So far, this is shaping up to be an interesting year. The Samsung Galaxy Note was officially replaced with the Galaxy S22 Ultra, the next iPhone 14 is shaping up to finally drop the notch in favor of cutouts, and Google's folding phone seems to finally be on its way.
But let's turn away from Samsung and Apple for a moment and check out two of the more underrated smartphone makers, and what they seem to be up to in 2022.
But let's turn away from Samsung and Apple for a moment and check out two of the more underrated smartphone makers, and what they seem to be up to in 2022.
Motorola is going to challenge the Galaxy S22 Ultra and Note series with its own stylus flagship
The Motorola Edge Plus (2022) is shaping up to be quite a pleasant surprise. It's the first flagship phone from Moto to come with smart stylus support, and as such, it will directly challenge the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra.
Granted, the S22 Ultra's stylus comes included and slots into the phone, so it's always there with you, while the Motorola Edge Plus' stylus you'll have to buy separately with a case. But besides that, it would appear that Moto isn't holding any punches – it's trying to offer an alternative to everything that makes the Samsung Galaxy experience great.
The S22 Ultra has Samsung DeX, which turns the smartphone's interface into a Windows-like one with windowed apps and a taskbar. All you have to do is connect your flagship Galaxy phone to a larger display, get an optional Bluetooth keyboard and mouse, and off you go using your Samsung phone like it's a computer!
Well, Moto has developed its own desktop interface that the upcoming Motorola Edge Plus (2022) will have, called Ready For. The name might not have the same ring to it as Samsung DeX, but it offers pretty much the same core features that power users will enjoy – windowed apps, a Windows-like taskbar and desktop… Great!
Well, Moto has developed its own desktop interface that the upcoming Motorola Edge Plus (2022) will have, called Ready For. The name might not have the same ring to it as Samsung DeX, but it offers pretty much the same core features that power users will enjoy – windowed apps, a Windows-like taskbar and desktop… Great!
In addition, Samsung's Note and now S22 Ultra have air gestures (a.k.a. Air Actions) support for their S Pen stylus, and surprise – Moto's phone will also support such stylus air gestures. On the Galaxy phones, you can use those to remotely take photos with the camera with just the stylus, from a distance; you can also control any music and video playback, and more.
So clearly Moto isn't skimping on adding the kind of flashy power user features Samsung already offers, in order to make its upcoming flagship phone a proper challenger. Of course, the Moto Edge Plus (2022) will also pack flagship specs, a smooth display (up to 144Hz, which is slightly more than the 120Hz S22 Ultra), and it will even cost less. When it launches in the US "soon" (we don't know exactly when), the new Motorola flagship will cost $899.99
Until now, Moto has only released budget stylus phones, coming with very basic capacitive styluses, like the Moto G Stylus (2021). But clearly in 2022 the company wants to try something bigger. Something that will (hopefully) hold its own in the extremely competitive flagship smartphone market.
