The Motorola Edge 70 NVM is an affordable way to join the thin phone revolution

A new smartphone genre has emerged in 2025, starting out with Samsung, then Apple, and now Motorola, all releasing a new device that fits into it perfectly. I’m talking about thin phones, and the latest model is the Motorola Edge 70. Is this a continuation of a trend no one asked for, or is it the model that will make the most sense?

Specs, price, and availability

The Motorola Edge 70 is not available in the US, but is available in the UK, Europe, and the Middle East. Motorola often releases the same device under a different name, and at different times, meaning the Edge 70 may come to the US in the future.

The phone costs £699 which converts to about $930. This makes it cheaper than the £1,099/$1,099 Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge and the £999/$999 Apple iPhone Air, and the most cost-effective current way to get a modern thin phone.

The Edge 70 directly competes with phones like the Google Pixel 10, the Samsung Galaxy S25 FE, and the Nothing Phone 3.

Eye-catching Moto design

And it’s genuinely thin

The Motorola Edge 70 is 5.99mm thick, making it just 0.1mm thicker than the Galaxy S25 Edge, and a little bigger again compared to the 5.64mm thick iPhone Air.

Perhaps more relevant to day-to-day life is the low 159-gram weight, which, combined with the thinness, makes it so convenient to carry around. Just like compact folding phones, thin phones are a friend for those who don’t want a bulky phone in their pocket, or one that takes up masses of space in a bag.

Motorola’s other secret weapon is its partnership with color experts Pantone. I’m using the Bronze Green version, which you can identify with the cute Pantone color swatch on the rear panel, and it looks brilliant. It’s trendy and attention-grabbing, without being gaudy. I’d never want to put it in a case.

I don’t think I’d need to either. The phone has a nylon-style finish with a pleasing, grippy texture, and despite the phone’s thin aluminum chassis, the phone never feels slippery. It’s durable too, with IP68 and IP69 dust and water resistance and a MIL-STD-810H toughness certification.

Stylistically, the Edge 70 is typically Motorola with its square camera module in the top corner, and its recently introduced Moto AI button on the side of the phone. It’s a smart-looking phone, even if it doesn’t appear that unique in Motorola’s overall range.

That said, I love the thinness of the Edge 70. It’s effortless to hold and store, feels modern and cool in your hand, and pleasantly distinct next to blocky, bulky alternatives. Thin phones aren’t for everyone, but if you’re even slightly tempted, the Edge 70 has exactly the dimensions and ergonomics you want.

How about the battery life?

Specs help it perform

Thin phones can’t contain massive batteries. It’s simple physics. The Edge 70 does have a surprise with its 4,800mAh battery, as it’s a silicon-carbon cell, plus it’s good to see both 15W wireless charging and 68W wired charging.

The Edge 70 isn’t a full-on flagship phone, and this makes a difference to how long the battery lasts. It has a Qualcomm Snapdragon 7 Gen 4 processor and a 6.67-inch P-OLED screen with a 2712 x 1220 pixel resolution.

This adds up to the Edge 70’s battery life not being as awful as you may fear. With normal use, including a little light gaming, I’ve seen up to five hours screen time from a single charge. It’s not up there with the OnePlus 15, but considering the size of the cell, that’s not as bad as some may expect.

It’s fairly efficient, with a 30-minute YouTube video at 1440p and full brightness taking a standard 4% from the battery. Playing games, even relatively simple ones like Hill Climb Racing 3, does generate a little heat around the camera module, confirming this is not a gaming monster.

Motorola doesn’t include a charger in the box, and using an Anker Prime charger and the Motorola USB-C cable, it stayed consistent at 54W throughout a charge. It took just 15 minutes to reach 50%, and a full charge came after 50 minutes. This is superb performance.

Taking photos with the Edge 70

Don’t expect too much

Inside that typically Moto square camera module is a 50-megapixel main camera and a 50MP wide-angle camera, along with a light sensor and a flash unit. There’s no telephoto camera or optical zoom here, but the camera app provides a 2x zoom shortcut to tempt you.

If you’re a really keen mobile photographer, the Edge 70 isn’t going to satisfy, but if you’re out to take fun photos of your adventures and friends, it’s fine if you stick to the main camera.

