With the new Motorola moto g 5G the winged company decides to continue on the open medium range 5G device line with the Plus version. The will is to ignite the desire of users for the old brand by offering good quality at an attractive price and even with the prerogative of the 5G network.
by Bruno Mucciarelli published on 12 January 2021 in the channel Telephony
Motorola
The new Motorola moto g 5G forcefully enters the mid-range market with a price of 369 ?? allowing the company to propose a new device of its historic moto g series but elevating the user to the 5G network, that is the new ultra-fast network. In this case, Motorola aims to rekindle the old glory of the g series, offering perhaps one of the best value for money in the mid-range, a bit mimicking what it had done a few generations ago with the moto g.
Clearly in moto g 5G there is no is only the substance of the support for the new fast 5G network but also much more especially for those who intend to use the smartphone on long journeys without possibility to recharge it for a long time. First of all, let’s start from the design which, although in polycarbonate, reflects the classic lines of Motorola’s moto gs. Here is a large 6.7 inch LCD panel with HDR support 10 and we know that not all manufacturers in this price range bet on this particular one. It also has a single front camera as well as a generous 5 battery . 000 mAh which also allows you to have support for fast charging. A novelty for the company that in recent years had lagged a bit behind its other competitors.
Clearly there is also the triple rear camera with a main sensor from ben 48 MP but also a practically clean graphic interface with the company’s customizations that do not take anything away from Android Stock, on the contrary, they allow you to have some more features that are not too invasive. All at a price of 369 ?? which somehow ranks with many competing smartphones in this range but with which we will see it can easily compete.
UNBOXING
The new Motorola moto g 5G is sold in a classic box of the company’s latest smartphones with the smartphone in plain sight as soon as the lid is opened and also with the transparent silicone cover not too invasive but still protective. Present all the classic accessories that are now sold by most of the manufacturers of mobile devices. In this case, the endowment we received sees the presence primarily of the smartphone but also of:
- a charger for fast charging from 18 W , a Type-C cable, the tool for ejecting the dual SIM slot but also the in ear headphones with good quality.
DESIGN
A before given the moto g 5G it is perhaps not very different from other devices of the company and of this series. Looking at it better, however, it has two distinctive visual traits: one on each side. On the front we have a camera present on the “ perforated ” display. One sensor from 16 MP who undoubtedly it changes the aesthetics of the front but not too negative since on a visual level the display is not too affected. The frames are not too exaggerated with the slightly thicker upper one due to the presence of the ear capsule, the ambient light sensor and the proximity sensor. Below there is a greater frame but in substance it does not create any annoyance and everything is more than homogeneous and balanced with the rest of the device.
Also in this case, as happened for other last generation Motorola, the display has an elongated form factor but not a 21: 9 but a 20: 9 which means that the management in hand is facilitated both for the insertion of data with the keyboard than for everyday use in general. On the other hand, it is large in its size and this sometimes precludes the possibility of reaching the top of the screen without a slight extension of the hand or a movement of the same.
power button, unlike the Plus version, does not work as a fingerprint reader which instead we find it in the back in the center of the body in a classic circular holder. The position of the sensor in this case is the usual one and therefore the index reaches us without too many problems at all times and the unlocking of the device is therefore practically immediate. To underline, however, the knurling of the on and off button that allows the user to find it easily and immediately without having to look every time. The volume rocker is instead higher but with only one key and relatively solid. The same goes for the dedicated button of the Google Assistant on the opposite side of the frame present as in other company devices.
Motorola moto g 5G has a completely polycarbonate frame which, however, both to the eye and to the touch allows you to have an excellent impression of resistance. The device also offers good levels of grip with an almost always precise and not too slippery grip. The back cover in this case is completely in glossy plastic with the presence of a texture in color Volcanic Gray that tends to bordeux , not too exaggerated, in full Motorola style. At the top left is the important structure where the company has positioned the three photographic sensors. They are reminiscent of other competitive devices but in fact the small thickness of the structure also allows on a flat surface to make the device stable without it wobbling as other smartphones very often do today. There is also an important LED flash module right next to the square of the ” triple rooms ”.
Despite being made of polycarbonate, the moto g 5G weighs quite a bit, that is 212 grams. A little or a lot let’s say that the weight is felt even if the whole device is well balanced probably for the size of the display or for a well-studied distribution of components. Moreover, on the weight, let’s not forget that the device has a large 6.7-inch panel but also a prodigious 5 battery. 000 mAh.
DISPLAY
The Full HD + resolution of 2400 x 1080 6.7 “display pixel compensates for a form factor 20: 9 quite ” high ”. The screen has HDR support 10 which guarantees to users the vision of decidedly optimal contents. Actually what we can declare on the daily use of the smartphone is to be in front of a good quality panel that guarantees vision movies or even browsing the web without eye strain. Clearly we are talking about an IPS LCD panel with its pros and cons.
