Budget thinness
Unlike the iPhone Air, the Motorola Edge 70 tries to deliver a slim phone at an affordable price. It's just under 6mm thick without breaking the bank, thanks to its use of a budget processor and lower-tier hardware. The Motorola Edge 70 does come with benefits of its own, like stereo speakers, dual rear cameras, and IP69 protection.
Pros
- 256GB or 512GB storage + 12GB or 16GB memory
- Just 5.99mm thick
- Qualcomm Snapdragon 7 Gen 4 chip
- 4,800mAh silicon-carbon battery
- Available in four PANTONE colorways
Cons
- Thick camera bump
- Not available in the U.S.
- Processor and specs are underwhelming
More expensive, more premium
The iPhone Air costs more the Motorola Edge 70, and it's not hard to see why. The iPhone Air is slimmer, more powerful, and simply feels more premium. It's an upgrade in some areas, like the A19 Pro processor, and a downgrade in others, like the lack of stereo speakers or dual rear cameras.
Pros
- Thinner body with 5.6mm overall thickness
- Powered by A19 Pro chip with 12GB RAM
- Supports MagSafe, Action button, and Camera Control
- Square sensor front-facing camera
Cons
- Only one rear camera
- No stereo speakers
- eSIM only worldwide
- No IP69 support
Thin phones are having a moment. Samsung kicked things off with the Galaxy S25 Edge, Apple took the trend one step further with the iPhone Air, and TECNO provided its own take with the Spark and Pova Slim. Now, Motorola is entering the space with the Motorola Edge 70, and it's impressive.
Motorola's Edge 70 is a slim phone for those who want to dip their toes into the water of thin smartphones. It's not the thinnest, but it also comes with fewer compromises. It's not the most powerful, but it's also not as expensive. So, how does the Motorola Edge 70 compare to the iPhone Air? While it's hard for any phone maker to beat the design marvel that is the iPhone Air, the Motorola Edge 70 does as good a job as any competitor.
Motorola Edge 70 vs. iPhone Air: Design and display
With thin phones, it's important to understand that the advertised thickness refers to the overall body, not the camera bump. This applies to both the Motorola Edge 70 and the iPhone Air. The former comes with a thick, squircle-shaped camera platform on the top-left portion of the back of the phone. Meanwhile, the iPhone Air has a "camera plateau" that extends across the topmost section of the back of the phone. Both camera bumps are significantly thicker than the rest of these thin phones.
The iPhone Air is more compact than the Motorola Edge 70 overall, since the latter has a larger display. This makes the overall dimensions taller, with the Edge 70 measuring 159 x 74 x 5.99mm. The iPhone is shorter and thinner, but slightly wider, measuring 156.2 x 74.7 x 5.64mm. Both phones fall under the 6mm mark, though the iPhone Air is decisively thinner. When phones get this thin, the marginal differences in thickness matter more than you think.
Apple uses a titanium frame for the iPhone Air. It's the only iPhone to use titanium this year, and it's crucial here to add strength while keeping the chassis lightweight. Otherwise, the phone is a glass slab with Ceramic Shield on both sides. Motorola is using its classic materials for the back cover of the Edge 70, using plastic, fabric, or faux leather in place of traditional glass. In this case, buyers can choose between four PANTONE colorways on the Motorola Edge 70.
Notably, Motorola has the design advantage in two key areas. The Motorola Edge 70 is six grams lighter than the iPhone Air. It also supports IP69 durability protection, going one step further than the iPhone Air's IP68 support. The Gorilla Glass 7i cover glass on the front of the Motorola Edge 70 is weaker than the iPhone Air's Ceramic Shield, however.
The iPhone Air sports a 6.5‑inch OLED display supporting 120Hz variable refresh rates and 3,000 nits of peak brightness. By comparison, the Motorola Edge 70 offers a 6.67-inch pOLED screen with 4,500 nits of peak brightness and a maximum 120Hz refresh rate. However, Motorola didn't use LTPO, so its refresh rates are locked to preset tiers.
Motorola Edge 70 vs. iPhone Air: Hardware and specs
On the inside, the scales tip in favor of the iPhone Air. Apple's slim handset is powered by the Apple A19 Pro and 12GB of memory. It's worth noting that this is a binned version of the chip with one fewer GPU core than the version you'll find in the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max. However, given the power and thermal constraints of the iPhone Air, this isn't surprising. It'll still perform better than the Motorola Edge 70, both in benchmarks and real-world use.
The Motorola Edge 70, by comparison, is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 7 Gen 4 mobile platform. This is an upper-midrange chip released in May 2025, so it's not outdated, but it sits firmly below flagship levels. The phone can be configured with either 8GB or 12GB of memory and either 256GB or 512GB of storage.
