On September 14th, Motorola is expanding its Edge 40 series with an Edge 40 Neo, the cheapest in the series. At 400 euros it fits into a competitive price niche but has serious weapons to defend itself. We were able to get our hands on it a few days before release.
The Motorola Edge 40 Neo //Source: Frandroid
Motorola says it has a 5% market share in France and the brand is targeting a 10% share in 2024. A doubling of presence is possible: the withdrawal of Oppo from the territory, partly followed by those of OnePlus and Realme, gives a certain free hand to the Lenovo brand. But neither a good Motorola Edge 40 Pro nor the Motorola Edge 40 will get there; The stakes are more in the middle range. That’s a good thing: the brand has announced the arrival of the Motorola Edge 40 Neo, which will be sold for 399 euros. And that’s a good thing, we were able to take control of it.
Design: The Motorola Edge 40 Neo doesn’t change the recipe, but improves it a little
What immediately catches our eye is the back of the smartphone. Motorola continues its partnership with Pantone to offer specific colors: in this model we are entitled to black and two shades of blue (the latter two benefit from a faux leather covering). Note that the smartphone is IP68 certified, which means it is resistant to dust and water immersion (under certain conditions).
The Motorola Edge 40 Neo //Source: Frandroid
Another design element that changes compared to the Motorola Edge 30 Neo: the screen. Now the two edges on the sides are curved, giving a more “high quality” look by artificially erasing the edges. Otherwise, the design is quite classic, but the recipe still works well. On the back we have a photo block with the two sensors and the flash, which is quite discreet.
The Motorola Edge 40 Pro //Source: Frandroid
However, we lose something in this Edge 40 Neo compared to last year’s model: the LED that surrounds the photo block. This allowed us to be notified when we received notifications even if we placed the smartphone on a table with the screen hidden.
144 Hz for 400 euros: It hits hard
The panel offered in the Motorola Edge 40 Neo has a diagonal of 6.5 inches, which is relatively average in 2023. This screen is pOled, HDR10+ compatible with FHD+ resolution (2400 x 1080 pixels). The maximum brightness is 1300 cd/m², which should be sufficient in most situations. However, the icing on the cake is the refresh rate: up to 144 Hz, which you won’t find anywhere at the same price. Be careful, though: it’s not adaptive, although you can set the adaptive refresh rate up to 120Hz.
The Motorola Edge 40 Neo //Source: Frandroid
The brightness seems okay, as do the colors. Enough to fully enjoy your video games, and all thanks to MediaTek’s SoC, the Dimensity 7030. As for connectivity, it is classic: 5G, Wi-Fi 6E. Everything is supported by 12 GB of RAM, but also 256 GB of storage. Nice storage, because at this price we are usually entitled to 128 GB. Motorola is apparently following the trend that began with the Honor 90 and is no longer offering 256 GB as an option, but directly on the base model. As far as updates go, we stick with two years of Android updates and three years of security patches.
The concerns are present in the photos
There are a total of three photo sensors on the Motorola Edge 40 Neo:
- A 50 Mpx main sensor;
- A 13 Mpx ultra-wide angle sensor;
- A 32 Mpx selfie sensor.
Therefore there is no macro sensor, which is good news as the latter would probably have been bad. In fact, it is the ultra-wide-angle sensor that is responsible for macro photography. Additionally, it seems to work, with sufficient sharpness and similar colors to the main sensor.
Speaking of the latter: the colors look pretty good at first glance. The ultra-wide-angle sensor is more worrying: the edges of the photo above are quite blurry. Finally, the x2 (digital) mode changes the colors significantly, and not necessarily in a good way.
The Motorola Edge 40 Neo //Source: Frandroid
What really disappointed the Edge 30 Neo last year was the night mode. The manufacturer assures that it has been redesigned and offers more clarity and less blur in low light conditions. All that remains is to wait until the tests hopefully confirm these statements.
Price and availability of the Motorola Edge 40 Neo
The Motorola Edge 40 Neo will be available from the end of September on the Motorola website and at certain retailers for 399 euros. The smartphone comes with a 68W charger (maximum charging power of the device) and a protective case.