Matthew DeCarlo
After leaving folks scratching their heads over the new Razr foldable, Motorola is closing out 2019 by expanding its mid-range smartphone lineup with one more device: the Motorola One Hyper, a handset that strongly resembles the OnePlus 7 Pro only with a slower processor, less RAM and a price that consequently reads $150 cheaper.
With its 6.5-inch 2340 x 1080 display, an 85% screen-to-body ratio, and a pop-up selfie camera, it’s not too hard to see that Motorola One Hyper borrows from the OnePlus 7 Pro’s aesthetics, and that’s not the worst thing given how attractive the OnePlus 7 Pro is. Key specs include a Qualcomm Snapdragon 675 processor, 4GB of RAM, 128GB of storage with support for up to 1TB microSD cards, a 32-megapixel pop-up front camera, and dual rear cameras: a 64-megapixel shooter with night vision mode, and an 8-megapixel wide-angle lens with a 118-degree field of view.
The biggest selling point of the One Hyper might be its battery life and recharge speed, which is perhaps evident from the name Hyper. Motorola says the 4,000 mAh battery is rated for 38 hours of usage, which is better than average for smartphones, and at least partially thanks to the relatively middling Qualcomm processor that’s running the show. Additionally, the phone supports 45-watt USB-C hyper charging, which is notably better than the OnePlus 7 Pro’s 30-watt charging.
Considering the 7 Pro is arguably the best Android phone of the year, it’s not surprising to see another smartphone maker find “inspiration” from the design. And there’s even something to the idea of creating a more budget-friendly version of the OnePlus 7 Pro, which typically goes for $699 but is currently available for $549 during holiday sales. With only $150 separating the One Hyper and OnePlus 7 Pro, we can’t see why many people would settle for so much less with the Motorola device, which would have been more of a no-brainer if priced around $299 instead.
Splurging that extra $150 on the OnePlus 7 Pro gets you a larger 6.67-inch 3120 x 1440 display, a faster Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 chipset, 8GB of memory (on up to 12GB if you pay for it), and so on. Nonetheless, if the Motorola Hyper One is calling your name at its launch price of $399 and you’re on a GSM network, you can order one today from Motorola.com.
