Which flagship smartphone to buy in 2023?

• 

  Motorola Edge+ (2023)

  The 2023 flagship Edge+ brings an impressive spec sheet and an affordable price. From the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor to the 165Hz pOLED display, Motorola is offering North Americans perhaps its most complete high-end phone in years.

  Pros

  • Great overall performance
  • Excellent battery life

  Cons

  • Not available at carriers
  • Zoom past 5x on the cameras is a mess

• 

  Google Pixel 7

  The Google Pixel 7 is a refinement of the already excellent Pixel 6, making for a very polished phone with a great camera. With the latest Tensor G2 processor, the phone gets excellent onboard AI to offer features like Call Screening, Photo UnBlur, and more.
   

  Pros

  • Premium construction
  • Impressive 90Hz AMOLED display

  Cons

  • Slow charging speeds
  • Tensor G2 is not as powerful as Snapdragon 8 Gen 2

The Motorola Edge+ (2023) is one of the new flagship smartphones to enter the U.S. market. It offers a pretty solid package with Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor, a 6.7-inch 165Hz OLED panel, a 5,100mAh battery, and more. It does all that for $800, meaning it undercuts a lot of Android flagships out there in 2023. Google’s Pixel 7 remains one of the few phones that costs less than what Motorola asks for its new Edge+ model, so I wanted to compare the two to see which one’s better to buy in 2023. Both of these devices must be on your list of phones to consider if you’re in the market for a new one. Let’s look at the Motorola Edge+ (2023) vs Google Pixel 7 comparison to determine which is better to buy.

Motorola Edge+ (2023) vs Google Pixel 7: Pricing and availability

Both Motorola Edge+ and the Pixel 7 are available to purchase in the U.S. right now. Motorola is only selling the 8GB + 512GB variant of the phone here, and it’s available for $800. The Google Pixel 7 can be had for a starting price of $600, while its 256GB variant will set you back $700 in the U.S. Both variants of the Pixel 7 are cheaper than the Motorola Edge+ in the U.S., but you only get up to 256GB of storage on Google’s flagship. It is, however, more widely available in the United States compared to the Edge+ as Motorola has decided to skip the major carriers and sell its flagship unlocked via Amazon, Best Buy, and its own website. Also, you can only buy the Motorola Edge+ in the “Interstellar Black” colorway, whereas the Pixel 7 comes in Obsidian, Snow, and Lemongrass colors.

Motorola Edge+ (2023) vs Google Pixel 7: Specifications

Here’s a quick look at the specs of both phones to see how they stack up against each other on paper:

• 	Motorola Edge+ (2023)	Google Pixel 7
  Brand	Motorola	Google
  SoC	Snapdragon 8 Gen 2	Google Tensor G2
  Display	6.7-inch pOLED, FHD+ (2400×1080), 394ppi, 165Hz refresh rate, HDR10+, Dolby Vision, SGS Low Blue Light, SGS Low Motion Blur	6.3 inches, AMOLED, 90Hz, HDR10+, 1400nits
  RAM	8GB LPDDR5X	8GB
  Storage	256/512GB UFS 4.0	128GB, 256GB
  Battery	5100mAh, 68W TurboPower wired, 15W wireless, 5W power share	4,355mAh, 20W wired and 12W Qi wireless charging
  Operating System	Android 13	Android
  Front camera	60MP, f/2.2, Quad Pixel technology	10.8MP, f/2.2
  Rear cameras	Main: 50MP, f/1.8, Quad Pixel, OIS, Omni-directional PDAFUltrawide/macro: 50MP, f/2.2, Quad PixelTelephoto: 12MP, f/1.6, 2X optical telephoto portrait	Primary: 50MP, f/1.9, PDAF, Laser AF, OIS;Ultra-wide: 12MP, f/2.2
  Dimensions	6.34×3.07x.34 inches (161.16x74x8.59mm)	6.1 x 2.9 x 0.3 inches (155.6 x 73.2 x 8.7mm)
  Colors	Interstellar Black	Obsidian, Snow, Lemongrass
  Weight	7.16 ounces (203g)	6.9 ounces (197g)
  IP Rating	IP68	IP68

Motorola Edge+ (2023) vs Google Pixel 7: Design and build quality

The Motorola Edge+ has an understated look to it with a matte black aluminum frame and a textured back panel. We wish it were available in more colors, but the “Interstellar Black” looks pretty good and has a stealthy look overall. The matte finish at the back does a great job of hiding fingerprints. Motorola is using a quad-curved panel on both the front and back of this phone, so you’ll find it very comfortable to hold. You get Corning’s Gorilla Glass Victus protection for both the display and the back, and the phone also carries an IP68 rating for dust and water resistance. The Edge+ has the classic “Motorola” aesthetic, and you’ll like the overall fit and finish of this phone. It looks good and feels like a true flagship phone in hand.

