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 mud resistance ranking than you will discover on every other cellphone on this value vary, battery life that’ll last more than you anticipate, and super-fast 68W charging, this cellphone seems good doing what it does greatest.

It is even obtained 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 distinguished ones. However a lot of the expertise is needlessly held again by a sluggish processor that struggles to do even probably the most fundamental duties. Swiping house takes far too lengthy, and duties like opening the digital camera or switching apps make this really feel extra like a cellphone half its value.

That does not imply there are not any redeeming qualities right here — the digital camera is sort of glorious, as an illustration — however the expertise is so held again by this processor that it is inconceivable to suggest at full value. In the event you really need one, await a superb deal and get it for lots cheaper, or simply select a Pixel 9a or OnePlus 13R, as an alternative.

Motorola Edge 2025: Worth, availability, and specs

The Motorola Edge 2025 might be out there within the U.S. unlocked on June 5 at Best Buy, Amazon, and Motorola.com for $549.99. Motorola says T-Cellular and Metro by T-Cellular, Complete Wi-fi, Seen, Spectrum, and Xfinity Cellular 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 anyone factor particularly, it is the corporate’s smartphone design. Whereas some of us might 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 consistently all through the day.

It is also fairly skinny and lightweight feeling because of the tapered edges, and the selection of PANTONE Forest Inexperienced is just gorgeous. It is arduous to discover a higher trying cellphone than this, even when it means discovering a superb tempered glass protector might be powerful.

On high of being skinny and lightweight, this is without doubt one of the elite telephones to function an IP68/IP69 water and mud resistance ranking, which means it might take an actual beating, be put within the dishwasher, and nonetheless come out working like a champ. It is also obtained a large 5,200mAh battery inside that offers this stellar battery life, and 68W charging ensures you solely want a couple of minutes to high the cellphone up earlier than heading out the door.

One of many weakest factors of the Motorola Edge 2024 was its digital camera which has been mounted 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 colour tuning signifies that pictures taken from this cellphone typically look gorgeous in any gentle. In comparison with 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.

If there’s any purpose to skip the cellphone, it isn’t the digital camera this time round. I have been genuinely happy with practically each photograph I’ve taken. Even pictures I wasn’t certain would look good turned out nice, together with low-light pictures taken through the Nintendo Change 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. Each telephones function quite a lot of comparable instruments, like AI artwork mills, nice methods to transcribe recordings, and extra. Motorola units itself aside with some distinctive options like Catch Me Up, which may immediately take all these notifications and provide you with an government abstract, and AI playlist, which can provide you a curated music playlist in seconds.

A lot of that is powered by the brand new Moto AI button on the left, which could be custom-made to your liking. In the event you don’t love this, you may disable the important thing altogether. It is good to have that function!

If I had anyone critique about Moto AI, it is that I want it have been a bit extra proactive. Catch me up can be nice if it routinely ran after I unlocked the cellphone after an prolonged time frame, as an illustration. I believe this is a superb 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 every little thing again considerably. It isn’t a nasty processor, nevertheless it would not belong in a $550 cellphone. Interval. 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 are usually not current within the Google Pixel 9a or the OnePlus 13R, each of that are in the identical value vary.

Turning off the foolish RAM Boost feature 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 is actually a disgrace as a result of, whereas this processor is marginally sooner than final yr’s Edge 2024 processor, it pales compared to different telephones at this value vary.

Whereas most parts of the cellphone are glorious, the sluggish processors holds the complete expertise again.

Whereas Motorola says the show is best than final yr’s, my very own checks inform me in any other case. The small bump in decision is not well worth the tradeoff in refresh charge, and this show has mura points along with utilizing colour dithering to pretend deeper colours than the panel can really 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 a terrific 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 provide seven years of each at this value vary, and corporations like OnePlus provide 5 years, additional decreasing the worth of this cellphone.

Motorola Edge 2025: Competitors

Motorola’s greatest drawback is that there’s steep competitors at this value level. In the event you’re shopping for unlocked, your cash is best spend on a Google Pixel 9a or a OnePlus 13R. My advice can be the OnePlus 13R for a number of causes.

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

The Google Pixel 9a is a superb second selection that is available in just a little cheaper at $499. The Pixel 9a additionally delivers a sooner 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 which you could probably maintain on to for a very long time.

Motorola Edge 2025: Do you have to purchase

You should purchase this if…

• You may get a terrific deal from a service.
• You’re keen on Motorola’s design, together with the superb vegan leather-based backs.
• You need a cellphone with glorious 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 corporate did a terrific job of additional bettering construct and digital camera high quality, nevertheless it did not focus sufficient on the weakest hyperlink of final yr’s cellphone: the sluggish processor.

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