Motorola Edge 70 Max review

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Introduction and specs

As we are expecting the Motorola Edge 70 Ultra, the top-end device from the Edge 70 family, the company dropped a brand-new Max model. The Motorola Edge 70 Max is the first of its kind, as previous Edge generations stopped at Pro. However, the Max isn't supposed to be the flagship model from the series. It will likely slot in between the Pro and the still-unannounced Ultra.

It has a flagship-grade 6.82-inch LTPO OLED display with a 144Hz refresh rate, while the rest of the Edge 70 phones settle for regular LTPS displays. The Max is also powered by the Snapdragon 8 Gen 5, making it the most powerful device in the series.

Motorola Edge 70 Max specs at a glance:

• Body: 164.0x77.0x8.3mm, 221g; Glass front (Gorilla Glass 7i), aluminum frame, glass back (Gorilla Glass 7i); IP68/IP69 dust tight and water resistant (high pressure water jets; immersible up to 1.5m for 30 min), MIL-STD-810H compliant.
• Display: 6.82" LTPO AMOLED, 1B colors, 144Hz, PWM, HDR10+, 7000 nits (peak), 1440x3168px resolution, 19.8:9 aspect ratio, 510ppi.
• Chipset: Qualcomm SM8845 Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 (3 nm).
• Memory: 256GB 8GB RAM, 256GB 12GB RAM; UFS 4.1.
• OS/Software: Android 16, up to 3 major OS updates.
• Rear camera: Wide (main): 50 MP, f/1.8, 1/1.56", 1.0µm, dual-pixel PDAF, OIS; Ultra wide angle: 8 MP, f/2.2, 119˚, 1/4.0", 1.12µm, AF; Depth: Auxiliary lens.
• Front camera: 32 MP, f/2.2, 22mm (wide), 0.7µm.
• Video capture: Rear camera: 4K@30/60fps HDR10+, 1080p@30/60/120/240fps, gyro-EIS; Front camera: Yes.
• Battery: 7100mAh; 90W wired, 50% in 21 min, 100% in 51 min, 25W wireless (magnetic), Qi2.2, 50% in 39 min, 100% in 85 min, 5W reverse wired.
• Connectivity: 5G; eSIM; Wi-Fi 7; BT 6.0; NFC.
• Misc: Fingerprint reader (under display, optical); stereo speakers (with Dolby Atmos).

The handset also boasts a huge 7,100 mAh battery, which will likely outlast the rest of the Edge 70 phones with smaller batteries. Interestingly, it's the only one from the lineup supporting magnetic wireless charging over Qi2.2.

When it comes to the cameras, the Edge 70 Max offers the bare minimum - 50MP main shooter flanked by an 8MP ultrawide camera. So in a way, Motorola decided to make a powerful phone without the "fluff", in case your camera usage boils down to just taking a few pictures of documents or your cat at home. Engineers used the extra space to cram in the 7,100 mAh cell, most likely.

So the question is whether the powerful chipset and the big battery will be enough to convince potential buyers, or whether the lower-tier Motorola Edge 70 phones with nicer cameras and slower chipsets make more sense? Let's find out.

Unboxing the Motorola Edge 70 Max

The Motorola Edge 70 Max came with just a USB-C to USB-C cable inside alongside the usual user manuals. This is a European unit, mind you, so other regions might be luckier and get a compatible charger.