Moto G54 5G review: a compelling mid-ranger under Rs 20k

Moto G54 5G has been launched in India with a starting price of Rs 15,999. Read our full review

• By Ashish Kumar -
Published On: September 8, 2023

Motorola has refreshed its popular G-series lineup in India with the launch of the Moto G54 5G. The handset appears to be a slight upgrade from the Moto G73 (review), which was launched earlier this year. The standout features of the Moto G54 5G include the new MediaTek Dimensity 7020 SoC and a substantial 6,000mAh battery. Do these aspects favour the smartphone? Let's find out in this Moto G54 5G review. Read on.

Verdict

The Moto G54 5G presents a marked improvement over its counterpart Moto G73 both in terms of performance and battery life. The handset also performs well on the camera front and impresses with its crisp audio. However, its charging speeds and viewing experience appear quite ordinary.

Design

• When it comes to design, the Moto G54 5G doesn't deviate much from the recent offerings in the G-series lineup. The handset sports a plastic unibody design with flat edges, curved corners, and a matte finish on the back. It might not look as appealing as some of the other smartphones out there, but the Moto G54 5G offers a sturdy build that fits comfortably in your hand. The phone's corners don't dig into your palm, and despite housing a robust 6,000mAh battery, it feels surprisingly ergonomic to hold. The handset weighs 192 grams, and you might find it slightly on the heavier side if you are transitioning from a phone that weighs less. Moreover, the handset is IP52 splash resistance certified.
• Moving on, a shiny rectangular camera island adorns the rear panel, occupying a small space in the top left corner. Within this module, you'll find a couple of lenses, an LED flash, and the text '50MP OIS' and 'Quad Pixel.' The island protrudes ever so slightly from the frame, causing the phone to wobble when placed flat on a surface. The fingerprint scanner, power button, and volume rocker can all be found on the right spine of the phone. While the fingerprint scanner unlocks the smartphone quickly, its placement, along with that of the volume buttons, is situated higher up in the top corner, making it a bit challenging to reach.

• As for the I/O, the Moto G54 5G sports a USB Type-C port for charging and data transfer at the bottom edge, along with a 3.5mm headphone jack and a speaker grille. The phone delivers stereo sound output, with the speakers fine-tuned by Dolby Atmos, ensuring both loud and crystal-clear audio.

Display

• The Moto G54 5G sports a 6.5-inch IPS LCD screen with 120Hz refresh rate and FHD+ resolution. While the display features a modern centred punch-hole for the selfie camera, its bezels are the thickest I've come across in the sub-Rs 20,000 smartphones recently. Be that as it may, the viewing experience is on par with other smartphones within the segment. The blacks might not be as deep as on AMOLED panels, but the viewing angles are respectable. The display brightness level is also sufficient to ensure that text remains legible even when used outdoors in bright, sunny conditions.

• The colours are certainly bright and vivid. Additionally, the handset is Widevine L1 certified, ensuring streaming in FHD quality from Netflix and other OTT platforms. As for the 120Hz refresh rate, it works well across the UI. You can keep the refresh rate locked at 120Hz and 60Hz or choose the auto mode within the phone's settings to adjust the refresh rate based on the content displayed on the screen and save some battery.

Camera

• The Moto G54 5G features a dual rear camera setup, comprising a 50MP primary sensor with Optical Image Stabilization (OIS) and an 8MP ultra-wide sensor. The primary camera defaults to capturing images at 12.5MP resolution, delivering a commendable level of detail. While the colours may appear slightly undersaturated, the dynamic range impresses, especially in well-lit conditions.

• In low light or indoor settings, the camera performs better than expected; however, it does exhibit noticeable delays in shutter speed and focusing. While some noise is introduced into the frame, the handset manages to preserve details effectively. The phone features a dedicated night mode designed to reduce noise levels, albeit at the cost of sacrificing some finer details.
• The secondary 8MP ultra-wide sensor boasts a 118-degree field-of-view (FoV). It is also capable of shooting macro shots as close as 4cm. The sensor delivers usable shots in areas with ample lighting conditions. You will notice certain warping around the edges of the ultra-wide images. Besides that, the resulting images turn out to be fine with acceptable colour accuracy and detailing.

