Moto Edge X is confirmed - could it be Motorola’s first gaming phone?

A mysterious tease

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.

It sounds like there’s anew Motorola phonecoming soon, and it might mark the company’s first step into a particular niche mobile market, as it could end up being agaming phone.

This comes fromLenovo, the company that owns Motorola, as its general manager posted on Chinese social media networkWeiboabout the new Moto Edge X. This post was accompanied by a teaser image, which is just a big X, that you can see above.

According to the post the “moto edge X is infinitely powerful and full of expectations,” and there’s also reference to “savior gaming mobile phone pro”, which is sadly a big victim of machine-translation scrambling. It seems, though, that the Moto Edge X is being referred to as a gaming phone.

Gaming phones are a particular niche of mobile that have top specs and good-looking screens coupled usually with mid-range prices, but they often cut corners in other departments, like the design or cameras. They sometimes also have features like multiple USB-C ports, physical triggers and RGB lights on the back.

Some companies like Xiaomi and Nubia have lines of gaming phones, and indeed Lenovo actually already has theLegion Phone Duel, but presumably this would be the first Moto phone designed for gaming. However, the intention of the post could just be to suggest it’ll be good for gaming, not a device designed for mobile games, and the machine translation means we can’t be sure.

So when will we see the Moto Edge X? The post just says “countdown” which is vague, but it implies it won’t be months out. Bear in mind, though, that this could be a China-only launch - the Moto Edge S was released only in that country, but was followed months later by its doppelganger in theMoto G100which released worldwide.

Analysis: what is the Moto Edge X?

If the Moto Edge S launched worldwide as the Moto G100, it’s possible the Edge X will come as the G200 - and a recent leak suggestedthis latter phone is indeed on the way.

Get the best Black Friday deals direct to your inbox, plus news, reviews, and more.

Sign up to be the first to know about unmissable Black Friday deals on top tech, plus get all your favorite TechRadar content.

This leak said the phone will have a Snapdragon 888 chipset, a 144Hz screen, 8GB of RAM, a 108MP main camera and six snappers in total. All these specs would be at home in a gaming phone apart from the cameras, especially the fact the leak said there would be two front ones - gaming phones tend to have minimal front cameras to ensure the screen will take up as much space as possible.

The processor listed there is also curious because aseparate leak suggestsMotorola is working hard to put out one of the first mobiles with the Snapdragon 898 - that’s the successor to the 888, and will be one of the most powerful chipsets used in Android phones.

So does Motorola has multiple top-end phones in the works? That would be odd, since the brand usually deals in budget or mid-range handsets, but it’s possible, as it’s been pushing more into the premium market in recent years. One of these could end up being the Moto Edge X or Moto G200 then - we’ll have to wait to find out which.

Tom Bedford was deputy phones editor on TechRadar until late 2022, having worked his way up from staff writer. Though he specialized in phones and tablets, he also took on other tech like electric scooters, smartwatches, fitness, mobile gaming and more. He is based in London, UK and now works for the entertainment site What To Watch.

He graduated in American Literature and Creative Writing from the University of East Anglia. Prior to working on TechRadar, he freelanced in tech, gaming and entertainment, and also spent many years working as a mixologist.

The brand-new Motorola Razr 2024 has dropped to just $500 at Amazon

The next Motorola Razr foldable might be able to close on its own with a motorized hinge

Smeg Combi Steam Oven review: a multi-functional countertop oven that looks stunning and cooks well