Motorola Edge 60 Fusion Review: Minor Yet Meaningful Upgrades

Forget last year’s Motorola line-up. While the Rs. 27,999 priced Edge 50 offered a tantalizing price point to push one’s budget a little higher, it turned out to be more of a mirage and not an actual upgrade compared to the underpowered Edge 50 Fusion (starting at Rs. 22,999). Motorola is going smarter this year. At a good price of Rs. 29,999 (down from Rs. 31,999), the Edge 60 Pro creates a clear cut sweet spot between their entry-level and high-end mid-range offerings (a nice, neat Rs. 7,000 difference). No confusing overlap; no cannibalization from a phantom Edge 60 (at least for now). Buyers can now simply decide based on their wallets and needs, a simplified process in a cluttered marketplace.

The Motorola Edge 60 Fusion is now upon us. However, while certain whisperings of this phone borrow from those of its predecessor, don’t get there and mistake familiarity for inertia. The company appears to have much to be told. Remember those niggling complaints we had about the Edge 50 Fusion? They’ve been fiddling around inside. So let’s peel away the layers to see if these subtle changes indeed come together in making a more compelling and expensive phone experience.

Motorola Edge 60 Fusion Design: Still slick and slim

• Dimensions – 161.2 x 73.08 x 8.25 mm
• Weight – 180 grams
• Durability – IP68 + IP69 + MIL-STD-810H compliant

Those subtle upgrades? Gone. Motorola Edge 60 Fusion arrives with a splash. Departing from the norm, Motorola cloaks this phone with a surprisingly soft silicone-based maybe leather. But, really, an insane IP69 rating is a jaw-dropper. We are talking resistance to water jets at very high pressure and very hot steam. Think about your phone is just dusted off from a power washer (well, don’t think about warranty because it’s not going to be amused). The Edge 60 Fusion, not only stands at the position of a successor to the previous model, rather, it even dares to challenge it in a dunking contest of its own.

After about fourteen days, the “Pantone-Amazonite” finish, which was once passionately whispered about, now narrates a tale of gentle wear. While its guttering brilliance has subdued, plush cushioning stays a respite, free from any cuts or tears-too comfortable!

Motorola places the signature curve design onto another level, with the screen special-cased to curve sufficiently over the left and right edges. The glowing Gorilla Glass Victus 7i demi protects well; it then graciously bends on both ends. Thin bezels provide edge-to-edge immersion and represent another feature distinguishing it from the chunkier-bordered competition, such as the Samsung Galaxy A26, priced at similar levels. A flat, matte polycarbonate mid-frame provides a grounded counterpoint to the screen’s fluidity.

The phone’s aggressively curved front and rear panels make it comfortable to hold and lend it a premium appearance.

What about the camera setup? Yes, in a hardware sense, it packs punch still. But hold the phone! The design just got a real major upgrade. Bye-bye, dual-lens array; welcome to the world of a quad-camera array! One of the new cutouts houses the LED flash, but the sensors are where everything’s at. The setup includes the usual dynamic duo of primary and ultrawide lenses, but now it also has a third sensor onboard. Think ambient light, flicker detection, and full RGB color spectrum sensing-one-from-anyway-camera-isnt-just-taking-pictures-it-is-read-the-room.

Motorola Edge 60 Fusion Display: Looks good and works great!

• Display size – 6.67-inch, 2,712 x 1,220 pixels, 1.5K, (446 PPI)
• Display type – pOLED, 120Hz
• Display protection – Gorilla Glass Victus 7i

Edge 60 Fusion is not simply an upgrade but a window to the brighter and livelier world outside. The new 1.5K display is such a treat for bright display enthusiasts; the pixel count embarrasses the old full-HD+ screen. Colors sing with natural accuracy thanks to the intuitive “Natural” screen mode. However, the real magic trick happens beneath the sun of Mumbai. Such a screen does not shy away from daylight, boasting a peak brightness of 4,500 nits and a high-brightness mode of 1,400 nits! Even under cloud-ridden, almost monsoon-ready skies, the bright display of the Edge 60 Fusion keeps its presence felt, gifting you with a refreshments-lalah viewing experience.

