Moto G6 Review | Just a usual budget device

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Moto G6 is the six iteration of the affordable G series by Moto. It is a solid looking device with a Glass back introduced for the first time in the G series device. While the outer of the device look pleasing, the internals has an all different story. Let’s take a look at the in-depth review of the Moto G6

Design and Build

With the sixth generation device, Moto has finally shifted from the plastic and metal build to the modern Glass and Metal build for its G series. The Moto G6 with 3D Glass back and metal frame looks aesthetically pleasing. Although, the Glass back is more prone to smudges and can be damaged much easier than plastic or metal. Nevertheless, the overall design of the device looks great and it is pretty comfortable to use single-handedly.
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Using the device feels pretty comfortable, however, it is slightly on the thicker side at 8.3mm. Though the Moto G6 is pretty lightweight at just 167 gram. It is available in four color options- Deep Indigo, Silver, Blush, and Black. Moto has used the old Gorilla Glass 3 on the front and back for protection so we strongly recommend a case and a screen protector.
For the first time in the G series, there is an 18:9 display on the front with top and bottom chin. The front camera, earpiece, and the sensors are present on the front above the display while the fingerprint scanner is placed right below the display on the chin. Moving to the sides, the volume key and the power key are on the right side with nothing on the left. On the top, there is a SIM tray with dedicated Micro SD card and at the bottom, you can find the Type-C charging port and the audio jack. The Dual camera unit can be found on the back with a Moto logo just below it. Overall, it is a good looking device but the use of Gorilla Glass 3 makes me rethink about the statement.

Display

Ditching the tradition 16:9 display, the Moto G6 has moved to the modern 18:9 display. It sports a 5.7 inch IPS LCD display which has a resolution of 2160x1080 FULL HD+ resolution and a pixel density of 424 pixels-per-inch. With that being said, the display is just plain mediocre. Also, with the Gorilla Glass 3, it is missing the latest protection which makes the use of the screen protector necessary.
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The new stretched display on the Moto G6 is surely immersive and fits is an overall smaller footprint, however, the quality isn’t any good. The colors are on point, it is plenty sharp and has decent viewing angles. Although, the display struggles outdoor on a sunny day as the sunlight visibility is pretty weak and so does the maximum level of brightness. Compared to the other smartphones at a similar price like the Realme 2 Pro, the display fall behind in terms of quality. Yeah, it is surely immersive but there are better options out there.

Performance and Software

Just like the display, the performance on the Moto G6 is also mediocre. The device is powered by the low-end Octa-Core Snapdragon 450 chip which is clocked at 1.8GHz along with the Adreno 506 GPU. There are much better options in the same price range with Snapdragon 625 or even the 660 chip in the same price bracket. Moto G6 comes in two different variants based on the RAM and storage option which are
  • 3GB RAM and 32GB Storage
  • 4GB RAM and 64GB Storage
Also, both the variant has a dedicated Micro SD card slot which supports up to 256GB.
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The Moto G6 performs well in day-to-day usage but anything above moderate will make the device suffer. Heavy games like PUBG or Asphalt 9 are not going to work smoothly on the high setting but dropping them down to low or medium can make the gameplay smoother. The Moto G6 tends to heat up quite a bit during longer gaming sessions. Overall, the Moto G6 is not meant for heavy gaming.
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Talking about the software, the Moto G6 runs on nearly stock Android 8.0 Oreo. The software experience is fluid and responsive with few moto add-ons like the Always-On-Display which is OKAY since the display isn’t AMOLED, gestures like chop for flash and twist for the camera. There is some pre-installed bloatware such as PhonePe, Facebook Lite, however, all of them can be uninstalled at any moment. Other than that, the overall software experience is pretty responsive, surely it is nowhere near the pixel devices but it is good for the price.

Camera

The cameras on the Moto G6 are average at best. On the rear, it sports a dual camera array with one primary 12 Megapixel sensor and the other 5 Megapixel supporting sensor. The camera app has plenty of features like the Pro mode which allows you to control various things like the ISO, White Balance, etc. There are some gimmicky features like Spot color which turns everything black and white except the subject and a Text Scanner mode which allows you to scan text from an image and make it editable. Both the features are no good when it comes to actual usability. The camera app also comes with all the basic features too like the HDR, Panorama, Portrait mode etc.
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Moving on to the quality, the rear camera can capture some good looking images during the daytime. The images contain a nice amount of details but the colors aren’t any good. It is decent for just capturing the moment but if you really want a good shot, Moto G6 isn’t the one. During the noise, a lot of noise can be seen in the images and the camera tends to over sharpen the image. It can also record Full HD videos at 60fps through the quality is just average. Portrait shots on the Moto G6 aren’t great either with some really messy edge-detection.
There is a 16 Megapixel sensor on the front which can capture some good look images with a decent amount of detail and quality. Although, in sunlight, the phone tends to overexpose the images. In low light situations, the same story follows as the main camera. The images contain a decent amount of noise and lack of OIS makes the images shaky due to longer shutter duration.

Battery Life

The battery life on the Moto G6 is just straight average which is again a disappointment. It has a 3000 mAh non-removable battery under the hood. With decent usage, the battery on the Moto G6 lasted a whole day but with anything heavy, it will need the charger near the end of the day. 
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However, Moto has added the Turbocharger in the box which can top-up the battery in somewhere around 1.5 hours to compensate the weak battery life on the Moto G6. So if you are a heavy user who needs high endurance from the smartphone, you better stick to other options in the market.

Other Features

The Moto G6 includes the support for Dual-SIM and Dual Standby. There is a dedicated MicroSD card slot which can support up to 256GB card without trading the second SIM. There are plenty of connectivity options like WiFi, Bluetooth v4.2, and A-GPS. The list of sensors on the G6 includes Fingerprint (front-mounted), accelerometer, gyro, and proximity sensor. Just like every other budget device, it lacks NFC which is a deal breaker for frequent Android Pay users.
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The front-mounted Fingerprint scanner is quite fast and reliable. I personally prefer the front mounted fingerprint scanner but that that's a personal preference and nothing more. While the fingerprint scanner is fast, the same thing can’t be said for the Face Unlock feature. It is clumsy and mostly inaccurate. Compared to other smartphones in the same price bracket, it is slower. Hence, it is better to use the Fingerprint scanner or other traditional unlock options on the Moto G6.
Talking about the audio quality, the speaker on the Moto G6 is surprisingly loud and provide decent quality output. The audio has nice bass and treble and the overall audio quality is one of the best in the segment. Also, there is an audio jack too which means you can plug in a headphone anytime. The 3.5mm audio jack is becoming extinct these days, hence, it feels good that Moto still included the audio jack in the G6.

Should You Buy?

Recommending Moto G6 is really hard as there as much better options available in the similar price bracket. The devices like the Realme 2 Pro, Redmi Note 5 Pro etc has a much better display and performance when compared to the Moto G6. However, Moto stands out with its near stock Android experience which for some is actually a priority. Also, in terms of build quality, the Moto G6 has an upper hand with its Glass build.
Hence, in the end, the decision of buying a Moto G6 comes down the list of priority features. If you want a good looking device with great software experience, go for it. Other than that, if you want performance, great battery life, good cameras, there are plenty of other great options in the market.
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