Verizon and Motorola used to go together like a horse and carriage just five or ten years ago, but now that the Lenovo-owned brand is rising through the ranks of the nation’s top smartphone vendors, its devices are sometimes released on Big Red last among the major US mobile network operators.
But while Magenta can already hook you up with a free unit under certain conditions (no trade-in) and Ma Bell is willing to reduce the handset’s monthly charge from $13.89 to a measly 5 bucks with a three-year device payment plan, Big Red is offering no discount whatsoever… for the time being.
Worse still, Verizon‘s Motorola Edge (2022) variant is considerably costlier than essentially the same phone from T-Mobile and AT&T, at a full retail price of $659.99 compared to $499.99 as far as the competition is concerned. That pretty large gap is in part explained by the 256GB internal storage space provided on Verizon, which is double what T-Mobile and AT&T subscribers can get on the “same” device.
Unfortunately for the number one wireless service provider stateside, Motorola directly sells an unlocked version of a 256 gig Edge (2022) for just $499.99 right now as part of a launch promotion slashing $100 off the phone’s list price with absolutely no strings attached. And the same deal is also available from Best Buy.
It’s even harder to recommend purchasing this thing from Verizon if we also consider the aforementioned Motorola Edge+ (2022) flagship, which is currently marked all the way down from $999.99 to $699.99 at Best Buy in an unlocked variant of its own… with no less than 512 gigs of local digital hoarding room.
Of course, the non-Plus 5G-enabled Edge (2022) can definitely be a smart buy at the right price from Verizon, backing its generous storage space with a more than decent 8GB RAM count while sporting a gaming-friendly 144Hz OLED display with a 6.6-inch diagonal and packing a hefty 5,000mAh battery equipped with fast 30W wired and 15W wireless charging capabilities.
With a MediaTek Dimensity 1050 processor under the hood and a triple rear-facing camera system composed of 50, 13, and 2MP sensors, this is certainly not a top-shelf Galaxy S22 Ultra or iPhone 14 Pro Max alternative, holding however quite a few key advantages over many of the best mid-range phones out there today. Too bad the price is… slightly outside mid-range territory, at least for now.
