Motorola X40 officially presented: price-performance killer?
from Jacob Kluge 
on January 10, 2023, 8:00 | Write a comment
Motorola has officially presented a new flagship with the X40. This will most likely come as the Edge 40 Pro to Germany.
Among other things, it offers a 165 Hertz quad-curve display, a Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 and 125 watt fast charging. We have summarized all the information for you in the following lines.
Design
In terms of design, it seems Motorola hasn't managed to develop its own design language yet. Because as we have already seen with Xiaomi, each flagship looks different. I'm pleased that the X40 is no longer trying to reduce the price with the materials used, as was the case with the predecessor, but instead relies on high-quality components. The Motorola X40 uses a matte aluminum frame and a matte glass back, which is available in either black or blue. With dimensions of 161.2 x 74 x 8.6 millimeters, the X40 is also a bit smaller, but above all thinner than the Edge 30 Pro. This is due to the fact that the display is no longer flat, but is slightly rounded towards the edges.
The Motorola X40 is available in blue and black. (Image: Motorola)
Display
The display of the Motorola X40 measures 6,7 inches and has a sufficiently sharp resolution of 1.080p, but personally I would have liked a QHD+ resolution, as many others already offer in the price range. The really impressive thing here is the refresh rate. Motorola does not offer 90, 120 or 144 Hertz, no, the Motorola X40 has a maximum refresh rate of up to 165 Hertz. This makes it the first "non-gaming" smartphone that can do that.
Performance
Of course, the high refresh rate must also be used. Therefore, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 is currently the most powerful SoC for Android smartphones on the market.
Software
Motorola's software is for everyone who likes things minimal and won't say no to a few extra features. As a basis, the manufacturer uses pure Android 13, as we already know from the Pixel smartphones. So it could well be that non-experts are confused at first glance, because visually Google's stock Android and Motorola's interface are almost identical. However, this only applies to the western market. In China they rely on MYUI, which is typically Chinese colorful and playful.
Camera
When it comes to the cameras, Motorola is once again using a triple camera system consisting of a wide-angle, ultra-wide-angle and two telephoto cameras. Unlike the Motorola Edge 30 Ultra, however, a 200 megapixel sensor is not used here, but a Sony IMX766 is installed, as we already know from the Motorola Edge 30 Pro know.
The ultra-wide-angle camera is also an old acquaintance, because we already know the sensor here from the Edge 30 Pro. To be honest, I would have expected more here, because the JN1 disappointed me a bit in the predecessor. Ultimately, however, you have to see how much the software and the ISP of the Snapdragon can still get out of it.
The whole thing is then rounded off by a 12 megapixel telephoto camera, which enables a double optical zoom.
Battery
At 40 mAh, the battery in the Motorola X4.600 is actually a bit smaller than in the predecessor. On the one hand, this is probably due to the more compact design, but also to the 125 watt fast charging that the Motorola X40 has. Nevertheless, I assume that we can expect decent runtimes thanks to the efficient SoC and the minimalistic software. Motorola has impressively shown that this is possible with the Edge 30 Ultra. Like this, the X40 also supports wireless charging with 15 watts and reverse wireless charging with 5 watts.
Other
The Motorola X40 is the company's first flagship to be IP68 certified. After only the X4 and the Defy from 2021 had this pleasure so far, the X40 is the third Motorola smartphone that is protected against the ingress of water and dust.
In addition, the Motorola naturally has stereo speakers. However, a real test must ultimately show whether these also sound good.
Price
The most exciting thing about the X40 is probably the price, because at 3.399 yuan it is cheaper than an Edge 30 Ultra, but also significantly cheaper than a Xiaomi 13 and Xiaomi 13 Pro. With us, the price will probably be 799 euros again, which would be a real announcement.
