This new Motorola phone has me forgetting the iPhone 14 ever launched

The Motorola Edge 30 Pro in front of swirling colors
(Image credit: Motorola)

I've started testing a new Motorola phone, and after just a few hours of using it I'm convinced that it's the best phone that's been released so far in 2022. Yes, I'm including the new iPhone 14 range in that list.

The Motorola Edge 30 Ultra was launched alongside the mid-range Edge 30 Fusion and budget Edge 30 Neo on September 8, just a day after the new iPhones, and given that it showed up just after the biggest tech event of the year, you'd be forgiven for having missed it – I didn't realize the phone had launched until it showed up on my desk.

iPhones are among the most popular mobiles each year, so this media singular focus makes sense, but in a more sensible world people would actually be fixating on the Motorola Edge 30 Ultra. It has top-end specs, and at lower price than Apple's phone; and having tested it, I genuinely think it's the device to watch right now.

A series of top-end specs

If the Motorola Edge 30 Ultra was a character produced with a video game character-creator, the engineers would have dragged every slider up to the max – this phone has surprisingly top-end specs in every department.

One of the easily marketable examples of that is the cameras: there's a 200MP main camera, which is the highest-res phone camera we've yet seen (jointly with a few other Moto devices). However Motorola hasn't slouched on the other cameras: there's a 60MP selfie snapper, a 50MP ultra-wide camera, and, surprisingly, a 12MP telephoto camera.

Phone manufacturers have spent several years neglecting zoom cameras, and the presence of a zoom camera here is pleasantly surprising.

Motorola Edge 30 Ultra

(Image credit: Motorola)

The processor here is the powerful Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1, and it's teamed with 12GB RAM and 256GB storage. This phone is sure to be a gaming powerhouse, based on other phones we've tested with those same specs, and I'm looking forward to playing some rounds of Apex Legends Mobile on it.

The display helps too in this regard, as it's a 6.67-inch Full HD+ display with a smooth 144Hz refresh rate. Motorola is one of the few non-gaming-phone brands which regularly uses high refresh rates on its phones, and I'm all for it.

Another impressive spec is the charging speeds. The 4610mAh battery is powered up via super-fast 125W wired powering, or 50W wireless charging if you prefer that convenience.

Something else I really like – though which I understand might divide opinion – is the design. The phone has a curved-edge display, which I find really comfortable to hold and use, but some might not be so keen on this feature.

The price is... better than right

Top-end phones like this often cost a pretty penny, but I was taken aback when I saw the Motorola Edge 30 Ultra's price.

The phone costs £750 in the UK, which converts to roughly $870 or AU$1,280. We only know the UK price and availability right now, but I hope it launches in the US too – that country has a real lack of serious competition beyond Apple and Samsung – and Australia.

That UK price matches the Xiaomi 12, and undercuts both the Samsung Galaxy S22 and iPhone 14, the latter by a significant margin. Oh, and that's for the 128GB version of those three rival phones, with their 256GB versions costing even more – you get 256GB by default in the Moto.

The Edge 30 Ultra is much cheaper than I expected it to be, and I think that low price will steal a lot of attention from Apple's new iPhones. The phone is also better than the base-level iPhone 14 in key areas, notably zoom photography, charging speed, and – in my opinion – design.

I'm working on my full Motorola Edge 30 Ultra review at the moment, and I keep expecting to stumble across the 'catch' at some point – a phone that looks to be this good can't have such a competitive price without some asterisks somewhere.

But even if it does have one or two minor flaws, this is still a seriously impressive handset – and I fully expect to see it on our list of the best smartphones once our full review is live.

Tom Bedford
Contributor

Tom Bedford joined TechRadar in early 2019 as a staff writer, and left the team as deputy phones editor in late 2022 to work for entertainment site (and TR sister-site) What To Watch. He continues to contribute on a freelance basis for several sections including phones, audio and fitness.

Read more
ThinkPhone 25 by Motorola
I reviewed the ThinkPhone 25 by Motorola and while it's not as fast as its predecessor, it's the superior phone in so many ways
Moto G75 5G
Motorola Moto G75 5G rugged phone review
Xiaomi 15 Ultra REVIEW back angled
I spent two weeks with the Xiaomi 15 Ultra, and it's one of the best camera phones ever made
OnePlus 13 from back in blue showing cameras and H Hasselblad logo
OnePlus 13 review: I'm dumbfounded, I can't find anything wrong with this phone
The Asus Zenfone 12 Ultra on a bookshelf.
The Asus Zenfone 12 Ultra is a high-spec phone that doesn't do enough to earn its 'Ultra' name
Honor Magic 7 Pro review
Honor Magic 7 Pro review: the Android endurance king
Latest in Motorola Phones
Motorola Edge 50 Pro lavender
Your next Android bargain? Major Motorola leak teases details of multiple 2025 phones – including the Edge 60 series
The Motorola Moto G Power in grey and green on a desk
Motorola's new cheap phones offer flagship features for a quarter of the price of an iPhone 16
Motorola Razr 2024 orange folding phone on pink background with lowest price sign
The brand-new Motorola Razr 2024 has dropped to just $500 at Amazon
Motorola Razr Plus 2024 in green
The next Motorola Razr foldable might be able to close on its own with a motorized hinge
Motorola Razr Plus 2024 in green standing like a tent with a clock on its face
It looks as though another Motorola Razr flip foldable is about to launch
Motorola Razr Plus 2024 in green standing like a tent with a clock on its face
Motorola's next Galaxy Z Flip 6 rival just took another step towards launching
Latest in Features
Close up of PS5 DualSense controller leaning on a PS5
5 reasons your PS5 needs a VPN
Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2
With discounts of up to 95%, these are the biggest deals I've managed to find in the Steam Spring Sale
The cast of The Parenting
The Parenting is Max's #1 most-watched movie but it has frightening reviews – here are 3 better horror films with over 90% on Rotten Tomatoes
Dr. Peter Zhou, President of Huawei Data Storage Product Line
Why AI commonization is so important for business intelligent transformation and what Huawei’s data storage has to offer
Samsung, Roku, and Hisense TV screens
I review TVs for a living, and here are the 3 best budget TVs you can buy today
Sterling K. Brown as Agent Xavier Collins in Paradise
Hulu's #1 show Paradise has got everyone talking – here are 3 more political thrillers with over 85% on Rotten Tomatoes to watch next