Motorola Edge 40 Review: Everything it needs to be

Some phones are Barbies. They can be and do everything. Others are Kens. Ken's good at some things, but he's no Barbie. The Motorola Edge 40 is Allan. Who? Allan is Ken's friend who fits into all of Ken's clothes. If you've seen Greta Gerwig's Barbie movie, you know that Allan is a hidden gem. 

Likewise, the Motorola Edge 40 is a rare treat. While it comes with a mid-range price tag there's very little you could say is "mid" about this handset. The Edge 40 is an ideal phone for those who want to capture that premium feel without breaking the bank.

A skinny legend

The Edge 40 isn't preoccupied with doing anything too different in the design department but boy is it a skinny legend. While thinner and skinnier in width than many smartphones on the market the Edge 40 doesn't compromise on-screen space. Its long length and curved edges deliver a 6.55-inch display. The aluminium frame keeps things sturdy and light while the back of the phone is wrapped in a vegan leather finish. Unfortunately, while the finish looks good, it's prone to picking up dust. 

While delicate looking, nothing about this phone is fragile. To start, the Edge 40 is rated IP68 dust and water-resistant. This makes it one of the cheapest water-resistant phones in Australia, alongside Samsung's Galaxy A34 and A54. This is especially notable given Motorola historically hasn't done much in the water-resistant space. At just 7.58mm thin, I did worry about what would happen if I sat on the Edge 40? Spoilers - it survived!  

This phone is all about "the edge". The curved screen makes it look sleek. But that same curved edge can also be a nuisance such as when a button in an app fell too close to the crease. Oftentimes this would be the mute/unmute button on socials apps - pretty annoying when you're on public transport. One time I got stuck on a certain screen of my banking app and had to restart it. 

The Edge 40's battery really shines. You might think the elegant design would take away some of the space for a powerful battery away, but the 4,400mAh battery still packs a punch. You'll get around 5.5 hours of screentime with the Edge 40 on a regular day, which should be more than enough for a full day of usage with a comfortable buffer. I was worried when I got fairly late notice that my power would be shut off the next morning for some construction. But, I was able to use the Edge 40 as a WiFi hotspot for those three hours and still had power remaining by the end of that evening. 

Turbo-charging is probably the Edge 40's best feature. With the included fast charger, you can expect the phone to reach 100% fully charged in just under an hour. It's perfect for moments when you just need a quick top-up before you head out for the evening or when you've only got 20 minutes to charge before you need to leave. You've also got the option for slower, wireless charging but honestly, why would you want to?

Can it do it all?

When it comes to performance the Motorola Edge 40 can hang with the best. It runs smoothly for everyday day tasks like email, and socials with no noticeable lag. It's up to playing low-intensity games like Marvel Snap and even holds up playing a bigger beast like Genshin Impact - although it can get warm downloading and installing game updates.

The cameras are the only part of the phone where the Edge 40 failed to wow. Everything else is so stellar, I had high hopes. Now that's not to say the cameras here are actively bad, they just didn't blow my mind. The Edge 40's rear camera set-up is made up of a single 50MP main camera and a 13MP wide angle. First the good: it captures colours beautifully, particularly if you like your photos to lean more towards a saturated look. The wide lens provides support for when you want to capture more. Great for sunsets, water views and sightseeing. 

Now the not-so-good: It doesn't capture detail as well. When you get up close to subjects you can get a clean shot but there's a noticeable softening effect and detail loss. Unfortunately, it doesn't hold a candle to the camera on the Google Pixel 7a which is only a fraction more expensive and captures details so beautifully. It's just the final piece missing in an otherwise near-perfect puzzle. 

Motorola Edge 40 - Final Thoughts

When it comes to premium smartphones Motorola might not be the first brand your thoughts reach for compared to Apple, Samsung, and Google. "Oh yeah Motorola, didn't they make flip phone everyone had in high school?"

But the Motorola Edge 40 has the potential to prove the bias towards bigger brands wrong. For its price, the Edge 40 presents extremely good value with a well-rounded performance, refined design, and long-lasting battery. 

In today's busy world, we need our phones near constantly. If you want a phone you can trust to be that daily companion, it's worth reaching for the Motorola Edge 40. After all, we all need an Allan in our lives. 

Motorola Edge 40 camera samples

Dylan Crismale

Digital Content Editor

Dylan Crismale is a Digital Content Editor at WhistleOut, has been writing for almost a decade across a variety of Australian publications. He previously worked as a writer at Finder covering energy, internet and mobile plans. Dylan is passionate about finding the best deals to save people money and educating people about tech. When he's not sat at his desk Dylan loves working out, bingeing TV and hanging out with friends.​

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