CheckMag | Motorola Edge 2024 vs Pixel 8a: 4 features that give Motorola's phone an edge

Concerning the design, the Motorola Edge 2024 is the better-looking phone. Although it has a glass front and an aluminum frame like the Pixel 8a, its vegan leather rear gives it a more premium appearance and feel compared to the plastic back of the Pixel 8a. Its curved display, which some people may not be a fan of, also adds to its premium look.

In addition, the Motorola Edge 2024 is the lighter smartphone of the two despite its larger display and bigger battery capacity. It weighs 174 grams whereas the compact Pixel comes in at 188 grams. It also has an IP68 dust and water resistance rating against the Pixel 8a’s IP67 rating.

Thanks to the larger footprint of the Motorola Edge 2024 which allows for a bigger screen, it also allows for a bigger battery capacity. Compared to the 4,492 mAh battery of the Pixel 8a, the Motorola Edge 2024 has a 5,000 mAh battery. The battery capacity isn’t just big but lasts longer despite the larger display. According to PCMag, when playing an HD video on YouTube over Wi-Fi and at full brightness, the Motorola Edge 2024 lasted 15 hours and 31 minutes on a single charge while the Pixel 8a lasted 12 hours and 15 minutes.

In addition to packing a bigger battery and having a longer battery life, the Motorola Edge 2024 also charges significantly faster. It supports an impressive 68 W wired charging and 15 W wireless charging compared to the Pixel 8a’s disappointing 18 W wired charging and 7.5 W wireless charging. Unfortunately, just like the Pixel 8a, the Motorola Edge 2024 does not ship with a charger in the box. 

Interestingly, the Motorola Edge 50 Fusion which shares a near identical spec sheet with the Motorola Edge 2024 but is sold in Europe (curr. €349 on Amazon.de), comes with a 68 W power adapter in the box.

The Motorola Edge 2024 has a USB 3.1 port with support for DisplayPort 1.4, allowing you to connect your phone to an external display or PC. The Pixel 8a also has support for connecting to an external display, but the display simply mirrors what is on your phone. Motorola, on the other hand, provides a handful of interesting ways to use your phone with an external screen or PC via a feature called Ready For.

Firstly, you can use your phone as a PC with a proper desktop interface when connected to a monitor. In this mode, you can run multiple apps simultaneously in different windows while using the phone as a touchpad or keyboard. You can also pair a Bluetooth mouse and keyboard for a true desktop experience. Owners can also connect their Motorola Edge 2024 to an external display and pair a wireless controller so they can play games on a big screen. There is also a video chat mode where a video call appears on the external display while you use your phone’s rear camera(s) as a webcam.

The Motorola Edge 2024 isn’t all sunshine and rainbows as it doesn’t match up to the Pixel 8a in some important areas. For starters, its display isn’t as bright and it has a less powerful chipset (Snapdragon 7s gen 2) compared to the Pixel 8a’s Tensor G3. It also has a UFS 2.2 storage type that’s slower than the UFS 3.1 of the Pixel 8a and its cameras aren’t as good, too. To top it off, Motorola’s promise of 2 OS upgrades and 3 years of security patches pales in comparison to the Pixel 8a’s 7 years of OS upgrades and security updates.