Motorola One Macro Review: Punching Above its Weight

The Motorola One Macro has proved once again that you don't need to spend hundreds of pounds to get a great smartphone. The display, battery ... 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Expert'sRating: OurVerdict TheMotorolaOneMacrohasprovedonceagainthatyoudon'tneedtospendhundredsofpoundstogetagreatsmartphone.  Thedisplay,batterylifeandspeakersareallapleasantsurprise,whiletheundeniableshortcomingsin someareasofthe camerashouldn'tbeadealbreakeratthispricepoint. BudgetofferingsfromthelikesofXiaomi,OppoandHonormightoutdoitonthespecsheet,butifstockAndroid'syourthingthisishardtobeat.  Pricewhenreviewed Retailer Price Delivery   Pricecomparisonfromover24,000storesworldwideViewmoreprices MotorolaOneMacro fullreview There’sanabundanceofchoiceamongMotorolasmartphonesin2020. TheLenovo-ownedcompanymightbeheadlinedbythenewRazrandbudgetstapleGline,butthereareplentyofotheroptions. AmongthemostinterestingistheOnerange,affordablehandsetswhichfocusonaspecificfeature inordermaximiseitsimpact. TheMotorolaOneMacroputsemphasison,youguessedit,macrophotography.Fewphonesfocusheavilyonextremeclose-upshots,soit’sasurefirewaytostandoutfromthecrowd. ButisitabletodeliverthecompletesmartphoneexperiencethatMotorolausersdemand? Design I’mreallyimpressedbythedesignoftheMotorolaOneMacro.Despitehavingaplasticback,itlooksandfeelslikeapremiumdevice.Thischoiceofmaterialsalsomakesitlighter,lessresistanttofingerprintsandeasiertogripcase-freethananall-glassphone. There’snogettingawayfromthefactthatthefrontofthisphonelookslikedozensofotherhandsetsonthemarket,completewithateardropnotch(housingthefront-facingcamera)andfairlysizeablechin.Whilethe81.3%screen-to-bodyratioisperfectlyacceptable,Iwouldhavehappilytradedthenotchforaslightlylargertopbezel. Thescreenitselfisa6.2in,720x1520LCDpanel.Thissoundsdisappointingonpaper,buttherecentiPhoneshaveproventhatlowerresolutiondisplaysarefarfromadealbreaker. Thebackofthephoneisundoubtedlymoreexcitingtolookat.WhileitonlycomesinasingleSpaceBluevariant,thiscolourgradientlooksstunning.It’shelpedbytherebeingverylittleelsegoingononthebackofthephone.Triplerearcamerasarearrangedvertically,whiletheMotorolalogoiscleverlybuilt-intothephysicalfingerprintscanner.Thisgivesthedeviceacleanlookandfeelwithouttheneedforexcessivebranding. I’mabigfanofthetexturedpowerbutton,whichispositionedjustbelowthevolumerockerontherightsideofthedevice.Allthephysicalbuttonsremaintactileandresponsive,evenwhenusingthesuppliedclearplasticcase. It’sgoodtoseeMotorolaretainthe3.5mmheadphonejack,analltoorarefeatureofmodernhandsets.ChargingisviaUSB-Ctoo,withtheportpositionednexttoamonodownwardfiringspeaker,whichproducesasurprisinglyrichandfull-bodiedsound. Hardwareandperformance