Motorola Moto One Macro review: Missing essentials

The Moto One Macro goes up against stiff competition from hardware like the newly announced Redmi Note 8. Xiaomi's phone sports a camera that ... BestdailydealsLinksonAndroidAuthoritymayearnusacommission. Learnmore. ReviewsMotorolaOneMacroreview:MissingessentialsIsanear-stockAndroidbuildenoughtooverlooksub-parimagingperformanceandthenot-so-greatmaterials?ByDhruvBhutani•October29,2021MotorolaMotoOneMacroTheMotorolaMotoOneMacrodeliversthegoodsiffastperformanceandacleansoftwarebuildareallyoucrave.However,thequalityofthematerialsandimagingperformancejustdon'tmatchthehigh-endexperiencesofferedbycompetingdevices.WhatwelikeCleanAndroidbuildGreatperformanceExcellentbatterylifeMacrocameraaddsversatilityWhatwedon'tlikeSub-parcameraperformanceNofastchargingsupportQualityofmaterialsdoesn'timpressOurscoresBatteryDisplayCameraPerformanceAudioTableofcontents01Thebigpicture02What'sinthebox03Design04Display05Performance06Battery07Software08Camera09Audio10Specs11Valueformoney12VerdictThisdeviceisnolongerwidelyavailable.TheMotorolaOneMacroisnowunavailabletobuyfrommostretailers.Ifyouarelookingforanalternativedevice,checkoutourlistofthebestAndroidphonesyoucanbuyandthebestMotorolaphones. Motorolahasbeensteppingupitssmartphonegameacrosssegments.Usingacombinationofnear-stockAndroidandafocusonuniquecamerafeatures,thedeviceshavefoundreasonablesuccess.TheMotorolaMotoOneMacroisthelatestintheseries,andasthenamesuggests,itputsaclearfocusonmacro—orclose-up—photography.ThephonefollowsupMotorola’sotherphotography-focusedsmartphonesincludingtheMotorolaMotoOneZoom andtheMotoOneAction.WeexplorewhetheradedicatedmacrocameraisenoughtohelptheMotorolaOneMacrostandoutagainstthestellarcompetitionintheAndroidAuthorityreview. AboutthisMotorolaMotoOneMacroreview:Iwrotethisreviewafterspendingaweekwiththephoneasmyprimarydevice.MotorolaIndiasuppliedthedevice,whichwasrunningAndroid9PiewiththeSeptembersecuritypatchonboard. MotoOneMacroreview:Thebigpicture TheMotorolaOneMacroentersanextremelycompetitivelandscapethathasawiderangeofexceptionaldevices.PhonessuchastheRealme5 andRedmiNote8 havechangedconsumerexpectations,anditisnolongergoodenoughtobegoodenough.Amacro-photographycapablecameraandstockAndroidaredefinitedrawsinMotorola’sfavor,butthesemightnotbeenoughforpotentialbuyers.Thephoneneedstomatchuptotheperformance,batterylife,andoverallpackageofferedbycompetingbrands.Someofthemostcapableoptionsinthepricebracketalreadyoffermacroandultra-widecameras,aswellaslargerbatteries,soIwasquiteintriguedtoseehowtheMotorolaMotoOneMacromeasuresup. What’sinthebox MotorolaOneMacro SIMejectortool 10Wcharger USB-Ccable TPUcase Quickstartguide Saveforapairofheadphones,Motorolaincludesalmosteverythingyouneedtogetstartedwithyourphone.TheincludedTPUcaseisn’ttheprettiest,butyouwilldefinitelywanttoslapitontoyourphonetopreventscratchesandfingerprints. Design 157.6x75.4x9mm 186g Polycarbonateframe Waterdropnotch Rear-mountedfingerprintreader NoGorillaGlassorsimilarforprotectionagainstscratches