Top critical review
3.0 out of 5 starsGreat value but not without issues
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 26 March 2024
My last 2 phones have been from Chinese brands Xiaomi and Honor and I've honestly been pretty happy with both of them. However, I got a bit fed with the adverts embedded in them and recently started to wonder what else was embedded in the firmware. So when I started running out of space on my 64GB phone I decided to look for one with more storage from a mainstream brand.
I quickly found that it was hard to get a phone significantly better than my old Mi 10 Lite without spending more a LOT more than I did 3 years ago. There are well known global economic reasons for this reverse in value, but I waited it out and a deal came up that brought this under my £250 budget.
Initially it all seemed fairly premium with the "scented" eco-box it came in, the Pantone colour coded case and a decent fast charger in the box which is getting rarer these days. I felt I'd got a premium phone for a budget price.
And, some things are great:
Screen - The curved screen is excellent, very, almost eye burning-ly, bright and sharp, massive upgrade over my old phone. Screen is responsive and the whole phone looks great to be honest. Its also really thin and lightweight, worryingly so actually like it might snap, so it went straight in the provided case (made from plants!), and I got screen protectors on it ASAP.
Specs - 144Hz OLED, 256GB of storage and 12GB ram and even with the mediocre Mediatek processor, its a lot for the money and honestly on paper its unbeatable value. Its super smooth in operation giving a great first impression.
So what's wrong?
Battery life - right from the word go I noticed the level went down twice as fast as my 3 year old Xiaomi. I turned on some battery saving features including AI app battery stuff and within a week it settled down to something more acceptable, but its still not a patch on my old phone. I read somewhere it has something to do with the power saving on the Mediatek processor, some people complained of heat problems that I haven't had. Either way this is a charge everyday, sometimes twice a day phone vs my old Mi10 charge every other 2 days, even after 3 years. FYI... I am not a heavy user and don't really use social media, I installed and used the same apps as my previous phone.
Glitchy NFC - I never had a phone with an unreliable NFC before, but its annoying when the cashier rolls their eyes as you have to retry Google pay AGAIN. Usually 2nd time lucky, it just feels like something basic to get wrong.
Bluetooth and Wifi - Occasional, infrequent connectivity issues that I just didn't get with my other phone.
Other aspects that are OK:
Cameras - The front and back cameras are fine the camera app operates smoothly and takes perfectly acceptable photos and video.
Finger print reader - The finger print reader also works OK mostly, but occasionally doesn't respond.
Sound - Sound is stereo (with dolby Atmos) and you can tell, its actually pretty loud and clear, but its not going to replace your bluetooth speaker.
Despite everything above, I still doubt I could beat it for value, I just expected a bit more quality from Motorola.