Motorola has a brand new model of its $700 Edge smartphone, bringing higher cameras, a extra trendy processor, and an up to date design.

As with final 12 months’s Edge, the brand new mannequin doesn’t fairly provide the very best {hardware} Android has to supply, with a Snapdragon 778 5G processor, 6GB RAM and 128GB storage, or 8GB RAM / 256GB storage, however these sacrifices may be value it for the decidedly midrange price ticket.

Despite that, the brand new Edge does function the 108-megapixel digital camera that was one of many marquee options on the Edge Plus, together with a bigger 5,000mAh battery and mmWave 5G — each of which had been additionally provided on the Edge Plus however had been downgraded to a 4,500mAh battery and sub-6GHz-only specs on final 12 months’s Edge.

The show is a 6.8-inch LCD show with a 144Hz refresh charge, however calling the brand new telephone the Edge (with no numbering to assist distinguish it from the 2020 mannequin) is definitely a little bit of a misnomer, provided that the 2021 mannequin ditches the “endless edge” waterfall show that gave the unique Edge and Edge Plus their names. That mentioned, provided that the curved display screen was by and huge a gimmick on final 12 months’s fashions, it’s not a lot of a loss.

Cameras are the aforementioned 108-megapixel predominant digital camera, together with an 8-megapixel f/2.2 ultrawide that provides Motorola’s “Macro Vision” function, and a 2-megapixel depth digital camera. A 32-megapixel front-facing digital camera rounds out the proceedings.

Still lacking on the spec sheet is any type of wi-fi charging, though the brand new Edge does add some extraordinarily primary IP52 water resistance (which, whereas higher than nothing, is mainly simply sufficient to guard from the odd little bit of rain).

It’s not fairly the identical {hardware} because the trio of Edge 20 fashions that Motorola launched internationally earlier this summer season (which, amongst different variations, function smaller 6.7-inch shows) though it most intently resembles the middle-of-the-road Edge 20 in specs. The Edge 20 does beat the North American mannequin Edge in just a few areas, nonetheless: it options an 16-megapixel ultrawide and an 8-megapixel 3x telephoto digital camera as its different two rear cameras.

The newest model of the Edge can also be definitively a successor to final 12 months’s common Edge mannequin — not the premium flagship Edge Plus {hardware} that aimed to problem high-end telephones from Samsung and OnePlus. For now, there’s no phrase on Motorola as as to if it’ll be attempting once more at competing within the crowded high-end Android market within the US.

Pricing for the 2021 Edge additionally matches final 12 months: it’ll technically be bought for $699.99, however Motorola is as soon as once more providing a “limited-time” low cost proper from the begin to drop the value all the way down to a extra wallet-friendly $499.99. The firm isn’t saying how lengthy that value will likely be provided at the moment, though if it’s something like final 12 months, gross sales received’t be too exhausting to come back by. It’ll be out there within the US unlocked from sellers like Best Buy, Amazon, and Motorola’s web site, with service variations from Verizon and Spectrum cellular deliberate “in the coming months.” A launch in Canada can also be deliberate for the longer term.