The mid-range of 5G is expanding with yet more choice, as Motorola gets in with two more, plus a budget 4G model.
An assortment of devices can make it hard to pick, but competition is good for folks buying, providing choice in feature set and price. It’s an area Motorola knows fairly well, and has been gradually making more of a dent in since its return to Australia.
While we’ve not seen a whole heap of properly high-end phones from Moto in recent years — how long has it been since the first and last foldable Razr phone? — mid-range models appears to be where the local Moto is focused, and there are a few new models there.
With the Edge 30 Pro launched back in March with two 50 megapixel cameras, the latest addition slips in just below that model, arriving in the Moto Edge 30 (above), a 6.79mm thin phone sporting a 6.5 inch OLED screen and similar camera tech to what’s in the Edge 30 Pro, with two 50 megapixel cameras plus a 2 megapixel depth camera.
It’ll be 5G as well, but one of the main differences is the chip, with a shift down from the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 in the Edge 30 Pro back to a midrange focused Snapdragon 778 Plus, alongside 8GB RAM and 128GB storage.
Priced at $699, the Edge 30 sits in the high-end of the mid-range, or the low-end of the high-end, depending on where you look.
Moto’s second Edge 30 model is joined by another mid-range model, in what looks like a replacement to one of last year’s mid-range 5G Moto models, G 5G Plus, coming in the G82 5G. We’re not sure where the numbers changed so dramatically, but this will be a 6.6 inch AMOLED phone with a single 50 megapixel camera plus an 8 megapixel camera sporting an ultra-wide camera that can be used for the depth shots in portraiture, and another 2 megapixel camera at the back, as well.
The Moto G82 5G (above) is still good for 5G — clearly, it’s in the name — but like the Edge 30, the mid-range is clearly in view with a Snapdragon 695 5G chip, plus 6GB RAM and 128GB storage, priced at $499 when it arrives in June.
Finally, there’s one extra phone that misses out on the 5G love, but does keep the price low, launching in the Moto E32, a $229 6.5 inch phone that only gets an HD+ screen, but does see a big battery underneath three less impressive cameras: a 16 megapixel main, plus two 2 megapixel cameras for macro and depth.
“If there’s one thing Motorola is known for doing well, it is creating smartphones with premium features and capabilities at prices that don’t break the bank,” said Kurt Bonnici, Head of Motorola in Australia and New Zealand.
“This is because we have constantly challenged ourselves to continue delivering our products based on what our consumers want: a high-end smartphone experience without the hefty price tag.”
While the Edge 30 certainly is closer to fitting the bill Bonnici describes, it’s hard to say that about the others. The E32 is definitely way out of high-end territory, while the G82 could deliver a decent experience without spending too much, something we’ve found on other Moto mid-range models like the Edge 20 Fusion.
All three looks set to arrive in stores shortly, though, so you’ll be able to see whether they match up for yourself.