Whilenearlyeverybrandismakinganefforttoone-upthecompetitionwithdesignchops,theMotoOneMacrolooksrunofthemill.Fromthebasicappearancetothebuildquality,thephonewasconstructedtobeutilitarianratherthanfashionable.ThefrontoftheMotoOneMacrohasawaterdropnotch,whichhasbecomesemi-normalevenonentry-leveldevices.Thebezelsonthesidesarelargeby2019standardsandthechinisprominent.Thatsaid,I’mgladMotodecidedagainstplacingprominentbrandingonthechin.Thevolumerockerandpowerbuttonareoverontherightside.Ifoundthesetobeplacedtoohighforcomfort.Itwasastruggletoadjustthevolumewhileholdingthephoneinasinglehand.Meanwhile,you’llfindahybridSIMslotontheleftedgethatcanholdtwonano-SIMcardsorasingleSIMcardandamicroSDcard.There’saUSB-Cportalongthebottomedge,whiletheheadphonejackishousedontop.TheentireconstructionoftheMotoOneMacroispolycarbonatewithasubtlegradientfromtoptobottom.Thematerialispronetocatchingfingerprintsandkeepingthephonecleanisnearlyimpossible.AlotofmicroscratchesdevelopedontherearduringmytimewiththeMotoOneMacro,andyouwoulddowelltousethebundledcover.Thecameraarraysitsinthetopleftcorneroftherearpanelwiththemacrocamerasetabitfurtherup.Thecameramodulelayoutlookschaoticandthere’snosenseofsymmetryhere.Idolikethebatwinglogothatrestswithinthefingerprintscanner.Thereaderisfastenoughandgetsthejobdone. Display 6.2-inches,IPSLCD 1,520x720pixels 19:9aspectratio Icouldnitpickaboutthelow-resolutiondisplay,butitissomewhatmitigatedbythefactthatthisisaveryaffordablephone.Thereisacertainhazinesstothedisplaythatwecanblameonthelowpixeldensity.Itishighlynoticeableintextrendering,inphotos,andiniconswhenyouholdthephoneclose.There’sanoticeablebluecasttothedisplay,too,whichcanbeirksomeifyoupreferawarmertone.Displaysoptionsallowyoutoboostsaturation,butinmyexperienceIdidn’tnoticemuchofadifference.Brightnesslevels,too,arelessthanstellar.Thephonerecordedpeakbrightnessof480nits,whichisdefinitelyonthelowerendofthespectrum.Outdoorvisibilitywasnottoogreat.Thedisplay,liketheback,attractsalotoffingerprintsandthisfurtherdetractsfromtheexperience.MotoroladoesnotmentiontheuseofGorillaGlassorsimilarprotectiveglassforscratchresistance.  Performance MediaTekHelioP70 4x2.0GHzCortex-A73&4x2.0GHzCortex-A53 MaliG72MP3GPU 4GBRAM 64GBstorage Hybrid-SIMslotforstorageexpansion RunningaMediaTekP70chipset,thephone’sperformanceisquitedecent.Motorola’snear-stockAndroidbuilddefinitelyworksinitsfavor.Thesoftwareremainedfluidthroughouttesting.Ididnotnoticeanysluggishnesswithapplaunchesorwhenjugglingmultipleapps.The4GBofRAMhadnotroublekeepingupwithmultitaskingunderheavyworkloads. Gamingperformanceisgreat,andthephoneneverheateduptouncomfortablelevels. WhenpitagainstcompetingdevicessuchastheRedmiNote7S,aphonethatpacksaSnapdragon660chipset,theMotorolaOneMacrocomesoutahead.Thisisparticularlyevidentingraphicsprocessingwherethephoneperformsbetterincertainbenchmarks.ThisalsotranslatestosmoothframeratesingameslikePUBG duringreal-worlduse.Thephonedoeswarmupafairbitoverlonggameplaysessions,buttheheatisevenlyspreadoutandismostlymanageable. AnTuTu3DMark Thephoneperformswellinsyntheticbenchmarksandmanagedtoscore158852pointsinAnTuTu.Thiscompareswellagainstthe144411scoremanagedbytheRedmiNote7S.TheMediaTekchipsetdoesreasonablywellinGPU-focusedbenchmarks,too,withascoreof1274pointsin3DMark.  