Verdict
Motorola has turned out an graceful cheap earpiece in the Moto G84 5 g-force , though middling carrying out , only one guaranteed major software update , and its airless propinquity to the prominent Motorola Edge 40 Neo make it palpate like a proficient buy rather than a great one .
Pros
Cons
Key Features
Introduction
Motorola name excellent budget phones . This is an set up fact . In late years , however , it ’s also made an awful lot ofbudget phones , to the point where it ’s a struggle to keep track of them all .
The Moto G84 5 gigabyte is the company ’s fresh flagship budget phone , if that is n’t too much of a contradiction in terms . For £ 249.99 you ’re get the just G - series phone that Motorola crap before you go find into swankier territorial dominion with theMotorola Edge 40 Neo .
For this money you ’re getting a 120Hz OLED presentation , a comparatively large OIS - backed 50MP main tv camera sensing element , and a fetching vegan leather finish . But is that enough ?
Design and screen
The Moto G84 5 G is one of the most prominent phone I ’ve handled this year – at least from the back . My model comes in a brilliant ‘ Viva Magenta ’ shade that manifest as the deepest pink conceivable , contrasted with a scarlet metallic frame and television camera module .
As part of Motorola ’s on-going partnership with Pantone , you may also limit the G84 in Marshmallow Blue or Midnight Blue . Whatever shade you choose , all descend with a vegan leather - compensate rear panel . This give the G84 a skillful grippiness , and it generally feels more exchange premium than the common greasy charge plate . It also seems to fend off fingerprints quite well .
The Pantone logo ( which includes the name of the custom spectre ) and the shiny Motorola logotype finish things off nicely . For a gimcrack speech sound , the Moto G84 5 M is one swish customer .
From every other angle , the Moto G84 5 G is much like previous phones in the mountain range . You have a flat lip and a compressed front , with a comparatively buddy-buddy bezel running around the latter . It ’s all very functional and inoffensive , which is all you could involve for this far south of £ 300 .
That extends to the Moto G84 ’s dimensions . At just 7.6 mm thick , and with a weight of 167 K , it turn over the blue jean pocket test with fell colour . This is one easy - to - live on - with headphone .
You only get anIP54rating here , though . You ’ll need to pay £ 50 more for the aforementioned Motorola Edge 40 Neo if you require fullIP68water and dust electrical resistance . This is one of several occasion where I was forced to count just how much more phone get for an extra £ 50 .
Screen
Motorola has fitted its top - budget model with a seemly display . It ’s a nicely sized 6.5 - in FHD+ pOLED CRT screen with a fluid120Hzrefresh pace . Brightness go past out at a solid 1300 nit in HDR scenario . Once I had dropped the colour mode down from Saturated to Natural , it make a courteous balanced output .
The Moto G84 5 thou ’s blind is also flanked by stereo speaker , which get nice and clear and loud , though they predictably miss a little downhearted - remainder dynamism . Still , they ’re here , which is far from a given at this end of the market .
Camera
Motorola has kept thing blissfully simple in the camera department , with a aboveboard dual - lens solidification - up and no pointless depth or macro sensors in sight .
Most of the focus here is on a 50MP 1/1.5″ independent sensor , which would appear to be the OmniVision OV50E. That ’s the same detector as you ’ll find in much more expensive earpiece like theMotorola Edge 30 Fusionand theMoto Razr 2022 , which is impressive stuff .
With this comparatively large sensing element , backed by OIS , the Moto G84 takes respectable shots for the money . No , it ’s not a match for those aforementioned premium siblings – the Moto G84 packs a much more special prototype processor – but I was still proud of with most of the shot I take with it .
Snaps lean to have safe point and a nice natural warmth to them , without reckon garish or overprocessed . I was also impressed at how well the chief camera stood up to guileful HDR scenarios .
There ’s quite a large drop in quality for the ultra - extensive tv camera , with its measly 8MP sensor . I noticed a sizable angle of dip in item and line and some bobble - out high spot , but it ’s still satisfactory in good firing .
Night snapshot are n’t quite so impressive , with the Moto G84 ’s special mainframe on the face of it unable to get on top of all that noise . They ’re perfectly passable , but do n’t require the front of OIS to mechanically result in crack - sharp small light results .
The 16MP selfie camera seems quite limited too , producing , slightly soft , washed out posit - focus stab . Motorola provide two focal lengths for unconstipated and wide barb , though given that the former is merely a harvest of the latter , I ’d recommend sticking with the innate wider slant to maximise sharpness .
Video is pretty limited at 1080p 30/60fps , which is again a solution of that somewhat limited processor at the heart of the Moto G84 .
Performance
As I just touch to , the Moto G84 5 G run for on a relatively limitedSnapdragon 695SoC. This is perhaps the most dissatisfactory component of the whole parcel , if only because it ’s the exact same chip that drive last year ’s Moto G82 5G.
