The Motorola Moto G30 is a brand new budget smartphone with a large battery, 90 Hz screen and a striking amount of storage memory. How good is the 179 euro phone? You can read it in this Motorola Moto G30 review.
Motorola Moto G30
MSRP € 179, –
Colors Black, purple
OS Android 11
Screen 6.5 inch LCD (1600 x 720, 90 Hz)
Processor 2 Ghz octacore (Snapdragon 662)
RAM 4 GB
Storage 128 GB
Battery 5,000 mAh
Camera 64, 8, 2 and 2 megapixels (rear), 13 megapixels (front)
Connectivity 4G (LTE), Bluetooth 5.0, WiFi 5, GPS
Format 16.5 x 7.5 x 0.9 cm
Weight 197 grams
Website www.motorola.com/en 7.5 Score 75
- Pros
- Lots of storage memory
- Battery life and charging
- Almost stock Android
- Negatives
- Update Policy
- Low screen resolution
- Pointless Google Assistant button
There is no shortage of Motorola smartphones under 200 euros. The manufacturer sells a number of models in this price range and is now introducing another: the Moto G30. This 179 euro device is for sale in the colors black and purple (tested) and will appear in the Netherlands at the beginning of April. I was able to try it out for two weeks and in this Motorola Moto G30 review you can read whether the smartphone is a smart buy.
Design
The design of the Moto G30 is impressive, I think. The device is made of plastic but comes across as sturdy, with buttons that press well. The back has a matte finish and is therefore impervious to fingerprints and other dirt. The purple model changes color due to the light, which I can certainly appreciate. Just like the fact that the smartphone can withstand a rain shower. Also cool is that Motorola includes a transparent case that protects the Moto G30 (somewhat). The smartphone is quite heavy at 197 grams and not the smallest, but I can live with it just fine. However, it is not a one-handed use device.
My main flaw of the design is the placement of the Google Assistant button, which starts the voice assistant. The button is placed in the top right corner, well above the volume buttons. As a right-handed user you don’t get to that well and as a left-handed user certainly not at all. Apart from that, you can also discuss the usefulness of the button – the on and off button can do the same. I think the separate button is therefore mainly a piece of Google marketing.
Smooth screen looks less sharp
The screen of the Moto G30 leaves a mixed impression. You have to love the large format – 6.5 inches. I am used to it and get along well with it. The LCD panel does not excel with its color reproduction, maximum brightness or contrast. Considering the price it is all okay. The HD resolution is noticeable in a negative sense because the image does not look that sharp. Many competing smartphones have a Full HD display that looks significantly sharper in this format. You will notice the difference especially when reading text and viewing photos and videos.
Motorola’s cut in screen resolution is even stranger as the manufacturer does include a 90 Hz display in the Moto G30. Many comparable devices have a 60 Hz screen. The refresh rate indicates how many times per second the screen refreshes itself. A higher refresh rate shows a smoother image, so that text reads more smoothly and the smartphone appears faster. The Moto G30 is indeed a bit smoother than a device like the Nokia 5.4. However, the better screen does not come out completely, and that is due to the processor used. It does not always keep up with the fast screen and you notice that when switching between apps or opening notifications. Not very disturbing, but a bit of a shame.
The screen has a notch for the selfie camera. A great solution, although many alternative smartphones now have an even less conspicuous camera hole in the screen.
Nice hardware
The Motorola Moto G30 has excellent specifications, especially considering its competitive price. The RAM measures 4 GB – common in this price segment – and the storage memory is twice the size of most competitors at 128 GB. The used Snapdragon 662 processor is also in many of those competing devices, including models from Motorola. The Moto G30 is just as fast and – more importantly – smooth enough for popular apps and simpler games. You can assume that this will still be the case in two years. Still, a more powerful processor would have been desirable, because as mentioned, the 90 Hz screen sometimes falters.
Don’t expect miracles from the four camera lenses on the back. The 2 megapixel macro camera in particular feels useless because its pictures show strange colors from very close and the resolution is so low. The 2 megapixel depth sensor blurs the background of normal photos for a portrait effect, which works nicely. And while the 8-megapixel wide-angle camera works properly (it takes a photo that fits more), the quality of that image is noticeably less than a photo from the 64-megapixel primary camera. It shoots 16 megapixel photos by default and combines 4 pixels (64: 4 = 16) for better results. Especially in the dark, when you activate the night mode in the camera app. Photos then look a lot clearer, although you cannot call them realistic. However, for an affordable smartphone, the photo performance during the day and in the dark is fine.
Battery life and charging
Another plus of the Moto G30 is its battery life. The 5000 mAh battery is larger than usual for this type of smartphone and the HD screen consumes less power than the competition’s full HD screens. In practice, I can use the device carefree for a day and a half, and I am an intensive user. I think most people can do just fine for two days.
Charging is via the USB-C port with a maximum of 15 Watt. That is an average speed for a budget smartphone and means that the battery is full again within a few hours. It is striking that Motorola includes a 20 Watt charger. Why no 15 Watt model is unclear to me.
Do you think a long battery life is important? Then there are comparably priced smartphones with an even longer breath for sale. Think of the Motorola Moto G9 Power and Samsung Galaxy M21.
Nice software broken by update policy
The Moto G30 has Android 11 installed upon release. That is the most recent version available at the time of writing. Motorola hardly adjusts the software and I like that because I do not suffer from unnecessary apps, unnecessary visual changes and advertisements.
Motorola’s update policy is unfortunately – for years – less impressive. The manufacturer confirms in an interview that the Moto G30 will receive one Android update to version 12. Most competing devices will also receive Android 13 later. Motorola will make security updates available for two years. That is shorter than, for example, Nokia (three years) and Samsung (four years). These devices can therefore be used safely for longer than the Moto G30.
Conclusion: buy Motorola Moto G30?
The Motorola Moto G30 is an affordable smartphone that offers an excellent price-quality ratio. It has a solid design, a lot of storage memory, a long battery life and user-friendly software. If you are looking for a device for the basics, you can certainly consider the Moto G30. Still, the smartphone is not the best choice in its price range. That’s because of the lower resolution HD screen and Motorola’s easy software support. Interesting alternatives are the Poco M3 and Samsung Galaxy A31.
.