• For selfies and video calling, the Moto G54 5G sports a 16MP snapper whose low-light performance leaves a bit to be desired. However, in well-lit conditions, it can capture selfies with decent facial detail and near-accurate skin tones.

Performance

• Powering the Moto G54 5G is the MediaTek Dimensity 7020 chipset, which is fabricated using 6nm process and boasts octa cores - 2x Arm Cortex-A78 and 6x Arm Cortex-A55, clocked at up to 2.2GHz. The chipset is paired with up to 12GB RAM and 256GB user-expandable storage. The smartphone performs reasonably well on benchmarking apps, falling in line with some of its competitors. It scored 4,58,746 points on AnTuTu, whereas on Geekbench, the G54 achieved 919 and 2,309 in respective single-core and multi-core tests.

• However, when it comes to real-world performance, the handset doesn't feel quite as swift. I observed some stutter when scrolling or switching between apps. Nevertheless, multitasking and gaming are quite manageable on this device. It excels at keeping multiple apps actively running in the background, ensuring you can seamlessly pick up where you left off. 
• When it comes to gaming, the handset comfortably handles graphically demanding titles like BGMI, without any frame drop or excessive heating issues. That said, the smartphone tends to struggle under strenuous load. So, if you are a heavy user or a gamer who loves extended sessions, this handset might fall short of expectations. During the CPU Throttle test, the phone's performance dropped as low as 66 percent of its peak performance while running 50 threads for 30 minutes.

Software

• Software-wise, the Moto G54 5G runs Android 13, with a lightweight custom skin My UX, out of the box. The user interface closely mirrors stock Android, and there's minimal bloatware. The phone also boasts some nifty software functionalities, including the ability to activate the flashlight with a simple chop gesture, swiftly open the camera app with a twist, and engage the Do Not Disturb mode by flipping it, among other convenient features. Additionally, users have the freedom to personalise and customise the device to their liking, with options to adjust colours, fonts, and more.
• However, on the downside, the Moto G54 5G only promises one year of software updates, whereas most other OEMs are now committing to at least two software upgrades.

Battery

• The 6,000mAh battery on the Moto G54 5G is capable of lasting well over a day between charges depending on your usage. The handset exhibited impressive endurance on the PCMark battery test, clocking in at a respectable 15 hours and 48 minutes. When it came to screen-on-time in real-world usage, I consistently achieved around seven to eight hours while engaging in activities like browsing, streaming, and gaming.
• Be that as it may, the Moto G54 5G charging speeds could be on the slower side. The handset supports 33W fast charging, which takes anywhere between 90-100 minutes for a full charge from nothing.

Final verdict

The Moto G54 5G is priced in India at Rs 15,999 for the base 8GB RAM variant, while the 12GB RAM option costs Rs 18,999. There is hardly any other smartphone within the segment that offers 12GB RAM with 256GB storage onboard. But, you might find options such as the Samsung Galaxy M34 5G (review), which boasts a vibrant AMOLED display instead of LCD and promises four years of major software updates. Alternatively, you can go with the OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite (review), which has superior software support. It also comes with a 108MP primary camera and a 67W fast charging solution. Or the Realme 11 5G (review), which also supports 67W fast charging.

The Motorola smartphone, in contrast, is better than its competitors in the audio department. Its Dolby Atmos-powered stereo speakers impress with its crisp audio. While its software support may be somewhat lacking, the handset's user interface stands out as one of the cleanest in its segment. Apart from that, the phone delivers reliable performance, boasts commendable camera capabilities, and offers above-average battery life. So, if you've been contemplating a Motorola smartphone under the Rs 20,000 price range, the G54 could prove to be a worthwhile option.

Editor's rating: 8 / 10

Reasons to buy

• Multitasking and gaming are handled reasonably well by this device.
• The speakers have been fine-tuned by Dolby Atmos, ensuring both loud and crystal-clear audio.
• The Moto G54 5G can last well over a day between charges depending on your usage.
• The camera performs well in both day and low-light scenarios.

Reasons not to buy

• The charging speed is relatively on the slower side.
• The Moto G54 5G promises just one year of software updates, which is less in comparison to some of its competitors.