Battery 4,000mAhbattery 10Wcharging Nowirelesscharging Nofastcharging Large,4,000mAhbatteriesarethenorminentryandmid-rangesmartphonesthesedays.Predictably,batterylifeisfantastic.I’llbehonest,myexperiencewithphonesrunningMediaTekchipsetshasbeenlessthanstellar.TheMotoOneMacromanagestopairawell-optimizedexperiencewithalargebatterytodeliverall-daylongevityandthensome. Thephonedeliverslong-lastingbatterylife,buttakesawhiletocharge. Inourtesting,thephonemanagedtolastwellover16hoursinastandardizedvideolooptest.Meanwhile,youcanekeoutcloseto17hoursofcontinuousbrowsing.Yourresultswill,ofcourse,varybasedonbrightnesslevelsandusage.Motobundlesa10Wchargerinthebox.Ittakesabout134minutestotop-offthebatteryfromzero,whichismorethanmostphones. Software AndroidPie Near-stockbuildwithoutbloatware OneofthebestfeaturesofMotorolaphonesisitsuseofanear-stockbuildofAndroid.Forusers,thismeansabloat-freeexperiencethatisalmostentirelydevoidofanyunwelcomeadditions.Italsomeansfastsoftwareupdates.WhiletheMotoOneMacroisn’tpartoftheAndroidOneline-up,itisexpectedtoreceivetheAndroid10updateshortly. TheinterfaceisexactlywhatyouexpectfromstockAndroidPie,andyouwon’tfindmuchelseotherthanGoogle’sstandardappsuitepreloadedonthephone. TheMotorolaappaddsarangeofgesturesthataregenuinelyuseful.Forexample,youcanpeekatyournotificationsbywavingyourhandnearthedisplay.Thephonecanalsodetectwhenyou’relookingatthescreenandadjustthedisplaytime-outaccordingly.Thereisaveritableboatloadofgesturesthatyoucanactivate.TheMacrowillturndownthevolumewhenyoupickituptoreceiveacall,orswitchtothedo-not-disturbprofileifyouflipthephoneoverduringanincomingcall. Camera Rear: 13MPprimarycamera,f/2.0 2MPdepthsensor,f/2.2 2MPmacrocamera,f/2.2 Frontcamera: 8MP,f/2.2 1080p,30fpsvideo Macrovideo Atriple-camerasetupisn’toutoftheordinary,evenonentry-leveldevices.Lately,we’vestartedseeingsmartphonevendorsexperimentwithinterestingnewpossibilities.Onesuchvariationisacameradedicatedtocapturingmacroimages.TheMotoOneMacro,asthenamesuggests,sportsa2MPmacrocamerathatcanfocusonobjectsascloseas2cm.Thismeansyoushouldbeabletogetsuperclosetoobjectstocapturetexturesandmore.Butfirst,thestandardcamera. Iwasn’ttooimpressedbytheresultsfromtheprimarycamera.Imageslackeddynamicrange,whichappearstobeacommoncharacteristicwithMotorolaphones.Thephonehasatendencytoblurlow-leveldetails,andshutterlagmeansyou’reevenmorelikelytogetablurryimageunlessyoustandabsolutelystill.IdoliketheHDRimplementation(whenit’son),anditdoesanicejobofexposinghighlightsandbringingupdetailfromshadowregions.However,itdoesn’tdomuchtoimprovetexturedetail. Themacrocameraisthehighlightofthehardware.Now,a2MPcameraisn’tgoingtocapturealotofdetailandthatisevidentinoursamples.However,givensufficientlighting,itispossibletogetsomeinterestingimages.Thisisaverybasicsetup,soyoushouldexpectblownouthighlightsifyouareshootingagainstthelight. Indoors,themacrocamerareallystartstoshowitslimitations.Whileyoucangetclosetothesubject,imagesareseverelylackingindetail.Infact,youmighthavebetterlucksimplycroppinganimagethatyoucapturedviatheprimarycamera.Iwouldn’tbothershootingwiththemacrolensinanythinglessthanperfectlight. Inlessthanideallighting,imagessufferevenmorefromtheinherentshutterlagontheregularcamera.Itishardtogetasharpshotinanythinglessthanperfectlighting,andeventhen,therejustisn’tmuchdetailindarkerregions.SwitchingonHDRfurtheraddstothedelay,makinggoodlow-lightshotsnearlyimpossibletocapture. Portraitmodedoesareasonablejobandedgedetectionisaboutasgoodasyoucanexpectintheentry-midsegment.Xiaomi’shardwaredoesabetterjob,buttheMotoOneMacroisn’ttoofarbehind.Videofootagelooksaverageatbest,withnoticeablecompressionartifactsandblown-outhighlights(aswasthecaseforphotos).Theselfiecamera,ontheotherhand,managedtocapturedecentlookingimageswithsufficientdetailsandnatural-lookingcolors—providedyouholdyourhandstillenough.We’veincludedfullresolutionsamplesatthelinkhere.  