Motorola Edge 60 Pro long-term review: still a pro?

It’s been about four months since the Motorola Edge 60 Pro launched on April 30th. My original review went live on May 15th, after I used the device as my personal phone for the better part of a month. I liked it then, but the real test of any phone is how it holds up over time.

For this long-term review, I switched back to the Edge 60 Pro as my daily driver in mid-August and have been using it exclusively for nearly a month. Having spent considerable time with this phone, both when it was brand new and now that the initial hype has settled, I care to guess that I have a somewhat complete picture of its day-to-day performance.

When I first reviewed the phone, it left me quite impressed, given that it virtually addressed every criticism about its predecessor, namely the battery, processor, and other hardware quirks. I did say it was the phone to beat under Rs 30,000, and now with prospective new launches on board, it’s time to find out if the Motorola Edge 60 Pro still deserves its “Pro” tag in this long-term review.

The display is a bit of a mixed bag

The Motorola Edge 60 Pro’s display has been a love-hate relationship for me. On the one hand, the panel itself is great. It has a sharp 1.5K resolution, a smooth 120Hz refresh rate, a rich colour profile, and HDR10+ support. A welcome improvement is that while HDR on Netflix wasn’t supported at launch, it is now. Funnily enough, 4K HDR video playback on YouTube has started to stutter, which wasn’t an issue before. Paired with some great speakers, it makes for a visually immersive experience for its price.

On the other hand, it is a curved panel. Now, a curved display does add a touch of premiumness to the design, and many people appreciate it. But it doesn’t quite work for me. Because of the way I hold the phone, my palm often rests on the edge of the screen, causing the display to either register accidental touches or reject my intended ones. I’ve had moments where I couldn’t pause music or pull down the notification panel. Using a case alleviates this issue to a large extent, but as someone who enjoys using a phone without one, it remains a big annoyance. This problem hasn’t changed much from my time during the initial review.

Tough where it counts, except the screen

August and early September have been brutal months, with frequent rain and thunderstorms that have tested both me and the Moto Edge 60 Pro. I’m not fond of testing my electronics against the elements, but there is little recourse when Mother Nature decides for you. My phone has been splashed one too many times and has come out unscathed every time. Now, if that doesn’t give you confidence in its IP68/IP69 dust and water resistance, nothing will. I’ve also dropped this phone a few times, and there’s no visible damage, so the durability is extremely good. I would still suggest practising caution, though, as a bad fall can still catch you off guard.

Another change that has come to light only due to prolonged use is how easily the panel picks up scratches and scuffs. There’s no pre-applied screen guard, so I just used the phone normally. In a couple of months of use, however, the panel has picked up a plethora of micro-scratches, which isn’t ideal. I’d suggest immediately getting a good-quality membrane screen guard (not the UV glue tempered glass) applied to the display if you do buy it.

Software experience is mostly solid

Now, before I talk about the software, there’s one big point to address. Motorola’s history with software updates has been less than stellar, but the Edge 60 Pro has been receiving regular monthly security patches. The latest update was the August security patch, although it was released in September. The Android 16 update should come on board soon, too.

However, there are still a few bugs here and there. I’ve had instances where the home screen and app drawer would merge when I swipe back from the app drawer. There were also a few times my apps have crashed mid-use, most often with Instagram. But these are mostly rare niggles.

Motorola’s software is one of the cleaner UIs you can get at this price point, and the inclusion of new AI tools has only made it better. During my initial review, I noted that a lot of these AI features are pretty helpful, and that has remained true. I still regularly employ features like “Catch Me Up” and “Remember this.” Unfortunately, the former still produces grammatical errors at times, which hasn’t changed much since my first review. It’s a bit of a shame, since it means I often have to cross-check the details when relying on it for summarising important notifications.

The AI Signature Style feature remains one of my favourites. As a little refresher, this allows the camera to fine-tune the colours of images you capture to your preferred style. It needs a few samples to register your colour palette, but it is immensely useful for someone like me who often ends up colour-correcting images.