Category |
Motorola Edge 70 |
iPhone Air |
|---|---|---|
OS |
Hello UX (Android 16) |
iOS 26 (five OS upgrades guaranteed) |
Display |
6.67-inch (diagonal) pOLED, Super HD (2712 x 1220) |
6.5‑inch (diagonal) all‑screen OLED display, 120Hz LTPO, 3,000 nits peak brightness |
Processor |
Qualcomm Snapdragon 7 Gen 4 |
Apple A19 Pro |
RAM |
8GB or 12GB |
12GB |
Storage |
256GB or 512GB |
256GB, 512GB, 1TB |
Rear Camera 1 |
50MP |
48MP Fusion primary, 26 mm, ƒ/1.6 aperture, sensor-shift optical image stabilization 2x optical-quality zoom |
Rear Camera 2 |
50MP Ultrawide5 |
N/A |
Rear light sensor |
Yes |
No |
Selfie Camera |
50MP |
18MP Center Stage camera ƒ/1.9 aperture Autofocus with Focus Pixels |
Audio |
2 microphones, Dolby Atmos, stereo speakers |
Earpiece speaker |
Connectivity |
Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.4, NFC, 5G, USB-C |
Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6, Thread, NFC, 5G, MagSafe, USB-C (2.0) |
Protection |
IP68 + IP69, Gorilla Glass 7i |
IP68 |
Battery |
4,800mAh |
3,149mAh (per EU filings) |
Charging |
68W wired, 15W wireless |
20W wired and MagSafe/Qi2; 0% to 50% in 30 minutes |
Dimensions |
159 x 74 x 5.99mm |
156.2 x 74.7 x 5.64mm |
Weight |
159g |
165g |
Colors |
PANTONE Gadget Gray, PANTONE Lily Pad, PANTONE Bronze Green, PANTONE Cloud Dancer |
Space Black, Cloud White, Light Gold, Sky Blue |
The iPhone Air also offers stronger support for the latest connectivity standards with Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6, and Thread support. The Motorola Edge 70 only supports Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.4, lacking Thread support entirely.
However, the Edge 70 does offer stereo speakers. The iPhone Air only has a single earpiece speaker, although it's louder than you would probably expect.
The iPhone Air has built-in magnets for connection with Qi2 and MagSafe chargers and accessories. The iPhone Air charges faster wirelessly, supporting 20W speeds compared to the Edge 70's 15W support. On the flip side, the Motorola Edge 70 charges much faster over a cable, supporting Motorola's 68W TurboPower.
Motorola Edge 70 vs. iPhone Air: Cameras
Another controversial aspect of the iPhone Air is the phone's inclusion of just one rear camera sensor. It's a 48MP lens that can double as a 2x telephoto camera using sensor crop. This works fine for my needs, but there's no true replacement for the lack of an ultrawide camera. If you like taking wide shots, the iPhone Air's single camera might not be enough for you.
The iPhone Air might make up for its rear camera deficiencies with a standout selfie camera. It's a square sensor that can take horizontal and vertical photos without needing to physically rotate the device. Using CenterStage software, you can zoom out and take 0.7x ultrawide shots.
The Motorola Edge 70 crucially has a second rear camera, for a total of two 50MP sensors. There's a primary shooter paired with a 50MP ultrawide, so if you love zooming out, the Edge 70 will do better than the iPhone Air. On the front, you get another 50MP sensor, albeit without the cropping and rotating tricks you'll find on the iPhone Air.
Motorola markets the Edge 70 as having a third rear camera, but this is actually just a light sensor, so don't be fooled.
Motorola Edge 70 vs. iPhone Air: Which should you buy?
I own both an iPhone Air and Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge, which means I can appreciate a quality thin phone. If you're in the U.S. like me, you can't buy the Motorola Edge 70, so your choice is limited to those two options. That's a real shame, because I tend to like Motorola's take on an ultra-slim smartphone. While it's not the thinnest phone on the market, it is one of the lightest options at just 159 grams, making it lighter than both the iPhone Air and Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge.
That quality alone is enough to grab my attention. There are other perks too, like IP69 protection against high-pressure and high-temperature water jets — something we don't often see on any phone, let alone a thin one. It also addresses some of the iPhone Air's deficiencies by offering a dual rear camera system and stereo speakers.
We can't ignore the Motorola Edge 70's shortcomings, though. The Qualcomm Snapdragon 7 Gen 4 processor powering the smartphone is unimpressive and likely won't age well. The phone is also only guaranteed to get three years of major Android OS upgrades. Meanwhile, the iPhone Air's A19 Pro chipset and five-year software support guarantee inspire a lot more confidence.
If you want a thin phone that won't break the bank, the Motorola Edge 70 is a stellar option. For those who want the best, however, the iPhone Air is still hard to beat.
The budget option
There's a lot to like about the Motorola Edge 70. It's still pretty thin while addressing some of the iPhone Air's shortcomings, adding a dual rear camera system and stereo speakers. It's also six grams lighter and supports IP69 certification for maximum ingress protection.
