (2023) Selfie Camera (Portrait Mode)

Video performance isn’t as polished as what Samsung or Apple deliver, but the results are perfectly serviceable. Horizon Lock is definitely a stand-out feature, and support for 4K 60fps selfie videos is a welcome addition. Ultimately, we believe that the 2023 Moto Edge+ cameras will satisfy most users, and bring Motorola back to the flagship table.

Next up: audio, performance, and battery life...

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