Motorola has recently launched a new budget smartphone Moto G04 in the country. Moto G04 is Motorola’s first budget launch of 2024 and it is being retailed at just Rs. 6999. The device comes with various good features like a 90Hz display, Android 14 OS, a large battery, and a slimmer design than the Moto e13. Although the chipset is still Unisoc T606, it does offer good features and premium design at such a low price point. The question arises, is it the best 4G budget device? Let us try to find out through this review.
Moto G04 Review Snapshot
Editor’s rating: 3.6/5
Design
Display
Software
Performance
Camera
Battery
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Pros
- Stylish design
- Clean UI
- Long battery life
- 90Hz display
Cons
- Slow charging
- Average camera performance
- Only two years of security updates promised
MOTO G04 Price & Availability
Moto G04 comes in two storage configurations-
- 4GB RAM+64GB storage- Rs. 6999
- 8GB RAM+128GB storage- Rs. 7999
It can be bought from 22nd February via Flipkart, Motorola.in and other offline outlets. It will be available in four colors- Sea Green, Satin Blue, Concord Black, and Sunrise Orange.
MOTO G04 Review: Design and Build
Moto G04 is a very budget-friendly smartphone, yet Motorola seems to have paid decent attention to its design and tried its best to give it a premium look. Compared to Moto’s e13 which was launched last year, the design of Moto G04 is very different and better. It is 7.9mm thick, which makes it slimmer than e13. The camera module on the rear panel isn’t totally different but slightly protruded. There are two cutouts on it, one housing a camera sensor and the second one having an LED flash. The rear panel comes with a matte finish that gives a premium feel. Moto branding is in the middle of the back panel.
We received the sea green shade of the device, which reflects sunlight falling on it. At the front is a 6.7-inch display with slim bezels on three sides and thicker bezels at the chin. At the top of the screen, in the middle is a punch-hole selfie sensor. Joining the display and rear panel seamlessly is a plastic frame that houses the power button and volume rockers on the right side, and a dual SIM tray on the left side. At the bottom is a microphone, USB-Type C cable, and speaker grille while the top edge includes a 3.5mm headphone jack that has now gone missing from most smartphones nowadays.
The smartphone has flat sides but is still comfortable to hold. Matte finish ensures it neither slips away easily nor does it catch smudges. Motorola is bundling a protective cover inside the box which is of good quality and sleek as well, so you can comfortably hold the device in hand even with its cover on. The smartphone has a 5000mAh battery still it weighs merely 178.8 grams which is very light. Since the smartphone doesn’t feel bulky, it can be held in hand easily for longer durations.
Overall, for a price point this low, the design and build of Moto G04 are decent. It also comes with an IP52 rating for staying protected against slight splashes and Panda glass on the display to avoid scratches.
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MOTO G04 Review: Display
Moto G04 sports a 6.56-inch HD+ LCD with 90Hz refresh rate. It comes with 547 nits maximum brightness. Surprisingly, even with this maximum brightness, I was able to view and use the display easily under harsh sunlight. With a pixel resolution of 1612×720, an aspect ratio of 20:9, and 269 PPI pixel density, the display has decent specs.
Let’s talk about colors now. The colors on the screen look decent and viewing angles are ok as well. It can’t match up to an AMOLED display and doesn’t come with HDR support, but for a price of 7k, the display is satisfactory. There is Widevine L1 support for content streaming on Netflix, Prime Video, etc.
There are two color profiles available- Natural and Saturated. Natural mode has better colors while in Saturated mode, they look colder. You can switch between Default, Cold, and Warm in both profiles. Choosing Custom, you can adjust the colors as per your needs. You can change the colors from the color palette by going to display settings. The punch-hole camera at the top of the screen too is pretty small, so it never feels like it’s obstructing content consumption.
Content streaming needs a good display as well as good sound quality. For audio purposes, you will get a single speaker at the bottom. Although it is pretty loud on its own, there is Dolby Atmos support as well, which is usually not seen in phones at this price point. All-in-all, considering the price tag, Motorola has tried to give a decent audio-visual experience.
