At a glanceExpert’s Rating
ProsElegant design and excessive construct qualityGenerous storageStereo speakersLarge, fast-charging batteryConsSlightly pale screenQuestionable wide-angle cameraChoppy hapticsOur VerdictThe Moto G23 offers you prime quality on the necessities, with just a few exceptions. An overambitious digicam and vibration motor that’s so annoying I switched it off are two examples. But the vital stuff, akin to useful efficiency, battery life, charging, connectivity, display screen and sound, you get right here at value.
Affordable smartphones have been Motorola’s hallmark for a few years. Both their high-end, mid-range and finances fashions have typically supplied extra worth for cash than lots of their opponents.
Now I’ve examined a cell phone on the cheaper finish of the worth scale, the Moto G23 which prices £199.99, and it’s once more a whole lot of cell for its cash.
For that, you get a comparatively energetic little telephone that appears and feels prefer it ought to value extra. It has an interesting design, with matt surfaces in a cool metal blue metallic end. Everything is plastic, and the body doesn’t really feel too tough to grip, however the machine sits comfortably in your hand so long as your fingers aren’t too small.
On one lengthy facet are a few small quantity buttons and an on button that can be a slim fingerprint scanner. It will be difficult to register a complete finger, however after a few makes an attempt, I’ve managed a fast and safe biometric unlock. On the other facet is only a SIM card slot, which holds two SIM playing cards and a separate micro SD card, in case the storage just isn’t sufficient.
The display screen is a barely weaker level, with its slim viewing angles and restricted color vary.Mattias Inghe
More storage and graphics than anticipated
However, you get a full 128GB of it, beneficiant on this value vary the place the norm is 64GB, and a few supply as little as 32GB. You get 4GB RAM, which is kind of regular in finances telephones. With the Helio G85 system circuit from Mediatek, you get first rate however not excessive CPU efficiency.
It manages to keep away from being annoyingly sluggish in all on a regular basis duties, akin to viewing internet pages, operating electronic mail, messaging and occasional social apps, in addition to utilizing Google Maps and streaming movies. But loading a single app or waking the telephone from standby mode can typically trigger some latency.
You additionally get considerably extra graphics energy than anticipated. Not solely does this offer you a barely higher capability to play video games, nevertheless it additionally helps the efficiency of some apps and the 2D display screen replace within the interface. It’s positively not a gaming telephone, you received’t wish to hearth up Fortnite and run a match. But a recreation of Candy Crush goes properly with out an excessive amount of choppiness.
There’s no 5G at this value, however you ought to be OK with 4G.
Better sound than image
The Moto G23 has a 6.5in 720p display screen of unspecified LCD sort, however I feel it’s a PLS panel. It seems and behaves like one, with good color steadiness and distinction, however not nice color gamut and slim viewing angles. It has a 90Hz body charge which it robotically switches all the way down to 60Hz when excessive frequency just isn’t wanted. 720p is sharp sufficient that I don’t thoughts pixelation, aside from superb textual content on some internet pages.
Two various, and extra boring, color choices.Mattias Inghe
The brightness finally ends up at simply over 400 cd/m2 in my measurements. Since the display screen is acknowledged to be 400 nits, that is fairly good. It can be utilized outdoors on a cloudy day, however robust daylight is usually a drawback, particularly for the reason that display screen has no efficient remedy towards reflections.
The color gamut isn’t nice, so watching films and TV exhibits on the telephone is rarely precisely vibrant. But Motorola compensates for this with sound. Here you get stereo sound with wealthy midrange and bass, and distinct if not so detailed treble. There’s additionally Dolby Atmos assist, each for the audio system and with headphones that may be linked each wirelessly and through a 3.5mm headphone jack.
Triple digicam
The Moto G23 has three cameras on the again. The foremost 50MP digicam takes photographs with good dynamics and color steadiness, nevertheless it loses a few of its sharpness when I attempt to scale up pictures. The previous few p.c of autofocus precision doesn’t appear to be there. Trying to digitally zoom within the app doesn’t end up very properly both. In semi-dark environments, it’s good at lightening the sunshine, however in additional noticeable darkness, the digicam has focus issues and delivers flaky outcomes.
Three cameras, of which solely the principle digicam is authorized nearly as good. Mattias Inghe
A large-angle digicam with a 5Mp sensor and stuck focus is definitely barely sharper, nevertheless it doesn’t have the identical good color and light-weight copy as the principle digicam. And it’s downright depressing to take good footage with if the solar has gone down. Finally, there’s a small two-megapixel macro digicam. Separate ones are by no means notably nice, nevertheless it does its job with out a lot bother.
The finest digicam on the telephone is definitely the selfie digicam on the entrance, which just like the macro digicam doesn’t attempt to be something particular, and takes its 16-megapixel pictures with good sharpness, good mild and color steadiness, and even manages darkish photographs higher than the opposite cameras.
Fast battery charging
The Moto G23, like most telephones in its class, has a hefty 5,000mAh battery, and will get a good however common battery life out of it. Streaming video at full brightness lasts eight to 11 hours relying on how a lot I push the quantity, and blended shopping and emailing with dim indoor lighting lasts just a few extra hours.
Functional digicam app with many modes to check out.Mattias Inghe
Motorola will get plus factors for quick battery charging. There’s no 100W tremendous quick charging right here like in some high mobiles, however its 30W USB-C charger is clearly sooner than most different finances mobiles have to supply. It takes about 20 minutes to cost the battery to half, after which one other 50 minutes to fill it as much as 100%.
The Moto G23 runs Android 13 with a properly plain consumer interface that’s not far off Google Pixel telephones, however with a few of its personal tips akin to movement controls and gestures to activate the digicam, change between apps, and extra. It’s additionally an interface that wishes to overwhelm you with pre-installed apps, nevertheless it’s solely as much as you to decide out on first boot. I didn’t, and out of the blue had dozens of pointless apps and video games on my telephone.
I haven’t acquired a solution to my query about how lengthy the Moto G23 will obtain Android updates, however second-hand info on the internet suggests one or two years. Android 14 is probably going, however after that you simply shouldn’t count on something extra. In different phrases, it’s typical finances degree at that time.
Specifications
Product title: Motorola Moto G23Tested: August 2023Circuitry: Mediatek Helio G85Processor: 2pcs Cortex-A75 2 GHz + 6pcs Cortex-A55 1.8 GHzGraphics: ARM Mali-G52 MC2Memory: 4GBStorage: 128 GB, micro sd slotDisplay: 6.5in LCD, 720×1600 pixels, 90 HzCameras: 50 megapixel + 5 megapixel broad angle + 2 megapixel macro with led rear, 16 megapixel frontConnections: Usb 2 sort c, 3.5mm headsetCommunications: 2g, 3g, 4g, wifi 5, bluetooth 5.1, gps, galileo, nfc, fm radioOperating system: Android 13Other: Dual sim, water resistantBattery: 5,000 mAh, 11 hrs 20 min on-line video (wifi, excessive brightness), approx. 16 hrs blended use (4g, low brightness), approx. 33 hrs callsBattery charging: 30 W usb cSize: 16.27 x 7.47 x 0.82 cmWeight: 184g
Performance
Antutu Benchmark: 280 500 pointsGeekbench 6: 1 436 pointsGeekbench 6 single core: 436 points3dmark Wild Life: 749 pointsStorage, learn: 308.7 MB/sStorage, write: 259.7 MB/s
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