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• How I tested

Motorola Edge 70 Fusion two-minute review

I always come away from Moto phones either hot or cold: the last handset I tested from the company disappointed, and the one before that was my favorite phone of 2025. So which way would the Edge 70 Fusion land? Having spent some time putting it through its paces, I'd say it's an absolute winner.

Moto’s latest low-cost mobile is ostensibly an affordable sibling to the Edge 70, giving phones journalists something to write about while we wait for the Edge 80 line. But the timing of its release, around the same time as the iPhone 17e and Samsung Galaxy A57, makes it an unexpected rival to these big companies’ budget blowers.

And, even more unexpectedly, it blows them out of the water. And that's not just because of its price — although that certainly helps. The real reason is that the Edge 70 Fusion is another superb-value Motorola phone that, in certain areas, feels every bit like a true premium handset.

For a start, the display here is an absolute winner, offering more colors and a higher level of brightness than you should expect for the price. The battery, too, trumps most rivals, with the 7,000mAh capacity lasting two or more days of use.

For me, though, it's the phone's design that delights most. The textured rear, curved edges, and bronze trim see this handset stand out from your average chocolate-bar handset.

However, not all is rosy; there are a few rough edges. The software had a few annoying quirks — the app search function has been replaced by a slow AI tool that takes ages to find your app, for example. The Bluetooth connection was prone to drop-outs, frequently interrupting any music I was playing through the device. Plus, software support is only guaranteed for three years, which falls short of some rivals.

But with the cost of tech skyrocketing in 2026, a budget phone has never been more attractive — and the Motorola Edge 70 Fusion is currently my favorite mid-range pick. Yes, even over the Samsung Galaxy A57.

I was ready to be even more ecstatic about the Edge 70 Fusion, until I realised that Moto had released another handset at this price point only a year ago that was far, far more advanced. The Moto Edge 60 was 2025’s best-value phone, but due to apocalyptic RAM prices, the new model doesn’t offer nearly as good value for money as that option. Try to find it on sale before you consider the Fusion — or any 2026 mobile, for that matter.

Motorola Edge 70 Fusion review: price and availability

• Released on March 2, 2026
• Costs £379.99 / AU$499 (about $520)
• Not on sale in the US

The Motorola Edge 70 Fusion was announced on March 2, 2026, at the Mobile World Congress show in Barcelona. It follows the standard Edge 70, which was released the previous October.

The handset comes in at an affordable £379.99 / AU$499 (about $520), but I wouldn’t go so far as to call it "cheap" since Moto G handsets cost even less. Nevertheless, it’s a far cry from the £699 (roughly $920, AU$1,400) price of the main Motorola Edge 70.

Moto’s range of handsets varies by region, and the Edge 70 Fusion isn’t on sale in the US. While in Australia, all of Moto’s phones are priced less than elsewhere.

Motorola Edge 70 Fusion review: specs

Motorola Edge 70 Fusion review: design

• Premium-feeling design
• Available in a range of Pantone colors
• IP68/IP69 and military protection

Motorola’s really settled into a groove with its Edge designs, and on looks alone, I'm not sure I’d be able to pick out the Edge 70 Fusion in a lineup with its contemporaries.

The handset measures 162.8 x 75.6 x 8mm and features Moto’s regular four-circle camera bump on the back. In the UK, it's available in just a single color, while in Australia, you get a choice of Pantone options. The power button and volume rocker both sit on the right edge; the former is easy enough to reach, but the latter isn’t.

Picking up the phone reveals some neat touches. It’s pretty light, at 193g, and fits in the hand snug thanks to a rear panel that tapers in at the edges. The thickness isn’t "brag about it in marketing" levels of slender, but it's a noticeable difference in the hand over other models.

The rear of the phone is plastic, but with a textured, almost fabric-like finish. As such, the device feels pretty premium in the hand and grips well on canted surfaces. It’s little touches such as these that elevate Moto phones above the average chocolate-bar-style handsets that the majority of companies churn out.

The device arrives with both IP68 and IP69 ratings, meaning it can survive being submerged in up to 1.5 meters of water for 30 minutes, as well as withstand high-pressure water jets. It also meets MIL-STD-810H standards, a military-grade durability certification designed to test devices against tougher knocks, drops, and jolts.

