This morning motorola launched the new edge 60 fusion which, on paper, looks to be a fantastic new smartphone, all for under $700. It includes a new camera system featuring a world’s first Sony LYTIA 700C camera validated by Pantone and next-generation moto ai enhancements that adapt to your use to make your days easier.
I’ve had it in my pocket for the last few days, and although there are a few details and features I am as yet unclear on and thus not ready for the full EFTM review, I have some initial impressions that I want to share.
Design and feel
The new motorola edge 60 fusion comes in some great colours, Pantone Slipstream, Amazonite and Zephyr colourways. I received the Zephyr, or pink, SKU and I am very impressed with it. Not only is the colour stunning but inside the box is a matching snap-on shell/case. Now the case/shell is a perfect fit but it is also a tad slippery, which the back of the phone is not.
The rear of the phone is a ‘leather-inspired’ finish with a nice sticky/grippy feel. Unlike so many other phones on the market, it looks elegant and doesn’t feel like it will slip out of your hands as soon as you aren’t paying attention to it. I would consider going case-free with this phone because it feels sturdy, looks good and feels amazing.
The new curved display reminds me of the premium Samsung Galaxy S line with its severe curve along all sides of it. This makes the display look extremely premium but there is a reason that these other brands no longer use the curved displays in their flagships — the smaller actual usable screen. The curve is so large that it takes up a chunk of the display on the sides and it is very difficult to interact (mostly type) in these areas. It is something you get used to but I’d like to see motorola go with a smaller curve with a larger flat area of screen next time.
Camera
As mentioned above, the main camera is a 50MP Sony LYTIA 700C camera, well supported by the 13MP ultrawide camera which is also used for macro shots, and a dedicated 3-in-1 light sensor. The moto ai features included in the camera are 30x Super Zoom, Auto Smile Capture, Portrait Mode, the Photo Enhancement Engine and Gesture Capture.
At this stage, I have not had much chance to test out the camera, so stay tuned for the full review. For those shots I have taken so far, the detail is excellent, and the colours seem very accurate—what you see is what you get. Motorola has featured this in their camera app, with help from Pantene and their AI Photo Enhancement Engine.
Software
The software on the motorola edge 60 fusion is where the phone excels. Motorola has taken a version of Android that was already one of the best available and improved it even more by adding more features, making it faster and incorporating even more AI into its everyday functionality.
In addition to the usual included gestures, such as twisting to open the camera and the chop gesture to turn the torch on, the gestures on the edge 60 fusion are convenient and I use them multiple times every single day. They work exceptionally well and are quick and easy to perform.
Motorola has also added a new notification shade/control centre that others have been doing lately. This allows you to see a more complete control centre (or quick settings) after swiping on the right side of the display, or the notifications by swiping down on the left side of the display. You can also swipe from one to the other once your shade is open. I love this new implementation of the control centre as it brings a lot more functionality to it, which Motorola has customised well.
moto ai
When I woke up in the morning, there was a prompt within my notification shade to ‘Catch me up.’ This summarised all of my important notifications to give me a quick update of what was going on in my universe. This new implementation of moto ai is extremely handy because let’s face it, these days we all get so many notifications it is easy to accidentally swipe something important away without even noticing.
If you capture images of things you want to remember or come back to later, Moto AI also has you covered here. I do this quite often, whether it is a product I want to buy or research more before buying or a time or place I want to recall later. Simply take the photo and add your notes to the image in Moto AI, and the software will organise this and other relevant images into an easy-to-search location.
This is the sort of AI I want. I don’t want AI that will gimmickally add or remove random objects from images or create a cartoon image of another photo — I want something that is useful in an everyday sense that will actually make my life easier. Motorola has done that here with moto ai. Of course, Gemini AI is also present on the phone for the Internet-search style AI help with well-known features such as Circle to Search and more. I love Circle to Search, and if you don’t use it, you should.
Battery life and charging
The motorola edge 60 fusion sports a 5,200mAh battery which will last you more than a day. I am a power user of my phone throughout a normal work day and I often have to plug it in around lunch time to top up but the edge 60 fusion did not require this. It lasted me through a full day which is no mean feat for a smartphone and my usage.
The phone and battery support 68W TurboPower fast charging, but unfortunately, there is not a single charger in sight in the package, so I was unable to test that out. I have no reason to doubt it, and if you were going to buy this phone, I would highly recommend either buying the 68W charger at the same time you buy the phone or preordering the phone from either JB-Hi-Fi, Harvey Norman, or The Good Guys and receiving the charger for free as a bonus.
Early impressions
My early impressions are that the motorola edge 60 fusion is a great phone that not only feels premium in the hand but looks bright and colourful while remaining stylish. The software is right at the pointy end of the Android skin software available on the market today with new AI features that actually can make a difference to your everyday life, something we have all been screaming out for ever since we have had AI shoved down our throats by manufacturers.
The camera is decent, for a mid-range smartphone, with accurate colour representation in captured photos.
All in all, my first thoughts are that this is, aside from the razr 50 ultra, motorola’s best phone in a long time. I feel that it can comfortably compete with the mid-range offerings from other manufacturers in all aspects.
The motorola edge 60 fusion is available in Slipstream, Amazonite and Zephyr colourways, RRP $699. Colour availability varies store-to-store and it is available from 22 May at JB Hi-Fi, Harvey Norman, Officeworks, The Good Guys, Amazon, and motorola.com.au.
Scott is our resident open technology expert. If you can mod it, or want to use it your way, Scott has probably done it. From Laptops to phones, headphones and game consoles, he’s played with it and wants to see the next generation.