The panel is a slight step-down from an ultra-smooth 144Hz to an almost buttery-smooth 120Hz. The jump from 60Hz to 120Hz, frankly, is a visual treat. But putting in those extra few refresh rates from 120Hz to 144Hz becomes less perceptible, especially on an average mid-tier smartphone.

On the display front, when mentioning the silky-smooth 120Hz refresh rate, the Auto mode is clever enough to cap it to 90Hz to enhance battery life and balance it with performance. The interface and daily app navigation run smooth at 90Hz, but the games drop down to 60Hz for power-saving purposes. To enjoy 120Hz in its full glory, one has to gear up and tweak the settings. Even then, the ultra-smooth UI/app movement is not followed through with 120Hz in the games. Nonetheless, the ludicrously fast 300Hz touch sampling rate fast-keys every single tap and swipe, making it worthwhile even for frantic frenzy in FPS battles.

The phone has HDR certification, but getting HDR content from Netflix or Prime Video would not work (tech-technical-speak). YouTube was bright with spectacular visuals contrasting deep blacks with vibrant colors that popped. To sum up, the picture quality is excellent, with further enhancement from Widevine L1 support, allowing full-HD streaming from your favorite platforms.

Imagine a waterfall cascading down a cliff. That’s the curve of the display on the left and right edges, a dramatic slope into infinity. Yet, above and below, a more subtle elegance takes hold – the protective glass bending with a gentle, almost hesitant grace.

One of the few instances that put the flaunt on Motorola for audio excellence is the stereo speakers in the Edge 50 Fusion. Equipped with Dolby Atmos sound technology, these speakers hit some high notes when it comes to feeling the sound from all around, and when pushed to high volume, they also maintain crystal-clear clarity. This potently loud sound system really makes for an auspiciously cinematic time with binge-watching shows on OTT apps.

Motorola Edge 60 Fusion Software: Now with budding AI features

• Software version – Android 15
• Software – Hello UI
• Software commitment – 3 years OS + 4 Years SMR

This time, pristine and near-stock Android of Motorola is slowly being turned into bloatware by such motivation. It’s not mutating yet to Samsung-style level, but it’s something to worry about. Blame the ever-expanding Motorola ecosystem-there need to be branded apps for the phones, laptops, tablets, TVs, and even for the smart appliances. One thing to be thankful about is the fact that these three pre-installed apps and four games may be uninstalled. An apology was never asked for, at any rate.

Motorola’s Hello UI keeps its appearance near-stock but provides plenty of customisation in its Personalised menu

The clean looks of the Moto Hello UI serve as a fresh air in this bloat territory. It is a clean UI even with increased bloat gems. You can go even crazy with changing the fonts-unlike some others-while certain shapes can be created for icons-thanks to Android finally catching up. The really saddening things, though: Ads that steal the thunder from weather forecast, newsfeed forced into the app drawer (because Google Discover was not enough information overload), and the AI contest between Moto AI and Gemini for picking a digital champion.

Moto AI, a promising creation, might just need a reinjection or two of adrenaline. The core of the idea is sound, but tap-to-process post-recording sounds like an extra hurdle. Compared to Gemini’s lighting-fast responses, Moto AI feels like being in slow motion.

Picture this: A^3 voice-note memory bank connected to your photos. The idea is there, but its realization is lacking. You can take a snapshot and attach a memo-audio for recall down the line, but it’s missing the critical to-do or reminder functionality others carry-the key halves its potential down the middle. Digging these memories feels like an archeological expedition: Home Screen, App Drawer, Moto AI app, Settings, then Memory. Yeah, you can search for a very photo-and-sound tag but editing? No way. You shoot down the entire memory and create a new one anew.

