Motorola One Macro Review

Getting right up close to the One Macro doesn't flatter it, however. The core selling point of a dedicated macro camera turns out to be somewhat ... Home Reviews MotorolaOneMacro TrustedReviewsissupportedbyitsaudience.Ifyoupurchasethroughlinksonoursite,wemayearnacommission.Learnmore. Inthisarticle… 1.Verdict 2.ProsandCons 3.KeySpecifications 4.Howwetested 5.MotorolaOneMacrodesign 6.MotorolaOneMacrodisplay 7.MotorolaOneMacroperformance 8.MotorolaOneMacrosoftware 9.MotorolaOneMacrocamera 10.MotorolaOneMacrobatterylife 11.ShouldIbuytheMotorolaOneMacro? 12.TrustedScore Share: Share Verdict It’sasolidphoneatanappealingprice,butunlikeitssiblings,withtheMotorolaOneMacroyoucanreallyseewherecompromiseshavebeenmade. Pros Super-cleanAndroidexperienceatabargainprice Brilliantbatterylife Surprisinglydecentperformance Cons Inadequate720pdisplay Macrocameraabitofagimmick Maincameradisappoints KeySpecifications ReviewPrice:£179 12MPmaincamera,2MPdepthsensor DedicatedMacrocamera 6.2inHD+display MediaTekMT6771HelioP70 4GBRAM 64GBinternalstorage Headphonejack Motorola’sgrowingfamilyofOnephonesofferapureAndroidexperiencecombinedwithasinglestand-outcamerafeature,allatanaffordableprice. FollowingonfromtheMotorolaOneVision,theMotorolaOneActionandtheMotorolaOneZoom,theMotorolaOneMacroisnotablefortwothings.Asperitsname,theMacropacksauniquesecondarycamerathatletsyoutakeextremeclose-upshots. Perhapsmoresignificantly,theMotorolaOneMacroisthecheapestphoneintherangebysomemargin.Pricedatjust£179,it’soneofthemostaffordablehandsetsinthecurrentMotorolalineup. Naturally,therehavebeenafewcompromisesinordertoreachthatpricepoint,someofwhicharemoreconsequentialthanothers. MotorolaOneMacrodesign–Widerandcheaper There’sdefinitelyashareddesignlanguageatplaywiththeMotorolaOnerange,buttheaccentsdifferslightly. TheMotorolaOneMacro’sshinybackandcurvededgesfollowonfromitssiblings,asdothebasicshapeandalignmentofitscameramoduleandfingerprintsensor.Butthefrontofthephoneadoptsadewdropnotch,ratherthanthehole-punchdesignoftheVisionandActiondevices. It’samuchwiderandstockierdevice,becauseMotorolahasrevertedtoaslightlymoreorthodox19:9displayaspectratio.Thatmakesittrickiertowieldinonehand;butbythesametokenitdoesn’thavethesamejarringlylankyproportions. Whilethefingerprintsensoriswellplaced,nottomentionspeedyandreliable,thevolumebuttonsarepositionedtoohighontheright-handedge.Icouldjustaboutreachthetexturedpowerbuttonwithmythumb,butfoundthatIhadtoshufflethephoneinmyhandifIwantedtoadjustthesound. TheMotorolaOneMacro’sshinybackandcurvededgesfollowonfromitssiblings There’sacertainhefttothisphone,but186gisn’texactlyheavybymodernstandards.ItdoeslookalittlecheaperthantheMotorolaOneActionthough,perhapsbecauseoftheshinytwo-tonefinishtoitsplasticrear.I’mnotsayingtheeffectisunpleasantexactly,butitdefinitelylooksalittlechintzierthanitsmoresoberandprofessionalsiblings. Evenifyou’reenamouredbythatflashyfinish,itwon’tstaypristineforlong.Thishandsetwearsfingerprintslikeanautumncoat. There’sa3.5mmheadphonejackonthetop,anddespitethecheaperpricetagyoustillgetaUSB-Cportonthebottom;itsitsalongsideamonospeaker. MotorolaOneMacrodisplay–Don’tgettooclose