Thereareplentyofpositivesdesign-wise,andI’mpleasedtoreportit’sasimilarsituationonperformance.MotorolahasgonewiththeMediaTek'HelioP70processor,asopposedtosomethingfromindustry-standardQualcomm’sSnapdragonline. However,combiningthiswithaMali-G72CPUmeanstheOneMacroisabletohandleeverydaytaskswithoutanyissuewhatsoever. Ofcourse,thebenchmarksallourphonesaretestedonprovidesituationswhichyoumightnotregularlyexperience.Theyaimtotestdevicestotheirlimits,andtheresultsshowhowthelikesofXiaomiandOppohavereallypushedtheboundariesonwhat’scapablewithregardstoprocessingpower. MobilegamingwasanareawheretheOneMacrofellshortalittle.Mostgamesweremorethanplayable,butwedidencountersomestutteringandlagwhenplayinggraphic-intensivetitle. Thisisaminorissuethough;ifyou’rereallyinterestedinmobilegamingIsuggestyoucheckoutourround-upofthebestgamingphones.Formostpeople,theOneMacro’sgeneralperformancewillbemorethanuptoscratch. Softwareandfeatures AswithallphonesintheMotorolaOneline,theOneMacrocomesrunninganalmoststockversionofAndroid.Inthiscaseit’sAndroid9Pie,althoughwehavenowordonwhetheritwillgettheupgradetoAndroid10. I’vebeenbemoaningtheheavyAndroidskinsinrecentphonereviews,sothisisawelcomechange.Motorolaendeavourstoproduceaslittlebloatwareaspossible,sothere’snoduplicateemailclients,calendarappsorutilities.Ofcoursethereremainstheoptiontodownloadthird-partyalternativesviatheGooglePlayStore,thewayI’dpreferittobeonallphones. TheonlynotableadditionwhencomparedtoPixeldevicesistheMotoapp,althoughthisfeelsgenuinelyuseful.Inhereyou’llfindvariousshortcutsandgestures,aswellmorecontroloverthewaythedisplayrespondstoyou. TherearealsousefulsoftwarequirksthroughoutMotorola’sinterpretationofAndroid.Oneofmyfavouritesisthedefaultclockwidgetonthehomescreen,whichdisplaysthecurrentweatheranddateinadditiontothetime.However,tappingeachpartofthewidgetwilltakeyoutotherelevantapp:thetimegoestotheClock,datetoGoogleCalendarandweathertotheweatherapp. What’smore,thecircleallthisinformationishousedinactsasaquickoverviewofyourcurrentlevelofbattery.I’mgladthat’shere,asthebatterypercentageinthenotificationbarisbarelylegible. There’sasimilardesigntothealways-ondisplay,althoughthiscan’tbecustomisedlikeonotherphones. AsImentionedearlier,therearetwobiometricoptionsforunlockingyourphoneinadditiontotheregularPIN,passwordorswipegesture.Thefaceunlockisfine,ifalittleslowcomparedtorivals,soI’drecommendusingthefingerprintscannermostofthetime. Thisisfast,secureandreliable,andcanalsobeusedaspaymentauthentication.Ienrolledthesamefingerprinttwiceformaximumreliability,andneverhadissueswithitnotrecognisingme. Camera Asthenameimplies,theMotorolaOneMacroplacesanemphasisonclose-upphotography.Inordertoachievethis,ithasadedicated2Mpmacrolensinadditiontotheregular13Mpcameraand2Mpdepthsensor. Thismeansthere’snotelephotoorultra-widesensors,whichdoesreducethecamera’sflexibilitygreatly. I’mobligedtotalkaboutthequalityofshotsinthemacromodehere,andIhavetosayIwasveryimpressed.VeryfewphonesI’vetestedhavebeenabletocapturethisamountofdetailatsuchcloseproximity. IwasprettyimpressedwiththeshotsIgotusingthemacromode.Whileitcanbeabithitandmiss,flowerswereaparticularhighlight,withthevibrantcoloursreallypopping.Beingthisclosetothesubjectcreatesanaturalbokeheffectinthebackground,whichispleasingontheeye. However,Iwasalsoimpressedwiththesoftware-basedportraitmode.TheOneMacroallowsyoutocustomisetheamountofbackgroundblurineachshotbeforeyoutakeit, althoughthereisnooptiontoadjustthisaftertheshotistaken. Regularshotsalsohaveagoodlevelofdetailandbalancedcolours, thoughtheytendtobelackingindynamicrange.Don’tbefooledbywhatyouseeintheviewfinderbeforeyoutakethepicturethough,asthesoftwareprocessingmeansyoualwaysgetamorepleasingendresult. Selfiesareprettydecenttoo,withthe8Mpfront-facingcameraproducingasolidamountofdetail. However,colours