The Motorola Edge 20 Fusion is the last child in its premium Edge 20 range. As child three, it could just bask in the Edge 20 sunshine, but no – it gets out there and in some ways beats its siblings – the Edge 20 and Edge 20 Pro.
At $499, it is up against some tough price competition from OPPO, vivo, and realme, but it wins nicely in a spec shootout.
Interestingly we have all three Motorola Edge 20 models for review, as well as the new Moto g50. All Edge have a similar look and feel, 6.7” screens and 30W Turbo Charge batteries in a good, better, best scenario. We compare all three Motorola Edge models here.
The $200 dearer Edge 20 model (review here 8.8/10) gets a 144Hz HDR10+ Gorilla Glass 3 screen, faster processor, more ram/storage, Wi-Fi 6 AX and a Telephoto lens. The Fusion wins on 5000mAh killer battery life with the same 30W charger, a 3.5mm jack, and micro-SD expansion. Frankly, this is better value with just as good a pedigree
The $899 Motorola Edge 20 Pro review is here 8.7/10.
Get ‘ready for’ Motorola Edge 20
Motorola has added ‘ready for’, an Android desktop experience on an external PC. We have a full review and user guide that you should read as each Edge supports different Ready For features and connectivity (The Edge 20 Pro does everything).
Motorola Edge 20 Fusion 5G Model XT2139-2 5G 6/128GB Dual Sim
| Australian website | here |
| Price: | $499 |
| Colours | Electric Graphite or Cyber Teal |
| From: | Motorola online, JB Hi-Fi, Good Guys, Officeworks |
| Warranty: | 12-months ACL |
| Country of Manufacture: | China |
| Company | Owned by Lenovo (Est 1984) – a multinational technology company with its main operational headquarters in Beijing and Morrisville, North Carolina. It is the world’s largest PC maker. It purchased Motorola Mobility from Google in 2014. Most of Lenovo’s smartphone business is now under the Motorola brand, and it has grand plans to become a ‘top five’ smartphone maker. |
| More | Other GadgetGuy Motorola news and reviews here |
Grey market – no Australian warranty
All genuine Australian 5G models use unique Australian 5G sub-6Ghz and 5G low-band frequencies and require local activation first. That means a grey market phone likely won’t be able to use 5G here.
We have named and shamed the major grey marketers here. If you are going to spend this much money, get a genuine ‘Made for Australia’ model.
First impression – another glass slab
While the Edge 20 has squared edges over an aluminium frame, this is back to a rounded plastic back over a plastic frame. It has the same familial Edge 20 looks except with a 3.5mm port.
Put the TPU cover back on – you won’t know the difference. So for this review, I will point out any subtle differences (usually in brackets) that may lead you to buy the Edge 20 at $200 more.
Screen – 1 billion colours AMOLED Goodness
As far as we can ascertain, the Edge 20 Pro and Edge 20 screens are the same, except for lower-cost Gorilla Glass 3 on the latter. But the Motorola Edge 20 Fusion screen is 90Hz. Fortunately, tests show only insignificant screen colour or gamut differences. It is a great screen for the price.
| Size | 6.7”, 2400 x 1080p, 385 ppi, 20:9 ratio |
| Type | Centre O-hole selfie, flat, AMOLED with toughened NEG glass (GG 3) |
| Refresh | Fixed 60Hz or 90Hz |
| Colours | 10-bit 1.07 billion |
| Gamut | Claim: 450 nits (typical) up to 650 (Max adaptive) Contrast: infinite (same) Colour temperature: 6500°K (same) Test: 408-437 nits over the screen, 638 nits max (slightly higher) Delta E 4.7 (<4 is good) (3) 92% DCI-P3 (100%) HDR10 (HDR10+) |
| Daylight Viewing angle Always on Display | Yes Good off-angle viewing but develops a blue cast past 135° Yes |
| DRM | Widevine L1 HDCP 2.3 plays Netflix and Amazon FHD HDR content |
| Gaming | Fixed 60/90Hz refresh available but more depends on the Dimensity 800U SoC |
It is an AMOLED screen, albeit with a fixed 60 or 90Hz (versus adaptive and 144Hz). So, you get the daylight brightness and infinite contrast – for $499 – “Tell ‘em they’re dreamin”.
