Smartphones powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chip are slowly but surely coming out of the woodwork. Joining the fray is the motorola edge+ which promises top notch performance and competitive cameras.

Here’s a quick look at its specs:

Performance

• Snapdragon 8 Gen 1
• Up to 12GB RAM, 512GB Storage
• 6.7″ pOLED Display
• 144Hz Refresh Rate
• 5G (mmwave & sub6GHz)

Cameras

• 50MP f/1.8 Main | Quad Pixel Technology for 2.0μm
• 50MP f/2.2 Ultra-wide angle
• 2MP f/2.4 Depth Camera
• 60MP f/2.4 Front-facing Camera

Battery and Charging

• 4,800mAh
• 30W TurboPower charging
• 15W wireless charging
• 5W wireless power sharing

Baseline flagship

On paper, the motorola edge+ has the makings of a baseline flagship device. It certainly checks the performance boxes, being equipped with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chip to go along with a display that should do well in gaming and media consumption.

The battery is also just a couple hundred shy of 5,000mAh which is what the top-of-the-line Galaxy S22 Ultra is rocking. The charging speeds are modest but still plenty fast.

Meanwhile, the cameras are quite surprising with the main and ultra-wide angle lenses sporting similar megapixel counts. Of course, this can’t be judged on paper alone, we’ll have to see actual images to appropriately judge what it can do.

Perhaps more surprising is the 60MP front-facing camera. Could this be a result of the proliferation of short-form videos on TikTok, YouTube Shorts, and IG Reels? The MP count is astonishing, but again, it has to be put through the test to see exactly how it performs.

Works with a stylus

If you didn’t have enough reason to compare this to Samsung’s latest Galaxy S, perhaps this optional accessory might change your mind. The Motorola Edge+ is compatible with the company’s new smart stylus with an adaptable folio.

Like any self-respecting stylus maker, the claim is that using it feels just like “using pen and paper.” It does whatever you expect a stylus to do like being able to sketch on certain apps, annotating on PDFs, and more.

It will be sold separately or as an in-box bundle depending on the country.

Price and availability

The motorola edge+ comes in Cosmos Blue and Stardust White. It’ll be available in North America, universally unlocked at Best Buy, Amazon.com, and Motorola.com. It retails for US$ 999.99.

At launch, it will have a limited time offer of US$ 899.99 ($100 off).

Verizon, Boost Mobile, and Republic Wireless will also offer the device in the coming months.

Different name elsewhere

The device will also launch globally but under a different name — motorola edge 30. It will come in the following markets: Latin America, India, Middle East, Asia and Europe. Local price and availability will vary per market.