Google’s Pixel 7 is one of those phones that’s instantly recognizable. It stands out in the sea of similar phones with its unique camera visor at the back. You can buy it in Obsidian, Snow, and Lemongrass colors, all of which have a dual-tone finish. You won’t find any curved panels or matte finish on the Pixel 7, but it’s comfortable to hold and use on a daily basis. It has an aluminum frame and Gorilla Glass Victus panels on both the front and back, and it also carries the same IP68 rating for dust and water resistance. Both phones in this comparison have almost the same footprint overall, but the Motorola Edge+ is slightly taller and a few grams heavier.

Motorola Edge+ (2023) vs Google Pixel 7: Display

Moving over to the display, the new Motorola Edge+ sports a 6.7-inch FHD+ pOLED panel with support for up to 165Hz refresh rate. It’s a snappy display that also supports features like HDR10+, Dolby Vision, and more. The quality of the panel itself is great, and it’s perfect for media consumption, be it watching a movie or playing a game. Meanwhile, the Pixel 7 sports a relatively smaller 6.3-inch FHD+ OLED screen, which tops out at 90Hz. It also supports HDR10+ and is great for media consumption. The Pixel 7’s panel peaks at 1400 nits brightness, while the Edge+ peaks at 1300 nits. It’s not a significant difference, but the Pixel 7 should technically offer better visibility outdoors under direct sunlight.

Both screens, as we mentioned earlier, have Gorilla Glass Victus protection, but it’s worth noting that the Edge+ has a curved panel while the Pixel 7’s display is flat. Both phones also have a cutout towards the top of the display for the selfie camera, and they also sport an in-display fingerprint scanner. The Motorola Edge+ has a slightly bigger display with support for a higher refresh rate, but the real differentiator here is the curved panel. You may or may not like it depending on which phone you’re coming from, so it boils down to your personal preference.

Motorola Edge+ (2023) vs Google Pixel 7: Internals and software

Motorola has packed its new Edge+ model with powerful hardware to compete with the best phones out there. It’s powered by a Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset which is coupled with 8GB LPDDR5X RAM and 512GB of UFS 4.0 storage. Pair these internals with a high refresh-rate panel, and you get a phone that offers excellent performance out of the box. You’ll have no issues using it for all your day-to-day workloads. In fact, it should be able to handle just about any task you throw at it.

It locks horns with Pixel 7 that’s powered by Google’s Tensor G2 chipset and has 8GB of RAM and up to 256GB of UFS 3.1 storage. The Tensor G2, as you probably already know, isn’t the most powerful chipset on the market, but it enables a lot of smart features on the Pixel phones that make them stand out in the market. It’s not a bad-performing chipset by any means, but it is more notable for enabling smart features like Photo Unblur and Cinematic Blur. Here’s a quick look at the Geekbench 6 results produced by each phone to give you a better understanding of the kind of performance you can expect to see:

These results from a synthetic benchmark test don’t always translate to the real world, but you can use them to gauge the raw performance of these phones to understand which one’s more powerful. Perhaps the most important thing to consider is that the Motorola Edge+ has more storage out of the box compared to the Pixel 7. Google’s flagship tops out at 256GB of storage, while the Edge+ comes with 512GB. It’s a notable difference considering neither of these phone support expandable storage. You also get faster UFS 4.0 storage on the Edge+ versus UFS 3.1 on the Pixel 7.

