Motorola has released a video teaser for the Moto X50 Ultra which will be the company’s next flagship phone following 2023’s Moto X40, Edge 40 Pro, and Edge Plus 2023 (all of which were the same phone with different names in different markets). Last month the phone appeared on several regulatory websites including the FCC, and is expected to appear first in China sporting a faux leather back, and a 4500mAh battery that supports 125W wired charging, and 50W wireless charging. It also is expected to feature the 4nm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 application processor (AP) under the hood.
If Motorola continues with its recent naming conventions, the device that launches in China as the Moto X50 Ultra will be known as the Moto Edge 50 Pro in the global market, and the Moto Edge+ 2024 in North America.
The teaser video shows a Lenovo-sponsored Formula 1 car racing to show the speed of the new handset. It also represents the cutting-edge AI features that Motorola hints at in the teaser, which lasts all of 24 seconds. China-based Lenovo is Motorola’s parent company in case you did not know. The video comes from a Weibo post (via GSMArena) mentioning the F1 China Grand Prix. The video also shows quick looks at the phone showing off the fake leather back and the rear camera array in the upper left corner of the device.
Last month, we told you that Motorola showed some surprising strength by finishing as the fourth-largest smartphone manufacturer in Europe during the fourth quarter. During the period running from October through the end of December last year, the company saw its shipments soar 73% year-over-year on the continent. Motorola also finished fourth in Europe for all of 2023 with shipments rising 34% over 2022.
The company is trying to recapture the magic it had back in 2009-2010 when the Motorola DROID was the first Android phone to run Android 2.0 helping the device become the first real challenger to the iPhone in the U.S. The phone also helped kick off Androidmania. But Motorola soon lost its way as the company started to lag behind other Android manufacturers such as Samsung, HTC, and LG.
Motorola’s comeback began with low-priced budget phones and while it has since returned to the flagship tier, it still faces fierce competition from Samsung and Apple.
