The Motorola Edge S is the first phone with a Snapdragon 870

The first Motorola Edge phone of 2021 isn’t heading to the U.S. just yet.

What you need to know

• Lenovo’s Motorola Edge S is now official.
• It’s the first phone to ship with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 870.
• It’s also a China-exclusive phone at launch, with no plans of a U.S. or Europe launch yet.

The Motorola Edge S has finally launched(via GSM Arena), and it’s the company’s first real high-end phone for 2021. Unlike the other phones Lenovo has launched under the Motorola brand this year, it’s coming with Edge branding.This means big screens, high-quality cameras, powerful processors, and 5G support as a matter of course. The Moto Edge S delivers in all categories.

To start with, it has a 6.7-inch 90Hz display, albeit IPS LCD rather than OLED. It has HDR10 support, making for what should be an excellent viewing experience on paper. Camera-wise, there’s the usual quad-camera layout at the back. So you’ll be getting a 64MP camera, a 16MP ultrawide camera, and two other lenses. One is a 2MP depth sensor, and the other is a ToF sensor. On the front, you’d find a dual-camera setup. One is the 16MP main camera, and the other is an 8MP ultrawide lens for group selfies.

All this is powered by a 5,000 mAh battery and the Qualcomm Snapdragon 870. The Moto Edge 870 is the first phone to be running this platform, so it’s a bit of a shame that it’s China-only at this point. As far as the chip goes, it’s more powerful than the 865 but less powerful than the flagship 888. It’s a bit like the 765 was to the 865 last year, but a more accurate comparison in terms of presentation could be to 2014’s Snapdragon 808 and 810. Nominally in the same tier, but with a clear “flagship” option.

Lenovo’s Motorola Edge phones have impressed us a lot more than their Moto G or Moto One phons. It’s not just specs, but there’s a level of thoughtfulness that comes with these phones that seems missing from Lenovo’s lower-end phones nowadays. Motorola is selling this for CNY 1,999 ($309) for the base 6GB /128GB pairing, but there’s also a CNY 2,799 ($430) 8GB/258GB model if you want the best on offer.

There’s no news of a U.S. or Europe announcement yet, but hopefully, this phone makes its way across the shores soon.

Mesmerizing Moto

Motorola Edge

$500 at Amazon
$500 at Best Buy
$500 at B&H

An excellent entry in the value flagship market

The Motorola Edge may stumble a bit with its cameras and curved design, but overall, the phone gets more right than wrong. It’s built incredibly well, has a killer screen, nimble performance, and a battery that always has your back. Combine that with a solid price and compatibility for all carriers, and the Edge proves to be the sleeper hit of 2020.