Introduction
About half a year after the Motorola Moto G 5G Plus, the company released the more affordable version - the vanilla Moto G 5G. The newer device is almost identical to its older sibling in terms of design and hardware. There are just a couple of key components differentiating the two and allowing for a lower price point.
The standard Moto G 5G tones down the chipset to Snapdragon 750G instead of the Snapdragon 765G on the Plus model, and that's probably a good thing. We start seeing a trend here, and we like how Motorola is putting effort into bringing more recent chipsets into consumers' hands. Older Motorola handsets were often scolded for coming out with older SoCs. This is no longer the case. Both the Moto G 5G and the Moto G 5G Plus employ capable and up-to-date chipsets.
Motorola Moto G 5G specs at a glance:
- Body: 166.1x76.1x9.9mm, 212g; Glass front, plastic back, plastic frame.
- Display: 6.70" LTPS IPS LCD, HDR10, 1080x2400px resolution, 20:9 aspect ratio, 393ppi.
- Chipset: Qualcomm SM7225 Snapdragon 750G 5G (8 nm): Octa-core (2x2.2 GHz Kryo 570 & 6x1.8 GHz Kryo 570); Adreno 619.
- Memory: 64GB 4GB RAM, 128GB 6GB RAM; microSDXC (uses shared SIM slot).
- OS/Software: Android 10.
- Rear camera: Wide (main): 48 MP, f/1.7, 26mm, 1/2.0", 0.8µm, PDAF; Ultra wide angle: 8 MP, f/2.2, 118˚, 1.12µm; Macro: 2 MP, f/2.4, AF.
- Front camera: 16 MP, f/2.2, (wide), 1.0µm.
- Video capture: Rear camera: 4K@30fps, 1080p@30/60fps, gyro-EIS; Front camera: 1080p@30fps.
- Battery: 5,000mAh; Fast charging 20W.
- Misc: Fingerprint reader (rear-mounted); NFC; FM radio; 3.5mm jack.
Another key difference would be the display. Size and resolution (mostly) match, but the non-Plus variant we have here skips the HRR and settles for a standard 60Hz refresh rate. The camera experience is expected to be largely the same. Only the macro lens and the secondary selfie camera are missing, but the important ones are borrowed from the Plus' setup. Battery and charging remain the same too.
But enough about the differences and similarities between the two. Like the Plus model, the proper Moto G 5G faces some stiff competition in this segment. We have Xiaomi, Samsung and Realme with similar or identical chipsets offering an excellent value for money. So let's see if the Moto G 5G is up to the task.
Unboxing the Motorola Moto G 5G
The handset comes in a standard box with the usual user manuals and the appropriate wall charger, and USB-A to USB-C cable. The charger is rated at 20W to support the phone's fast-charging capability. You also get a transparent silicone case as a bonus.
Design and ergonomics
As we already pointed out, the non-Plus model's design is quite similar to the Plus with some minor differences. The Moto G 5G is still built entirely of plastic, which has its upsides. For instance, the back panel doesn't feel as slippery as your standard glass back would, the side frame strongly mimics anodized aluminum, and it's really nice to touch, and the use of plastic brings the weight down. Although, the phone is still pretty hefty at 212g. Then again, it's a large 6.7-inch device with an ample 5,000 mAh battery on board.
We received the Volcanic Gray color, which at certain angles looks more like a really dark purple. The same dotted pattern from the Mogo G 5G Plus can be observed here as well, but it's harder to notice in most lighting conditions. Unfortunately, the fingerprints and smudges are much more visible.
The camera bump is again placed in the upper-left corner, and it resembles the one found on the Huawei Mate 30-series (those had it in the middle) and the current iPhone generation. It makes the phone stand out, it's not protruding as much, and to maintain the symmetry, one of the lenses (the macro one from the Plus configuration) is swapped for the LED flash. The fingerprint reader has also been moved to the back, keeping the power button nice and simple.
The Power button is subtly textured, while the Google's assistant button has a more noticeable texture. This makes sure that you always know which button you are pressing without having to look. The positioning of the power button and the rear-mounted fingerprint reader isn't ideal. Since it's a big phone with a relatively tall screen (20:9 aspect ratio) too, the average user would probably benefit from a lower placement.