Alternative:

Imagine the idea of voice notes as a memory bank connected to your photo. The idea is there, but its implementation is quite poor. You can snap a photo and attach a spoken memo to be recalled at a later date, but it does not have the required to-do or reminder function included on others- immediately cutting short half of its potentials. Digging up these memories feels like an archeological expedition: Home Screen, App Drawer, Moto AI app, Settings, Memory. Yes, you can hunt down a specific photo and its audio tag, but editing? Forget about it. Your only option is to obliterate the entire memory and start over.

This is a scene in the daily life of a multitasking mom: juggling groceries, keeping an eye on the kids, and managing life, meanwhile the buzzes on her phone simply will not stop from constant notifications. The “Update Me” feature of Moto AI works as a personal assistant during such times: it goes through the deluge of notifications looking out for those few that matter, and still delivers spoken briefings. An abstraction: what truly matters will be fed into the ears really fast, just enough to catch hold of with free hands.

Motorola Edge 60 Fusion Performance: Typically mid-range

• Processor – MediaTek Dimensity 7400, 2.5GHz, 4nm
• RAM – 8/12GB (LPDDR4X)
• Storage – 256GB (UFS 2.2) + 1TB Micro(SD) (Hybrid)

In review: The previous models Edge 50 and 50 Fusion purred like a kitten; hence, Motorola kept the same engine tract in the Edge 60 Fusion. If smooth buttery performance is what you seek, moving in and out of apps and software shall give you just that. Things begin warming up when you throw hard usage on the camera. There is no internal cooling; the heat from the processor just radiates onto the screen itself, whereas the vegan leather back stays cool. The tradeoff here is a little lag in camera operation when heavy use is occurring.

Benchmark results, as expected, were as it should be for a mid-range device.

Put Asphalt Legends Unite through the wringer at max settings-well, 60fps naturally. Smooth, sustained gameplay: this phone is not going to lose its poise. Call of Duty: Mobile performs affirmingly well too, and whether you put treatment to visuals at Very High graphics and Very High frame rates, or ask for an ultra-low-latency competitive experience at Low graphics and Ultra frame rates, it just stays there with the performance. Our 12GB RAM variant breezed through the Ultra setting in COD:M at a steady 60fps but for the high-end smartphone, don’t expect such a 90 or even 120 fps. And get ready for some teasing-as many of the glitziest graphical features remain just out of reach, ironically grayed out in the settings menu.

Motorola Edge 60 Fusion Cameras: A capable shooter

• Primary camera – 50-megapixel, f/1.8, OIS, AF
• Ultrawide camera – 13-megapixel, f/2.2, PDAF
• Selfie camera – 32-megapixel, f/2.2, FF

One might presume hardware-wise it is familiar territory. But great things happen inside: a new processor and smart image processing tweaks. I was prepared for incremental changes, yet the primary camera very much felt like a leap forward. The secret sauce is that the third sensor finally appears to be delivering, enabling this newfound potential.

Are you pondering how the Nothing Phone 3a stands against the rest? We compared Nothing Phone 3a cameras with the competition’s, so what you see shall speak better than its specifications ever can.

Compared to the Nothing Phone 3a (below), this one pumps light and color into overdrive. Brightness, saturation, and contrast are amped up so much for photos to appear. Motorola, conversely, strives for realism, producing sharper images with colors accurate to how scenes appear in reality. (Tap to compare the difference!)

Motorola Edge 60 Fusion primary camera samples (tap images to expand)

The camera, holding the very same Sony LYTIA 700C sensor in its arsenal, works its magic by outhaving the one before it. Sharper details and truer colors now characterize these photos-a good notch above what the rumored Nothing Phone 3a could provide.