• Design score: 4.5 / 5

Motorola Edge 70 Fusion review: display

• 6.78 inches, 1,272 x 2,772 resolution
• 144Hz refresh rate, 5,200 nits max brightness
• Under-display fingerprint scanner hits and misses

The Moto's 6.78-inch, 1,272 x 2,772-resolution screen is about average for an Android phone. However, it's there that the comparisons with other similarly priced handsets end.

An AMOLED display, it offers a 1-billion-color gamut, plus a 144Hz refresh rate and 5,200nits max brightness. These are specs you’d expect to see in a top-end phone, not a handset at this price. Fittingly, movies and games look great on the screen, full of color and punch.

If there’s anything that could be better, it’s the under-display fingerprint scanner. It worked most of the time, but now and then it wouldn't pick up my thumb, and I’d need to try again. This is the type of issue you wouldn’t experience on a premium mobile.

• Display score: 4.5 / 5

Motorola Edge 70 Fusion review: software

• Android 16 with Moto twists
• Three years of OS updates
• Some bloatware, and infuriating features

Motorola packs its phones with software that’s akin to stock Android, but with a few additions and, notably, a few removals.

Ostensibly, we’re looking at Android 16, but booting up the phone reveals a few Moto-themed extra apps and tools. My favorites remain the quick gestures: a karate-chop motion to turn on the torch; a twisting gesture to open the camera; placing the handset screen-down to immediately turn on do-not-disturb mode.

However, some Android 16 features are missing — such as the system themes overhaul, which delivers greater customization options through your phone. You also get fewer years of guaranteed software updates than most other phones, at only three years.

There’s a bit of bloatware and some built-in AI tools that rarely saw the light in my testing, but tidying up the Edge 70 Fusion is easy enough. For those familiar with stock Android, everything is where you want it to be, with few other features that’ll distract you. Sure, converts might miss some iOS or One UI features — but there’s nothing wrong with simplicity.

The one thing that did prove an annoyance is that Moto has replaced the search bar in the app drawer with an AI bot, which claims to figure out what you’re asking of it, if you give it some time to think. However, if you’re simply trying to track down and launch a particular app, the slow loading time of this tool makes using it counterintuitive. For example, when I wanted to find the clock app to set an alarm, the bot would take far longer to find the app than a standard search bar would. It’s an example of AI making the usability of a phone worse.

• Software score: 3.5 / 5

Motorola Edge 70 Fusion review: cameras

• 50MP main, 12MP ultra-wide, and 5MP macro cameras
• Cameras lack some vibrancy and optimization
• A range of useful camera features

It’s hard to find listings for the Motorola Edge 70 Fusion that don’t scream about the Sony Lytia 710 sensor in the main camera. This is because this 50MP module debuted with the series, and Moto’s really trying to big up this partnership.

Like a grumpy Roman emperor, my thumb’s usually pointed downwards when it comes to Motorola phone cameras, but the Fusion’s example isn't bad at all. It does what other Motos can’t, in making pictures look bright and colorful.

Pictures display more dynamic range than I’m used to seeing, making snaps taken on sunny days appear more joyous, while also lending more variety to foliage. It’s no Galaxy phone, but the sensor change is clearly adding some pizzazz to the pictures.

Joining the main camera is a 13MP ultra-wide, if you'd like to get more ground and sky into your shots. Pictures taken with this camera display a similar color profile to those taken with the main camera, but you don’t have to crop in far to see lots of grain.

On the front of the phone is a 32MP f/2.2 module for selfies. While selfies looked a touch less colorful than snaps from the main camera — Lytia’s set my standards too high, clearly — the artificial bokeh is smart at avoiding blurring strands of hair.

You get Portrait, Slow-mo, Panorama, and Night options, alongside Photo Booth, which takes four pictures and presents them in a grid.

• Camera score: 3.5 / 5

Motorola Edge 70 Fusion camera samples

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Motorola Edge 70 Fusion review: performance and audio

• Snapdragon 7s Gen 3 chip, 8GB RAM and 256GB storage
• Can handle games, but not perfectly
• Bluetooth 6.0 for audio had some drops

The Moto Edge 70 Fusion is powered by Qualcomm's Snapdragon 7s Gen 3 chipset — a solid mid-powered processor designed to help more affordable phones punch above their weight. We’ve already seen it deliver in the Fairphone 6 and Redmi Note 14 Pro Plus.

