The more, the merrier! Having options is the best thing humans can have in any situation – be it getting lunch or looking for good colleges. The same applies to the world of smartphones and if you have got less than Rs 20,000 to spare on one, there are a plethora of tempting options. The Redmi Note 10 Pro Max is our current crush in this segment and Motorola thinks it can change our opinion with another option — the Moto G60.
The Moto G60 is part of Motorola’s attempt to carve a slice out of the market share that Xiaomi, Realme and Samsung enjoy in this segment. It costs Rs 17,999 and has only one storage variant – a bold move in a competitive market. It has a spec sheet that can make a Redmi Note 10 Pro Max buyer question his/her choice, especially when you pay Rs 2,000 lesser for this Moto.
Wondering whether Motorola has beaten Xiaomi at its own game, I picked up a Frosted Champagne Moto G60 as my main phone for two weeks and I have some interesting observations.
| Features | Motorola Moto G60 |
|---|---|
| Price | Rs 17,999 |
| Chipset | Snapdragon 732G |
| OS | Android 11 |
| Display | 6.8-inch FHD+ IPS LCD 120Hz |
| Internal Memory | 128GB |
| Rear Camera | 108MP + 8MP + 2MP |
| Front Camera | 32MP |
| Battery | 6000 mAh |
Design
2020 marked two sad events in our lives – the COVID-19 altered world, and a miserly Motorola. I miss the Moto of 2017 and earlier experimenting with new designs and materials to set new trends. Motorola from 2020 has chosen to follow trendsetters and focus solely on cost-cutting. The Moto G60 suffers from the same.
The Moto G60 looks boring and feels cheap, especially next to a Redmi Note 10 Pro and the Realme 8 Pro. The plastic unibody design is bulky and resonates a build quality you used to find on 2018’s budget phones. The matte finish is a smudge magnet and it grabs scratches like there’s no tomorrow. The rear looks bland and the only saving grace is the rectangular camera hump that tries to emulate the same from several Redmi, Realme, Samsung, and basically every other phone manufacturer.
The power, volume, and Google Assistant keys don’t feel like they are built to last. Some rough usage and I believe you are standing in a queue at the service center. The massive bulk of 225 grams is partly due to the 6.8-inch display with fairly slim bezels and a camera cutout. The chin is still undesirable but that’s less of a concern when you look at the rest of the package.
If you are style-conscious, I believe the Redmi Note 10 Pro Max and the Realme 8 Pro could catch your fancy. The Moto G60 looks pale in comparison.
Display
High refresh rate displays are all the hype these days and Motorola has given its best on the G60. The 6.8-inch display uses IPS LCD technology and refreshes at 120Hz, which is on par with the best in its class. The LCD display isn’t as vibrant and bright as AMOLED counterparts on the Redmi and Realme phones but it is pleasant enough to keep display nerds happy. Stock Android looks good on this display.
The 21:9 aspect ratio is unique but it has its own caveats. Some notable amount of apps and games leave black bars on either side. When you watch a 16:9 YouTube video, a lot of it gets cut out when you pinch in. The touch response is laggy and that’s noticeable while playing games. I believe this is a software bug that Motorola could fix in the future.
Performance
Motorola is using the same Snapdragon 732G chip that Xiaomi employed for the Redmi Note 10 Pro Max. Hence, in terms of performance credentials, the Moto G60 can punch it out with the Redmi phone, especially on its stock Android merits.
On a daily basis, the Moto G60 is fast and can manage most generic smartphone tasks with ease. I am peacefully able to browse Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, shuffle through mails on Outlook and Gmail, and obviously, made lots of calls – both audio and video. I say “peacefully” because I have not noticed annoying hiccups so far that spoil the experience. The combination of a near-stock Android 11 and Snapdragon 732G is a boon.
If you are into mobile gaming, you will be pleased to learn that the Moto G60 handles most high-fidelity games with ease. I am able to play Call of Duty Mobile at High graphics with Max frame rates – even after an hour of shooting, the Moto G60 was at home. Shadow Fight 4 – Arena PVP runs fine but with black bars on either side. CarX Rally also runs smooth at High graphics, although seemingly at slightly lower frame rates.
Of course, mobile gamers will find the Poco X3 Pro at a similar price well suited for the job. That said, the Moto G60 is no slouch when you want it to pick up its pace. The “near-stock Android” , as Motorola flaunts, is pleasant to live with. The interface is easy to navigate and you won’t find a myriad of third-party apps, save for the pre-installed Facebook app. Motorola’s customisation app presents with limited but pleasant theme app to spruce up the interface.
