Moto G6 review: This one is upping the ante with a premium 3D glass back

MOTO G6
Rating: ****
Price: Rs 13,999 (3/32GB), Rs 15,999 (4/64GB)
Specifications: Snapdragon 450 octa core, 3/4GB RAM, 32/64GB storage (expandable, dedicated micro SD slot), 5.7-inch 18:9 IPS LCD (2160 x 1080 pixels, FHD+), dual 12MP f1.8 + 5MP rear camera, 16MP front camera with LED flash, front fingerprint scanner, face unlock, WiFi n, BT4.2, 3,000mAh battery, 167 gram
Pros: Premium glass design, water repellant coating, stock Android interface, great camera with manual mode & multiple creative filters/options, fast charging
Cons: Video recording capped at 1080p, Snapdragon 450 not at par with competition


If you’ve used any of the Moto G series of phones, you’ll know that ‘G’ means a well-rounded phone with excellent features. This one is upping the ante with a premium 3D glass back, dual rear camera, USB type C port and an updated FHD+ 18:9 display. In typical Motorola fashion, the interface is stock Android 8.0 with very little by way of bloatware. We found a LinkedIn app that couldn’t be removed but that’s it. Motorola likes to include a lot of their own customization (Moto Actions, Moto Display, gestures) but you don’t have to use any of them if you don’t want to. We find a few things genuinely useful, such as the double twist to launch camera, discreet notifications, pick up to stop ringing and automatic night mode.

The fingerprint scanner is a narrow oval under the screen but it works well. There’s also face unlock which scans and unlocks in one motion (configurable) and is fast enough. You might find it odd that there are still navigation buttons on screen but those can be turned off with something called ‘One Button Nav’. With this option, you can use just the fingerprint scanner for navigation: tap it to go home, swipe left to go back, swipe right for recent apps, hold for Assistant etc. It takes a while to get used to but frees up space on the display.



The camera is easily the highlight here with the G6 going all out to include things like portrait mode, manual, spot colour, panorama, cutout (place subject on a different background), text scanner, face filters and built-in Google Lens functionality. As for video, you get the same face filters, slow motion , time lapse and YouTube live. The primary rear camera has a wide f1.8 aperture and offers some excellent results in all kinds of light. Portrait mode was a bit of hit and miss with the edge detection failing to impress. You can, however, adjust the level of blur to give a more natural looking photo. The front camera is actually 16MP but samples down to 4MP to give you brighter photos with less noise (it’s called Adaptive Low Light and is enabled by default). You can switch it off to get full 16MP selfies but the 4MP photos looked way better. Battery life is a full day (6 to 7 hours screen on time) with regular use but you can use the supplied TurboPower adapter to quickly add several hours of use.

A few oddities: there’s no NFC, the earpiece and loudspeaker are the same and the frame of the phone is not really metal (though it looks like it). Given the price, there is a fair bit of competition for the G6. Two very capable and popular choices are Honor 9i and Redmi Note 5 Pro. Moto G6 just won’t have the flat out performance that these two devices have, simply because of the decidedly entry - level Snapdragon 450 processor. All the other phones at this price have a Snapdragon 600 series or better. Instead, Motorola is banking on a premium design and the numerous software/camera features it has to get ahead. It’s a good phone, just not the kind of value one is getting used to these days.