While iPhone 12 has just released the 5G feature, many mid-range phones already have this technology, such as the Moto g 5G Plus. Come on, and spending a fortune to obtain this connectivity that is still incipient but promises to change our lives is unnecessary. For the rest, this Motorola model is aligned with many others in the same range in other specifications, only with the typical characteristics of this manufacturer in terms of gestures, known as Moto Actions.
cameras
Following the trend of packing four cameras into a square module, the Moto g 5G Plus, as expected in a budget mid-range, is equipped with a 48-megapixel primary lens and an 8-megapixel ultra-wide angle, one deep 2-megapixel, and a 5-megapixel macro. The photos we have taken have been quite good in good lighting conditions – without saturating the colors – but not so much in low light. In macro mode, it doesn’t measure up and doesn’t focus as it should, forcing you to move the phone away for a good result. In night mode, with some light, it behaves well; in the dark, no longer.
The dual selfie camera, the left 8-megapixel ultra-wide angle, and the other 16-megapixel suit group photos even if it means sacrificing details.
The Cinemagraph Mode invites creativity with the possibility of recording short videos that you can edit to choose which part of the image you want to freeze and which you want to keep moving to create your animated gif. From a button in the main menu of the camera, Google Lens is activated, which works as a search engine for images of products to buy, translate texts, and identify places and foods. We find it convenient to have integrated it there because it is quickly accessible. Still, it can also be confusing at first because it usually occupies where the icon to switch to the selfie camera is found.
Performance
The Qualcomm Snapdragon 765 option further proves that you want good gaming performance without suffering from power consumption. In the phone tested for this review, this chip is complemented by 6 GB RAM, that is, plenty of memory to store games and apps, multitasking, and everything else you might need. It will not be a problem to store files since it comes with 128 GB of space (expandable with external cards).
The phone also includes NFC technology, so you can sync it with other devices, for example, to make payments. And it’s also compatible with the Wi-Fi 6 standard, so be ready to connect to this new generation of Wi-Fi networks when it takes off.
Software
The phone comes with Android 10 and the My UX customization layer. The latter offers multiple avenues for customization, from the design and shape of the home screen widget icons to how you want to interact with the screen (notifications, always-on, screenshots). In addition, it includes tools to optimize the experience with games (Moto Gametime) and, of course, the practical gestures of Motorola phones (they don’t particularly like activating the camera in an instant by turning and turning on the flashlight by shaking twice from above down). To save and edit the images from the camera, opt for Google Photos (they are automatically saved there when you capture them, not in a gallery).
battery and charging
The Moto g 5G Plus battery also lives up to the last name of the phone; it is one of the great ones, with no less than 5,000 mAh. We have verified in our tests that this capacity translates into an extra: a use of taking photos, reading news, and watching the video (about four hours a day with the brightness at approximately 75 percent and the volume low) has given us about 50 hours (without turning it off at night).
Regarding fast charging, it comes with a 20W adapter that charges half the battery in about forty minutes and fills it up in about two hours. It’s a few times below other mid-range phones with comparable prices and even less, but it can save the day by plugging it in for a while.
Moto g 5G Plus is a complete and correct phone for its price of 399 euros, although its design does not make you fall in love. Aesthetically it’s apparent, but when you hold it, it feels plasticky. Although the quality of its camera can be improved, we think it will be sufficient for most smartphone users who are not looking to emulate Annie Leibovitz or any other prestigious photographer. For the rest of the classic uses, including playing games, it more than meets performance and battery life expectations. It seems to us an excellent option to enjoy multimedia content. If we add the tools of customization and classic Motorola moves, the result is a remarkably affordable phone ready to connect at full speed with 5G.