The SIM card tray is located right next to the dedicated Google Assistant button and can either run two SIM cards or a SIM + microSD card.
Motorola Moto G 5G
Speaking of size, it's probably needless to say that the phone is hard to use with one hand. It's big and unwieldy, which goes both ways - some are drawn to the big screen, and some may find it hard to use. The well-rounded edges of the back panel and the seamless transition to the frame help achieve a more comfortable grip.
On the front, we have a centered cutout for the selfie camera instead of Motorola's usual approach with off-centered punch-holes. The side bezels are thin, but the top and bottom ones are a bit on the thick side. Nevertheless, we don't expect them to be razor-thin in this price category.
All in all, the Moto G 5G is a well-built device with no major flaws and offers pretty much the same build quality as its rivals. Only the button and fingerprint scanner positioning needs to be addressed. The non-Plus model skips the water-repellent nano-coating, which has been a stand-out Motorola feature for years now.
Big 6.7-inch IPS with centered punch-hole
The Moto G 5G features a 6.7-inch, IPS LCD panel with 1080 x 2400px resolution (20:9 aspect ratio). Pretty similar to the Plus' 6.7-inch IPS but with a couple of key differences. The punch-hole for the front-facing camera is centered, and the refresh rate is a standard 60Hz.
HDR10 is supported, though, but as with the Plus, we found it to work only on YouTube but not on Netflix. The latter supports HD video streaming as the handset is Widevine L1-certified.
Another big difference that popped up after doing our usual round of testing is the brightness. With the brightness slider cranked up to maximum, the display can peak at 484 nits, and there's no Max Auto mode to boost beyond that. The Plus at least could go up to 543 nits.
| Display test | 100% brightness | ||
| Black, |
White, |
||
| 0.349 | 443 | 1269:1 | |
| 0.466 | 543 | 1165:1 | |
| 0.341 | 484 | 1419:1 | |
| 0 | 459 | ∞ | |
| 0 | 585 | ∞ | |
| 0.376 | 484 | 1287:1 | |
| 0.667 | 571 | 856:1 | |
| 0 | 395 | ∞ | |
| 0 | 570 | ∞ | |
| 0.348 | 476 | 1368:1 | |
| 0.455 | 596 | 1310:1 | |
Color accuracy isn't stellar in the default Saturated mode as the average dE2000 is 6.7 mostly due to boosted cyans and blue-ish whites and grays. Going for the Natural mode will bring down the dE2000 to 3.2, but the white still remains a bit blue-ish.
Battery life
Even though the Moto G 5G and the Plus iteration have the same display size (6.7"), software and batteries (5,000 mAh), the vanilla comes out on top when it comes to battery endurance. The Moto G 5G scored the impressive 131h Endurance score with impressive runtimes in both the screen-on and screen-off tests.
In fact, an overall score of 131h earns the Moto G 5G's one of the top positions in our all-time battery rankings. It sits right under its siblings, the Moto G9 Plus and the Moto G8 Power (we are currently reviewing the G9 Power but don't have the numbers just yet).
Our battery tests were automated thanks to SmartViser, using its viSerDevice app. The endurance rating above denotes how long a single battery charge will last you if you use the Motorola Moto G 5G for an hour each of telephony, web browsing, and video playback daily. We've established this usage pattern so that our battery results are comparable across devices in the most common day-to-day tasks. The battery testing procedure is described in detail in case you're interested in the nitty-gritty. You can check out our complete battery test table, where you can see how all of the smartphones we've tested will compare under your own typical use.
Charging speed
Like the Moto G 5G Plus, the standard model performed poorly in our charging test, reaching 100% from a flat battery in 2 hours and 11 minutes. And it seems that even in the beginning, the charging curve isn't very steep either as the battery had only reached 36% by the 30-minute mark. That's considerably slower than the competition, although it can probably be expected given the 20W charger and the big 5,000 mAh unit.
