Moto G22 Review- Decent Entry-Level Phone With Some Drawbacks

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The budget smartphone market (Under Rs. 15,000) has changed in the past year. Prices have gone up despite a good influx of new products. Due to higher input costs and fluctuating demand, handset manufacturers have started cost-cutting on features and the hardware underneath. As a result, it has become difficult to find good-budget smartphones that are worth their price. The new Moto G22 might bring a change in the category.

 

Rating:
3.5/5

Moto G22 Review

Priced at Rs. 10,999, the smartphone packs some notable modern hardware features and runs the latest Android 12 in its stock version, which is a rarity in the sub-12K price category. Is Moto G22 the new budget benchmark? Let's find out in the following review.

Moto G22 Design- Looks Premium & Ensures Good Practicality

Moto G22 Design- Looks Premium & Ensures Good Practicality

Motorola did a great job designing the new G22. The budget smartphone has a clean and minimal design with a flat back panel flaunting a frosted glass-type finish. It isn't entirely smudge-free but still looks and feels better than those high-glossy budget devices.

Despite its plastic build, the G22 feels premium and gives a sturdy in-hand grip. It weighs 185g and has a thickness of 8.49mm.

Type-C Charging Port, 3.5mm Audio Jack & microSD Card

Type-C Charging Port, 3.5mm Audio Jack & microSD Card

The phone comes with a Type-C charging port, a dedicated microSD card slot, and a 3.5mm audio jack to provide ease of use. Motorola bundles a bare-minimum silicone case in the box, which isn't the best quality cover but should offer basic protection to the handset till the time you find a good quality case for your handset.

Moto G22 Display- Mixed Bag
 

Moto G22 Display- Mixed Bag

The screen on the Moto G22 will mostly leave you disappointed. It's a 6.5-inch LCD with a dated 720p resolution and average 500 nits peak brightness. Using the phone outdoors and under direct sunlight is no less than a struggle as the color shift and low peak brightness affects the visibility. The screen also lacks WideVine L1 certification for HD content streaming on OTT platforms, which doesn't come as a surprise.

Therefore, the video playback experience is subpar, and this device is not recommended for immersive viewing. The only good thing about the LCD is the fluid 90Hz refresh rate. The scrolling and UI navigation is top-class but the other important display parameters such as viewing angles, color reproduction, and outdoor visibility will let you down big time. Also, the display's haptic feedback is below average.

Moto G22 Hardware & Software Specifications

Moto G22 Hardware & Software Specifications

The Moto G22 is powered by a new entry-level MediaTek chipset- Helio G37. The company has introduced the device in the lone 4GB LPDDR4X variant but might bring a 6GB RAM variant in the coming months. The Moto G22 runs Android 12 out-of-the-box in its stock Android avatar, which gives it some extra headroom to keep things smooth and clutter-free. The phone comes equipped with a dedicated SD card slot to let you add an extra 1TB of storage.

Moto G22 Day-To-Day Performance

Moto G22 Day-To-Day Performance

The Moto G22 can run most day-to-day tasks without any major complains but it isn't a device for gaming and intense multitasking. Apps like WhatsApp and YouTube run just fine but you will notice glitches and UI lags with multitasking, app switching, and while using the camera app.

Some apps take their sweet time to load and animations could have been smoother with the handset that comes running the Stock Android. Thankfully, we didn't notice any app crashes on the Moto G22.

And while the Moto G22 runs the Stock Android 12, it does feature the annoying lock screen app- Glance, which shows wallpapers with some bit of information. Enabled by default to run on the lock screen, the app cannot be uninstalled from the handset and can only be 'Force Stop' and disabled from the app settings.

Average Audio Performance

Average Audio Performance

Moving on, the Moto G22's single bottom-firing speaker produces average audio and it is recommended to make use of the 3.5mm audio jack to enjoy multimedia. As far as the software update cycle is concerned, the Moto G22 will only receive one major software update at most along with three years of security updates.

Moto G22 Camera Hardware & Performance

Moto G22 Camera Hardware & Performance

The Moto G22 is a budget handset with a quad-camera setup. The handset features a 50MP primary camera with a decently sized f/1.8 aperture. It is supported by an 8MP wide-angle sensor, 2MP macro sensor, and a 2MP depth sensor. For selfies and video calling, the handset boasts a 16MP front-facing camera with a narrow f/2.45 aperture. The rear camera's video recording capabilities max out at 1080p 30fps. Let's find out about the camera performance.

  • The quad-camera setup on a budget phone does excite at first but the real-life camera output is average at its most.
  • It's not an enthusiastic camera but has the basic set of features to get the job done in a variety of shooting situations. For instance, you can capture decent-looking standard and landscape pictures in good lighting conditions.
  • The 50MP high-resolution pictures and 8MP wide-angle shots come out decent if the light conditions are favorable. Expect little dynamic range and no finely processed details from this entry-level camera setup. Also, this isn't a camera for low-light photography fans.
Good Set Of Software Utilities

Good Set Of Software Utilities

  • The budget camera system doesn't lag while focussing and is backed by a fair share of software utilities including a customizable portrait mode, real-time filters, one-tap HDR, Face beauty mode, Leveller, Assistive grid, and built-in Google Lens.
  • You even get a Pro mode, Timelapse, and a Panorama mode hidden in the 'More' section of camera settings.
  • The camera lets you capture workable 1080p 30fps videos and decent 16MP selfies.
Moto G22 Battery Life & Charging

Moto G22 Battery Life & Charging

The G22 easily lasts for more than a day even with heavy usage as the big 5,000mAh battery has to support a 720p screen and anot-so-power-hungry chipset. You can stream music, play videos, and light games on a stretch and the handset would still have some juice left by the end of the day. If you mostly use your handset for basic day-to-day jobs, the big battery will easily survive for two days on a single charge.

Since the phone packs a beefier 5,000mAh battery, the bundled charger takes its sweet time to refuel the big battery cell, which can test your patience if you are in a hurry. The 20W charger took 2-hours to recharge the battery from flat to 100%. Disabling Wi-Fi and data connectivity, and leaving the device idle for the charging duration can save you some minutes.

Verdict

Verdict

The Moto G22 does pretty well for its price. It's a budget phone and performs exactly like one; however, Motorola has tried and mostly succeeded in improving the day-to-day experience with a 90Hz refresh rate panel, the latest Android 12 software, and a big battery cell. If you have a strict budget of Rs. 11,000, the G22 is worth considering but if you can spend some extra thousand, a Realme or a Redmi handset will serve you better in almost all aspects.

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