When shooting with less light, the primary camera will take all the glory. Detail and dynamic range here are comparable to those of the Nothing Phone 3a (below), which, in its tilt to punchier colours and deeper blacks, somehow has a difficult time in capturing the whole spectrum of light. (Tap for a greater difference)

Motorola’s Edge 60 Fusion (top) manages slightly better image quality when using the ultrawide camera (tap images to expand)

The era of sickly colors is gone. The ultrawide has finally reached maturity. It shows scenes with colors so vivid that they blend beautifully with the ones clicked by the main camera, thereby offering a smooth visual experience.

The 2X zoom of the Edge 60 Fusion encounters problems that are non-existent for the optical telephoto of the Nothing 3a. Can you see the difference? (Tap images to zoom and compare!)

Daylight selfies: Crisp edges, true-to-life detail.

Low light? Prepare for a grainy, pixelated surprise (tap to unmask the difference).

The camera app is capable but does stumbles a bit here and there. One of those possible culprits may be the processor heating. The viewfinder gets choppy, quite identifiable while recording. Surprisingly enough, the recorded video becomes super smooth and plays flawlessly, both on the phone and on a computer.

With excellent stabilization, sublime sharpness, and detail, the videos can be quite a show. Recordings are a bit bright and do tell when highlight clipping in the backgrounds can happen. The sweet spot for having the best quality is more or less 4K at 30fps. Not the greatest in darkness, 1080p videos are still well stabilized but do get a bit soft. Low-light 4K footage is better stabilized but shimmers when in motion while looking contrasty due to reduced dynamic range. Therefore, video quality is excellent in its class.

Motorola Edge 60 Fusion Battery: Meets expectations

• Battery capacity – 5,500mAh
• Wired charging – 68W
• Charger in the box – Yes

Most of the other cellphones out there are known to have batteries with over 6,000mAh of capacity and sometimes upward of 7,300mAh (Vivo T4 is a case in point). This phone simply has a different style. It may not score in terms of sheer figures of battery capacity, but that somehow is the advantage it has: Motorola has utilized its magic to get every bit of power from the bigger battery.

Despite its slim appearance, the Motorola Edge 60 Fusion easily lasts a whole day with heavy usage

Battery anxious? The Edge 60 Fusion snickers in contempt. We subjected it to torture in our HD video loop experiment, and it maintained stamina for 22 hours and 21 minutes-Honestly. PC Mark Work Battery Life test? 13 hours glamorously-Really a tout for a slimphone. Work it hard, and it will keep you company for a whole day. If you are a light user-say a day and a half of bliss. While on the video loop, the Edge 50 Fusion shot an additional two hours, overall, the 60 Fusion has taken one significant step ahead in battery performance.

Even with the enlarged battery, charging truly is pretty fast. In 15 minutes, the phone goes up to 36% charge; by the half-hour mark, that is 61%. Fully charged, it is 53 minutes, on standard conditions. In a rush? Turn on “Charge Boost” and take about 10 minutes off your charging time, but you’ll get some heat from that service, and it’s not on by default.

Motorola Edge 60 Fusion Verdict

Motorola’s Edge 60 Fusion: little changes, major impact. By focusing on targeted upgrades, Motorola didn’t reinvent the wheel; they just refinements of it. The end result is a mid-range marvel that punches well beyond its weight class, proving that less can really be more.

The Nothing Phone 3a aims to turn heads, but Motorola’s camera prowess steals the show, as evidenced by our sample shots. Don’t write off the Phone 3a just yet – its silky-smooth software is still a breath of fresh air. However, the camera needs a serious upgrade, as highlighted in my review. Battery life king? Consider the Vivo T4 for a long-lasting charge.

If the mobile phones Motorola Edge 50 Fusion and Edge 50 have already generated some interest in you, allow me to keep you glued to your seat. Giving you lesser option to window-shop in other corners, the Edge 60 Pro is here, setting in Rs. 29,999 for the minimum price, making it a lucrative contender. But here’s what really counts: Below Rs. 25,000, the Motorola Edge 60 Fusion is nearly second-to-none.

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