Moving on to the tests on the screen we can see how the display on the moto g 5G a good level of maximum brightness is set to automatic mode in bright environments. It is certainly not the brightest of the mid-range but still allows excellent comfort and sufficient readability in any lighting condition.
Three different preset color modes on the Motorola moto g 5G: Natural, Enhanced or Intense. The difference is not excessive. In fact, with the first mode, the screen tends to find a balance with colors closer to reality and therefore certainly less shot than the other two modes. The ” Enhanced ” colors allow you to have a middle ground with the Natural and the Intense where the latter shoot strongly and make the screen even more ” alive ” even in the contents.
HARDWARE
We have often criticized Motorola in the past for using outdated or undersized chipsets compared to its direct rivals, but we are happy that this is no longer the case. The new moto g 5G sports a Snapdragon chipset 750 G , which is fast becoming the 5G chip most popular mid-range. Compared to Snapdragon 730 G settles for a slightly clocked GPU lower but with very minimal differences in daily use.
The processor is an octa core unit based on Kryo cores 570 (therefore based on Cortex-A 77), equipped with 2 high-power cores at 2.2GHz and 6 at low consumption, while the graphics processor is an Adreno 619 which supports Full HD + resolution displays up to a refresh rate of 77 Hz. The chip is made with an 8nm manufacturing process.
| OS ( at launch) |
Android 10 |
| Processor |
Qualcomm Snapdragon 657 G Octa-Core at 2.2GHz |
| RAM |
6 GB
| Display |
IPS LCD 6.7 “Full HD + (20: 9) |
| Resolution |
2400 x 1080 px |
| Storage (at launch) |
64 / 128 GB + MicroSD |
| Rear Camera |
Triple Camera:
Main 48 MP (26 mm – f / 1. 7) PDAF +
Ultra Wide 8MP (f / 2.2) +
Macro 2MP (f / 2.4)
4K UHD video @ 30 fps
|
| Front Camera |
16 MP (f / 2.2) – Video 1080 p. @ 30 fps |
| Extra |
5G
NFC
Fingerprint sensor
|
| Doors |
USB Type-C + 3.5mm jack |
| Battery |
5. 000 mAh + Quick charge |
| Dimensions |
120. 1 x 76. 1 x 9.9 mm |
| Weight |
187 gr |
In terms of performance, the chipset is very similar to the Snapdragon 730 G but offers slightly better single core performance. In fact, in everyday use we never slow down and Motorola’s software optimization seems to go hand in hand with the chipset that never gives up a moment even in situations of greater stress. It is undoubtedly an excellent mid-range hardware and the presence of 6GB of RAM do not seem to worry the user who still manages to do everything or almost everything. The memory is of 128 GB but we must emphasize the possibility of expanding it with MicroSD up to 1TB.
| |
MOTOROLA moto g 5G |
| Browser |
Sunspider |
344, 5 ms |
| JetStream 2.0 |
53. 443 points |
| CPU |
GeekBench 5
COMPUTE 1. 308 |
Single-core CPU: 657
Multi-core CPU: 1969 |
| GPU |
GFXBench 5 |
Aztec Ruins: On 11 Fps / Off 7.3 Fps
Car Chase: On 17 Fps / Off 19 Fps
Manhattan 3.1: On 30 Fps / Off 31 Fps
|
| Storage |
Androbench |
Read seq .: 948, 51 MB / s
Write seq .: 443, 38 MB / s
Random reading seq .: 187, 76 MB / s
Random write seq .: 179, 66 MB / s
|
| Generic |
3D Mark |
2.789 points |
| Generic |
AnTuTu |
326. 344 points |
GRAPHIC INTERFACE
The company opted for an Android experience mostly stock for its smartphones , even for those not part of the Android One program. This means that there is a large list of custom features grouped in the Moto app also in this new device. It is one of the strengths of Motorola phones: clean and tidy Android experience. If you like the look of stock Android, you will definitely like this one from Motorola.
Clearly we are talking about Moto Action which is an assortment of intelligent ways to interact with the smartphone between a quick movement of the device to turn the flashlight on or off, the rotation of the same to start the camera app, or a gesture with the three fingers for the screenshot of the display and much more. Also clearly present Moto Display which allows to interact with notifications or other information directly on the standby screen thanks to the system created by Motorola for some time in its smartphones. The gestures are the usual ones of Google with the back gesture performed on both sides of the display. There is also a swipe option for the backward gesture sensitivity which determines how close to the edge you need to get for the system to register the gesture. Don’t forget the old on-screen navigation buttons anyway.
There is Moto Game which is nothing but the mode that allows you to set some set of tools to improve the use of games during sessions. In this case, thanks to the display with strongly curved sides, it is possible to add virtual buttons to be used during the video game. The immersive mode allows you to filter calls and notifications, the performance section allows you to disable adaptive brightness, disable parts of the display at the edges and activate audio enhancements.
