Motorola showcased the new Signature 27 at Qualcomm’s Snapdragon Summit. It runs the Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6, Qualcomm’s new top phone chip. It also has a 200MP periscope zoom camera, a new 50MP Sony main camera and speakers tuned by Bang & Olufsen. It goes on sale in the US in November, and Motorola hasn’t given a price.
This was a first look. Motorola confirmed the chip, two of the cameras, the cooling, the speakers, the colours and the update policy. It hasn’t given the screen, battery, charging speed, size or weight.
The Signature 27 is the second phone in Motorola’s Signature line, its most expensive range. The first, called just the Signature, launched in January at EUR 999, or about KES 148,000. The Signature 27 in the new name is a model year. Motorola will now name these phones after the year that follows their launch, so a phone out in late 2026 carries 27.
Motorola Signature 27 vs Motorola Signature: specs
| Motorola Signature 27 | Motorola Signature | |
|---|---|---|
| Announced | September 2026 | January 2026 |
| Chip | Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6 | Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 |
| Main camera | 50MP Sony LYTIA 910, 1/1.28-inch | 50MP Sony LYTIA 828, 1/1.28-inch |
| Zoom camera | 200MP periscope, optical zoom not announced | 50MP periscope, 3x optical zoom |
| Maximum zoom | 100x Super Zoom | 100x Super Zoom |
| Ultrawide camera | Not announced | 50MP |
| Selfie camera | Not announced | 50MP |
| Screen | Not announced | 6.8-inch AMOLED, 165Hz |
| Battery | Not announced | 5,200mAh silicon-carbon |
| Charging | Not announced | 90W wired, 50W wireless |
| Thickness and weight | Not announced | 6.99mm, 186g |
| Water and dust rating | Not announced | IP68 and IP69 |
| Cooling | ArcticMesh, 40% larger than before | Copper mesh with liquid metal |
| Speakers | Audio by Bang & Olufsen | Sound by Bose |
| Updates | 7 Android upgrades, 7 years of security updates | 7 Android upgrades, 7 years of security updates |
| Colours | Pantone Coal Smoke, Pantone Capulet Olive | Pantone Carbon, Pantone Martini Olive |
| Price | Not announced | EUR 999 (about KES 148,000) |
| US sales | November 2026 | Not sold in the US |
The chip: Motorola goes to Qualcomm’s top tier
The first Motorola Signature ran the Snapdragon 8 Gen 5. This time Qualcomm has made two top chips, the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 and a faster Extreme version above it. Motorola is using the Extreme, which beats the regular chip at graphics, AI and video recording.
We’ve explained both chips side by side, with a list of the other phones that will be using each. Standouts right now are the Xiaomi 18 Pro Max which went on sale in China today, and the Honor Magic 9 Pro Max which launches on 28 September.
Cost
Expect the device to cost more than the last Signature. Memory chips have been getting more expensive all year, and Xiaomi’s 18 Pro Max launched today at about KES 19,300 more than the 17 Pro Max did a year ago. vivo’s X500 series went up for the same reason.
The first real price comes with the US launch in November. Until then, the first Signature’s EUR 999, about KES 148,000, is the number to measure the Signature 27 against.
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