In Geekbench 6 multi-core tests, the phone returned average scores in the 3,200-3,300s, roughly in line with those of the aforementioned phones and other mid-rangers. For context, the non-Fusion handset hit 4,100s, while the Edge 60 hit 2,900, and premium phones generally crack five figures.

Tests I ran on 3DMark showed noticeably lower frame rates and scores below those of top-end phones from the past few years. This isn’t a gaming phone, but it can handle games.

In tests, I found that the Edge 70 Fusion was capable of handling the titles I threw at it, although not always at the top graphics settings or at blazing speeds. However, for a non-flagship device, I wouldn’t have expected more.

A quick note for buyers, though: the handset did prove quite sluggish in use for the first week of testing. Normally, handsets find their pace quicker than this, but it soon caught up.

Audio-wise, the handset features the same stereo speakers as seen on other phones, plus support for Bluetooth 6.0. It lacks a traditional 3.5mm headphone jack, but a USB-C converter enables the use of wired headphones.

Unfortunately, my test handset's Bluetooth connection proved quite unreliable. A number of speakers and headphones I used would temporarily drop out, repeatedly —more than they did on other devices. While I can't say for certain whether it's an issue with the handset in general or just the review sample, the fact that it would happen most frequently when I put my hand in a certain spot — which seemed to block out the Bluetooth signal — indicates it's the former.

• Performance score: 3.5 / 5

Motorola Edge 70 Fusion review: battery life

• Large 7,000mAh battery
• Multiple days of use per charge
• 68W charging plus some battery health features

Motorola includes a decent-sized battery in the Fusion: a 7,000mAh power pack to be precise (although it seems that in some regions it’s only 5,200mAh, so be sure to check).

Such a module ensures I could reliably get through two days of use on a single charge. On lighter-use days, I was working through only about 30% of the battery.

At 68W, you can power up the handset quickly — but not so fast that you risk overheating the device. With a compatible charger, you can get from empty to full in about an hour. However, said charger — a Motorola TurboPower 68W Charger — doesn’t come in the box.

To ensure your phone remains in good health for years to come, you can use the battery protection tool. This allows you to schedule when the phone is charged to 100%, or the handset will learn your habits and won’t charge past 80% until you need it.

• Battery score: 4.5 / 5

Motorola Edge 70 Fusion review: value

It’s impossible to talk about the Motorola Edge 70 Fusion’s value without acknowledging that tech has become significantly more expensive in 2026 — you simply don't get the same level of bang for your buck as you once did with Motorola phones.

Even so, compared to today's rivals, the Edge 70 Fusion still offers exceptional value. It’s one of a few genuinely affordable handsets that manages to feel premium in a few key areas.

Its design, display, and battery life all punch above its price point. The cameras, performance, and software might deliver middling performance, but taken as a whole, this is still an excellent package. Phones that deliver a similar experience will typically cost you considerably more.

• Value score: 4.5 / 5

Should you buy the Motorola Edge 70 Fusion?

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Motorola Edge 70 Fusion review: Also consider

Not convinced by the Motorola Edge 70 Fusion? Other companies have their own flagship-alternatives, or competitive mid-rangers, and here are some worth considering.

How I tested the Motorola Edge 70 Fusion

• Tested for one month
• Everyday usage, including web browsing, social media, photography, video calling, gaming, streaming video, music playback
• Benchmarked using Geekbench 6, 3DMark, native Android stats

I used the Motorola Edge 70 Fusion for a month, and as my main handset for the past three weeks.

As a result, most of the testing was based on real-world use. I used the phone as my everyday device for everything from communications and entertainment to navigation and work. I took it on day trips, relied on it to navigate around the city, and used it for a range of voice and video calls.

I also carried out some lab-style benchmark testing to check out performance and battery life.

I've been reviewing smartphones for TechRadar since early 2019, including countless Motorola mobiles and plenty of other low-cost Androids.

Read more about how we test

First reviewed May 2026

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