All this thanks to Android 10 which is implemented with very few things but well done as always by Motorola. A remarkable optimization that not only allows the user to have the best performance in terms of daily activities but also to be able to guarantee autonomy, as we will see, never seen lately on a device of this type.
Also, there is a completely new customization menu that wasn’t available before. Similarly to OnePlus OxygenOS, you can choose the color of the switches, sliders and quick toogle on the menu. You can also choose the shape of these quick buttons. There are also icon shapes and many options to choose from and the same goes for fonts. It’s the first time Motorola has allowed all of these things to be customized on its phones and it all started with the Edge series. Finally, the fingerprint reader is fast in most cases very accurate.
CAMERA
Motorola moto g 5G
-
Main
-
Ultra – Wide Angle
- Macro Camera
-
Front
The moto g 5G uses a Quad-Bayer sensor from 48 MP to shoot in reduced mode from 12 MP. A fairly large 1/2 “sensor that sits behind a fast f / 1.7 aperture lens. The ultrawide camera , on the other hand, take photos from 8MP with field of view of 118 degrees and aperture f / 2.2. There is also a third camera of the module which is a dedicated 5MP macro and aperture from f / 2.2, definitely a step up from the more common 2MP macro cameras. Especially since it has autofocus, which makes shooting macros much easier. On the other hand, a sensor is positioned on the front 16 MP which has an f / 2.0 aperture.
The application of the Motorola’s default camera is quite different from most of its rivals. Swiping left and right allows you to use only three modes: the default photo mode, video recording, and the last used mode. By touching the squares icon, you can access the complete list of camera modes including manual, vertical and night mode. The settings icon in the upper right corner of the viewfinder allows you to adjust the video resolution, aspect ratio settings and many other things.
How does Motorola moto g 5G Plus shoot?
-
Day photo: in the photos during the day the smartphone is average. The main camera works well with outdoor shots that collect overall good details, a fairly wide dynamic range, punchy colors and a nice feel. There is some noise in the shadows, but the overall results are nice for the price.
-
Photo in the dark: when the light fades, the image quality deteriorates. The shots in low light conditions are not at the top with some underexposure errors which also correspond to a lack of detail and the presence of a fair amount of noise. The night mode relatively improves the quality: we have better exposure here and the images are more detailed. There remains the noise that is mitigated but the result is better than before but not exciting.
-
Ultra-wide module: the ultra-wide-angle module of the device offers a good yield. The sensor does not have the same resolving power as the main one and you can see it in the softness of the shots. In fact, however, there is undoubtedly a color rendering in favorable lighting conditions and it has a decent dynamic range.
-
Zoom: the zoom does not enhance the results. We do not have a specific sensor for this type of shots and this is partly felt. By zooming in up to 2X zoom, which still has to be done manually with pinch to zoom, we get decent results. Then, by increasing the magnification, the details are lost and above all you cannot get decent quality photos.
-
Video: The phone supports video recording up to 4K and can also be stabilized. We shot a 4K video without EIS and liked what was recorded. The colors are punchy, the contrast is good, there is some noise in the not too bright stages, the dynamic range is wide, and the sharpness is important. Nothing to complain about especially given the price of the phone.
-
Selfie: HDR on selfies looks more than competent as it keeps the subject’s face well exposed even in more challenging lighting conditions without cropping the bright background. Sharpness and detail are well preserved throughout the process, while colors appear to be fairly accurate. The ultrawide camera is noticeably softer with lower dynamic range and colors that look darker. The noise begins to creep in as the light begins to fade.
AUTONOMY
The moto g 5G boasts a 5 battery. 000 mAh , which proved incredible to power current hardware for more than a day. Using the smartphone in all the most common situations with or without Wifi network and therefore with or without 4G or 5G mobile network but also to play with it, work with it or even to record videos or take photos, the smartphone always maintains a certain regularity in battery consumption. which is not canceled until after a day and a half.
Fast charging from 20 W is not the top of fast reloads . The times are also higher due to the important battery for amperage. The device allows you to recharge the 35% in 30 minutes, while a full charge took about 2 hours and 10 minutes.
CONCLUSIONS
The moto g 5G was placed on the market to bring 5G also to the economic range, allowing anyone to have support for the new generation networks that will become a fundamental point for the future.
With a limited budget , moto g 5G certainly lends itself as an interesting all-rounder. Certainly a few tens of euros less would have definitely benefited the smartphone that has a good quality front panel even if still IPS. It also possesses exceptional battery life, clean Android with only some useful and minimally invasive customizations and features and above all a capable chipset. Certainly something is missing on the cameras that are good but not excellent and above all the weight that clearly due to the huge battery makes it look a bit retro from this point of view compared to other devices of the moment.
2400
In fact there are many peculiarities that we liked about this new Motorola g series 5G and certainly an Android Stock and the excellent battery life that are enough to attract many potential buyers with the hindsight to wait maybe that the price can be lowered by a few tens of euros.