Processor – Dimensity 800U keeps costs in check
The Motorola Edge 20 Fusion comes with MediaTek Dimensity 800U (vs SD778G). This chip is on the OPPO A94/95, OPPO Reno6 Z, vivo 21, realme 7 and about 40 phone brands/models we don’t see here. Why? It is a cost-effective, reasonable mid-range chip with an integrated 5G modem and AI accelerator.
| SoC | MediaTek Dimensity 800U 7nm 4×2.4GHz, 4×2.0GHz Test: GeekBench single/multi-core: 581/1757 (similar to an SD720G) (767/32740 similar to an Exynos 990) |
| GPU | Mali-G57 MC3 (Adreno 642L) Test: Open CL: 2034 (2199) Video processing is not much slower than the Edge 20 Vulcan: 2056 (2225) |
| Modem and Other | Integrated (Qualcomm X53 5G) 2.4 TOPS (6th Gen AI 13 TOPS) The 800U TOPS figure is not confirmed. |
| RAM Storage | 6GB LPDDR4 (8GB LPDDR4) 128GB UFS 2.2 (94GB free) – microSD to 1TB (128GB UFS 2.2/no microSD) Test: Sequential read/write Internal: 643/309 (689/380) External 1GB Orico USB-C 3.1 Gen 2 iMatch: 37 /14 (29/10) – slow USB-C 2.0 figures |
| Throttle 15-minute test | Max: 174,179 (221,267) GIPS, Average: 167,211 (204,893) – 11% (13%) loss over 15 minutes CPU temp reached 50° (50°). |
The key difference between the Edge 20 and Fusion is raw CPU power and AI processing speed (TOPS). The device runs smoothly with no lag – this SoC is fit for its purpose.
Comms – all you need
| Wi-Fi | Wi-Fi 5 AC 1×1 MU-MIMO 433Mbps (Wi-Fi 6E AX 2400Mbps) |
| Test -dBM/ Mbps | Signal Strength 5Ghz – distance from Netgear RAX200, AX11000, 12 stream router -dBm lower is better, and Mbps higher is better 2m: -34/390 (-33/2400) 5m: -61/350 (-52/2400 10m: -68/250 (-62/864) |
| Bluetooth | BT 5.0 (5.2) |
| GPS | Single accuracy <10m (dual accuracy <2m – excellent) |
| NFC | Yes PayWave (same) |
| USB-C | USB-C 2.0 480Mbps/65MBps half-duplex achieving a maximum of about 30MBps (same) |
| Sensors | Combo Accelerometer ad Gyroscope, e-Compass, Proximity, Ambient Light, Fingerprint sensor on the power button (same) |
It is similar to all phones in this bracket.
LTE and 5G – covers all 4G and 5G bands
| SIM | Hybrid Dual sim either 5G or 4G or both (if using 5G, it is always active) with dual ringtones. Or use one as microSD to 1TB |
| Support | VoLTE – carrier dependent – generally yes Wi-Fi calling – carrier dependent – generally yes |
| Tests | |
| UL/DL | 36/17Mbps/30ms (24/19Mbps/35ms) |
| LTE Band | 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12, 13, 17, 18, 19, 20, 26, 28, 32, 34, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 66 This a world phone |
| 5G | n1, n3, n5, n7, n8, n20, n28, n38, n40, n41, n66, n77, n78 This supports n78 sub-6Ghz (all carriers) and Telstra n5, Optus n40 and Vodafone n28 low-band. (Edge 20 and Pro have no n40 Optus support). |
| Test | Using a Boost Mobile (Telstra retail network) sim at 1km line-of-sight from Telstra tower. Expressed as -dBm (lower is better) and Femtowatts (fW) or picowatts (pW) where higher is better. Tower (nearest to furthest) 1: -81/4pW (-84/4pW) 2: No (-91/1.3pW) 3: No (-97/200fW) The MediaTek modem and antenna system are strictly for city and suburban use. It’s the same with any Dimensity 800U. |
It has n40 for Optus low-band 5G ‘Low-band repurposes 3G and eventually 4G bands’ to give wider 5G coverage at the lower 4G speeds. That is a plus over both its Edge brothers.
