I reviewed the Motorola Edge 70 Fusion, and it’s the battery life superstar you’ve always wanted

Do you worry about phone battery life? Do you never stray far from a charging cord or power bank? If so, the Motorola Edge 70 Fusion could be the phone you’ve been waiting for, as it has the potential to rid you of your battery woes.

This reasonably priced Motorola phone has impressed me, but it’s far from perfect, and some Motorola decisions continue to frustrate me. Have they ruined the Edge 70 Fusion? Let’s find out.

6.5/10

SoC

Qualcomm Snapdragon 7S Gen 3

Display dimensions

6.78-inch

Battery

7,000mAh

RAM

8GB

The Motorola Edge 70 Fusion is a slim, lightweight phone with a massive battery inside, which becomes the primary reason to consider the device.

Pros & Cons

• Incredible battery life
• Durable body
• Main camera takes punchy photos

• No true always-on screen
• Bloatware

Price, specs, and availability

The Motorola Edge 70 Fusion is not available in the US, but is available in the UK and other global regions. Motorola treats the US differently, with specific nomenclature and slightly different device specs, so expect the Edge 70 Fusion to arrive under a different name.

The phone costs £380, which is about $500, for the 8GB/256GB model with a 7,000mAh battery. We reviewed this version, and it is only available in the Pantone Silhouette color seen in our photos.

It wouldn’t be a Motorola phone without some additional confusion to make life difficult for buyers. The Edge 70 Fusion is also available with a 5,200mAh battery inside, in a wider range of colors, for £370. We don’t suggest you buy this model.

Alternative phones to consider around this price include the Google Pixel 10a, the Samsung Galaxy A37, and the Nothing Phone 4a.

One further thing to note is, Motorola regularly discounts its phones, so make sure you look out for offers before buying.

Motorola Edge 70 Fusion design

Curved screen will split opinion

The Motorola Edge 70 Fusion’s design is going to split opinion. Some people prefer the futuristic curved-edge glass covering the screen, while others prefer flat glass over their phone’s screen.

You’re going to have to like a sharp edge on some curved glass to get on with the Edge 70 Fusion, as it falls away at the sides into a tapered edge. You feel it when you hold the phone, and notice it when light reflects on the edges and corners.

This does make the phone thin at 7.99mm, and even with the big battery inside, it’s light at 193 grams. You’ll make do with a plastic frame, although you barely feel it, and the nylon rear cover is tactile and eye-catching. It has a surprisingly expensive feel, and it’s almost preferable to a slab of glass.

Motorola’s made the Edge 70 Fusion really durable with an IP68 and IP69 dust and water resistance rating, plus an MIL-STD-810H toughness certification. It’s a confidence-inspiring phone, provided you keep a tight grip on those tapered, slightly sharp sides.

Yes, sharp sides. I like the way curved screens look, but don’t always appreciate the poor ergonomics that come with them, and this is evident on the Edge 70 Fusion.

You won’t notice so much if you put it in a case, but if you don’t, you’ll have to get used to the chassis digging into your palm a bit.

Motorola Edge 70 Fusion battery life and charging

The phone’s big selling point

The combination of a battery with a large capacity, an efficient processor, and a modest screen resolution means the Edge 70 Fusion makes the most out of its available energy. This is a battery superstar, and if you don’t want battery anxiety or frequent trips to a charger, it’s the phone for you.

A 30-minute YouTube video at 1440p over Wi-Fi takes 3%, and a 30-minute session of Asphalt Legends takes 7%. Even running the 3DMark benchmarking app’s 20-minute Wild Life Extreme Stress test only took 5% from the battery.

It means you can really enjoy your phone for longer on a single charge than many competing devices. How much longer? At least two days of use, with some gaming, and easily into three days without.

On one day, testing the Edge 70 Fusion, I exceeded five hours of screen time with some gaming and benchmarking, and it took only around 50% of the battery. This is superb performance, and emphasizes the phone’s greatest strength.

Getting the Edge 70 Fusion to charge at its maximum speed is a challenge. After trying various Anker chargers, I only ever saw a maximum of 25W, and not the 68W promised in the phone’s spec sheet.

Even with the Charge Boost option in the Settings menu active, the phone reached 35% after 30 minutes, and it took at least 90 minutes to fully charge. This is the situation you will face if you don’t purchase a dedicated Motorola charging block, as one does not come in the box.

Motorola Edge 70 Fusion camera

Fun main camera is worth using

You get a 50-megapixel Sony Lytia 710 main camera and a 13MP wide-angle on the back of the Edge 70 Fusion, and a 3-in-1 light sensor Motorola generously calls a “third camera.”