However, the best thing for me isn’t an AI feature but Moto’s Smart Connect. I pair it with my work laptop, and the shared clipboard feature alone is something I could praise endlessly. It eliminates the hassle of pairing WhatsApp, Instagram, and other apps individually to my laptop, allowing me to directly note and pick up notifications, content, and files from my phone. Other handy functions, like using your phone as a webcam, smoother cast screen options and more, have only made me appreciate it more.

Performance and cameras are just as good

I’ve combined these two sections since there’s not much change here compared to my initial experience. The MediaTek Dimensity 8350 SoC on this device still delivers some of the best performance results in this price bracket. While the Edge 60 Pro trails behind some newer competitors like the OPPO K13 Turbo and OnePlus Nord 5, it is only marginally behind, and the difference in day-to-day life is non-existent.

The cameras remain just as good. It still captures vibrant, sharp images in all lighting conditions, and the performance remains consistent. While the initial lag in the camera app has decreased slightly, it is still not very speedy.

I’ve heard some users complaining about camera lens fogging during the monsoons, but that hasn’t been my experience. I’ve been through the same weather and have had the pleasure of being drenched a couple of times myself. The camera on my unit, at least, didn’t face this issue, so I can’t speak to the veracity of these online complaints.

Connectivity was an unpleasant surprise

The most unpleasant surprise during my long-term testing has been the connectivity, something I didn’t realise during my initial review because I was living somewhere else. It is not often that I struggle with network issues with a modern device in my hands, but my experience with this phone has left me a little sour. I now live on the fourth floor, and while my new apartment is a little indoors, so cellular network can be lacking at times, I haven’t faced this many connectivity issues since the 3G era, or unless it’s a budget phone.

This device had me awkwardly positioning my hand towards the ceiling, walking around the room during video calls, and twisting and redirecting the phone, all while praying for a stable connection. I’ve used other phones in this price bracket, such as the OnePlus Nord 5, OPPO K13 Turbo, and Infinix GT 30 Pro, to name a few, but this issue has only occurred with the Edge 60 Pro. Even Wi-Fi connectivity was sometimes lacking, with the phone randomly dropping Wi-Fi bars for no apparent reason.

Personally, the networking capabilities of this device could have been improved, and this limitation became apparent only with a change in environment.

Battery life is even better now

The battery’s day-to-day performance was one of this device’s key strengths initially, and I’m pleased to report that this aspect has been further strengthened. During my initial review, I got about 7-8 hours of screen-on-time with 5G enabled. New phones intelligently adapt to your daily usage patterns, so that was a great number for a new device already. Now, I still got roughly the same amount of SOT this time around, but now with my 5G hotspot turned on all day, courtesy of not opting for a broadband connection at my new place.

I expected lower battery life, but to my surprise, it gave me just as much use. I had my hotspot turned on all day with 5G, played light games, did a lot of texting and browsing, and used a fair amount of social media every day, and still got a full day’s use out of it.

I never even bothered to charge this device overnight. My usual charging time was roughly 30 minutes before I left for the office, and the 90W charger topped up my battery completely, without fail, every time. So rejoice: even if you’re a heavy user, you will easily get through your day and into the next morning.

Should you buy the Motorola Edge 60 Pro?

So, after all this time, should you still buy the Motorola Edge 60 Pro? If you can catch it in the upcoming Big Billion Day for around Rs 26,000-27,000, then absolutely. At that price, it’s an excellent deal for a phone that is this capable.

Its key strengths have held up extremely well. The battery life is still one of its best features, and the MediaTek Dimensity 8350 keeps things running smoothly with great day-to-day performance. The display is vibrant and immersive, and the phone is extremely durable, especially against water. All that being said, the screen does pick up scratches easily, so definitely get a screen protector on day one.

I did run into some network connectivity hiccups, but that could easily be down to my specific location and may not reflect your experience at all. On the software front, it’s clean and mostly good, with some useful AI features. For me, the personal highlight remains Moto’s Smart Connect, which makes syncing with a laptop seamless.

Put it all together, and the Motorola Edge 60 Pro is what I still believe to be one of the best phones under Rs 30,000. If you are looking for a reliable, all-around performer and can grab it during a sale, the Motorola Edge 60 Pro is a phone that fully deserves its “Pro” title and is definitely something I’d recommend.