(Credit: Motorola)
Motorola’s phone launch spree for 2026 isn’t over yet. After rolling out a parade of devices in May, including the new Razr series, the Razr Fold, and the Moto G Stylus, the tech giant unveiled yet another one today: the 2026 Motorola Edge. The $599.99 phone is what I would describe as Motorola's near-flagship model. It’s designed to deliver a premium aesthetic without breaking the bank. Even so, generation over generation, the price has increased by $50. Is it worth it?
As its name suggests, the Edge has a slim and compact chassis that's 0.28 inches thick, though it doesn't quite beat thinner profiles like the 0.22-inch Apple iPhone Air ($1,099) and the 0.23-inch Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge ($1,099.99).
So what's new? Let's start with the cameras. The main camera, part of the phone's triple 50MP system, now features a Sony LYTIA 710 sensor, a slight step up from last year's Sony LYT700C. This incremental upgrade means the sensor should pull in more light and less noise in low-light scenes.
Like the 2025 model, the new one keeps its 50MP ultrawide and 50MP selfie shooters. The former delivers Macro Vision for up-close photography alongside a wide 122-inch field of view, while Motorola promises sharper, higher-contrast pictures from the front-facing camera. Matching the outgoing phone, the new Edge has a 10MP telephoto lens with 3x optical zoom and up to 30x digital zoom.
A new feature called Frame Match is designed to save you from poorly framed photos when you let a friend or stranger take the shot for you. It works by letting you lock in your desired background angle as a visual guide, so when you hand the phone to the stand-in photographer, they hold it exactly where you want it.
In terms of performance, the 2026 Edge will ship with a MediaTek Dimensity 7450 processor, up from last year's MediaTek Dimensity 7400 chip, alongside 8GB of LPDDR5X memory. This year, however, you can't get more than 128GB of storage. This is a step down from last year's available 256GB option.
Surprisingly, the phone has a smaller 6.3-inch display when compared with its predecessor's 6.7-inch panel. However, the screen is brighter at 5,200 nits, an improvement over the 2025 model's 4,500-nit display. The Edge still offers a refresh rate of up to 120Hz, but it now has a negligible pixel drop due to the smaller screen size: 2,640 by 1,216 pixels for 2026 versus 2,712 by 1,220 pixels for 2025.
The 2026 Edge gets a smaller battery, stepping down to 5,000mAh compared with its predecessor's 5,200mAh power cell. Still, Motorola claims the phone will last two days on a charge. We'll be the judge of that when we test it ourselves.
The 2026 Motorola Edge comes only in a Pantone Martini Olive color, an army green-esque hue, and it will be available on June 11. Preorders start today.
About Our Expert
I’m PCMag’s Senior Writer for Mobile on the Consumer Electronics team, diving into the latest phones, tablets, Bluetooth speakers, audio devices, and other portable gear. I’ve been covering consumer technology for six years. Before joining PCMag, I contributed my tech expertise to Laptop Magazine, Mashable, Tom’s Guide, Esquire, Good Housekeeping, and more.
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