Audio 3.5mmheadphonejack AptXsupport AudiooutputfromtheMotorolaOneMacroisabitofaletdown.Headphoneoutputlacksdynamicrangeandsimplydoesn’tsoundthatgreat.EvenwhenIpluggedinaqualitypairofheadphones,audiosoundedmuffledandlackedseparation.ThisisparticularlynoticeablewhenyoucompareittoaphonesuchastheRedmiNote7S,whichsoundsabsolutelyfantasticviaheadphones.Speakeroutputwassatisfactory.Thephoneisjustasloudasanyotherphoneinthecategory,whichistosaythatyouralarmsandpodcastswillsoundloudandclear.Thereisaclearfocusonvocalsandmidshere,somethingcommonwithmostsmartphonespeakers.ThephonesupportsAptX,butnotAptXHDoverBluetooth.IfyouownadecentpairofBluetoothheadphones,youshouldbeabletogetalmostCD-qualitystreaming.Inmytests,thephonehadnoissuestreamingtoaBluetoothspeakerkeptaroomover.  Specifications MotoOneMacroDisplay6.2-inchesIPSLCD720x1520pixels19:9aspectratio270ppiChipsetMediatekHelioP704x2.0GHzCortex-A73&4x2.0GHzCortex-A53MaliG72MP3GPUCameraRear:13MPprimarycamera,f/2.02MPdepthsensor,f/2.22MPmacrocamera,f/2.2Front:8MP,f/2.2RAM4GBStorage64GBBattery4,000mAh10WchargingExpandablestorageYes(HybridSIMslot)SoftwareAndroid9.0PieDimensions157.6x75.4x9mm186g Valueforthemoney MotorolaOneMacro—4GBRAM,64GBstorage:Rs.9,999(~$141) PricedatRs.9,999,theMotorolaMotoOneMacro’scleansoftwareexperienceisabigsellingpoint.Whilethemacrocameraisagreatmarketingtool,I’mnotsureifitisenoughtocountertheotherwiselack-lusterimagingperformance. TheMotoOneMacrogoesupagainststiffcompetitionfromhardwarelikethenewlyannouncedRedmiNote8.Xiaomi’sphonesportsacamerathatpunchesaboveitspricetier.Additionally,theglassandmetalbuildofthephonefeelsmuchbetterandisalotmoreaestheticallypleasing.AddtothataFullHD+display,andyouaregettingalotmorehardwareforyourmoney.  There’salsotheRealme5.Anothergreatoption,theRealmepacksasimilarmacrocamera,butsuperiorbuildqualityatasimilarpricepoint.Sufficeittosaythatthereareumpteenoptionsforpeopleconsideringamid-rangephone.Motorolawillhavetodeliveronitspromiseoffastupdatestoreallystandoutfromthecompetition.  MotorolaMotoOneMacroreview:TheverdictYoucouldcertainlydoalotworsethantheMotorolaMotoOneMacro.Whilethemacrocamerafunctionalitymightbeacaseofhypeoverfunction,therestofthepackagedeliversthegoods.Betweenthereasonableperformance,greatbatterylife,andcleansoftwarewiththepromiseoflong-termsupport,there’senoughheretomakethephoneagreatoptionforanyoneseekinganentry-leveldevice. IwishMotorolahaduppeditsgameasfarasbuildqualityisconcerned,andthemaincameraleavesalottobedesired.Thelatter,inparticular,comesacrossasasolidreasontorecommendcompetingdevicessuchtheRedmiNote8thathavenailedthecameraexperience.Infact,eventheMotoOneActiongivesyoudoublethestorage,apunch-holedisplay,andamuchmoreinterestingactioncameraforjust2000rupees(~$30)more.Thescreencouldbebetter,aswell.Asitstands,theMotorolaMotoOneMacroisadecentoptionforsomeonewhowantsabloatware-freesoftwareexperience.Butthere’sbetterhardwaretobehadfornotalotmoremoney.  IndiaReviewsMotorolaComments