Then there’s the Moto Peek Display that is a saving grace on busy days – it shows notification content quickly in a minimalist way. The usual Moto gestures, as well as the Moto audio tuning app, are extra touches to help people get the most out of this phone.
Since we are on the subject of audio, you should know that the Moto G60 features a headphone jack and a single loudspeaker. Audio quality out of the main speaker is fine and loud, although not as good as the Redmi counterpart. I witnessed a major issue while using wireless earphones – there’s a strange noise that doesn’t go no matter what you try. Maybe Motorola can fix it later.
I used the Moto G60 with two Jio SIM cards and I found strong network reception. There’s dual-band Wi-Fi on this one to help with faster speeds. Call quality, in general, is good but I found the earpiece sounding slightly muffled.
Cameras
There’s a lot of emphasis on the 108-megapixel camera of the Moto G60 but it leaves a lot to be desired. Compared to the 108-megapixel cameras on the Redmi Note 10 Pro Max and Mi 10i, the Moto G60’s output looks dull and lacks details. In daylight, the camera tends to go closer to natural colour tones and if you get the right lighting, you are bound to get some pleasing photos.
The pixel-binned photos look nice but lack details. For example, distant trees appear as blurry green bushes, something which the Redmi Note 10 Pro Max shows as it is, i.e. trees. In the 108MP mode, the sharpness increases but overall brightness dips. Low-light conditions see the Moto G60 struggle with sharpness and detail, although it tries to amp up the contrast. At night, the normal mode takes long exposures and brings out better results than the Night Vision mode – something that I have not seen in any phone throughout my career.
The 8-megapixel ultra-wide camera’s output is depressing in comparison. It blurs details and starts to struggle with exposures in cloudy conditions. Other than daylight usage, I won’t recommend it for any kind of photography. In the macro mode, it kind of redeems itself with decent high-res macro output. It still falls behind the mighty 5-megapixel macro camera’s performance from the Redmi Note 10 Pro Max – it lacks details and an overall washed-out colour science.
The 32-megapixel selfie camera, on the other hand, does a great job with selfies. It brings out sharp facial features and close-to-natural skin tones. The artificial bokeh effect does a commendable job with subject separation; those with spiky hair features will like the G60’s camera output. At night or under artificial light, the camera struggles with details. Employing the built-in front flash helps to an extent.
Video recording performance on the Moto G60 is decent. The lack of stabilisation in 4K resolution is a deal-breaker and the overall video quality looks uninspiring. The footage in 4K lacks sharpness and goes for muted colour tones. In 1080p, the quality drops further and is best left for daylight usage.
Battery
Motorola phones have always had strong battery performances and the Moto G60 is no exception. The 6000mAh capacity battery can actually deliver up to two days of stamina, even if the days are busy. Despite answering countless calls, texting, checking emails, attending video meetings, browsing social media for an average of 1.5 hours, and some light gaming, the Moto G60 usually ends the day at above 50 percent of charge. That’s segment-leading by all means.
Sadly, Motorola thinks that a 20W charging solution is fast enough to charge such a mammoth battery. It consistently took me over 2.5 hours for a full recharge over the last 10 days. With Realme offering 65W chargers in much cheaper phones, this paltry 20W solution feels obsolete. Frankly, it makes for a lot of inconveniences.
Verdict
Whether you are spending Rs 8,000 or Rs 80,000 on a phone, it needs to feel good and play its part as your smart pocket assistant. The Moto G60 struggles to do that, despite having a bragworthy specifications sheet. The stock Android experience is a welcome change from the messed-up custom Android ROMs on its rivals and the superb battery life is a bonus. I can also vouch for your liking of the Moto G60’s LCD display.
Sadly, the rest of the package can’t match up to the brilliance that is the Redmi Note 10 Pro Max, and the impressive-in-comparison Realme 8 Pro. The 108-megapixel camera can’t match the Redmi’s performance at the moment. The vibrant AMOLED displays on both Redmi and Realme phones appear livelier, with the Redmi also offering 120Hz refresh rate.
Most importantly, the Redmi and Realme alternatives have glamourous designs and are built to impress; Motorola pulled off a shortcut with this one. Motorola also needs to get rid of the umpteen bugs that plague this Moto G60. It feels unfinished right now.
The Moto G60 then feels like a hastily built answer to the Redmi Note 10 Pro Max and Realme 8 Pro. Save for the stock Android experience and the dependable battery life, the Moto G60 is hard to recommend over its rivals.