Motorola ThinkPhone Launches In US Today At A Surprisingly Reasonable Price

Nearly five months after we first heard about it, Motorola has finally launched its new high-end smartphone that primarily targets the enterprise segment. Known as the Motorola ThinkPhone, this is the company's first ThinkPad-branded smartphone. More interestingly, the device also doubles as a companion to Lenovo's ThinkPad lineup of notebooks. Motorola seems to be keen on driving down this companion-device aspect of the ThinkPhone by highlighting some of the capabilities enabled by this feature.

The possibilities that open up by tethering the ThinkPhone to a ThinkPad include the ability to integrate the Android and Windows experiences, thereby enabling a seamless transition from one device to another. Users can, for example, easily switch from a conference call on the ThinkPhone — to the ThinkPad without going through a hoop of confusing processes. The integration also means users can open Android apps natively on their ThinkPads — a boon for people who need to showcase apps on their notebooks during presentations.

Another feature this enables is the capability to drag and drop files between the ThinkPhone and ThinkPads. Besides these features, the ThinkPhone's advanced camera setup promises improved video call quality on the ThinkPad. Consumers will also enjoy the convenience of integrated notifications for the phone and the notebook, appearing instantly in the Windows Action Center as they happen.

Despite not featuring the latest hardware, the phone does boast a potent-enough spec sheet — which includes the not-too-old Snapdragon 8+Gen 1 chip from Qualcomm and a single variant with 8GB of RAM and 256GB UFS 3.1 storage. The ThinkPhone's display measures 6.55 inches across and uses a pOLED panel with FHD+ (2400 X 1080 pixels) resolution. This panel is also HDR10+ ready with a max 144hz refresh rate and brightness of 1200 nits.

The camera setup on the Motorola ThinkPhone consists of a 50 MP primary camera with PDAF+OIS and a secondary 13MP ultrawide camera. The front-facing camera uses a 32MP sensor and supports autofocus. The phone has stereo speakers but misses out on an analog 3.5mm audio jack. Like other Think-branded devices, the ThinkPhone is also designed to withstand a reasonable amount of punishment and is MIL-STD-810H compliant.

As expected of a device of its caliber, the ThinkPhone is well-equipped on the connectivity front and supports 5G, LTE, 3G, and 2G networks. Other connectivity options include Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax, Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.3, and support for GPS, AGPS, LTEPP, SUPL, Glonass, and Galileo. The phone also gets a dual SIM slot, and Motorola includes a 68W charger with the phone's retail packaging.

The Motorola ThinkPhone goes on sale in the U.S. starting today — April 26, 2023 — and has been priced at $699, which is not a bad deal considering what it offers.