Motorola Edge 70 review: the new £699 ultra-thin device has a silicone back and great battery life, but the OS is full of ads; the phone won't launch in the US
I've been as much of a thin phone skeptic as anyone. Why would I give up on camera specs and battery life just to shave …
Context & Ripple Effects
Motorola’s recent Edge Plus reviews repeatedly credited battery life, including the 2023 model’s strong battery and performance, even as hardware compromises varied across generations. The Edge 70 carries that battery emphasis into a thinner design rather than treating endurance as the expected casualty of slimness.
The sharper break is in the software experience: a premium-priced Edge handset is being assessed not only on hardware, but on how prominently ads shape ownership. Its absence from the US also confines that test to Motorola’s launch markets.
First-order effects
- Buyers in launch markets get a £699 ultra-thin Motorola with strong reported battery life and a silicone back, but must accept an OS experience described as ad-heavy.
- US consumers cannot buy the Edge 70 through an official domestic launch, limiting Motorola’s immediate addressable market for this model.
Second-order effects
- Software advertising becomes a more material purchase trade-off against the phone’s thinness and battery performance, giving rival handset makers an opening to position cleaner software as premium value.
- The Edge line’s long-running battery strength, also noted in the 2022 Edge Plus review, is no longer sufficient by itself to define the ownership experience if ads dominate reviewer and buyer perception.
Third-order effects
- If premium devices increasingly pair competitive hardware with ad-supported software, handset competition may shift toward recurring revenue per device as well as upfront price and specifications.
- Regional release strategies can make product positioning less globally comparable: a model that tests a hardware-and-software formula abroad does not directly pressure the US market unless Motorola expands availability.
The trend: The Edge 70 is one example of smartphone makers trying to preserve premium hardware appeal while making the ongoing software experience—and its monetization—more consequential.