Battery – two days
| Battery Charger | 5000mAh (4000) 5V/3A/15W, 9V/3A/27W and 10V/3A/30W QC 3.0 (same) |
| Charger | 0-100% charge – 1 hour 30 minutes (<60 minutes) Using 5V/3A standard USB charger and cable – 3 hours (3.25 hours) |
| Tests Adaptive screen rate unless shown | 100% load everything on, battery drain – 5 hours (4.5 hours) PC Mark Work 3 battery test: 18 hours 36 minutes (10 hours 26 minutes) GFX Benchmark T-Rex: 503 minutes 8.38 hours and 3820 frames (341.7 minutes, 5.7 hours and 6113 frames) GFX Benchmark Manhattan 3.1 60Hz: 573.2 minutes 9.55 hours and 1877 frames (Out of Memory error – would not run) Idle drain screen-off: 250mA about 30 days (about 22.5 days) |
The 5000mAh battery is a major benefit, and with prudent use, you will see two days. Even though it comes with a 30W charger, it seems to default to about <20W.
It can use any USB-C PD charger but won’t charge any faster.
Sound – mono
| Speakers | Mono earpiece and down-firing speaker. It is not fair to measure the sound signature on a mono speaker system. The primary use is for clear voice. It is not for music or movies with no bass or mid before 1000Hz and no treble after 10kHz. There is no sound stage. |
| Amp | MediaTek mono |
| BT codecs | Codecs SBC and AAC (missing SBC, AAC Apple, aptX, aptX HD, aptX Adaptive, aptX TWS+, LDAC Sony Hi-Res) |
| Presets | Bass, Balanced, Treble, Vocal, Flat – make absolutely no difference for in-built speaker but does help in BT Headphone use. ( Movie, Music, Game, and Podcast – makes absolutely no difference over the in-built speaker). |
| Mic | Two – top, bottom for effective noise cancellation (2) |
| 3.5mm | Yes (No) |
| Tests dB Anything over 80dB is excellent | Media – 63 (75) Ring – 75 (70) Alarm – 75 (75) Earpiece – 52 (55) Hands-free – adequate noise cancelling but not quite loud enough |
| Headphone | The BT 5.0 drove our reference Sony WH-1000xM4 in SBC and AAC modes and provides clear sound and adequate volume. (Edge 20/Pro has all Qualcomm aptX codecs as well as LDAC) |
This is a typical mono setup you find in this price bracket. MediaTek cannot provide Qualcomm aptX codecs, so both the speaker and headphone experience are lacking compared to the Edge 20/Pro.
Build
| Size/Weight | 163 x 76 x 8.25 mm x 185g (163 x 76 x 6.99 mm x 163g) |
| Colours | Cyber Teal and Electric Graphite – vacuum paint deposit on PMMA (a.k.a. acrylic glass). |
| Build | Front: Toughened (Gorilla Glass 3) Frame: Plastic (Alloy) Back: PMMA rounded (flat) |
| IP | 52 – some dust ingress protection and dripping water 3mm per minute (same) |
| In the box | Bumper cover (same) 30W charger (same) USB-c to USB-C cable (same) 3.5mm buds (same) |
IP52 means so little that it is hardly worth quoting. If water resistance is important, then you need to look at at least IP67.
Android 11 – Excellent light touch over Android
| Android | Google Android 11 Security patch date: 1 July 2021 (September review) |
| UI | MY UX – a light overlay that adds value to Android |
| Clean Android install. All standard apps, Google Lens and Assistant. Dedicated Google Assistant key. | |
| Bloatware | Mostly productivity and utilities |
| Update Policy | Edge 20 Series will receive at least two Android OS upgrades (12 and 13) and bi-monthly security patches. |
| Security | Fingerprint in the power button: Test 10/10 FaceID: 7/10 Motorola ThinkShield offers business-grade hardware and software security protection against malware, phishing, network attacks, and more threats. |
Motorola offers a reasonably competitive upgrade/update policy, and MY UX adds considerable value to stock Android.
Missing – in comparison to some competitive handsets
| IP rating | IP52 is a joke |
| Qualcomm | No BT aptX codecs, which means SBC lower quality sound |
| 108MP | Not sure it can shoot at that high resolution or if it discards pixels |
Camera – 108MP snapper – or is it?
