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Cameras
Motorola has upgraded the G-series to triple camera setup. The cameras on the G8 Plus consists of a primary 48MP sensor with an f/1.7 aperture paired with a 16MP ultra-wide angle lens with a 117-degree field of view and a 5MP depth sensor which assists in portrait mode. On the front, there’s a 25MP selfie camera housed within the notch cutout with an f/2.0 aperture.
The primary camera can record videos in 4K at 30fps and Full HD at up to 120fps while the wide-angle camera and selfie camera can only record at 1080p. The phone has an electronic stabilization in place for videos, which is pretty good at its job of keeping footage stabilized while shooting. One can also record videos holding the phone in a vertical position which improves stability.
The company’s quad-pixel technology allows the camera sensors to be more susceptible to light which allows more clear and brighter pictures in any kind of environment. It’s more noticeable in the pictures taken in low-light or at night.
The primary 48MP camera captures sharp and colouful images in the daytime however, during the night, the pictures are filled with grains and it’s clear that it can’t retain details easily. The camera produces more detailed imagery of the scene in the foreground while distant objects still don’t look clear. That is if you usually zoom into your pictures to check for their clarity, but otherwise for most users, the camera will feel right at home.
Having said that, there’s a marginal difference between the images shot in regular mode in low-lit conditions and the Night Vision mode.
It’s snappy and is quick to autofocus on objects, thanks to the laser autofocus system which is great for a phone’s camera in this price range. Generally, the camera performs well in daylight with close to natural colour tones and the sharpness is on point.
The dynamic range of the camera is decent, however, it could be better optimized for daylight. The same goes for the contrast of the pictures taken from Moto G8 Plus’ camera. Although, this isn’t something that cannot be fixed via a software patch. In our time with the phone, we received two updates to the camera app which improve the low-light performance.
The selfie camera on the front is decent and so are the portrait pictures which require a bit of tweaking as it often processed over-exposed pictures with higher saturation levels.
What bummed us the most about the camera system on the G8 Plus was that there is no option to capture a picture from the wide-angle Action camera which should be a given. Otherwise, if you love playing with your phone’s camera and create videos, the action camera on the G8 Plus will open up a different perspective that’s not usually found in this budget segment.
Performance
Moto G8 Plus is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 665 chipset which we’ve also seen on phone such as the Xiaomi Mi A3, Realme 5 and more recently, the Redmi Note 8. This is paired with an octa-core CPU clocked at upto 2.0GHz and Adreno 610 as the GPU.
Qualcomm’s processor is fabricated on an 11nm architecture process, emphasizing improvements in the camera and graphics department. The chip also brings in third-generation AI Engine for related tasks and supports Vulkan graphics library which efficiently consumes 20% less power than the previous generation.
The phone has 4GB DDR4 RAM and 64GB storage with an option to expand the storage by upto 512GB via microSD card. It runs on stock Android 9.0 Pie with additional Moto customizations such as Moto Actions and Display.
Moto G8 Plus is upgradable to Android 10 and the company is working hard at customizing Google’s latest OS for their phones. Moreover, Moto promises two years of Android updates to users of the G8 Plus.
In our daily use, the phone was able to handle multitasking and general actions with ease. However, if you’re expecting a great gaming performance from the phone, you’re bound to be disappointed. The G8 Plus runs PUBG Mobile at low settings by default as anything higher resulted in frame drops and apparent lags. So, if you play games on your phone casually, this might not be a big issue for you, but if you’re thinking of getting a phone for gaming, we’ll strictly advise going for the Redmi Note 8 Pro in this range.
It would have been great if Moto G8 Plus had a higher RAM version to better manage games and provide a balanced user experience in the long run, sadly the phone just has 4GB of RAM with no option for power users.
The company has provided a set of Moto Actions features that lets users control the phone with certain gestures and actions. This includes twist to open the camera, chop-chop for flashlight, lift to unlock, to name a few. These added customizations will help users make the most of the phone and are something previous Moto users would be familiar with.
The dual speaker setup on the G8 Plus is just great for a phone in this price range. This makes watching videos on the phone truly delightful if you’re coming from any other phone with a single loudspeaker. The phone has a bigger audio chamber with a smart Power Amplifier which gives that much-needed boost to the audio experience.
Moto G8 Plus is powered by a 4,000mAh battery which supports 15W fast charging with the TurboPower adapter provided in-the-box. The phone takes close to 150 minutes to fully charge from 0-100%.
On casual use, one can expect a two-day battery life from the G8 Plus but if you like watching videos, being on social media at all times and playing games on your phone, the phone easily lasts for a day on a single charge. The battery management system of the phone efficiently saves power by dismissing apps, not in use and helps the phone last longer.
Verdict
Motorola Moto G8 does the basics right and then some. It’s got a versatile camera system that also records wide-angle videos, a big and bright display to view those videos and a fast processor that provides that performance boost when you need it the most.
Add in a water-repellent design encased in a glittering Cosmic Blue finish and you have an impress phone for budget users that offers a clutter-free Android experience.
However, there are certain caveats with the phone such as camera optimizations and low RAM model such that it is apparent where Motorola has cut costs. The G8 Plus is a good phone that goes up against the Mi A3 with ease and scores where the latter falters. So, it’s a viable option for most people who want a high-res screen to watch content or play games with great audio experience and a battery life that doesn’t give up that easily. The camera system needs to be better optimized and we definitely need access to create wide-angle pictures from the action cam.
Other than that, the Moto G8 Plus looks solid, packed with the essential features that are used on a daily basis. And while it can’t go up against the Redmi Note 8 Pro, it reasserts Moto’s focus on its budget-centric G-series as it receives some much-needed upgrades.
