Motorola One Zoom review

A quad-lens contender

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Verdict

Lenovo has unleashed an almost flagship camera phone with a mid-range price tag in the Motorola One Zoom.

It cuts corners to cost what it does - this isn’t the sleekest or the most powerful phone at its price, but get past that and you’ll open yourself up to a world of beautiful images without breaking the bank.

From a utility point of view, it’s a champion. It’s very well put together, includes a case and TurboPower charger in the box, has a great screen, stock UI, a headphone jack and sensational battery life. All in all, an easy phone to recommend.

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Who's this for?

If you don’t need maximum power and a super sleek design, the Motorola One Zoom is an exceptional device. While it only packs 4GB of RAM and a Snapdragon 675 chipset, its cameras, battery life and screen make it a great choice for photo-focused smartphone buyers on a budget of under $450/£400.

Should you buy it?

Definitely, if you want an almost flagship-grade, versatile camera without breaking the bank. While the One Zoom is outclassed by the Xiaomi Mi 9T Pro from a design point of view, and that phone also packs a better chipset, its camera isn’t quite as capable.

First reviewed: October 2019

Competition

The Motorola One Zoom isn't the only good phone at this price. Consider these alternatives.

Xiaomi Mi 9T Pro

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The Xiaomi Mi 9T Pro features a Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 chipset, a triple camera setup and 4,000mAh of battery power. It stacks up to the Motorola One Zoom in most respects, and features a pop-up camera, but its UI is nowhere near as close to stock Android, and it doesn’t quite pack the photography capabilities of Motorola’s latest quad-camera phone.

Read our full Xiaomi Mi 9T Pro review

Oppo R17 Pro

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The Oppo R17 Pro is a fantastic looking smartphone with a similar price to that of the Motorola One Zoom. Get past the design though, and the Motorola One Zoom trumps it in virtually every respect, with a bigger battery and a much better camera system, not to mention a much more stock user interface.

Read our full Oppo R17 Pro review

Xiaomi Mi 9 SE

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The Xiaomi Mi 9 SE could be considered the iPhone SE of the Android world. It’s compact, capable and cost-effective. With a triple camera setup that offers similar zoom ranges to the Motorola One Zoom, it’s a great looking, small package.

In turn, if you don’t want the Zoom’s big bold display, don’t need four cameras, and want one of the best, most pocket-friendly options around, the Mi 9 SE is a great alternative.

Read our full Xiaomi Mi 9 SE review

Basil Kronfli

Basil Kronfli is the Head of content at Make Honey and freelance technology journalist. He is an experienced writer and producer and is skilled in video production, and runs the technology YouTube channel TechEdit.