Moto M

As highlighted in the introduction, the Moto M's design language gives it its bragging rights. And, without a doubt, Moto scores full marks in this aspect. The brand has ensured that the smartphone can stand out from a sea of similar-looking phones, even though the construction material being used is just metal. The rounded corners and dual curves at the back give it a distinct identity.

Even though it’s been a while since Android 7.0 Nougat came out, and many Moto devices have even started getting the update, the Moto M runs Android 6.0 Marshmallow. Like its brethren, the device offers a stock interface, complete with the Google Now screen towards the left and a dedicated app launcher.

Similar to its mid-tier sibling, the Moto G4 Plus, the Moto M flaunts a 16-meg shooter at the back, which is complemented by a dual-colour LED flash. However, the similarities stop right there. While the G4 Plus still ranks among the best smartphone cameras in its segment – even months after its launch – the Moto M’s camera quality is average at best. The images show decent colour reproduction, but the sharpness and details aren’t up to the mark. The camera app however, offers a lot of options, including a Pro mode to tweak ISO levels, exposure, etc. There’s also an option of enabling various effects as well as Art Nightscape to get some additional filters for pictures. The focussing is quite fast thanks to PDAF technology, and shutter speeds are also decent. The HDR effect adds life to images though takes time in processing, and sometimes tend to overexpose the scene making it look artificial. Like most phones, the Moto M fares poorly in the dim environments, although the LED flash does come to the rescue in providing ample illumination.

As mentioned in our hands on, Moto seems to be changing under Lenovo's umbrella, and the hardware section is one of the biggest places where this change can be seen. Instead of a Qualcomm chipset, the Moto M utilises MediaTek’s P15 octa-core SoC. It offers four high-power cores running at 2.2GHz, while the low-power cores are tuned at 1.8GHz. Not just in specs, but in the usage too, the processor is quite capable. Be it for basic tasks or high-power apps, it was able to handle everything quite well. However, MediaTek chipsets fare poorly in the graphics department, and the same was the case with the Moto M too. While casual titles such as Dan the Man ran flawlessly, off-roading in Asphalt Extreme wasn’t as pleasurable as it could’ve been.