seemalittlewashedoutattimes,anditalsohasatendencytooverexposethebackgrounds.Manyofmytestswerecarriedoutinbrightenvironmentsthough,sothatmayhavehadaneffect. Checkoutmyfullrangeofsamplesbelow,whichyoumighthavetoclickontoviewinfull: TheOneMacrocanrecordupto1080pvideoat30fps.Thisisprettystandardformodernsmartphones,althoughthelackofimagestabilizationmakesfootagelookparticularlyjudderywithanysignificantmovement.Whileit’snicetobeabletosaveseparatestillsmid-video,theseareoftenlackingindetailandregularlyunusable. Batterylife ThebatterylifeontheOneMacroissolidifnotspectacular.Iteasilylastsadayandahalfofmoderateusage,butIwashopingforalittlemoreconsideringthe4000mAhbatteryandlowresolutiondisplay. Nonetheless,itrecordedanaboveaverage9hoursand30minutesinGeekbench4’sbatterytest,andstandbytimeisexcellentevenwiththeadditionofanalwaysondisplay.Itcan’trivalthelikesoftheMotoG7Powerforpurebatterylife,butIcan’timagineyou’llhaveanyissueshere. Priceandvalueformoney YoucanbuytheMotorolaOneMacrofor£175fromAmazon,whileitsalsoavailableintheUKviaLaptopsDirect. ThismakesitthecheapestMotorolaOnephonetodate,puttingitfirmlyinbudgetphoneterritory.However,itfacesfiercecompetitionfromthelikesoftheXiaomiRedmiNote8T,OppoA92020andMotorola’sownMotoG7Power.Whetheryoushouldbuyitovertheseotherexcellentphoneswillcomedowntopersonalpreference. Youdogetplentyinreturnforarelativelymoderateinvestmentherethough,sodefinitelywon’tfeelshortchangedifyou optfor thishandset. Verdict TheMotorolaOneMacroisthefirstnon-ChinesebudgetphoneI’vebeenexcitedaboutinawhile.Thesoftwareexperienceandeverydayperformanceissuperb,meaningtheuserexperienceisamongthebestinrecentmemory. Compromisesareinevitableatthispricepoint,andtheslightlyerraticcamerasanduninspiringfrontofthephoneknockitdownafewpoints. Assuch,otheroptionsinourbestbudgetsmartphonechartofferamorecompletepackage,buttherearefewbetterphonesifyou’relookingforstockAndroidunder£200. Relatedstoriesforfurtherreading Bestbudgetphonedeals BestSIM-onlydeals Bestphonenetwork Allsmartphonereviews Bestbudgetphones BestMotorolaphones Howwetestsmartphones Bestnewphonescomingsoon Specs MotorolaOneMacro:Specs 6.2in720x1520LCDdisplay MediatekHelioP70 Mali-G72GPU 64GBstorage 4GBRAM Triplerearcamera(13Mpregular,2Mpmacro,2Mpdepth) 8Mpfront-facingcamera Bluetooth4.2 Android9Pie(AndroidOne) 4000mAhbattery 3.5mmheadphonejack 186g Tags: Phones Note:Wemayearnacommissionwhenyoubuythroughlinksonoursite,atnoextracosttoyou.Thisdoesn'taffectoureditorialindependence.Learnmore. Getbreakingnews,thelatestreviewsandsoon-to-sell-outdeals FollowTechAdvisoronGoogleNews Author:AnyronCopeman,SeniorStaffWriter AstheresidentexpertonWindows,Anyron’smainfocusisPCsandlaptops.Muchoftherestofhistimeissplitbetweensmartphones,tabletsandaudio,withaparticularfocusonAndroiddevices. 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