Motorola's new $600 Android phone is already embarrassing the Pixel 11

Between its Razr 2026 flip phones, the Razr Fold, and multiple Moto G handsets, Motorola has been very busy over the last couple of months. Apparently, that wasn’t enough for the company, because on Tuesday, Motorola announced the Motorola Edge 2026.

Motorola’s Edge phones have always been close competitors with Google’s baseline Pixel, typically targeting the same “value flagship” niche in that $600-$700 price bracket. While the Edge series has gone through its ups and downs over the years (the 2025 and 2024 models weren’t particularly impressive), the Edge 2026 looks like it could be something special.

Motorola has made a lot of smart decisions with the Edge 2026, so much so that I think the company might have accidentally made a better Pixel 11 than what we’re expecting from Google later this year.

The Edge 2026 solves Google’s ongoing hardware problem

One of the main reasons for this is Motorola’s big redesign of the Edge 2026. Where previous Edge phones had larger displays around 6.6 and 6.7 inches, the Edge 2026 features a much more compact 6.3-inch screen. That’s the same size we’re expecting for the Pixel 11, and as a fan of compact phones, that’s music to my ears.

However, Motorola has a distinct advantage here: weight.

The Motorola Edge 2026 weighs just 160 grams. For context, that’s lighter than the Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge (163 grams) and the iPhone Air (165 grams). It’s not quite as thin as either of those phones, with a thickness of 7.22mm, but it’s still an extremely svelte package. A compact screen is one thing, but it doesn’t matter if it’s strapped to a large, clunky body. Thankfully, Motorola understands this.

Google, unfortunately, does not. While the Pixel 10’s 6.3-inch display is a great size for one-handed use, it’s almost completely ruined by the phone’s chunky design. The 8.6mm thickness is one thing, but what really irks me about the Pixel 10 is how much it weighs. At a hefty 204 grams, the Pixel 10 is only 10 grams lighter than the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra — despite Samsung’s phone having a significantly larger screen and much bigger camera sensors. Compared to the Motorola Edge 2026, the Pixel 10 is 44 grams heavier.

The Pixel series has been on the heavy side since the Pixel 9, and as much as I like almost everything about Google’s smartphones, the weight issue is extremely frustrating. I don’t need my phone to be the thinnest and lightest in the world, but I do want it to be comfortable for daily use — something modern Pixels struggle with.

Based on what we know about the Pixel 11, Google has no plans to address the weight problem. That’s annoying enough on its own, but in the same year that Motorola launches the Edge 2026 with a smaller screen in a dramatically thinner, lighter body, Google’s stubbornness becomes all the more difficult to contend with.

Good specs at a balanced price

Beyond the design, I’m liking what I’m seeing from the rest of the Edge 2026 package — even compared to what we expect from the Pixel 11. The Edge’s 5,000mAh battery is larger than the 4,840mAh cell rumored for the Pixel 11. More importantly, the Edge 2026 can refuel its larger battery at up to 60W wired charge speeds, whereas the Pixel 11 is likely stuck at just 30W for another year.

I’m also intrigued by the Motorola Edge’s camera system. The Edge 2026 has a 50MP Sony LYTIA 710 sensor for the primary camera, along with a 50MP ultrawide camera and a 10MP telephoto camera with 3x optical zoom. That should compete fairly well against the Pixel 11, especially considering just how good Motorola’s image processing is these days (as I recently discovered in my Razr Fold review).

The dual IP68 and IP69 ratings for the Edge 2026 are a nice touch, as is the durable Gorilla Glass 7i covering the AMOLED screen (which can reach a ridiculous 5,200 nits of peak brightness). I don’t anticipate the MediaTek Dimensity 7450 to be a performance beast, but then again, I also don’t expect that from the Tensor G6 we’ll see in the Pixel 11. And in Motorola’s case, it’s a lot easier to contend with a less capable chipset when the Edge 2026 costs $600, compared to the $800 (or possibly $850) starting price we’ll see for the Pixel 11.

To Google’s credit, I expect the Tensor G6 to be more performant across the board compared to the Dimensity 7450. The Edge 2026 doesn’t have Qi2 magnets (the Pixel 11 almost certainly does), and Google’s software features/update support have always outpaced Motorola. The Pixel 11 should be a very good phone — probably great — but when the Edge 2026 is on track to one-up it or compete so closely with that big of a price difference, justifying the extra dollars for the Pixel 11 could prove rather difficult.

Motorola may have a winner on its hands

While the Motorola Edge 2026 looks like a Pixel 11 killer on paper, we won’t truly know how well it stacks up until we get our hands on it. We need to see how the phone feels (past Edges haven’t had the best construction), how the battery holds up, if the chipset is an issue, and what the cameras are truly capable of.

But even with those unknowns, I’m still quite hopeful about the Motorola Edge 2026. The Pixel 11 is shaping up to be a pretty tame upgrade over the Pixel 10, and while that’s not inherently a bad thing, the Edge 2026 is already making a strong argument for itself as a worthy alternative to this year’s Pixel. With a much thinner and lighter design, promising cameras, a big battery, faster charging, and a dramatically lower price, the Edge 2026 has my attention in a way the Pixel 11 simply doesn’t right now.

The Motorola Edge 2026 officially launches on June 11.