30min charging test (from 0%)
- Realme 7 Pro
94% - Xiaomi Mi 10T Lite 5G
68% - Realme 7 5G
57% - Motorola Moto G 5G
36% - Motorola Moto G 5G Plus
35% - Samsung Galaxy A42 5G
27%
Time to full charge (from 0%)
- Realme 7 Pro
0:37h - Xiaomi Mi 10T Lite 5G
0:58h - Realme 7 5G
1:06h - Samsung Galaxy A42 5G
2:01h - Motorola Moto G 5G Plus
2:10h - Motorola Moto G 5G
2:11h
Speaker test
We weren't expecting excellent sound quality from a mid-range device such as the Moto G 5G, and we didn't get one either. The vocals are mostly clean, but that's mostly due to the absence of deep bass. And since the handset relies on just a bottom-facing speaker, the results were to be expected.
Still, we are a bit disappointed by the reasonably low loudness the speaker produces. It falls behind the competition quite a bit.
Use the Playback controls to listen to the phone sample recordings (best use headphones). We measure the average loudness of the speakers in LUFS. A lower absolute value means a louder sound. A look at the frequency response chart will tell you how far off the ideal "0db" flat line is the reproduction of the bass, treble, and mid frequencies. You can add more phones to compare how they differ. The scores and ratings are not comparable with our older loudspeaker test. Learn more about how we test here.
Audio output quality
We've recently discontinued our audio output quality test.
The reason for that is that most phones that arrived for testing were already excellent in this regard. Whatever difference there was, it was marginal and probably indistinguishable to anything but our lab equipment.
Still Android 10, still stock-ish
If you are looking for a stock Android experience, Motorola's should almost always show up on the top of the list. However, the update frequency and swiftness are less than stellar these days. Not only is our unit still running Android 10 five months after the release of Android 11, but the security patch is stuck at the November 2020 release. Nonetheless, you can still enjoy the clutter-less Android experience joined by a couple of Motorola-specific features, which we will go through now.
The features and the overall feel of the software is identical to the Moto G 5G Plus'. Once you boot up the phone for the first time, you will be greeted with a notification that walks you through the available Moto features and the so-called Moto Actions. Or at least that's what Motorola used to call them. Now, they are split into a couple of categories. Anyway, there's a quick tutorial on how the new gesture-based navigation system works. Sticking with the good old navigation keys is also an option.
Home screen, recent apps, notification shade, general settings menu
The gestures are arguably the most important set of features that help the Moto handsets stand out. You can launch the camera with a twisting motion without even lighting up the screen, or you can turn on the flashlight with a karate chop motion. A quick unlocking of the phone can be done by combining the lift-to-unlock gesture, and the face unlock functionality. The phone's screen lights up when you pick up the phone, and the front-facing camera immediately starts looking for your face. A swift unlock is guaranteed.
Moto gestures and other customizatons and features
Another screen-off feature worth mentioning is the media controls. By holding the volume rocker, you can skip to the next track or rewind - it's a great feature that appears to be unique to Motorola. It's way more convenient than the screen-off gesture music controls on Oppo, Realme and OnePlus devices. No need to get the phone out of your pocket; you just have to reach for the volume key without even looking.
Sadly, since there's no side-mounted fingerprint reader, the Power Touch feature has been axed here, but it won't be missed so much. This action can still be performed with a double-tap on the rear fingerprint scanner.
Customization options are rather new to Motorola phones. The company introduced the feature with one of its recent models and lets you choose your font, the toggles and sliders' color accent, etc. The shape of the quick toggles in the notification shade is also possible, and the same goes for the standard icons.
UI customization options and Moto Display features
Moto Display has a couple of neat features related to how you can interact with the handset when the screen is on or off. Attentive Display keeps the screen on while you read, while Peek Display lets you interact with notifications even when the screen is off. When you receive a notification or move the phone, the screen lights up, showing only the clock and notifications. The latter can be interacted with by holding your finger on the said icon. A short text will appear showing you part of the notification so you can see the gist of it. You can quick reply or dismiss a notification without going through the process of unlocking. And since this is a potential privacy breaching feature, you can block some of the apps to appear on the so-called Peek Display.
Speaking of unlocking, we can't say we had any trouble with the fingerprint reader. It was fast, accurate and responsive. Just a quick tap is all you need to unlock the device.
A new Gametime feature has also been introduced, but unlike most gaming tools, this one doesn't boost the device's performance. It just makes the whole gaming experience a tad better by removing all the distractions. A sidebar called Toolkit can be summoned by swiping in-game, and that will let you take control of some settings like notification and call handling, display brightness, etc.
