Motorola unveiled two new devices today – a member of the premium X-series and likely the company’s cheapest 5G phone for the foreseeable future. These are launching in China for now, but should make their way to the rest of the world in some form later.
At a glance: Moto X40 • Moto G53
Motorola Moto X40
The old X30 Pro was an interesting combination of powerful hardware and a reasonable price tag. This new model, the Motorola Moto X40, doesn’t call itself a “pro”, but it packs a punch nonetheless with the new Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset and a 165Hz display – Motorola certainly loves high refresh rate displays.
The screen has a diagonal of 6.7 inches and a resolution of 1,080 x 2,400 pixels. It is a 10-bit panel with HDR10+ support and DC dimming. The fingerprint reader is now under the screen instead of on the side. This is Motorola’s first 165Hz display, and with the powerful Adreno 740 GPU, it could distract people from expensive gaming phones.
Pro or not, the X40 features 125W wired charging and it also features wireless charging – only at 15W, thought, less than 50W on the X30 Pro. Still, non-Pro Motos usually skip it altogether. If you need to charge the phone as quickly as possible, the wired charger will take you from an empty battery to 50% in just 7 minutes. The battery capacity, by the way, is 4,600 mAh, basically the same as the old Pro.
A similar reasoning applies to the camera – instead of a 200MP main sensor, the X40 is equipped with a 50MP sensor (1/1.56”). It has OIS, 1.0µm native pixels with 4-in-1 binning support. That leaves the door open for a flagship model in the X40 series.
Next to the main camera is an ultra-wide angle lens (117°) with a 50MP sensor (1.3 µm pixels). It has autofocus, so it can take macro shots from as close as 2.5cm/1″. Also on board is 2x portrait camera with a 12MP sensor (IMX663, 1.22µm pixels). For selfies, there is a 60MP selfie camera with a centered punch hole Apart from the main sensor, this setup is quite similar to the X30 Pro.
Coming back to the chipset, it’s the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 and it’s cooled by an 11-layer vapor chamber setup (3,002mm² in size). The chipset is paired with 8/12 GB of LPDDR5X RAM and 128, 256 or even 512 GB of UFS 4.0 storage. This is a dual SIM phone, there is no room for a microSD slot. No 3.5mm jack either, but that was also the case with the 2021 model. The new one launches right out of the box with Android 13/My UI 5.0.
Motorola Moto X40 colorways
The X40 makes its resistance to water official with an IP68 rating (it can survive 1.5m underwater for 30 minutes). The center frame is made of 7000 series aluminum, the back is covered in Gorilla Glass Victus with a soft-touch finish (available in blue and black). We’re not sure if that applies to the front as well, Motorola’s details are sketchy. Anyway, the phone is 8.6mm thick and weighs 199g, about the same as its predecessor.
The Motorola Moto X40 has an official IP68 rating • Gorilla Glass Victus with a soft-touch finish on the back
The Motorola Moto X40 is now up for pre-order in China with shipping starting on December 22. The base 8/128 GB model starts at CNY 3,400 ($490/€460/₹40,500). By comparison, the Moto X30 Pro (which served as the basis for the global Edge 30 Ultra) started at CNY3,700 for an 8/128GB model. Other configurations are also offered: 8/256 GB for CNY 3,700, 12/256 GB for CNY 4,000 and 12/512 GB for CNY 4,300.
Motorola Moto G53
The Motorola Moto G53 has 5G connectivity to its claim to fame. Still, as the successor to the Moto G52 with only 4G, it is disappointing in some respects. Even the 5G-equipped Moto G51 has some better specs (Motorola’s lineup can be quite confusing).
Starting with the screen, the G52’s 6.6” 90Hz AMOLED with FHD+ resolution is gone, replaced by a 6.5” 120Hz LCD with HD+ resolution only. The G51 5G had a 6.8-inch 120 Hz LCD with FHD+ resolution. The selfie camera has been downgraded to an 8MP sensor (was 16MP).
There are also downgrades on the back end. The main camera still has a 50MP sensor with 0.64µm native pixels (1.3µm after binning), but the ultra-wide module is gone. Don’t worry, the 2MP macro camera is still there.
Then there’s the battery. At 5,000mAh it’s the same capacity as the old phone, although the charging speed is now down to 18W (from 30W) and you only get a 10W charger in the box. Some cuts have been made to pay for the 5G modem.
Motorola Moto G53 5G colorways
Fortunately, the cuts didn’t affect the microSD card slot or the 3.5mm headphone jack. The G53 has two versions, one with 4GB of RAM and one with 8GB, both with 128GB of storage. You also get the choice between a black and a white colorway.
The Motorola Moto G53 is now available for pre-order in China for just CNY 900 ($130/€120/₹11,000) for the 4/128GB model and CNY 1,100 for the 8/128GB model. Again, this could be the company’s cheapest 5G phone – the G51 we mentioned earlier costs CNY1,500. Still, the G5x model number feels like it belongs on a mid-ranger and this is an entry-level phone, but that’s just nitpicking.