The Motorola Edge 20 Fusion uses the same primary 108MP Samsung S5KHM2 sensor as the Edge 20 and Pro.
But the MediaTek Dimensity 800U SoC states it can only handle a maximum of 64MP. We tested it, and it has high res setting that does produce a 9000×12000 pixel (108MP) image of about 15MB. When you enable 108MP, a notification from the camera app pops up “Processing Service is on. Camera is performing an image processing service.” It does not happen on 12MP binned. There is no AI processing (not expected).
It is a mystery, but 12MP binning mode is no big issue as most people want AI to brighten the scene and saturate the colours.
The other sensors are an 8MP Ultra-wide (16MP) and a 2MP depth (the others use AI).
We also managed to find all the sensor models used, giving us some confidence in the setup.
On the plus side, Motorola’s move to MY UX from pure Android has allowed it to focus on adding more depth and features to the camera app – it shows. Where Motorola traditionally took ‘capable’ shots, it is now up there with the best – its camera app and AI expertise can only get better.
Camera summary – 108MP bragging rights but overall, it is pretty good
| Camera | Primary 108MP bins to 12MP | Ultra-wide and macro 8MP | Depth/mono 2MP | Selfie 32MP bins to 8MP |
| Sensor | Samsung S5KHM2 | S5K4H7 | OV02B1B | OV32B40 |
| Focus | Super PDAF | Contrast AF | FF | AF |
| Aperture f-stop | f/1.9 | f/2.2 | f/2.4 | f/2.2 |
| Pixel size um | .7 bins to 2.1um | 1.12 | 1.75 | .7 bins to 1.4um |
| FOV° and cropped | (71.1°) | 119 | (62.7°) | |
| Stabilisation | EIS for video | EIS | ||
| Flash | Single LED | Screen fill | ||
| Zoom | 3X optical 15X digital 30X hybrid | |||
| Video Max | 4K@30fps not stabilised | 1080p@30fps | 1080p@30fps | |
| Features | Macro Slow-motion AR Stickers Dual Capture Spot Colour Super Slow Motion Timelapse Hyperlapse Portrait Other features: High-res digital zoom (up to 20x) Video stabilisation Audio Zoom Video snapshot (up to 9 MP) | Group Selfie Live Filter Dual Capture Spot Colour Night Vision Cinemagraph Portrait (w/ HDR and Face beauty) Artificial intelligence: Auto Smile Capture Gesture Capture Shot Optimisation Low Light AI Selfie Other features: Burst shot Timer Assistive Grid Watermark Leveler RAW photo output Selfie animation Face beauty HDR Active photos |
Daylight, outdoors
Macro
Indoors Office Light (400 lumens)
Bokeh
Low light (room with less than 100 lumens)
Selfie
I keep getting asked why I don’t use selfie shots – it is to prevent ID Theft. Results are fine and you can select group selfies (crops to make a wider field of view). Again best used in day or office light as it struggles in low light.
Video
4K@30fps is barely acceptable due to the lack of EIS and AI struggles to keep up with processing. the sweet spot is 1080p@30fps and it is stable, clear and colourful day and office light.
GadgetGuy’s take
The Motorola Edge 20 Fusion is a class-leading device in the $499 segment. That is despite its 108MP camera hobbled to 12MP (most 48MP bin to 12MP as well).
The MediaTek 800U is a decent chip found in several competitors at similar prices.
And that begs the question – do you need to spend $200 more for the Edge 20 – let alone $400 for the Pro?
If $499 is all you have, then the is no better. If it is a stretch then 5G phones start from $349 and frankly there are some excellent devices – Samsung A22 128GB $349, vivo Y52 128GB $379, OPPO A54 64GB $399, realme 7 128GB $439, OPPO A74 128GB $449. Even Motorola’s new g50 at $399 offers compelling value and features.
If you see enough difference and value, then go to the $699 Edge 20. But then why not go the whole hog and get the Edge 20 Pro with the works for $899?
Rating explanation
From September 2021, we have adjusted our ratings to give us more ‘headroom’ to recognise exceptional features and performance. Until now, 8/10 was considered a ‘pass’. It is now 6/10. If you compare the Edge 20 Fusion with older smartphone reviews, reduce them by two points.
