Motorola Edge 70 Pro review
Familiar Hello UI on top of Android 16
The Edge 70 Pro boots Android 16 with Motorola's Hello UI on top. The software experience hasn't changed much since the previous generation, so instead of going over everything again, we'll point you to the video below for a closer look at the interface and some of its more notable features.
While Motorola has extended its software support commitment to seven years, that only applies to its premium Signature and Fold lines. Apparently, the Edge family is not considered premium enough to get that treatment. The Edge 70 Pro is eligible for 3 major OS updates and 5 years of security patches.
Motorola continues to offer one of the cleanest Android experiences around. Hello UI stays close to stock Android in both looks and behavior, while adding a steadily growing set of proprietary features and customizations. Fortunately, these are generally well thought out and genuinely useful, enhancing the experience without making the software feel bloated or overcomplicated.
Hello UI
The custom Motorola typeface helps give the UI a distinct identity despite its otherwise familiar Android look. Meanwhile, the extra software features are neatly grouped inside the Moto app, which Motorola refreshed not too long ago with a cleaner layout and improved navigation. Sections packed with options, such as Gestures, are now organized more efficiently, making it easier to access everything from a single screen.
Moto app
Smart Connect remains Motorola's all-in-one solution for cross-device connectivity. It brings together features like phone-to-PC integration, wireless display casting, desktop mode, file transfers, clipboard syncing, and device control under a single, unified interface. Whether you're connecting to a PC, tablet, or external display over a cable or wirelessly, everything is managed from the same place. Since Android 15, Motorola has also added AI-powered voice commands to Smart Connect, making the experience even more seamless.
One limitation worth pointing out is that, despite offering the full Smart Connect suite and wireless display casting, the Edge 70 Pro does not support native wired display output over its USB-C port. It can't drive an external monitor via a simple USB-C-to-HDMI adapter.
Smart Connect
Google Gemini comes preinstalled, but Motorola complements it with its own AI assistant, Moto AI. Deeply integrated into the system, Moto AI is designed to be readily accessible at all times. A dedicated prompt bar is permanently available in the app drawer. At the same time, a double tap on the back of the phone or the dedicated Moto AI key can invoke the assistant from virtually anywhere in the interface.
Moto AI supports a wide range of features, including device-specific actions and contextual assistance. It can summarize notifications, record and transcribe conversations, generate summaries of on-screen content, and save useful information as screenshots, photos, or text notes for later reference. It also includes image generation capabilities, letting users create visuals from simple text prompts.
Moto AI
Moto AI's image generation features are available through the Image Studio section within the Moto AI app. Previously offered as a standalone application, Image Studio has now been integrated into Moto AI, though the overall interface and functionality remain largely unchanged.
Image Studio
AI features aside, the back-tap gesture is a genuinely useful shortcut in its own right. Motorola calls it Quick Launch, and while it can be used to invoke Moto AI, it's far from limited to that. You can also assign it to launch a favorite app, control media playback, return to the home screen, switch to the previously used app, and more.
Motorola's signature motion gestures are also still here and remain among the best implementations on Android. The familiar double-chop action toggles the flashlight, while a quick double wrist twist launches the camera. They are simple, reliable, and every bit as convenient as ever.
Gestures
Benchmarks and performance
The Edge 70 Pro is running the MediaTek Dimensity 8500 Extreme chipset. We are not exactly certain the "Extreme" part is anything more than a marketing gimmick, but that doesn't really matter either way. While far from the "top dog" in MediaTek's current lineup, the Dimensity 8500 is no slouch either. It has plenty of power to throw around. It represents a nice little bump in performance compared to the Dimensity 8350 in last year's Edge 60 Pro as well (by our rough estimations - about 60% better in CPU tasks and around 40% better in GPU ones).
The Dimensity 8500 is a great modern chip built on an efficient 4nm node. In the CPU department, it has one "prime" Cortex-A725 core, clocked at up to 3.4 GHz, then three more Cortex-A725 ones, working at up to 3.2 GHz and another four Cortex-A725 units, maxing out at 2.2 GHz. The onboard GPU is a Mali-G720 MC8.
Motorola decided to pair the chipset with fast UFS 4.1 storage (an upgrade over last year's UFS 4.0 chips), in either 256GB or 512GB capacity. Some sources online have mentioned a 1TB variant as well, but we can't find any official confirmation if its existence, so it's probably not a thing. For RAM you get 8GB in the base model and 12GB in higher tier ones.
Looking at some actual benchmark numbers, like we said, the Edge 70 Pro and its Dimensity 8500 Extreme do alright for themselves. You can certainly get more performance for your buck, if that is your priority, in the same rough price bracket by going for something like the Samsung Galaxy S25 FE or the Poco X8 Pro Max, but the Edge 70 Pro definitely does not disappoint.
GeekBench 6
- Single-core
- Multi-core
Motorola Signature
Galaxy S25 FE
Poco X8 Pro
Motorola Edge 70 Pro
Poco X7 Pro
Redmi Note 15 Pro 5G
Redmi Note 15 5G
AnTuTu
- v10
- v11
Poco X8 Pro Max
Motorola Signature
Galaxy S25 FE
Motorola Edge 70 Pro
Poco X8 Pro
Redmi Note 15 Pro 5G
Redmi Note 15 5G
3DMark
- Wild Life Extreme (Highest)
- Wild Life Extreme (Lowest)
- Solar Bay (Ray Tracing)
Poco X8 Pro Max
Motorola Signature
Motorola Edge 70 Pro
Galaxy S25 FE
Redmi Note 15 5G
Motorola Edge 60 Fusion
Motorola Edge 60
Thermal-throttling
The Edge 70 Pro is sort of a mixed bag when it comes to heat management and thermal throttling. With a CPU load alone, the phone does decently well, but with a GPU load you can easily bring the cooling solution down to its knees.
Thermal-throttling
The phone's surface does get a bit toasty in the process as well. Never actually too much to hold, but definitely enough to be uncomfortable at times.
