Motorola Moto G6 review: Plans | Pricing | Specs

Where to buy

Motorola has focused in the past few years on providing solid budget handsets. The Moto G series is its long-standing (and most widely available in Australia) take on an affordable phone.

The Motorola Moto G6 doesn't break new ground or bring new concepts to the budget/mid-range space, but it's a sound handset for the money.

Design

• Adds 18:9 display
• All glass design looks great but smudges easily
• Small fingerprint sensor.

• Read our full review of the Motorola Moto G6's design

  Motorola's 2018 handsets differentiate themselves from their predecessors with the use of 18:9 displays. That means that they're rather taller than 2017's 16:9 models. This isn't a unique play though, since direct budget competitor Alcatel is doing the same thing.

  The Motorola Moto G6 features a 5.7-inch 1080x2160 pixel display, which isn't exceptional in resolution terms.

  The big design change here is that the Moto G6 is an all-glass phone, front and back, giving it a style that somewhat reaches above its price bracket. It looks nice when you take it out of the box, but predictably, it rapidly becomes a home for fingerprint smudges. Like most glass-backed phones, the Moto G6 is also rather slippery in the hand. Sourcing a case to wrap around it would be a wise investment.

  The Moto G6 isn't compatible with Motorola's rather more premium Moto Mods, but you'll still find a rather Mod-like round camera bump at the back.

  Controls run up the right hand side for volume and power, while a front-facing thin fingerprint sensor sits on the bottom bezel. Your experience may vary, but I found the smaller size a slight problem during testing, especially for unlocking with my thumb.

  One very welcome design touch comes via the Moto G6's dual SIM card tray. Dual SIM itself isn't an unusual touch, but most phones with the feature tend to use that second SIM card slot for microSD card expansion as well.

  This forces you to choose between storage and multiple SIMs. The Moto G6 has an extra-long SIM card tray with 3 slots, so you can run two SIM cards as well as boost its internal 32GB of storage.

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Camera

• Dual lens, but second lens only adds depth effect
• Average mid-range performer

• See sample photos and read our full review of the Motorola Moto G6's camera

  Motorola's cameras have tended towards being functional without being exciting, and that's a trend that continues with the Moto G6. The basic combination of a front-facing 8MP f/2.2 lens and dual 12MP f/1.8/5MP f/2.2 lenses is technically solid, but you've got to know what you're getting here.

  While the rear camera array does feature two lenses, you can't use that second lens by itself in any way.

  Instead, the secondary camera adds bokeh style "portrait" effects as well as enables additional modes such as the "cutout" mode. This allows you to capture a subject and remove much of its background within the camera.

  That's a trick you could manage with a standalone app or off-camera Photoshop work. The in-camera results can vary a lot, but for simple ease of use, it may have some benefits.

  

  The Moto G6's camera certainly isn't bad. It's just that it's exactly what you'd expect at this price point and not much more. The mid-range/budget phone space is pretty competitive right now, and this is an area that Motorola should address in the Moto G6's successor if it wants to stay competitive.

  Here's some sample photos from the Motorola Moto G6:

  Motorola Moto G6 Sample Photos

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Performance

• Average mid-range performance
• Simple actions work well
• Lacks water resistance

• View test results and read our full review of the Motorola Moto G6's performance

  The Moto G6 runs on Qualcomm's Snapdragon 450 SoC with 3GB of RAM as tested, alongside 32GB of internal storage with microSD expansion capabilities.

  Again, that's quite a regular recipe for a smartphone, and it's not surprising that the Moto G6 performs adequately for a phone in its price range without being exceptional

  Motorola Moto G6

  Geekbench 4 CPU

  • Geekbench 4 CPU Multi Core
  • Geekbench 4 CPU Single Core

  Source: finder.com.au benchmark tests, July 2018

  It's much the same story in the graphics arena, where the Moto G6 isn't all that flashy at all:

  Motorola Moto G6

  3DMark Slingshot Extreme

  • 3DMark Slingshot Extreme OpenGL
  • Vulkan

  Source: finder.com.au benchmark tests, July 2018

  Motorola hasn't gone down the Android One path for its Australian handsets just yet, which means you don't quite get those upgrade advantages, but you do get a range of smart Motorola software enhancements.

  If you're a long-time Moto user, you'll find being able to access actions such as a double chop to quickly switch on the rear light quite handy.

  One feature we're still waiting to see on a G-series phone is some level of proper water resistance. The Moto G6 can take a little light rain (as I discovered thanks to Sydney's recent penchant for sudden showers) but immersion would be a quick way to kill the Moto G6.

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Battery life

• USB C charging
• Good battery life from a low-end processor

• View test results and read our full review of the Motorola Moto G6's battery life

  Budget handsets don't typically feature top-line processing power, but you can often make up for that by getting a lot of battery life out of their less-demanding systems.

  This is exactly what happened with the Motorola Moto G6 in our tests. Its 3000mAh battery lasted through Geekbench 4's battery test very well indeed:

  Motorola Moto G6

  Geekbench 4 Battery

  • Geekbench Battery Score
  • Geekbench battery time (minutes)

  Source: finder.com.au benchmark tests, July 2018

  The Motorola Moto G6's battery isn't working all that hard during Geekbench 4's linear battery test, but its actual stamina is quite remarkable, joining only a very few handsets overall to record more than 600 minutes of running time in that test.

  The good news extends out to daily use, where two-day battery life is achievable.

  Charging is via USB C, making its very welcome debut in the Moto G series this year, although there's no sign of wireless Qi charging. Maybe next year, Motorola?

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Verdict

• A good upgrade handset for existing Moto owners.

• Read our full Motorola Moto G6 verdict

  Motorola's G series phones are simple devices for a market that doesn't want particularly flashy features, just decent performance at a moderate price point.

  The Moto G6 fulfils that remit precisely. It's a very easy recommendation for existing Moto owners looking for an upgrade from an older handset.

  However, if you're simply looking in the budget space, you've got plenty of choices to consider. The Moto G6 remains a good quality buy, but Motorola can't simply keep cruising along doing the same old thing with so many competitive devices to consider.

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Pricing and availability

• Price: RRP $399
• Where to buy: Amazon | eBay

Specifications

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