This 2025 Motorola cellphone is quietly changing into one among my favourite Android units

After I first determined to check out the Motorola Edge 70, I used to be each curious and skeptical. I wasn’t bought on the ultra-slim kind issue and was anxious concerning the compromises required to attain it.

Nonetheless, after spending two weeks with the gadget, it has charmed me much more than I initially anticipated. In reality, it has made me a fan of a design I’ve largely dismissed, with the Motorola Edge 70 quietly changing into one among my favourite Android telephones.

When rumors first emerged that Samsung was engaged on an ultra-slim gadget, I used to be intrigued. In any case, after I have a look at my older smartphones, I do miss how gentle a few of them have been. However when the Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge arrived, it made far too many compromises to be an interesting choice for me.

It featured an abysmally small  3,900mAh battery, which was additional held again by its 25W wired charging. It additionally solely featured two rear cameras — a 200MP wide-angle lens and a 12MP ultrawide lens — with no telephoto lens. For me, this wouldn’t present the flexibility I wished in my cellphone’s digital camera setup, particularly relating to optical zoom.

On the similar time, the S25 Edge’s slim kind issue didn’t include a shaved-down value level. At launch, it value $1,099, making it costlier than the bottom S25 and S25 Plus. Its slim kind issue got here at a premium value, whereas it featured worse battery life and a worse digital camera setup than Samsung’s different flagships. It simply didn’t make sense to me.

When the Motorola Edge 70 arrived, I used to be impressed by how slim the gadget is, particularly since my secondary cellphone is the cumbersome Galaxy S23 Extremely. The Edge 70 measures 5.99mm thick, making it solely barely thicker than the 5.8mm Galaxy S25 Edge. However since this can be a fraction of a millimeter, I’d say they’re positively taking part in in the identical realm of thinness. At 159g, the Edge 70 can also be a couple of grams lighter than Samsung’s 163g competitor.

I can’t deny {that a} cellphone this slim feels good to carry, particularly throughout lengthy classes. I’ve been utilizing it to play Pokémon Go and my wrist has been thanking me after swapping out my 234g S23 Extremely. However what use is a slim gadget if it may well’t sustain?

I saved anticipating to run into shortfalls because of the gadget’s slim kind issue, however as a substitute Motorola has created a fairly well-rounded smartphone with enticing options past its slimness. With a Snapdragon 7 Gen 4 processor, it has dealt with all of the duties I throw at it with none issue. This contains multitasking between apps and operating video games.

Its battery life can also be extraordinarily succesful for such a slim gadget, with the cellphone that includes a 4,800mAh silicon-carbon battery. I saved ready for it to let me down at Pokémon Go occasions, the place I run the sport for a number of hours, however it hasn’t failed me but. With 68W wired charging, it’s additionally fast to prime up. For comparability, Samsung’s S26 Extremely contains a 5,000mAh battery and 60W wired charging.

The digital camera setup additionally feels extra balanced in comparison with the S25 Edge. It contains a 50MP entrance digital camera and a twin rear digital camera setup with two 50MP lenses. However there’s one compromise I observed.

One downside the Edge 70 shares with Samsung’s S25 Edge is the shortage of a telephoto digital camera. And as a lot as I’ve loved utilizing the Edge’s different sensors, the shortage of optical zoom is limiting. It options 2x optical-like zoom by means of cropping, however it’s not a real substitute for an actual telephoto lens.

The photographs from the cellphone’s 50MP foremost digital camera are clear and vibrant, whereas its macro mode helps to concentrate on close-up topics. It additionally handles transferring topics — my cats, usually — extraordinarily effectively. However when your topic is simply outdoors the best vary, a telephoto lens actually is useful. In reality, 5x optical zoom is the saving grace of the S26 Extremely expertise for me.

Sadly, plainly this sacrifice was within the identify of the cellphone’s extraordinarily slim kind issue. Its predecessor, the Motorola Edge 60, featured a 10MP telephoto lens with 3x optical zoom (in addition to a bigger battery), however was bulkier at 7.9mm thick and 179g.

I hope there comes a time when smartphone producers determine the way to match telephoto cameras into ultra-slim units, although it will in all probability stay a problem for a while. Gadgets with succesful cameras and skinny profiles already wrestle with smartphone digital camera wobble (although the Motorola Edge 70 balances this effectively with its digital camera bump placement).

However to me, the Edge 70 is proving that the shape issue can reduce its compromises whereas balancing efficiency in different spheres. If a skinny and lightweight smartphone is what you’re in search of, I’d keep watch over what Motorola is doing.