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MOTO G04 Review: Performance
Motorola G04 is powered by an octa-core Unisoc T606 12nm chipset. It has two Cortex A75 Cores clocked at 1.6GHz speed while the remaining six A55 cores have been clocked at 1.6GHz speed as well. The variant we received has 8GB LPDDR4X RAM and 128GB onboard storage. For graphics, there is a Mali-G57 MP 1 GPU. With Moto’s virtual RAM feature, you can convert up to 8GB of storage space to RAM.
During everyday tasks and while using common applications, the processor works smoothly without any issues. I used WhatsApp, Instagram, Calling, Gamil, and Smartprix.com back to back and didn’t encounter any lags. Moto G04 will be able to handle light gaming as well, but graphic-demanding titles like BGMI and COD won’t be too smooth. During light gaming, I did not experience any heating issues.
We benchmarked the device on various parameters, here are the results-
Software
Moto G04 runs Android 14 with My UX interface on top. The best part is that the experience is similar to stock Android. Motorola has promised two years of security updates with Moto G04. The experience is almost the same as stock Android apart from some Motorola features that have been added. Surprisingly, bloatware is also minimal in this one.
The UI offers features like quick gestures, fast flashlights, and three-finger screenshots. There are some pre-installed apps and games but those can be uninstalled if not needed. The advertisement for Glance Screen does annoy me a bit, but that can be removed as well.
Biometrics
The fingerprint sensor is a part of the phone’s power button. There is a face unlock as well. Unlocking the device by keying in the PIN felt slightly slow, while the fingerprint sensor was quick. You won’t need to press the power button to unlock the device, as keeping a finger over it will lead to unlocking the phone. Face Unlock isn’t that impressive.
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MOTO G04 Review: Cameras
Motorola G04 comes with a mono 16MP sensor at the back which has an aperture of f/2.2. There is an LED flash as well. For selfies and video calling, there is a 5MP sensor at the front. The camera UI is easy and simple to use and has features like Time Lapse, Night Vision, and Portrait Mode.
The performance of the primary camera is ok. During the day it clicks detailed and wide shots with good dynamic range and colors. There is no wide-angle or macro sensor, but HDR is available which makes shots slightly better. Portrait mode also works fine but the device has to be kept steady for it because sometimes image processing takes longer than usual in this mode (especially during low-light conditions).
In low light conditions, the camera isn’t able to take very good photos. The Night Vision isn’t that effective as well. There is noise in the shots which affects the colors too. Using this camera, you can record FHD videos at 30fps.
Talking about the 5MP selfie sensor, it performs better than expected. It takes good selfies during the day, in which skin tones look natural and detailing is also decent. Low light performance does see a drop, but then you can’t expect a 5MP sensor to excel in such conditions. A selfie camera can also be used to record FHD videos at 30fps.
MOTO G04 Review: Battery Life and Charging
Moto G04 packs a 5000mAh battery and it does last long. You won’t face any issues with the battery backup here. Whether you have moderate or heavy usage, the device will last more than a day. Although battery life is long, charging speed is very slow. It comes with 15W charging support, but Motorola has bundled a 10W adapter inside the box.
With the adapter inside the box, Moto G04 charges to 100% in more than two hours. These days, even budget smartphones offer at least 30W charging speed, so the charging speed of Moto G04 feels underwhelming.
Review Verdict: Should you buy the Moto G04?
Moto G04 has been launched in India for just Rs. 6999. Considering the price point, the brand is offering a new and premium design for the new phone that is lightweight as well. There is a 90Hz display, a big battery, and stock Android 14 as well which makes it a decent deal. The everyday performance of the smartphone is good, however, you won’t get gaming performance on this one, which can’t even be expected from a 7k device. Talking about the camera, it takes ok shots during the day but lowlight photography is average, which was fine by me.
If you are buying your first smartphone and want it to be stylish with your usage including calling, messaging, and content streaming, the Moto G04 can be a perfect option for you. If camera and mobile gaming are your priorities, then you’ll have to increase your budget to get a device that meets your needs.
Reasons to buy
- Stylish design
- Clean UI
- Long battery life
- 90Hz display
Reasons to not buy
- Slow charging
- Average camera performance
- Only two years of security updates promised
