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You'll want to look out for this $300 smartphone if you don't want to spend $1,000 on a new one
You'll want to look out for this $300 smartphone if you don't want to spend $1,000 on a new one
Antonio Villas-BoasFeb 8, 2019, 01:30 IST
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Motorola
Motorola's Moto G series smartphone has been our favorite option for mid-range devices ever since they were first released back in 2013.
The new Moto G7 comes with a fresh design and new specs, as well as a few features you won't find on high-end Android devices anymore but that are still very much relevant.
In my experience testing older versions of Moto G phones, these mid-range devices are nearly indistinguishable in looks and performance from the high-end tier of Android phones.
Motorola announced its new $300 Moto G7 smartphone on Thursday, and it's an exciting time for smartphone users who aren't so keen on spending big.
Motorola's Moto G series of smartphones has been our favorite mid-range option ever since they were first released back in 2013, and they've only been getting better and better every generation. Last year's Moto G6 was a fantastic device that made me forget I was using a $250 phone, and not one that cost over $800.
The new Moto G7 comes with updated specs, design, and even a few rare, out-of-style features that many smartphone users still value.
The Moto G7 will cost $300 when its released this spring.
It has a 6.2-inch display with 1080p resolution, which doesn't look less sharp than the higher-resolution screens on more expensive devices.
It has a fresh new design that brings it up to par with more recent high-end smartphones, and the Moto G7 doesn't skimp on premium features.
Motorola has graced the Moto G7 with the thinnest bezel yet on a G phone, giving it the appearance of a high-end Android smartphone.
It has a glass back where you'll also find the fingerprint sensor, and a water-drop-style notch on the display that looks infinitely better than larger notches. The notch is where the selfie camera lives, which also comes with facial recognition for unlocking the phone.
Splashes and rain won't be an issue for the Moto G7, as it has a water-repelling coating.
It also comes with features that high-end Android devices ditched, but a lot of people still want.
The Moto G7 comes with a headphone jack, which is quickly becoming extinct on higher-end smartphones. Many consumers are adapting by using Bluetooth headphones, but if you want to keep using wired headphones, the Moto G7 will be ready for you.
Another long-lost feature that's all but extinct on high-end smartphones is expanding your storage with a microSD card. The Moto G7 comes with 64GB on internal storage, which actually isn't bad if you mostly use cloud services like Google Photos for storing your photos and music streaming services. But should you ever want extra storage, the option is there with the Moto G7.
The Moto G7 runs on a mid-range chip that's 50% faster than the previous generation.
When I tried the previous generation of Moto G — the Moto G6 — I was amazed by how well the Android operating system and my apps ran on its Qualcomm Snapdragon 450 mid-range chip.
I used the Moto G6 exclusively for a week after getting used to the performance from high-end smartphones, and I barely felt any difference. The 50% performance boost from the Snapdragon 632 chip in the Moto G7 bodes well for the phone's performance.
The Moto G7 also comes with 4GB of RAM, which is an extra gigabyte of RAM over the previous Moto G6.
The Moto G7 might be a "mid-range" phone running on mid-range hardware, but it comes with the same version of Android as every other high-end Android device — Android 9.
It has a 3,000mAh battery, which is starting to look a little low-end these days, but the Moto G7 should still have good battery life.
Many high-end Android smartphones have batteries that are closer to the 4,000mAh number than the 3,000 mark. Still, the Moto G7 should have good battery life because its chip and display consume less power than those on top Android models.
It has a 12MP and 5MP dual-lens camera system, but I'll need to try the camera before passing any judgement.
The one thing that didn't impress on the previous generation Moto G6 was its camera. I'll have to try the Moto G7's camera to see if it's any better.
The Moto G7's main 12MP lens is for everyday photo taking, with the 5MP lens acting as a "depth sensor" for portrait shots and getting that blurry background effect. It also boasts phase-detection autofocusing for faster and more accurate focusing.
Motorola said its new camera software can help sharpen and clear up digitally zoomed photos, which tend to look pixelated or blurry if the lens isn't physically zoomed.
There's also a new cinematograph camera mode, which lets you make one of those still photos that have a single moving part. If that sounds appealing, great. For me though, this is a skippable feature.
I can't wait to try out the Moto G7, as I was pleasantly surprised by its predecessor, the Moto G6.
I'm all about smartphones that do what you need and don't come with absurd price tags. I'm a great fan of the $550 OnePlus 6T, for example, which does almost everything that its $800+ rivals do, and even does certain things better.
When I was using the Moto G6, it was pleasing to know I was getting the same experience as people around me wielding phones that cost three times as much. As such, I'm excited to try out the newer and likely even better Moto G7.
