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How inexpensive can a smartphone be and nonetheless be serviceable? Motorola has proved with the Moto G50 that it is doable to supply a good handset for below £200: it might not break pace data, function stunning design, or use the very newest elements, nevertheless it does have nice battery life and 5G assist.

Motorola has an intensive steady of Moto handsets, headed by the mid-range Moto G100 (£499.99 inc. VAT), which comes full with a desktop dock. Then there’s the Moto G50 (£199.99, reviewed right here), G30 (£159.99) and G10 (£129.99), to not point out the G9 Plus, Play and Energy, and the G 5G Plus and G Professional.

The Moto G50 is pretty chunky and weighty, measuring 74.9mm huge by 164.9mm deep by 8.95mm thick, and weighing 192g. The bundled clear bumper provides a little bit to the size and weight, however protects the plastic chassis. Motorola says the shell is ‘water-repellent’, however does not go into any additional particulars or supply up an IP ranking. Finest to not drop it within the sink.

The 6.5-inch display is an IPS fairly than AMOLED panel, which implies it’s a bit missing in vibrancy. That is not an enormous difficulty and it is good to see a 90Hz refresh charge, however the display decision is disappointing at 720 by 1,600 pixels (269ppi). Should you learn loads of textual content in your telephone a level of graininess can be obvious, as will a certain quantity of fuzziness round textual content as you scroll. By comparability, the 6.7-inch Moto G100 has a decision of two,560 by 1,080 pixels (409ppi).

There are sizeable bezels on all sides of the display, significantly on the backside, leading to a average screen-to-body ratio of 82.6%. The entrance digicam sits in a ‘teardrop’ in centre of the display, the place it is fairly inoffensive.

All of those components mix right into a display that is completely usable, however which is not going to be the only option for anybody who does loads of studying on their telephone.

There are two color decisions for the backplate: Metal Gray and Aqua Inexperienced. My gray overview unit confirmed off a reflective end to good impact. Sadly it was additionally very eager on grabbing fingermarks. The backplate homes the triple digicam array in a vertical lozenge, plus a fingerprint sensor — a uncommon sight on this location as of late. The sensor is a good method up the backplate, the place it sits comfortably for the long-fingered however may show awkward to entry for customers with smaller arms. Those that are followers of Google Assistant will just like the shortcut button on the correct facet of the telephone. 

Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 480 5G SoC plus 4GB of RAM makes for a distinctly low-end platform, so do not count on to run something that wants an excessive amount of efficiency. For on a regular basis features, nevertheless, Moto G50 is responsive sufficient. Storage may show to be an even bigger difficulty: there’s simply 64GB inbuilt and 17GB used out of the field, leaving simply 47GB on your personal use. Luckily, you’ll be able to enhance storage capability through a MicroSD card, though you may have to sacrifice the second SIM slot to take action.

Battery life is spectacular: though the Moto G50 refused to run my normal PCMark for Android rundown check, the 5,000mAh battery received me nicely right into a second day of utilization earlier than needing a cost. The low-resolution IPS display may not be the most effective to have a look at, nevertheless it actually helps eke out the battery life. Quick charging is on the market, however — as typical on the finances finish of the market — not wi-fi charging.

The entrance digicam is a 13MP f/2.2 unit that takes completely sufficient selfies. There are three cameras on the again: 48MP f/1.7 huge angle, 5MP f/2.4 macro; and a 2MP f/2.4 depth-sensing digicam. Level-and-click photos are OK for social sharing, however in order for you a smartphone with a digicam that’ll take images you may be eager to maintain as reminiscences, look elsewhere.

The Moto G50 is an inexpensive 5G handset that is nicely price contemplating if flagship telephones are off the size, budget-wise. Do not count on a lot in the way in which of display or digicam high quality from the Moto G50, however you may get a succesful and long-lasting 5G telephone at worth.