Motorola’s new ultra-thin phone challenges Samsung, Apple

The race to build ultra-thin smartphones is heating up, with brands like Samsung and Apple already pushing the limits through the Galaxy S25 Edge and iPhone Air. Now, Motorola has joined the fight with its latest contender: the Moto X70 Air. Officially unveiled in China just weeks after its first teaser, the X70 Air is one of the slimmest phones the company has ever produced. At only 5.99mm thick and weighing about 159g, it blends style with substance, packing a 4,800mAh battery, Snapdragon 7 Gen 4 chip, and triple 50MP cameras into a chassis thinner than most flagships. Although pricing has not been announced, the phone is already listed on Lenovo’s official website, with a global debut expected under the “Motorola Edge 70” name.

Much like other Motorola smartphones, the Moto X70 Air maintains a clean, minimal design. It comes in three Pantone-validated colors: Gadget Gray, Lily Pad Green, and Bronze Green, each featuring a matte finish and subtle metallic accents around the camera rings.

Despite its slim 5.99mm profile, the phone still manages an IP68 and IP69 rating, offering protection against dust and high-pressure water jets. That’s impressive for a device this thin, considering that even Samsung’s Galaxy S25 Edge only carries an IP68 rating.

Up front, Motorola has fitted a 6.7-inch pOLED display with a 1,220 x 2,712 resolution, a 120Hz refresh rate, and a peak brightness of up to 4,500 nits. The panel supports HDR10+ and carries SGS eye-care certification, promising vibrant colors and reduced exposure to blue light. Under the hood, the Snapdragon 7 Gen 4 powers the device, alongside up to 12GB of LPDDR5X RAM and 512GB of UFS 3.1 storage, promising strong mid-range performance with efficient thermals, aided by a 3D vapor chamber cooling system.

Moving on to the camera department, the Moto X70 Air features a triple 50MP setup, led by a primary sensor with optical image stabilization, alongside ultrawide and macro/depth shooters. There’s also a 50MP front camera for selfies and video calls. As we’ve seen on multiple previous Motorola devices, their image tuning typically favors natural color reproduction. While it may not match the Galaxy S25 Edge’s 200MP sensor in raw resolution, the consistent imaging approach should appeal to most users.

Where the X70 Air really impresses is endurance. Its 4,800mAh battery is larger than both the Galaxy S25 Edge’s 3,900mAh unit and the iPhone Air’s 3,149mAh cell, despite all three phones belonging to the ultra-thin category. To make things even better, the Moto X70 Air supports 68W fast wired charging and 15W wireless charging, allowing for a quick top-up despite its slim build. For comparison, Samsung’s Galaxy S25 Edge caps out at 25W wired speeds, while Apple’s iPhone Air offers ~25W charging both wired and wirelessly when using the newer MagSafe charger.

The Moto X70 Air runs Android 16 with Motorola’s MyUX interface, offering a near-stock Android experience with a few useful custom features for added convenience. The software remains close to stock Android, enhanced with Moto Gestures and customization options. On top of that, the official listing mentions a built-in AI agent and an updated Smart Connect to deepen cross-device integration and support a more unified ecosystem.

For now, the phone is exclusive to China, with final pricing for the region expected to be announced by the end of the month. That said, Motorola is widely expected to bring the device to global markets soon, rebranding it as the Motorola Edge 70. It may not boast flagship-grade specs, but its mix of sleek design, solid hardware, and thoughtful engineering makes it one of the most intriguing mid-range phones of the year. If priced aggressively, it could easily undercut Samsung and Apple’s sleek flagships while proving that thin doesn’t have to mean fragile.