Motorola Edge confirmed to be unlocked in the U.S. and cost $700

It's also getting more RAM and storage than initially announced.

What you need to know

• The Motorola Edge will cost $700 when it launches later this summer.
• It'll also be available universally unlocked, unlike the Verizon-exclusive Edge+.
• Motorola is equipping the phone with 6GB of RAM and 256GB of storage.

Back in April, Motorola announced two new smartphones — the Edge and Edge+. The latter of those two devices was made available for purchase shortly after, but the former has remained something of a mystery. We learned about all of its specs and features, but availability and price were kept under wraps. That's finally changing.

On June 30, Motorola confirmed that the Motorola Edge will be available universally unlocked in the United States — a huge improvement over the Edge+'s exclusivity to Verizon. Motorola is still touting a "summer" release date, but we also now know it'll cost $700 whenever that does happen.

I was personally hoping for something closer to the $600 marker, but Motorola is equipping the Edge with more RAM and storage than what we were expecting. The phone was initially said to come with 4GB of RAM and 128GB of storage, but now it'll offer 6GB of RAM and 256GB of storage.

The rest of the Edge's specs remain unchanged, meaning it'll still have a Snapdragon 765 processor, a 6.7-inch OLED display with a Full HD+ resolution and 90Hz refresh rate, a 4,500 mAh battery, and four rear cameras — including a 64MP primary camera, 16MP ultra-wide camera, 16MP macro camera, and an 8MP telephoto camera.

Rounding out the spec sheet is support for expandable storage, a 3.5mm headphone jack, and 5G connectivity with the sub-6 standard. Wireless charging would have been great to see at this price, but regardless, it seems that you'll be getting a lot for your money.

Now that pricing is official, the Motorola Edge is shaping up to be an interesting alternative to the OnePlus 8. It should also compete well with the upcoming Pixel 5, which is also expected to use the Snapdragon 765 chipset.

Given how impressed we were with the higher-end Edge+, we can't wait to get our hands on the Motorola Edge and put it through its paces. Now, if Motorola would only give us a release date to look forward to.

Motorola Edge+ review: Slippery slope