Motorola has had an impressive couple of years when it comes to flagships, and the new Edge 40 series looks to continue that trend based on the first official phone.

The Motorola Edge 40 Pro has finally arrived, though really we’ve known about it for a while – it’s the same phone launched in China last December as the Moto X40. Still, with a lightning fast display and top specs all round, it’s no slouch, and lands in the UK delivering excellent value for money.

Here’s what we know about that phone, including the price, and what else might come in the Edge 40 series.

When will the Motorola Edge 40 Pro release?

Motorola first rolled out the Edge 40 line as the Moto X40 in China, where it debuted on 15 December.

It’s now come to the West, with the Edge 40 Pro arriving in the UK and Europe in April 2023.

What we don’t know is whether – or when – we’ll see other Edge 40 phones launch. So far the X40 hasn’t been followed up by other models, and the Edge 40 Pro has arrived on its own. Still, it only takes a quick look at last year’s line-up to tell us that more models are likely on the way, but may take a few more months to arrive:

• Motorola Edge 30 Pro – March 2022
• Motorola Edge 30 – May 2022
• Motorola Edge 30 Ultra – September 2022
• Motorola Edge 30 Neo – September 2022
• Motorola Edge 30 Fusion – September 2022

As you can see, the 30 Pro was the first to launch but four more followed, and we think it’s likely that we’ll see the same again this year, with more models to follow through the summer and autumn.

How much does the Motorola Edge 40 Pro cost?

At the time of writing we only have pricing for the Edge 40 Pro, which will set you back £799/€899. Interestingly that’s even more expensive than last year’s £749 Edge 30 Ultra, suggesting Motorola is shaking up the positioning of its phones this time around.

Last year’s 30 Pro didn’t launch in the UK, but its US and European pricing of $699/€799 was a little lower than the Edge 40 Pro this year.

Meanwhile the regular Edge 40 is rumoured to cost €599, but we’ll have to wait and see if that’s accurate or not.

As for any other future models, to give ourselves some idea of what to expect we can look back to the previous generation. Here’s how the models in that range lined up, in order from cheapest up:

• Motorola Edge 30 Neo – £349/€399 (approx. $415)
• Motorola Edge 30 – $399/£379/€499
• Motorola Edge 30 Fusion – £499/€699 (approx. $615)
• Motorola Edge 30 Pro – $699/€799 (approx. £589)
• Motorola Edge 30 Ultra – £749/€899 (approx. $889)

Motorola didn’t release all models in all regions (hence the various approx. prices) and we suspect that it may be a similar story with the Motorola Edge 40 series.

What are the Motorola Edge 40 specs?

It’s likely that we’ll see multiple phones in the Edge 40 line in the end. For now we have definite specs for the Edge 40 Pro, but also some early rumours about the upcoming standard Edge 40, which you’ll find below.

Motorola Edge 40 Pro

This is the only one we know about for sure right now: the model launched in China as the X40, and in the West as the Edge 40 Pro. Both versions have the same specs, apart from small variations in RAM and storage options.

Motorola

This is a pretty impressive handset. Like the prior Edge 30 Pro, it packs a 6.7in curved OLED display, but with a key upgrade: the already fast 144Hz panel has been improved to 165Hz, which should make this a seriously appealing handset for mobile gamers who don’t want to commit fully to a proper gaming phone.

It’s all packed in a sleek, simple design that doesn’t stray too far from the last generation’s great aesthetic, with models available in Interstellar Black or Lunar Blue. It’s slim (8.6mm) and light (199g), and offers both Gorilla Glass Victus and an IP68 dust and water-resistance rating for peace of mind.

Motorola

As you’d expect for a phone with gaming appeal it’s also powerful, using the latest Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset, which is combined with 12GB of RAM and either 256GB or 512GB of storage – though in China there’s also a cheaper 8GB RAM model.

The 4600mAh battery isn’t massive, but should be enough to deliver day-long battery life. You get fast 125W wired charging too, though the 15W wireless charging is strangely slow by Chinese flagship standards – but since few people buy the proprietary wireless chargers to hit top speeds, this is really a non-issue.

Motorola

Cameras seem solid again, with a triple rear setup consisting of a 50Mp main camera with OIS, a 50Mp ultrawide, and a 12Mp 2x telephoto, with a high-res 60Mp selfie camera on the other side.

As for software, the phone will of course ship with Android 13 installed. In an impressive step up, Motorola is promising that the handset will receive three Android version updates – so through this year’s Android 14 and up to version 16 – along with four years of security support. That’s not the best around, but it’s pretty good.

Here are the full specs:

• 6.7in, FHD+, 165Hz pOLED display
• Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2
• 12GB RAM
• 256/512GB storage
• 4600mAh battery
• 125W wired charging
• 15W wireless charging
• Cameras:
  • 50Mp, f/1.8 OIS main camera
  • 50Mp, f/2.2 ultrawide camera
  • 12Mp, f/1.6 2x telephoto camera
  • 60Mp, f/2.2 selfie camera
• Gorilla Glass Victus
• IP68
• 161.2 x 74 x 8.6mm
• 199g
• Android 13

Motorola Edge 40

Before the Western launch of the Edge 40 Pro, MySmartPrice accurately reported the phone’s launch details – and at the same time also gave us our first solid spec sheet for the regular Edge 40, which is rumoured to be on the way.

This is likely to be a more affordable device, reportedly powered by the as-yet unannounced MediaTek Dimensity 8020 chipset. It will come with 8GB of RAM and up to 256GB storage.

We’ve seen the Edge 40 appear on Geekbench now, showing that it will use a MediaTek chip, though the listing doesn’t confirm the name of chipset – and with the Dimensity 8020 still unannounced, we can’t try to match the clock speeds up to confirm much more. It shows four cores at 2GHz and another four at 2.6GHz.

The 4400mAh battery is a little smaller than on the Pro, and the 68W wired charging is also slower – though impressively, it reportedly packs the same 15W wireless speeds.

The 6.55in OLED display will have a 144Hz refresh rate and a Full HD+ resolution. It’ll pack a 32Mp selfie camera, while on the back you’ll find a 50Mp main camera and a 13Mp ultrawide.

Apparently this phone will be available with either an acrylic or vegan leather back, but packs an IP68 rating either way. It will launch in four colours: Lunar Blue, Nebula Green, Eclipse Black and Magenta. We can see the magenta version in leaked images from Roland Quandt:

Here are the full specs according to the rumours so far:

• 6.55in, FHD+, 144Hz OLED display
• MediaTek Dimensity 8020
• 8GB RAM
• 128/256GB storage
• 4400mAh battery
• 68W wired charging
• 15W wireless charging
• Cameras:
  • 50Mp, f/1.5 OIS main camera
  • 13Mp ultrawide camera
  • 32Mp selfie camera
• IP68
• 167-171g
• Android 13

We’ll keep updating this article as more details become available, so until we know more be sure to take a look at our guide to the best smartphones currently available.  

Mid-range smartphones, Smartphones