Gametime settings
When it comes to performance and overall feel, the navigation felt smooth, fast and responsive. There were no notable hiccups or hanging. The Snapdragon 750G seems to play well with Motorola's mostly clutter-free UI.
Performance
The Snapdragon 750G is a fairly new addition to Qualcomm's 700-series, and we've seen it run on a couple of phones now. It's still a mid-range SoC, and it's supposed to provide similar performance to the Snapdragon 765G while comfortably outperforming the Snapdragon 730G.
The SoC is built on the 8nm manufacturing process, and the CPU consists of 2x Kryo 570 Gold (Cortex-A77 derivative) @ 2.2 GHz and 6x Kryo 570 Silver (Cortex-A55 derivative) @ 1.8GHz cores while the GPU is Adreno 619.
As far as memory goes, the base Moto G 5G comes with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage by default, but the 128GB models get a bump of the RAM to 6GB, too. We have the 64GB model for review.
GeekBench 5 (multi-core)
Higher is better
- Xiaomi Mi 10T Lite
2009 - Motorola Moto G 5G
1980 - Samsung Galaxy A42 5G
1910 - Motorola Moto G 5G Plus
1898 - Realme 7 Pro
1811 - Realme 7 5G
1794
GeekBench 5 (single-core)
Higher is better
- Xiaomi Mi 10T Lite
661 - Motorola Moto G 5G
659 - Samsung Galaxy A42 5G
643 - Realme 7 5G
598 - Motorola Moto G 5G Plus
589 - Realme 7 Pro
576
AnTuTu 8
Higher is better
- Samsung Galaxy A42 5G
324686 - Xiaomi Mi 10T Lite
318882 - Realme 7 5G
318535 - Motorola Moto G 5G
312461 - Motorola Moto G 5G Plus
299926 - Realme 7 Pro
278414
GFX Car Chase ES 3.1 (offscreen 1080p)
Higher is better
- Realme 7 5G
20 - Motorola Moto G 5G Plus
19 - Motorola Moto G 5G
19 - Xiaomi Mi 10T Lite
19 - Samsung Galaxy A42 5G
19 - Realme 7 Pro
18
GFX Car Chase ES 3.1 (onscreen)
Higher is better
- Samsung Galaxy A42 5G
33 - Motorola Moto G 5G
17 - Realme 7 5G
17 - Motorola Moto G 5G Plus
16 - Xiaomi Mi 10T Lite
16 - Realme 7 Pro
14
3DMark SSE Vulkan 1.0 (offscreen 1440p)
Higher is better
- Realme 7 5G
3028 - Motorola Moto G 5G Plus
2821 - Samsung Galaxy A42 5G
2609 - Motorola Moto G 5G
2608 - Xiaomi Mi 10T Lite
2595 - Realme 7 Pro
2358
The Snapdragon 750G appears to be even faster than the Snapdragon 765G when it comes to raw compute performance in single and multi-threaded tasks, but in combined and GPU-only tests, the Snapdragon 765G still comes out on top, even if barely.
Triple camera setup and a macro with autofocus
A 48MP main camera runs the show with a fairly wide f/1.7 aperture. The sensor is fairly large, measuring at 1/2.0" with 0.8µm pixels. Like the G 5G Plus, the ultrawide unit is 8MP with f/2.2 aperture and 1/12µm pixels.
And instead of a 5MP macro camera, the vanilla settles with a 2MP camera dedicated to macro stills and videos. The good news is that the autofocus has been retained, which greatly improves the camera experience.
The front-facing camera is again 16MP with f/2.2 aperture and 1.0µm pixels.
Camera menus
Motorola has introduced a big overhaul of its camera app with one of its recent updates, and the vanilla Moto G 5G comes with the latest version out of the box. For instance, the camera modes have been moved a little further from the viewfinder and are simplified. You can see only the standard Video and Photo modes, with the rest being neatly tucked away in the hamburger menu. The last mode you've select will temporarily appear next to the Photo mode.