The Motorola Edge 20 Fusion starts at a pass mark. Add the partial (no USB-C cable) implementation of ‘ready for’, its two Android version upgrades, 6.7″ AMOLED, a better than average camera (although not perfect), incredible battery life, excellent phone reception and support from Motorola Australia, and it is more than a match. It is only the IP52 rating that disappoints. If you have $499 to spend, there is no competition. It gets the tick.
Thanks for the great review. I am looking hard at the Edge 20 Fusion. I am wondering how you think the Oppo A54 / 74 satck up against it??
You would be happy with either. The Fusion is later tech and has a 108MP camera – it is class-leading. The OPPO A54/\74 has been out since May and will be replaced soon. I suspect these will have even better specs.
Thanks heaps. My need for a new phone is starting to get urgent so think the Fusion it will be.
Let me know how it goes
What do you mean by city phone?
City or suburban phone means it is fine as long as there are towers close enough. The fact that it could not find even one adjacent tower means it will become unusable in regional towns and rural areas the nearest tower may be 20km away (or more) and it won’t get a strong enough signal.
Thanks for the explanation, I experienced this issue with a POCO M3, I was driving in a regional area by using Google Maps when I realised that I was going in “circle” and wasting time!
So what would be a better alternative phone with a 5000mAh battery (or even bigger), at least 4Gb RAM, 128GB ROM?
Thanks for the in-depth review. I’ve checked out a few of yours in the last couple of days and they’re fantastic.
Any thoughts on how the Edge 20 Fusion stacks up against a Samsung A52? It seems like the Samsung probably has the better speaker (Which I use a little on a day-to-day basis), and I’m compelled by the water-resistance and under-screen fingerprint reader as well. On the flip side, I would be pretty happy to save $100 and avoid the Samsung bloatware / modded Android.
The Fusion is a fine city phone with a good clean almost pure Android interface. It is $499 and the Samsung A52 is $749 so naturally, it has an AMOLED screen, stereo speaker and more features. The Edge 20 5G is a closer competitor at $699 and on specs is ahead of the A52 5G except for the speaker. Although the A52 supports Optus n40 5G low-band so it is the pick if you use Optus.
Yeah, I was only thinking of the A52 4g, since I don’t really have a need for 5g at the moment (Not in a capital city, not a Telstra customer. I don’t mind having 5g for future-proofing, but not really a major selling point), which puts the price difference at more like $100 (For the 8gb / 128gb A52 4g).
The other Edge models not having a 3.5mm jack eliminates them as an option for me.
The OPPO A52 4G is a 2020 model and there is no more Australian stock – please don’t buy grey market. The newer A53 is $229 and A53s is $279 https://www.gadgetguy.com.au/oppo-a53-and-a53s-the-difference-review/ from JB Hi-Fi.
No, the Samsung A52 4g – $597 on Officeworks as compared to the Edge 20 Fusion at $497.
Hi,
I have the Motorola Edge 20 Fusion 5G Model XT2139-2 5G but cannot get it to work on the 5g band!
I have the phone set to 5G(recommended) and visited my local Optus store who replaced my old sim card with a 5G sim card. The phone just shows 4G or 4G+ when I am in a 5G zone.
I bought this phone from Harvey Norman and wondering if it could be a grey import? how can I prove if it a genuine Australian phone?
Thanks
Rob
It won’t be a grey market from HN. As per the review, it should support Optus n40 and n78. If Optus cannot fix it then take it back to HN (and let me know). There is no setting to enable 5G – make sure you have the sim in #1 slot.
Which do you think is better between the Motorola Edge 20 Fusion and the Realme 7 5G?
They are very good phones with similar specs. Moto is ahead on points but saving $60 on the realme also makes sense. You would be happy with either.
Hello Mate,
I’m from India and i ordered this device yesterday.
i was skeptical about it. so started looking for reviews on the internet and found this post on your website.
i have to say every questions in my mind are answered here.
thanks a lot.
kudos to the reviewer.
I’ve just ordered one from Kogan. The 3.5 alone is a winner. I’m a sound engineer. The adapter dongle things are are hated in my world.
Replacing an Iphone7.
Make sure its the Australian model – Kogan merchants are generally grey market importers.
Is the upgrade policy (2 upgrades and 2 years of updates) official?
I can’t see it anywhere on the Motorola or Lenovo websites.