Motorola One Macro review | TechRadar

The Moto One Macro has a great design, dependable battery, a good screen, nice software and a reasonable chipset. Skiptomaincontent TechRadar TechRadar TechRadarThesourceforTechBuyingAdvice Search Subscribe RSS AsiaIndiaSingaporeMiddleEastAfricaSouthAfricaEuropeDanmarkSuomiNorgeSverigeUKItaliaNederlandBelgië(Nederlands)FranceDeutschlandEspañaNorthAmericaUS(English)CanadaUS(Español)AustralasiaAustraliaNewZealand TechnologyMagazinesWhysubscribe?Thebesttechtutorialsandin-depthreviewsTryasingleissueorsaveonasubscriptionIssuesdeliveredstraighttoyourdoorordeviceFrom$12.99View News Reviews Phones TVs Computing Cameras More Wearables Laptops Audiovisual Gaming SmartHome Appliances CarTech Components Fitness Entertainment Tablets Downloads Deals TrendingGalaxyS22PS5SlimGalaxyS22UltraPixel6aiPhone14 TechRadarissupportedbyitsaudience.Whenyoupurchasethroughlinksonoursite,wemayearnanaffiliatecommission.Learnmore Home Reviews MobilePhones (Image:©Future) OurVerdict TheMotoOneMacrohasagreatdesign,dependablebattery,agoodscreen,nicesoftwareandareasonablechipset.Itisaverywellthought-outdevice-butitsmainattraction,themacrocamera,isabiglet-down. For Goodscreen Dependablebatterylife Durable,fuss-freedesign Against NoNFC Badcameras Rearisafingerprintmagnet TechRadarVerdict TheMotoOneMacrohasagreatdesign,dependablebattery,agoodscreen,nicesoftwareandareasonablechipset.Itisaverywellthought-outdevice-butitsmainattraction,themacrocamera,isabiglet-down. Pros +Goodscreen+Dependablebatterylife+Durable,fuss-freedesign Cons -NoNFC-Badcameras-Rearisafingerprintmagnet Introduction,keyfeaturesanddesign Batterylifeandcamera AnythingelseIshouldknow? Verdict TODAY'SBESTDEALS$365atAmazon$365atAmazonIn2019,Motorolaisfiercelyfightingitscornerinthebudgetsmartphonebouttodecidethenextcrowningchampion.Ithasn’tbeenforcedtotheropesyet,howeveritneedsenergyandagoodgameplantosucceed.Assuch,theveteranmanufacturerhasreleasedaflurryofnewsmartphonesthisyear,eachaimedatadifferentniche.Someofthesehavebeenexpertlytargeted,suchastheMotoG7Power(withafocusonbatterylife),whileothershavebeenalittlemoreleft-fieldandesoteric.ItisinthislattercategorythattheMotorolaOneMacrosits,itsentireappealarguablyrestinginitsparticular,peculiarphotographiccapabilities.Butwithmanycapablerivals,eachofwhicharguablyhasabroadergeneralappeal,isthepotentialofthisdevice’seccentricitiesenoughtomakeitworthyofyourattention?MotorolaOneMacropriceandavailabilityOutnowCosts£179.99/AU$299(around$230)TheMotorolaOneMacroisbeingsoldat£179.99/AU$299(around$230),withnowordonwideravailabilityatthemoment.Itisbeingsoldin‘SpaceBlue’and‘UltraViolet’colorsandcomeswithonestorage/RAMcombination,of64GB/4GB.(Imagecredit:TechRadar)KeyfeaturesDedicatedmacrocameraBig4,000mAhbatteryandfastchargerTheclueisinthename,theappealoftheMotorolaOneMacrorestsinoneofitscapabilitiesalone-thatofgettingascloseaspossiblefortheperfectshot.Whatthismeansisthatithasadedicated2MPcamerasensorwhichcanfocusfromdistancesaslittleas2cm.Inphotographicterms,normallythiswouldrequirededicated,expensivekitforalarge-sensorcameratoachieve,sobeingabletodothesamewithpoint-and-clicksimplicityisquiteatime-saver.Whetheryou’llputvalueinthiswillstronglydependonhow‘creative’youliketogetwithyourshots.Havingitisdefinitelyaniceextra,butwhetheritdeservestotaketopbillingissomethingwhichwillbeconfirmedlaterinthisreview.Asidefromitsextracameraspice,theOneMacroisactuallyaverywell-roundedbudgetdevice.Ithasabig4,000mAhbatterytokeepthepowerflowingthroughouttheday,comeswithagenerousRAMandstorageallowance,andhasaveryreasonable720p+screen.Intheboxyoualsogeta10Wfastchargertomakeemergencytopupsalittlelessfrantic,andthedeviceitselfcomeswithasplash-resistantnano-coatingwhichwillmeanalittlelessworrywhenwhippingitoutinunexpectedrain.