Default camera app
Additional settings for each mode can be found right next to the lenses' toggles. There are the flash settings, timer, aspect ratio and the Active Photo toggle. This way, the viewfinder isn't overcrowded and is more straightforward.
The macro camera finally gets its own toggle, too, probably since there's no 2x zoom toggle. The rest of the settings, such as video resolution and other capture settings, can be found in the settings menu in the viewfinder's upper-right corner.
Default camera app
Daylight samples
Main camera
Given the handset's price range, the phone's primary camera can do pretty good daylight stills. The first thing we noticed is the competent HDR achieving a wide dynamic range and the overall sharpness and cleanliness of the photos. You can notice that there are some noisy patches in the shadows and some edge softness if you look close enough, but nothing alarming.
Main camera daylight samples
In fact, when compared to its more expensive sibling, the Moto G 5G takes sharper images than the Moto G 5G Plus. There's maybe some additional sharpening in the process that helps with the overall look. Otherwise, the vanilla Moto G inherits the contrasty look of the photos and the punchy colors. Also, don't mind the warm white balance; this is due to the sun's positioning and the time of the day.
Main camera indoor samples
As the light begins to drop, though, there's noticeable noise and drop in sharpness, as you can see from the indoor shots we took. Those scenes had decent lighting conditions too.
Ultrawide camera
While there are some differences between the vanilla and the Plus models when it comes to the main camera's pictures, the ultrawide units seem to be pretty much identical and also on par with what most of the competition has to offer.
Ultrawide camera daylight samples
The processing is similar to the main camera, having a wide dynamic range, punchy colors and just the right amount of contrast. However, the details and sharpness are far from impressive, and there's almost always noise in the shadows. Notice how pronounced the grain is in the indoor shots. There seems to be some sharpening process leading to those easy-to-spot sharpening halos around the edges of the buildings or the windows. Also, the lens correction algorithm has a hard time keeping things straight as opposed to the Plus' ability to fix the distortion.
Macro camera
Although just 2MP, the macro camera can capture decent-looking close-up shots, and it's not hard to do so as it has autofocus as well. Most of the phone's competitors lack autofocus.
Macro camera samples
Pictures look sharp and punchy but fail to offer enough detail for a macro photo.
Low-light camera samples
Main camera
Gone is the sharpness as the light drops. The detail isn't aplenty either, and noise can be spotted from afar, especially in the shadows and homogeneous backgrounds. Some small patches in some of the scenes look like they were washed away by the noise reduction algorithm.
Main camera low-light samples
Still, the photos look way sharper than the Plus model and generally less foggy. The auto HDR does a pretty good job of balancing out the scene, making the light sources look okay and preserves quite a bit of detail in the shadows and highlights. Colors are accurate, and so is the white balance.
Main camera Night Vision samples
Switching on the so-called Night Vision mode can only affect the camera's performance positively. It has a more natural look than the Moto G 5G Plus since there is no oversharpening. The images look grainier, but only if you look from up close. It brightens up the image, too, bringing out considerably more detail from the highlights and shadows.
The best part is that the Night Vision mode takes just as much time as a standard photo. So no matter the night scenario, using the dedicated night mode is well recommended.
Ultrawide camera
Sadly, the ultrawide doesn't support Night Vision, and, as expected, the images in the dark are far from stellar. To be frank, rarely do we see a good ultrawide camera in this price bracket during, let alone during the night. As expected, this one takes muddy, noisy, and virtually unusable photos as the light fades.
Ultrawide camera low-light samples
Moto G 5G vs Xiaomi Mi 10T Lite 5G and the Realme 7 5G in our Photo compare tool
Portraits
The portraits are actually really good, even in sub-optimal conditions. The software tends to go for a more warm white balance, but colors remain punchy and vibrant. The subject is almost always sharp and natural-looking. The faux bokeh effect is quite convincing, but it can definitely miss some edges or hair when introduced to a more complex background.
Portrait samples
Selfies
Selfies are a bit on the soft side, but they are also vibrant, with natural skin color and the subject's face is always well-exposed. And the portrait effect looks a bit over the top, to be honest, and often washes away some detail around the subject.