The main camera is brilliant for social media, and you can have fun with the macro mode in the camera app, too. Photos are really colorful and punchy, and there’s plenty of detail when you crop them down.

You can spot some noise and smoothing when you look closely, but this shouldn’t worry the average person looking at the Edge 70 Fusion. Instead, just have fun with the main camera.

The wide-angle camera is less successful, with amped-up colors making photos look far from natural. The 2x shortcut in the app isn’t worth using either, as photos are blurry and suffer from focus problems.

Elsewhere, you can shoot 4K video at 30fps, 1080p video at 60fps, and slow-motion video at 120fps. There’s a choice of Natural or Vivid color filters, and a way to use AI to edit photos in your own signature style.

Motorola Edge 70 Fusion performance and software

Adequate, but it can struggle

Motorola has chosen the Qualcomm Snapdragon 7S Gen 3 processor for the Edge 70 Fusion, a chip released at the end of 2024, and it feels like the main place where the brand has compromised to meet the low retail price.

The Edge 70 Fusion has adequate performance, but not much more. The 8GB of RAM holds the phone back a little when trying to do a lot of things at the same time too.

You notice that restarting the phone takes noticeably longer than other devices. There are various hesitations when using the operating system, and apps do hang on occasion, which I’ve noticed in the camera and when closing apps like Reddit.

Playing Asphalt Legends, the game tells you the phone only supports 30fps, and although it runs without hesitation, it doesn’t feel as fast or exciting as it does on phones with higher performing processors like the OnePlus 15R. Take note if you play graphically intensive games on a regular basis.

However, there’s no significant heat buildup, which helps with efficiency. The Edge 70 Fusion isn’t going to challenge any flagship phones for performance crowns, but it does a good job of handling general everyday tasks, provided you accept a few slowdowns now and then.

Motorola Edge 70 Fusion frustrations

Apps, and always-on screen

There are two main frustrations with the Motorola Edge 70 Fusion, and they aren’t unique to the phone; they are, instead, issues Motorola refuses to change on the majority of its phones.

The first is the software. It has Android 16 installed, and it’ll get three OS updates and five years of security updates, which is acceptable for a phone of this value.

The problem is Motorola’s obsession with pre-installed apps — I counted 21 apps I didn’t request — and the way it often forces you to install them. During setup, it asks you to “review” a collection of additional app installs, but there’s no way to stop them from being installed.

This is followed by another list of games it wants to install, which you can refuse, provided you make sure you untick the boxes first, and don’t just tap Skip. Motorola includes a Games folder to encourage more downloads once you’ve finished. It all feels intrusive, a bit shady, and offers almost no benefit to the buyer.

I’m now going to sound like a broken record for another frustration, because there’s no permanent, always-on screen feature either. It’s baffling to me why Motorola doesn’t offer it as an option, preferring to only let you tap the screen to see information.

It’s also a shame, as its ambient “Peek” display looks great, and would benefit from being activated all the time. Yet, Motorola doesn’t give you the opportunity, unlike every other brand out there.

Are these reasons not to buy? No, but they do diminish the appeal of the phone.

Should you buy the Motorola Edge 70 Fusion?

The number one reason you should consider the Motorola Edge 70 Fusion is the battery life. It’s transformative and will definitely see you plug your phone into the charger less, regardless of what you do with it.

Not everyone will like the shape of the phone, but I think it looks sleek and modern, and the textured rear panel makes it suitably different from other phones at this price. Sure, it’s a bit sharp to grip, but put it in a case and it won’t bother you.

Motorola pain points still exist, though. It lacks the Pixel 10a’s long-term software support, there are too many pre-installed apps forced on you, there’s no always-on display, and the performance isn’t as swift and reliable as phones like the Nothing Phone 4a Pro.

Considering the price, you may accept these compromises just to get the stellar battery life, and for that, the Motorola Edge 70 Fusion is a very good buy. Just keep your expectations for the rest in check, and be mindful of any deals that sweeten the deal before picking one up.

6.5/10

SoC

Qualcomm Snapdragon 7S Gen 3

Display dimensions

6.78-inch

Battery

7,000mAh

Rear camera

50MP main / 13MP wide-angle

The 7,000mAh battery, and the long use between charges it enables, is the main reason to buy the Motorola Edge 70 Fusion. The rest is unremarkable, and frustrations around pre-installed apps and hobbled always-on screen continue to blight the brand.