Review verdict: As a successor to the Moto G 5G Plus last year, the Motorola Edge 20 Fusion is a vastly better 5G mid-range offering in the Philippines. The phone has a better suite of rear cameras this time around, though it faces tough competition at its price point.

Pros

• Vastly better camera performance than other mid-range Motorola phones
• 90hz OLED display
• Well-optimized hardware and software

Cons

• Faces tough competition at its price point

Motorola Edge 20 Fusion Review Philippines Specs

• Dimensity 800U processor
• 8GB RAM
• 128GB internal storage
• 6.7-inch Full HD+ OLED display, 90hz refresh rate, HDR10
• 108-megapixel f/1.9 ISOCELL HM2 main camera with PDAF; 8-megapixel f/2.2 ultra-wide-angle camera; 2-megapixel f/2.4 depth sensor
• 32-megapixel f/2.3 front camera
• Dual SIM
• 4G, LTE, 5G
• WiFi, Bluetooth, GPS, A-GPS
• Side-mounted fingerprint scanner, IP52 rating
• 5000mAh battery
• 30W charging
• Android 11, Motorola MyUX

Motorola updates its portfolio of 5G-ready smartphones in the Philippines by bringing over the Edge series. The Edge 20 Fusion is a mid-range offering that aims to improve on all the good things the Moto G 5G Plus had to offer last year.

Unboxing and Packaging Contents

While you get the same dark blue box, Motorola kept the branding more subtle for the Edge 20 Fusion. You simply have the iconic Motorola logo and Edge 20 Fusion branding done in metallic silver, and a smaller 5G and ready for PC branding at the bottom.

Inside the box, you get the phone itself with the jelly case installed already,  30w USB-C TurboPower charger, USB-C to USB-C cable, earphones, and documentation.

Design

Unlike the Moto G 5G Plus, the Edge 20 Fusion uses a frosted finish for its polycarbonate back pane, which attracts fewer smudges compared to most glossy finishes. The legacy Motorola logo is still there, while the square camera module is significantly bigger despite only having three cameras in them this time. The two bigger cameras are the 108-megapixel main camera and 8-megapixel ultra-wide-angle camera, while the smaller camera is a 2-megapixel depth sensor. Right below the depth sensor is an LED flash.

The display has roughly the same size as last year’s model at 6.7-inches, but you are getting a better AMOLED panel and a centrally-placed punch hole this time. The ultra-wide-angle selfie snapper is no longer present, but that should not be a big deal.

The button and port placement is the same as the Moto G 5G Plus: SIM tray and Google Assistant button on the left, power button/fingerprint scanner and volume controls on the right, and headphone jack, loudspeaker, and USB-C port at the bottom.

Display

While you still get the same display size at 6.7-inches, along with a 21:9 aspect ratio, 90hz refresh rate, and Full HD+ resolution, the biggest upgrade is the shift from IPS to AMOLED.

Compared to the IPS panels used on most mid-range Motorola phones, the AMOLED display used on the Edge 20 Fusion produces sharp and vibrant colors that are very pleasing to the eyes–especially when consuming video content.

Along with deep blacks and Widevine L1, the Edge 20 Fusion is a great device to use for watching all your favorite shows on Netflix. While the Edge 20 Fusion does not have stereo speakers, the single loudspeaker produces a good sound even at higher volume levels. You still get a headphone jack too, which will be good news to loyal fans of wired earphones.

Cameras

The Edge 20 Fusion has one less camera compared to the Moto G 5G Plus because the ultra-wide-angle camera doubles as the macro camera. Accompanying the ultra-wide-angle camera are the 108-megapixel ISOCELL HM2 main camera and a 2-megapixel depth sensor.

Camera performance has been a pain point for Motorola phones we recently reviewed, and the Edge 20 Fusion manages to buck this trend. This time around, we noticed that it took vastly better quality photos than the Moto G 5G Plus and Moto G50 5G for both the main and ultra-wide-angle cameras.

Macro shots are also better on the Edge 20 Fusion since it uses the ultra-wide-angle camera, giving you more resolution to work with compared to the filler 2-megapixel sensors we normally see on mid-range phones.

Selfies with the Edge 20 Fusion’s 32-megapixel selfie camera are also good in most lighting conditions.

Video performance is likewise better on the Edge 20 Fusion. Even at 4K resolution, its built-in EIS keeps up even while shooting handheld. Check out the sample video below:

 

Internals and Battery Life

Powering the Edge 20 Fusion is a Dimensity 800U processor that is paired with 8GB RAM and 128GB storage. While the Moto G 5G Plus’ Snapdragon 765 is better than the Dimensity 800U in single-core and multi-core CPU tests, the Dimensity 800U performs better in GPU-intensive benchmarks like GeekBench Compute and 3DMark because of the higher GPU clock speed.

While the Dimensity 800U is a popular mid-range 5G processor, the Edge 20 Fusion is better optimized compared to the competition using the same processor. Using data obtained from GameBench, the Edge 20 Fusion performed very well with games like Asphalt 9, Call of Duty, and Wild Rift even at maximum graphics settings.

The same can be said with Genshin Impact, as the Edge 20 Fusion was able to keep up its performance nicely even when we bumped the graphics to medium. The difference in overall performance between low and medium is minimal. As my gaming device, I’ve played the popular open-world RPG on the Edge 20 Fusion at medium settings for over an hour, and the phone handled the game very well with barely noticeable frame drops.

While the battery capacity is the same at 5000mAh, the Edge 20 Fusion has a vastly better battery life at around 16.5 hours with our video loop test. That is more than two hours longer than the Moto G 5G Plus with the same test–proof that Motorola did its job in properly optimizing the Dimensity 800U for all-around use.

Another big upgrade with the Edge 20 Fusion is its 30w TurboCharge wired charging that is compatible with any USB-PD charging protocol at the same power output. Topping up the battery from 18% to 100% took us a little over an hour.

Wrap up and Conclusions

Our review of the Edge 20 Fusion shows that this is a big improvement over the previous mid-range offerings Motorola had in the Philippines. Aside from a better design, the biggest improvements the Edge 20 Fusion has to offer are with the cameras and the well-optimized Dimensity 800U processor.

With all the good things about the Edge 20 Fusion, Motorola’s biggest challenge is getting a good slice of the mid-range market. Motorola is not as popular as other phone brands in the Philippines, so it all boils down to how they market the Edge 20 Fusion in order to showcase it as an underrated-yet-compelling mid-range 5G offering.

Motorola Edge 20 Fusion Review Philippines Price

The Motorola Edge 20 Fusion has an official price of Php 16,995 in the Philippines. Motorola will be holding a bundle promo from October 15 to 21, where the Edge 20 Fusion gets a Php 1,000 discount and freebies that include the Lenovo S2 Smartwatch and Lenovo HT28 Headset.