Motorola is n’t the only maker to return to this get on chip for its latest budget earphone – Sony has done the same with theXperia 10 V , to name one other late instance . But what was a fairly uninspiring provision with the category of 2022 proves even less impressive in late 2023 . ThePoco M5 5Gis another sub-£300 2023 sound to use this chip , but that arrived aright near the start of the year , and it hardly wowed us in operation terms back then .
On the positive side , it ’s quite impressive to see the Moto G84 coming with 12 GB of RAM as banner . On the other hand , I ca n’t imagine the Snapdragon 695 is best placed to put all that remembering to respectable use of goods and services .
Maybe knocking that RAM allotment down to 8 GB and lopping £ 20 or so off the last cost would have been a sassy move here . It would have put more daylight between the Moto G84 and the uncomfortably close ( and really quite fabulous ) Motorola Edge 40 Neo , at the very least .
Still , the Moto G84 is a capable enough runner for the money . I ran the phone ’s display at a strained 120Hz all the time , and while it lacks the snappiness of agenuine flagship(or even amid - ranger ) , it felt so-so mobile throughout my meter with the speech sound .
Another positive spec here is the provision of 256 GB of internal computer storage as standard , at least on the UK model . That ’s double the capability that Apple , Google , and Samsung start their several flagship phone at .
Software
Motorola ’s take on Android 13 is one of the best on the market , mainly because it leave well alone for the most part . This is broadly as Google intended , which signify a decent clean UI and neat app ikon . move back to the Poco M5 5 deoxyguanosine monophosphate by way of a comparison , while the two sound have similar specs , the Moto G84 feels much more fluid .
The manufacturer has made a few addition , most notably through the pre - install Moto app , which open you access to impudent motion shortcuts , bolstered security options , and bespoke personalisation feature . Motorola has its own distinct style with this , but crucially , it seems to harmonise well with Google ’s UI .
I did detect a modest germ when trying to utilise one of Motorola ’s dynamical wallpapers . Having download this animated screen background , I was presented with a prevue , but was provide no means to hold it .
There is also a fiddling more bloatware than I ’d wish to see from Motorola , with a couple of dodgy games , TikTok , Booking.com , Facebook , and a wasted mobile plot dedication program visit Mistplay . They ’re well ignored or uninstalled , but I hope it does n’t turn into a vogue for the manufacturer ’s sportsmanlike and crisp earpiece .
Perhaps the biggest drawback here is that Motorola has only promised one O rise . Once Android 14 make it – which should n’t be too long – that ’s your lot . Motorola has anticipate three years of security update , at least .
Battery life
The Moto G84 comes pack with a 5000mAh battery , which is a decorous size , if quite normal for a speech sound of this price . Together with that known quantity of a processor , it results in very good toughness indeed .
Even with the presentation thrust to a 120Hz refresh rate rather than the nonpayment Auto wise optimisation style , which switch between 60 and 120Hz as necessary , I was able to get through a full Clarence Day of restrained usage ( almost four hours of cover - on time ) , and was left with well over 50 % of a cathexis . There ’s the very genuine potential for two twenty-four hours of battery life history here .
Heavy media exercise will drain the assault and battery faster , of course . An time of day of Netflix streaming sap 9 % of a charge , which is n’t the firm result we ’ve seen – rival such as the Poco M5 5 G managed 6 % . Meanwhile , 30 minutes of light gambling sap 5 % .
Recharging is n’t a top-notch - speedy process , but at least you get a reasonable 33W charger bundled into the box , which is far from a given these days . It ’ll get you to 59 % in 30 minutes , while a full charge use up a little over 75 transactions .
Latest deals
Should you buy it?
chintzy demand n’t imply cruddy , as this Moto G84 ’s vegan leather back in Viva Magenta goes to show .
The Moto G84 is n’t really any more performant than its predecessor , the Moto G82 .
Final Thoughts
The Motorola G84 5 G pop the question a commendably classycheap phone , with a unique vegan leather cultivation and a nice lightweight form constituent . It also benefit from a decent pOLED screen , while the main camera hold better snap than we ’re used to from the Moto G orbit .
Stamina , too , is excellent , with the potential for a full two days of moderate utilisation before it ’s fourth dimension to recharge . Motorola ’s fair UI is a pleasure to employ as always , though it ’s a shame to note that it ’ll only encounter one major software package update .
Performance is a bit of a depressant , with the same average Snapdragon 695 as last twelvemonth ’s model .
All in all , the Moto G84 5 G is an graceful , poised affordable speech sound , though with the fabulousMotorola Edge 40 Neoavailable for just £ 50 more , it somehow does n’t feel like striking value .
Trusted Score
How we test
We screen every mobile phone we survey good . We use industry - stock tests to compare feature properly and we use the headphone as our principal equipment over the review period . We ’ll always tell you what we find and we never , ever , go for money to review a production .
Find out more about how we essay in ourethics policy .
FAQs
Two hebdomad
Yes
6.5 inch
No
Android 13
September 8 , 2023
1 week
Test Data
Full Specs
