Motorola Moto Edge 60 Pro review: What makes a phone Pro-tier?

Motorola likes to launch a lot of phones. Sometimes, there’s not really much differentiating them from each other aside from a few specs here or there and a hundred dollars or so in price.

That was how I felt testing out the Moto Edge 50 family of devices last year. While the Edge 50 Neo was my clear favourite, a big part of that was because it was different to the others.

The Edge 50 Pro wasn’t a bad device by any stretch, but it lacked any standout features to really warrant its place as the “Pro”-grade model of the family.

This year’s Edge 60 Pro has been in my hands for the past several weeks, and while there has been a significant price increase, I’m not convinced the features and specs have made enough of a step-up to warrant the higher price tag.

It’s still a fine phone, with a stylish design and some noteworthy features. But at $1,199 RRP, I think there are better options currently on the market.

What is the Edge 60 Pro offering?

The Edge 60 Pro is all about style. With its 6.7-inch 120 Hz pOLED screen with rounded edges, the Edge 60 Pro looks fantastic from the second you take it out of the perfumed box.

The phone feels a bit narrower than most Android phones I’ve tested, which makes it both easier to type on and harder to reach up in the top section of the device.

The phone is backed by Motorola’s Vegan leather finish, which I still really like the feel of. It’s a bit softer than actual leather, but has the same textured look.

The phone comes in either a “Pantone Shadow” or “Pantone Sparkling Grape” colour options. While I got to test out the Shadow version, I would pick the Sparkling Grape option every day of the week if I were spending my own money.

While the dimensions are similar, there are a few significant internal changes over the Edge 50 Pro from last year. The processor has shifted from the Snapdragon 7 Gen 3 to a MediaTek Dimensity 8350 Extreme.

You get 512 GB of storage – up from 256 GB – and the body’s water resistance has been increased. The Edge 60 Pro is both IP68 and IP69 rated for water and dust resistance, and is certified to Military Standard MIL-STD-810H.

There are some significant changes to the battery as well. The capacity has had a massive increase to 6,000 mAh, and let me tell you, the phone goes on for ages.

The cost of that battery capacity boost was a decline in the maximum fast charging speed. You still get 90W fast charging (plus 15W wireless charging), but that’s a drop from last year’s 125W fast charge support.

Disappointingly, you no longer get a charger in the box, though, so if you want to actually get 90W charging speeds, you’ll need to cough up some extra cash for the pleasure.

Though I should note that one of my criticisms of the Edge 50 Pro last year was the fact the 125W fast charger made the phone uncomfortably hot to touch, and I only used it once for fear it would cause the battery to explode. So dropping to 90W is probably a good thing…

While there’s no charger, you do get a very basic case in the box. I really didn’t like it as it makes the phone look cheap, but if you’re desperate for protection, it’s there.

The camera array has also had a bit of a boost this year. The main 50MP lens has a Sony LYTIA 700C sensor with an f/1.8 aperture and quad pixel technology. The Ultra-wide lens is now 50MP as well, with a 120º field of view and a macro shooting mode. The third lens is a 10MP telephoto, offering 3X optical zoom.

Another new addition is a dedicated button for AI mode. I long for the day smartphone brands stop trying to force this down on users, but until then, the button can be ignored, I guess?

What does the Edge 60 Pro do well?

Admission time: After I did my initial unboxing of the Edge 60 Pro, I put the phone to the side and forgot about it for a few days. I’m a busy person!

So imagine my surprise when I picked it up and the battery was still chugging away happily. Now I’ll admit there was no SIM card inside, so it wasn’t talking to the mobile towers every second or two and draining away that way, but I was still massively impressed by how long the battery lasted.

Once I started testing the phone properly, the battery still impressed. I pushed through two days comfortably of general use, though I am always inclined to charge the device nightly.

The screen on the Edge 60 Pro looks fantastic. The display supports 120Hz, which is actually a step-down from 144 Hz from last year (though I don’t know who would ever really be able to tell the difference on an Android device). The screen is brighter this year, too, at 4000 nits, making it easier to see in full sun.

I think Motorola has given its camera a solid boost this year. The inclusion of Sony’s LYTIA sensor helps, as does the improved ultra-wide lens.

There’s been an improvement in detail and colour reproduction over last year’s model, which was also a perfectly fine camera. So that’s a win!

What could the Edge 60 Pro improve?

Performance is perfectly acceptable, but it doesn’t want to blow anyone away.

Comparing the benchmark scores against other phones priced between $1,000 and $1,500 highlights where the Edge 60 Pro’s MediaTek chipset stands.

Obviously, there are other factors involved with price – the fact that you get 512 GB with the Edge 60 Pro and only 128 GB for the iPhone 16 in this pricing bracket can’t be ignored.

When you look at the Edge 60 Pro against last year’s Edge 50 Pro, there are notable increases in the GPU and multi-core performance, but arguably not enough to warrant the $200 price increase.

One thing Motorola did extend in this year’s model is its AI capabilities. There’s even a dedicated AI button on the side, which launches the moto AI mode. The AI is “contextually aware” of what’s on the screen at the time.

When you press the AI button, you’ll be prompted to “Explore with Perplexity” (which is pre-installed on the device), “Remember this” or “Pay Attention”, which lets you record and transcribe meetings.

And after a few seconds, the AI will give you some contextually aware prompts. When looking at the BTTR.reviews homepage in Chrome, for example, I was prompted to “Save BTTR Reviews Memory”, “Generate BTTR Review Image” and “Create Tech News Playlist”.

Here’s what the “BTTR Review Image” looks like, in case you’re wondering:

I know I’ve been critical of AI in the past, but I fail to see how any of this, aside from recording and transcribing meetings, is in any way worth a dedicated hardware button that you can’t change.

Perhaps I’m in the minority here, but I’d happily sacrifice all the AI on this phone for $200 off the price tag.

Verdict

I feel that maybe this review has been a bit too critical of the Edge 60 Pro, which is honestly a pretty good device. Motorola has created a phone that looks and feels good in the hand. It’s robust and versatile, and is a capable device both as a camera and as a smartphone.

Its battery life is easily its standout feature, lasting for days if you need it to. While Motorola has slowed down the fast charging to 90W this year, I doubt that’s a deal-breaker for anyone.

But this year, the Pro-grade Edge model crossed the $1,000 mark at launch. Where the Edge 50 Pro launched at $999, this phone costs $1,199. And that’s a big psychological barrier to overcome.

Suddenly, this isn’t priced like a mid-range phone. Once you cross that $1,000 barrier, in my mind, it becomes a premium device. And that changes what you might expect to get out of the phone.

If this phone cost $999, I’d argue it offered exceptional value. But at $1,199, it’s much harder to recommend.

Behind the scenes