Selfies: Normal • Portrait • Normal • Portrait • Normal • Portrait
Video
The phone can go up to 2160p@60fps, but to achieve the best possible quality, we've recorded a 4K sample at 30fps. The result was a good-looking video with plenty of sharpness, fine detail, and virtually no noise. Colors are close to real-life; the contrast is okay, and the dynamic range is wide enough too.
However, the exposure metering needs a little bit more work as you can clearly see the clipped highlights - the buildings in the distance, the white billboard on the street and the white cars passing by. And we can't really blame the weather as the sun was shining while recording this sample in particular.
The ultrawide camera can record videos as well but caps at 1080p. The exposure tends to be a little better - no clipped highlights while the shadows contain enough detail. No noise can be observed, and the color reproduction is on point. Sadly, the level of detail and the lack of sharpness, even for a Full HD video, keep us from giving it an excellent score.
Video stabilization is available for 4K videos at 30fps, and as you can see for yourselves, the EIS is doing a pretty good job too. We recorded a non-stabilized video for reference.
4K: Moto G 5G vs Xiaomi Mi 10T Lite 5G and the Realme 7 5G in our Video compare tool
Competition
There's quite a bit of competition in this price segment, and the Moto G 5G has to deal with rivals on all fronts. There are cheaper ones and some similarly priced ones, such as the Samsung Galaxy A42 5G. But in case you are strictly looking for an affordable 5G phone, options start to run thin.
Starting with one of the most obvious alternatives to the Moto G 5G - the Realme 7 5G. This phone is one of our favorites in the segment. It offers 5G connectivity, a recent and competent Dimensity 800U chipset, although not as powerful as the Snapdragon 750G found in the Moto. Realme's contender is about €20 cheaper with a similar camera setup, almost the same battery life but edges out with a 120Hz IPS LCD panel, twice the storage (128GB vs. 64GB), more RAM (4GB vs. 6GB) and speedier charging.
In case 5G isn't on top of your priority list for various objective reasons, the Realme 7 Pro is something you might want to consider. Again costs €280, but instead of an HRR LCD panel, it has a regular OLED one and an inferior Snapdragon 720G SoC. The amount of RAM and storage are on the Realme 7 Pro's side once again and the fast charging. Also, expect lower but still long enough battery life when compared to Motorola's offering.
Realme 7 Pro • Realme 7 5G • Samsung Galaxy A42 5G • Xiaomi Mi 10T Lite 5G
One thing to consider, though, is the software. If you came here for the clean Android experience, the Moto G 5G is probably preferable, but if not, we are sure Realme's UI will grant you tons of customization options. The latest iteration of Realme's software comes pretty close to stock Android too.
And while the two offerings above seem like a good deal, you will probably be quite impressed with the Xiaomi Mi 10T Lite 5G. In some cases, the handset can be found for as low as €250, but the price varies up to €280. Either way, it's sensibly cheaper than the Moto, it has a brighter 120Hz IPS screen, better overall camera performance (especially at night), lower but still dependable battery life, better build with Gorilla Glass 5 and faster charging, while being powered by the same Snapdragon 750G chipset. It's tough to argue with those numbers.
Finally, we have something from Samsung that's worth looking into. The Galaxy A42 5G comes with the same chipset at the same price (€300) while also bringing longer battery life, twice the storage and a much brighter Super AMOLED display, too, with a fingerprint reader under it. Sadly, the lower 720p resolution could be a deal-breaker for some.
Verdict
The Motorola Moto G 5G seems like a pretty good, well-rounded midranger with the only caveat that the competition offers twice the storage and brighter displays. Aside from that, the Moto G 5G has clean software, stellar battery life, excellent performance thanks to the Snapdragon 750G and a camera setup that can definitely get the job done.
Unfortunately, it's hard to give the Moto G 5G our full recommendation in the presence of more affordable and sometimes more competent midrangers. As the price drops over time, the Moto G 5G could potentially become a pretty sweet deal but not just yet.
Pros
- Provides a decent grip considering the size.
- One of the biggest displays in the midrange.
- Stellar battery life.
- Competitive Snapdragon 750G chipset on board./li>
- Dependable camera performance during the day./li>
Cons
- Not very competitively priced.
- Display does not get very bright for a LCD.
- Charging this big battery is slow.
0 Response to "Moto G 5G review"
Post a Comment