Moto G6 – A warrior in shiny Armour – Review

Motorola is back with a bang. Moto G has been Motorola’s front-running warrior. This year, Moto G is back with a completely refreshed design. Say Hello to Moto G6, #HelloYou in a new Avatar. Let us check out the review of the Moto G6, that has been launched alongside with Moto G6 Play in India. Moto G6 in India is slightly different from the global variant.

Moto Box

• Moto G6
• 15 W Turbo CHarger
• USB-C Cable
• User Manual
• Sim Ejector Pin
• Earphones

Moto Design

When I first held the device, I was not so sure if it’s a Moto mobile. It looks totally different from the earlier G series mobiles. It has a premium glass body design with aluminum frame. Moto G6 has a curved back and it has a thin and elegant profile. It has a USB – C port for charging at the bottom. On the top, it has a triple card tray for 2 SIM cards and an SD card. It has 3 mics around the body for voice, noise reduction and audio recording. The power button on the right has a textured finish to help differentiate it from the volume buttons.

Overall, the Moto G6 is an ergonomically designed mobile. It is easy to hold in the hand. It has Corning Glass protection on the front and back. It looks a bit fragile but elegant in design. I would recommend to use it with a good back case. The mobile is resistant to accidental water splashes.

Moto Display

Moto G6 has a full vision display with no notch. It is a 5.7 inch screen supporting full HD plus resolution. It is protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 3. The display is bright and the color reproduction is vivid. The proximity sensor is fast. The display on Moto G6 has good sunlight visibility and viewing angles. Moto Display feature shows you the notification on the lock screen as you approach the mobile. You can also respond to notifications.

Moto Camera

Moto G Series always promises good camera experience. Falling in that line, the G6 has a 12 MP + 5 MP rear camera. The primary 12 MP sensor has a larger pixel size and aperture. The 5 MP sensor is a depth sensor for portrait shots. The front has a 16 MP camera for the APAC region. So in India, you get 16 MP camera as compared to the 8 MP sensor on the global variant.

The camera UI has pro-mode, portrait, spot color, panorama, text scanner, face filters and a few other modes that are good utility value. It also has a smart layer to detect objects and landmarks. Video mode also gets the slow-motion and time-lapse modes apart from the live face filters. The camera app supports live photos and auto HDR. Moto G6 can shoot a max of 1080p videos at 60 fps.

Check out a few camera samples below

Under ample light conditions, the images are sharp and color reproduction is accurate. Focusing is a bit jumpy, but once locked, the images are pleasant. Portrait mode edge detection is not perfect and the background blurring is also not accurate. Under low light conditions, the mobile can shoot good photos with accurate colors and very less noise. The video has electronic image stabilization for smooth footage. Overall, the Moto G6 gives you a very good camera experience as promised.

Moto Performance

Moto G6 is powered by a Snapdragon 450 processor. I can hear you screaming, but Moto Mobiles is always not about top specs, but good user experience. It has 3/4 GB RAM with 32/64 GB internal memory respectively. The stock UI with no visual skin gives the mobile a fast performance. Gaming on Moto G6 has been smooth for the most part of it. There were no frame drops noticed and no overheating even after 30 min of continuous gaming. It supports Dolby audio and has active noise canceling for audio over 3.5 mm audio jack. The stock earphones are good, but not great.  The fingerprint sensor is on the front and it is fast and accurate. It is multi-functional and be used for navigation, app lock, etc… Moto G6 has FM radio and it also supports face unlock.

Moto Software

Moto G6 is running on Android 8.0 with no skin just like any Moto mobiles out there. It has a few custom apps like the camera and the moto app. The moto app is the nerve center of the mobile. Moto Key helps to access apps and devices with a fingerprint. Moto Actions has a bunch of action, Moto Display controls the display features and finally, the new Moto Voice makes the mobile respond to your commands. The UI experience is fast and has no lag. It has a very smooth performance, thanks to the perfect software optimization.

Moto Power

Moto G6 is powered by a 3000 mAh battery, which may seem to be a small capacity in papers, but in reality, the mobile gives a good battery life. Thanks to the deep battery optimization, Moto G6 can last for more than 1.5 days of moderate usage and on intense use, it gives a screen-on time off of 6 to 7 hours. The included 15 W turbocharger can charge the mobile for 0 to 100% in less than 2 hours.

Moto Verdict

For around Rs 15000, you get options like the Redmi Note 5 Pro, Asus Zenfone Max Pro, Huawei P20 Lite, Nokia 6, etc… But this is a Moto mobile. The Moto G6 has a premium build quality, aesthetic design, good camera, stock UI and optimized battery life. Yes, it is running on a 4 series processor, but as long as the user experience is not hampered, the Moto G6 is a good mobile to buy.

It is priced at Rs 15999 for the 4 GB variant and 13999 for the 3 GB variant. It will be available on Amazon and Moto Hubs near you.