As far as the battery metrics are concerned, you get a bigger battery inside the Motorola Edge+, which also supports faster charging. The Edge+ packs a 5,100mAh battery unit, whereas the Pixel 7 comes with a 4,355mAh unit. Motorola’s flagship also supports up to 68W wired charging speeds that come in the box, while the Pixel 7 tops out at 20W. Both phones also support wireless charging, but the Edge+ offers faster wireless charging speeds while using a Qi charger. They also support 5G, but the Motorola Edge+ is more future-proofed with Bluetooth 5.3 and Wi-Fi 7 support. Some other noteworthy features of both phones include stereo speakers, eSIM support, a USB Type-C 3.2 port, and more.

Motorola’s new flagship comes with Android 13 out of the box with the company’s custom skin called My UX. It’s a simple interface that feels less cluttered compared to other UIs offered by various OEMs. Motorola’s My UX offered a near-stock experience with just the right amount of additional features and customization options. All the classic Motorola features are available on the Edge+, meaning you can use the chop-chop feature to turn on the flashlight or double-twist the phone to launch the camera. The Pixel 7 comes with stock Android which offers no other extras, but there’s still plenty of like about it. You do get a lot of Pixel-exclusive features that you won’t find on other phones out there, though.

Motorola is promising three OS updates and four years of security updates for its new Edge+ flagship, whereas Google is promising three OS updates and up to five years of security updates. The Pixel 7, however, is already a year old, meaning both phones will receive updates until at least October 2027.

Motorola Edge+ (2023) vs Google Pixel 7: Camera

The new Motorola Edge+ model sports a triple camera setup at the back, which includes a 50MP f/1.8 main camera, a 12MP f/1.6 rear portrait camera with a 2x telephoto lens, and a 50MP f/2.2 ultrawide camera. The ultrawide camera on this one has a 114-degree field of view and doubles up as a macro camera, so it’s quite versatile when it comes to all shooting modes. In comparison, the Pixel 7 only sports a dual-camera setup which includes a 50MP f/1.9 sensor and a 12MP f/2.2 ultrawide camera with a 114-degree field of view. The selfies are handled by a 60MP f/2.2 and a 10.8MP f/2.2 camera on the Motorola Edge+ and the Pixel 7, respectively.

We haven’t had a chance to capture the same set of photos using both phones in this comparison for a side-by-side comparison yet. However, you can check out Motorola Edge+ (2023) review (linked earlier in this post) to see some comparison shots that we were able to capture from the Edge+ and the Pixel 7 Pro. You’ll notice that the Motorola Edge+ did a surprisingly good job of keeping up with the Pixel 7 Pro, which essentially has the same set of cameras as the regular Pixel 7 plus a telephoto lens. The Moto Edge+ took some great pictures in both normal and low-light scenes, which is quite commendable. We’re attaching some camera samples using both Motorola Edge+ and the Pixel 7 below to give you a better idea of the kind of photos these phones can capture.

Motorola Edge+ (2023) camera samples

Google Pixel 7 camera samples

The Pixel 7 tops out at 4K video recording at 60fps, whereas the Motorola Edge+ can record 4K videos at up to 60fps and even 8K videos at up to 30fps. The selfie cameras on both phones can record 4K videos at up to 60fps, so there are no differences there.

Motorola Edge+ (2023) vs Google Pixel 7: Which phone to buy?

Both Motorola Edge+ (2023) and the Pixel 7 have received XDA’s recommended badge, so this one is a close match-up. You can’t go wrong with either of these phones, but the new Edge+ is definitely the better phone overall, even though it costs $100 more than the Pixel 7’s base model. Not only does it have a more powerful chip and a slightly bigger and higher refresh rate panel, but it also has a more versatile camera setup and more storage. The Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset and the 165Hz display make it one of the best-performing phones out there. It also has a bigger battery that’ll last you longer and can charge faster than the Pixel 7.

Motorola Edge+ (2023)

Editor’s Choice

The 2023 flagship Edge+ brings an impressive spec sheet and an affordable price. From the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor to the 165Hz pOLED display, Motorola is offering North Americans perhaps its most complete high-end phone in years.

The Pixel 7 is better suited for those who want a more affordable flagship and one that’s widely available to purchase from all the major carriers in the U.S. It may not have all the bells and whistles as the new Edge+ model, but it also offers reliable performance and will receive more software updates than Motorola’s flagship.

Google Pixel 7

Better carrier support

The Google Pixel 7 is a refinement of the already excellent Pixel 6, making for a very polished phone with a great camera.