Motorola One 5G

The Motorola One 5G is the cheapest 5G option on the market for the moment. That says a lot in a gaggle of $1000+ smartphones. It’s great to have a low priced option, but the cost isn’t everything. Did Motorola cut costs in smart ways or does the phone fall short?

Design

It has an unassuming appearance as an average slab phone. It’s on the bigger side but that’s understandable when you consider how big the battery is. Still, it’s not so big it can’t be operated by one hand but if you have small hands, you might want to get your hands on one at a carrier store or electronics retailer before you commit.

The plastic chassis was the main complaint in reviews. The overly shiny material picked up smudges and fingerprints like nobody’s business and simply didn’t feel great.

Display

A 6.7-inch LCD screen dominates the front of the phone. Reviews indicate that it’s bright, colorful, and high-quality for an LCD in its price bracket. It also has a 90Hz refresh rate — a rare feature in the mid-tier market — preventing stuttering and smoothing out gaming and common actions like swiping and scrolling.

Performance

Despite a disappointing 4GB of RAM, reviews indicated the phone is plenty snappy — even when multitasking. Reviewers stated that it took opening nearly a dozen apps and just as many browser tabs to start bogging things down.

Game load times were the one caveat. Less RAM and mid-tier processor means things take longer to load. But once they’re running, they chug along smoothly enough with no mention of noticeable lag or dropped frames.

Software & Storage

The phone ships with the latest version of Android (Android 11.) However, reviewers were quick to point out that Motorola phones rarely see more than one major Android upgrade. So don’t expect it to stay up to date for more than a year or two.

128GB of internal also provides plenty of room for apps and video while a microSD expansion slot can add an additional 1TB of space if needed.

Cameras

With a total of 6 lenses, there’s a little bit of everything for every kind of photography. A 48MP main camera with a wide lens 8MP and macro 5MP gives all sorts of shot options. Though, reviewers noted low light shots often had blurred backgrounds and ruddy noise around the edges. The macro lens in low light, however, performed surprisingly well for most.

Battery Life

The battery is massive and its endurance is equally impressive. Some reviewers even skipped the overnight charge from time to time. Obviously, it will depend on how you use your phone, but on the whole, reviewers reported an almost 2-day battery life on the Motorola One 5G.

Audio

With only one dedicated speaker, the phone won’t be winning any sound quality awards. Reviewers weren’t happy that it was easy to accidentally muffle the speaker due to its location on the bottom of the phone. It was also tinny and thin sounding. Fortunately, the inclusion of a 3.5mm headphone jack and Bluetooth makes upgrade the audio quality as easy as grabbing your favorite headphones and plugging them in or pairing them.

Specs at a Glance

• Plastic chassis
• 6.7-inch LCD display
• Octa-core 2.3 GHz Qualcomm SDM765 Snapdragon 765 processor
• 4GB of ram
• Android 11
• 128GB of onboard storage with MicroSD option
• 48MP/8MP wide/5MP macro/16MP selfie and 8MP wide front-facing camera
• 5,000mAh battery

Bottom Line

The Motorola One 5G won’t keep up with the top-tier phones of 2020, but it’s certainly near the top of its price bracket. The fact that it’s reasonably priced but also capable of 5G connectivity is the largest selling point. The extra battery life also helps it handle 5G use without burning through its charge. Beyond that, there’s nothing groundbreaking or life-changing about the phone. But a phone doesn’t need to innovate to be a good value.

PC Magazine says, “The Motorola One 5G is a solid mid-range phone with good battery life, an attractive design, and a beautiful display. it’s also one of the most affordable 5G phones on the market.”

Tom’s Guide states, “The Motorola One 5G offers decent performance and 5G connectivity for a lower price compared to other 5G phones. But compromises in practically every other category make it one of the less-compelling mid-range 5G phones.”