It’s tuned for bright, vibrant colors and has solid white balance, plenty of detail, and handles challenging lighting well. You won’t capture especially realistic photos, but they’re good for social media.

The wide-angle camera isn’t especially wide, and quality takes a huge hit. Photos are hazy and lack detail, the exposure often has no idea what it’s doing, and colors are all over the place. Unfortunately, it’s also hit-or-miss whether the wide-angle camera takes just an average photo or a terrible one, stopping you from trusting it.

The 2x zoom is surprisingly good, considering it’s not a dedicated optical telephoto. Photos don’t have that typical digital treatment you get from in-sensor zooms, meaning you don’t have to worry about using it. The Edge 70’s camera is perfectly acceptable and ideal for fans of fun photos to capture everyday life and travel.

Software and performance

Solid mid-range stuff

Android 16 is installed complete with various Moto AI features, and Motorola promises four years of major OS updates and five years of security updates. It should make the Edge 70 a phone worth keeping for a sensible amount of time.

The Moto AI stuff is as you’d expect, with summaries, translations, and search. It’s activated using the dedicated side button, but I haven’t wanted to use it aside from forcing myself to test it. There’s simply no compelling reason to do so. What’s more, to use Moto AI, you’re forced to log in with a dedicated Moto ID or your Google account. Not something I think is necessary.

I’ve found the Qualcomm Snapdragon 7 Gen 4 to be a robust everyday performer. It’s powerful enough to keep the operating system running smoothly, and all the usual apps — social, email, messaging, and maps — open immediately and run happily in the background.

After using a few phones with the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, it’s nice to have a chip that doesn’t get too hot during a benchmark stress test. This is not a flagship, so don’t expect it to stun when playing games.

I’ve played Magic: The Gathering Arena and Asphalt Legends: Unite at standard settings without issue, although there is a hint of warmth on the back of the phone, which is never the case with these games on flagship phones.

Finally, a word on the 6.57-inch screen. Once the 120Hz refresh rate has been activated (it was off by default on mine), it’s smooth, the 446 pixel-per-inch (ppi) density means it’s very sharp, and the bezels are really thin, as is fitting for a very thin phone. It’s not an LPTO screen, separating it from some flagships, which may mean it’s not all that efficient.

What else do you need to know?

Some frustrations

Overall, I really like the Motorola Edge 70, but there are a couple of things that threaten to spoil it.

Perhaps the most egregious is the lack of a true always-on screen. The feature is hobbled by not including an option to show the time and notifications all the time, even with a timed schedule, and the only option is for tap-to-wake.

This isn’t a new Motorola problem, and it’s completely baffling why it doesn’t allow owners to have the choice of how to use the always-on screen feature. Motorola also insists on pre-installing a host of apps, which thankfully can be uninstalled.

Another oddment which may not affect everyone is that there’s no option to switch between 4G and 5G signals. Usually found under the cellular settings menu, it’s missing from the Edge 70. While 5G is mostly reliable, it can be helpful to switch between it and 4G, either due to network failure or for battery conservation reasons.

On a more positive note, the Edge 70 has excellent cellular performance, calls sound great, and there’s a host of easy customization through included themes to subtly change the look of Android without much bother.

Should you buy the Motorola Edge 70?

Until you’ve picked up and held a thin phone, you probably won’t get the appeal. Trust me, once you have, they make complete sense. Whether you then accept the compromises in battery and camera performance is up to you and your requirements.

The thing is, thin phones better suit mid-range specs, purely because it’s hard to stuff the very best tech inside. They’re primarily design-over-specs devices, and the more reasonable cost of the Edge 70 means it makes better sense than other examples that pretend to be high-end models. Yet, it’s very well-made, durable, and available in some fantastic colors. The camera is fine, performance is good if you’re not a high-end gamer, and there’s long support for the software.

The Edge 70 has two significant downsides. The battery life isn’t the best, and there are some really excellent all-rounders available for a similar price, which then leads us back to the beginning. The competition isn’t thin, and if that appeals, the Edge 70 will rocket to the top of your shopping list.

I love the convenience of a thin phone like the Edge 70, and the very fast charging will offset some of the battery life downside for those who may find it slightly too short. Provided you think the camera will suit you, the Edge 70 is a great buy.