The Motorola Edge 40 is an upper mid-range phone that Motorola announced on May 4, 2023, in Europe. It launched at €599.99 in the eurozone and £529.99 in the UK, and it reached India later that month. It sat below the Edge 40 Pro and was never sold in the US. Motorola no longer sells it, and the Edge 50 is its successor.
Design and display
The phone is 7.58 mm thick with a vegan leather back and weighs 171 grams. The acrylic version is a little thinner at 7.49 mm and lighter at 167 grams. A sandblasted aluminum frame holds the curved glass front and the curved rear panel. The body is rated IP68 for dust and water.
Motorola sold it in Eclipse Black, Nebula Green and Lunar Blue at launch. Viva Magenta, the Pantone Color of the Year 2023, arrived later, starting in India in June 2023. Lunar Blue uses a matte acrylic back, while the other colors use vegan leather.
The 6.55-inch pOLED screen has a 2400 x 1080 resolution and 402 ppi. It runs at up to 144Hz, supports HDR10+ and reaches a quoted 1,200 nits at peak.
Performance
Inside is the MediaTek Dimensity 8020 with an octa-core CPU at up to 2.6 GHz. The GPU is a Mali-G77 MC9. Every version has 8 GB of LPDDR4X RAM and 256 GB of UFS 3.1 storage. There is no microSD slot.
In Geekbench 6, retail units typically score about 1,110 points single-core and 3,510 points multi-core.
Cameras
The main camera has a 50 MP sensor with a wide f/1.4 aperture and optical image stabilization. A 13 MP ultrawide camera with a 120-degree view also works as a macro camera. Both rear cameras record 4K video at 30 fps. On the front, a 32 MP camera also records 4K at 30 fps.
Battery and charging
The 4,400 mAh battery supports 68W TurboPower wired charging. It also charges wirelessly at 15W. A charger came in the box in Europe and India. The USB-C port runs at USB 2.0 speed.
Software and updates
The Edge 40 launched with Android 13 and Motorola’s lightly customized software. Motorola promised two Android version upgrades and three years of security updates. Other features include NFC, Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.2, stereo speakers with Dolby Atmos and an in-display fingerprint reader. It uses one nano-SIM plus an eSIM.
Should you buy the Motorola Edge 40?
The Edge 40 offers a 144Hz curved display, IP68 protection, wireless charging and a light, thin body. Its update promise is short, and it has no telephoto camera or headphone jack. Motorola has stopped selling it, so new units are now hard to find. Buyers who want the same idea with newer hardware can look at the Edge 50.