(Imagecredit:TechRadar)DesignCladinplasticPicksupfingerprintsbutfeelsdurableEvenatthebudgetendofthemarket,thetrendthesedaysinsmartphonedesignisformetalandglasstomeettogetherina‘sandwich’.Nomatterthepricepoint,youcanusuallyexpecttoseealuminumsomewhere.NotontheMotorolaOneMacro,foritisaplasticfantastic-notthatthisisinanywaynegative.Indeed,fromsomeviewpointsitisaparticularlyrobustpositive.Foralthoughmetalandglasscertainlyfeelnicerinthehand,plastichasanumberofadvantages.Firstandforemostamongtheseisdurability,forplasticdoesnotshatterlikeglassnordentinthesamewayasmetal.Italsoconductsheatmoreevenly,islighter,andprovokeslessanxietyingeneraluse.Therearedrawbacksofcourse,andinparticularwiththeglossyplasticusedbyMotorola.Thispicksupfingerprintsasthoughtheyaregoingoutofstyle,andmeansthedeviceisbestusedwiththeincludedcase,orthatitshouldbewipeddownoften.(Imagecredit:TechRadar)Thehandsetiscertainlywell-balanced,andfeelssturdyingeneraluse.Notthatthisisusuallyaproblemwithmodernhandsets,butitdisplaysminimalflexunderpressure.Ithasa6.2-inch720x1520screen,andweighsafairlyweighty186g,acompromisegiventhesizeofthebattery.Nonetheless,thescreenisnotasbigassomeandisthereforeeasiertouseone-handedthanthelikesoftheRealmeX2Prowithitsgargantuanpanelandportlyheft.Theportselectiontooisthankfullyup-to-date,withaUSB-Cconnector,andanincreasinglyrare(butneverlessthanimmenselyconvenient)3.5mmheadphoneport.Thereisadownwardfiringspeaker,andthescreenitselfsportsasmallteardropnotch.Thereisarear-mountedfingerprintscanner,whichworksverywellandactsasanicecenterforthe‘M’Motolivery,howeverthisdevicecomeswithoutNFC.Thismeansnocontactlesspaymentsinshops,orforbustickets,whichisashameatthispricepoint.Inall,thedesignoftheMotorolaOneMacroisalmostthedefinitionofutilitarianism-beyondthetrioofcamerasontherearithasalmostnodistinguishingfeatures.Thatbeliesitsessentialcomfortinregularusehowever,andthethoughtwhichhasclearlygoneintoitscurves.Whenmanydeviceshavebecomealmostimpossibletouseforfearthattheymaysliporbreakwhenusedinonehand,theOneMacrofeelslikeapleasantstepinamoreergonomicdirectionforphonedesign.(Imagecredit:TechRadar)Display6.2-inch720x1520screenFairlybrightandgoodqualityWhitebalanceisn'tperfectTheMotorolaOneMacrocomessportinga6.2-inchpanelwitharesolutionof720x1520-andallencumberedbyonlyaveryminutenotch.Thecompanymakesagreatdealofthescreenstretchingfromcornertocorner,andindeedthisistrue,atleastforthetopcorners.There'sasizeablebezelatthebottom,butinday-to-dayuse,theOneMacrocertainlylooksandfeelslikeamodernhandset.Theresolutionisn’tthehighestyoumightexpect,evenfortheprice,butthisaside,thescreenisanythingotherthanbad-ithasbeensaidforyearsbutascreenismorethanthepixelspackedintoit.Thosestaringhardfromaninchawaywillbeabletoseeissueswithpoorlyrenderedtext,butinmostsituations,thevastmajorityofuserswillbeabletoseenodifferencebetweenthisandsomethingmoreexpensive.Thatsaid,thereareafewissueswiththewhitebalance.AsiscommonwithcheapLCDpanelstheseveertowardstheblueendofthespectrum.Thereisn’tanywaytochangethiswhitepoint,butagainitisn’tanissueinanynormalsituationonemightencounter.Brightnessismostlygood,certainlywefoundthatitprovedtobesufficientforanyindoorsituation,andwasmostlyabletobattleagainstoutdoorautumnalsunlightwithsuccess.ThepanelontheMotorolaOneMacroisn’tanall-singing,all-dancingentrylikethatontheOnePlus7TPro,howeveritmorethanholdsitsownatthebudgetendofthemarketwhereitsits,andforthatitmustbecommended.TODAY'SBESTDEALS$365atAmazon$365atAmazon 1 2 3 4 Currentpage: Introduction,keyfeaturesanddesign NextPageBatterylifeandcamera SeanCameron TechRadarnewsletter Signuptogetbreakingnews,reviews,opinion,analysisandmore,plusthehottesttechdeals! ContactmewithnewsandoffersfromotherFuturebrands Receiveemailfromusonbehalfofourtrustedpartnersorsponsors ThankyouforsigninguptoTechRadar.Youwillreceiveaverificationemailshortly. Therewasaproblem.Pleaserefreshthepageandtryagain. MOSTPOPULARMOSTSHARED1Thesearethe10biggestmoviesonNetflixrightnow2ThistinyMicrosoftExcelupdatecouldmakeallthedifference3Samsungreportedlyshippedmillionsofphoneswithflawedencryption4GooglePixel7and7Prorendersgiveusourfirstunofficiallookattherange57newmoviesandTVshowsonNetflix,PrimeVideo,HBOMaxandmorethisweekend1Thisnewe-bikeissopowerful,ithadtobeengineeredtostoprippingitselfapart2JohnWickmeetsTheOrientExpressinBradPitt’slatestactionthriller37newmoviesandTVshowsonNetflix,PrimeVideo,HBOMaxandmorethisweekend4ApplereleasediOS15.3.1-couldweseetheiOS15.4updatearrivesoon?5NewWindows11updateshowsMicrosoftstillwantstotakedowntheiPad TechnologyMagazines●Thebesttechtutorialsandin-depthreviewsFrom$12.99View