TheMotorolaOneMacro’s6.2inIPSLCDpanelisbigand,aswe’vejustdiscussed,moreuniformlyproportionedthanitssiblings.19:9makesforamuchmore“normal”all-aroundviewingexperiencethanthesuper-stretched21:9screensoftheActionandVision. Sadly,itlackssharpness.OneofthewaysinwhichMotorolaappearstohaveachievedtheMacro’slowerpricepointisbycuttingthepixelcount,whichmeansa1520x720resolution.ThisisalsoknownasHD+,oraslightlylongerformoftheclassic720pstandard. ThiswasoneofthenegativesoftheoriginalMotorolaOne,whichlaunchedin2018.AndwhiletheMotorolaOneMacroisacheaperphone,cominginwellunder£200,Istilldon’tthinkthisisacompromisethatshouldhavebeenmade. Itisn’tthattheMotorolaOneMacro’sdisplayisbad.It’sclearandbalancedandplentybrightenough–inmostconditions,atleast.Butholditnexttoasimilarlyproportioned1080pphonesuchastheMotorolaOneAction,asIdid,andthedifferenceiscleartosee. Wewouldlikeaslightlyhigher-resscreen TheOneActiondisplayisbrighterandcooler,givingtheOneMacroaslightlysicklytintbycomparison.It’sthatsmalldetailssimplylookcrisperand,well,moreastheyshouldbeonthesharperdevice. Forexample,imagethumbnailsinGooglePhotoslookproperlyrepresentativeona1080pdisplaylikethatoftheOneAction.TheylookhorriblypixellatedontheOneMacro,likethey’rebeingstoredinthecloudandhaveyettoproperlyload. Withoutcomparingthetwo,theMotorolaOneVisiondisplayisperfectlyfineandfunctional.YoumightnotevennoticetheslightfuzzynaturethatitlendscertainUIelements. But1080pfeelsliketablestakesforaphoneedgingnorthof£150in2019.Andonthatfront,theMotorolaOneMacrocomesupshort. There’salsoacertainironytohavingsuchadisplayinaphonethatseemstoencourageyoutogetcloserandrevelinthefinedetail. MotorolaOneMacroperformance–Surprisinglyspeedy Callmeanill-informedtechsnob,butwhenIsawthattheMotorolaOneMacrowaspoweredbyaMediaTekprocessor,Iassumedthatthephonewouldsufferintheperformancestakes. MediaTekgenerallyproducescheaperchipsforlow-endphones,whichhelpsmanufacturershitthosechallengingentry-levelpricepoints.Buttheresultsareoftencorrespondinglymodest. GiventhatboththeMotorolaOneVisionandtheMotorolaOneActionpackedtheSamsungExynos9609,thisseemedlikelytobethecaseagain. However,I’mpleasedtosaythattheMediaTekMT6771HelioP70intheOneMacrocomesupwiththegoods.Iwouldn’tdescribeitasanout-and-outpowerhouse,butitproducesalevelofperformancethatmakesprettymuchanytaskfeelcomfortable.Andthat’sallyoucanreallyaskforatthisprice. Ablyassistedby4GBofRAM,theMotorolaOneMacrofeltfluidandstutter-freethroughoutmytimewithit.MyGeekbench4benchmarktestsconfirmedthis;indeed,anaveragemulti-corescoreof5732easilytrumpedtheMotorolaOneVision’s5123. TheHelioP70packsthesameMali-G72graphicschipsetastheSamsungExynos9609,soyou’llgetsimilargamingperformance.MostadvancedgameswilldefaulttoMediumsettings,butIwasabletopushCallofDutyMobile’sandPUBGMobile’sgraphicssettingstoHighandstillgetperfectlyplayable(ifperfectlysmooth)results. That720pdisplaywilldoubtlesshavehelpedinthisregard,ofcourse.TogetherwithasolidCPUandampleRAM,havingfewerpixelstopusharoundmakestheMotorolaOneMacroasurprisinglycompetentgamingdevice. Youget64GBofstoragetoplaywith,whichnolongerseemsasgenerousasitoncewouldhavegiventhattherearenowaffordablephoneswith128GBoutthere.ButyoucanexpandthisusingtheincludedmicroSDslot. MotorolaOneMacrosoftware–OneforallandallforOne You’regettingAndroid9.0PiewiththeMotorolaOneMacro,butnotjustanyoldsloppilyreskinnedversion.ThisisAndroidOne,whichmeanstamperinghasbeenkepttoaminimum. Inparticular,thegeneralnavigationexperienceisaspureanAndroidaffairasyou’regoingtogetthissideofaPixelphone.EverythingfromtheappiconstothemenustotheimplementationoftheGooglefeed(justswiperight)isasGoogleintendedit. Perhapsbestofall,thestockselectionofappsisallGoogle.YougetGmailforemails,GoogleCalendarfororganisation,andevenGoogleKeepfortakingnotes–whichisanappthat’sveryoftenleftoffbythird-partymanufacturers,forsomeinexplicablereason. Thisallcombinestomakeforaveryclean,cohesiveexperience,withnoneoftheconfusingbloatofphonesthatapplyheavycustomskinsandunwantedapps. Yougetgivenacoupleofbasicnavigationoptionsearlydoors.Bydefaultthere’stheold-fashionedthree-buttonmethod,withvirtualkeysforback,home,andappswitchingalongthebottomofthehomescreen.Butyou’llsoonbepromptedtotrythemoremodern,gesture-basedapproach. Thisgivesyouasingleelongatedhomebutton.Swipeleftfromthistogobackandswiperighttoswitchtothepreviousapp.Swipingup,meanwhile,bringsupthefullappswitchingmenu. Istilldon’tfindAndroid’sgesturesystemasfluidorintuitiveasthatofiOS,butit’satidyenoughwaytogetaroundtheOSonceyou’reattunedtoitsquirks. Whileit’sslight,MotorolahasmadeitsownimprintontheOneMacro’sUI.Thecameraappisallitsownforonething,butMotoActionsalsoprovesuseful.Thesearearangeofpotentiallyusefulcustomisablegestures,suchasadouble-twisttosendyouintothecameraandadouble-choptoactivatetheflashlight. MotorolaOneMacrocamera–Thedevilisinthedetail OneofthebigdifferentiatingfactorsbetweenalltheMotorolaOnephonesistheirindividualcameraofferings.TheVisionhasapixel-packedmaincamera,forexample,whiletheActionoffersenhancedvideocapabilitiesandtheZoomfeaturesatelephotolens. It’squiteadistinctivecameraarray IntheOneMacroyougetadedicatedMacrocamera.Thismeansyoucangetuptofivetimesclosertoyoursubjectthanmightbepossibleordinarily. Inpractice,Iwasabletogetwithinaninchorsoofflowersandinsects–theMotorolaOneMacro’scamerawasstillabletolockonandtakedetailedshots. Oratleastthat’showitappearedontheOneMacro’sslightlyfuzzyscreen.WhenIopenedupthecapturedmacroshotsonalarge,sharpMacBookProdisplay,theresultswerealittledisappointing. Yes,they’regenerallyinfocus,andIwasabletogetauniquelyclearperspectiveonthingslikealadybirdfeastingonanaphid.But,sadly,thedetailfromthiscameraprovedtobelacking,withanoisy,grainylookthatperhapsspeakstoitshumble2-megapixelspecification. There’salsothesimplefactthatmacrophotographyissomethingofanicheproposition.CertainlyincomparisontothesingularstrengthsoftheMotorolaOneVision,OneAction,andthenewOneZoom,beingabletogetsuper-closetoyoursubjectisn’tgoingtoimproveyoureverydayshots. Performanceisn’tamazingawayfromthemacrocamera,either.Generalsnapsaretakencareofbyabog-standardcombinationofa13-megapixelf/2.0maincameraanda2-megapixelf/2.2depth-sensingassistant.YoualsogetaLaserAutoFocustimeofflight(ToF)sensor. Thegeneralshootingexperienceisamixedbag.TheMotorolaCameraappisintuitiveenough,butit’salittlewallowyandoccasionallyslowtofocus,resultingintheoddblurryshot.Ialsonoticedasizeabledelaywhentakingportraitshots,althoughtheresultsareprettygoodforsuchacheapphone,withasharplydefinedsubjectandnottoomuchinthewayofweirdedgeartefacts. Ifoundthequalityofnormalshotstobelacking,however,withagenerallyflatandwashed-outappearance.TheOneMacroalsohasatendencytooverexposecloudsandotherbrightareas,despitetheautoHDRmodekickinginquitereliably. Darkshotsaremoreorlessano-no,withnodedicatedNightmodeandarelativelydimf/2.0mainlens.Theresultsaregrainyalright. Nottheworseresult,buttheMacrotendstoflattenshots HDRisn’talwayseffectiveatreigninginbrightspots Iwasabletogetveryclosetothistinyflower,butcheckoutthenoisybackground Themacrocameraletsyoushootcreatively,butthere’slotsofnoise Macroshotsgiveyouclose-upclarity,butwithalotofnoise… …whilethesameclose-upwiththemaincamerafailstofocusaswell,butpacksinmorepixels There’snoNightmode,andtheresultswithAutoaren’tpretty Thecameraoccasionallyfailstofocusproperlyindecenttime MotorolaOneMacrobatterylife–Fantasticstamina TheMotorolaOneMacrohasamuchbiggerbatterythantheOneActionandOneVision;it’sthesameastheMotorolaOneZoom.Its4000mAhunit,liketheZoom,leadstosometrulyimpressivestamina. Indeed,withalesspixel-packeddisplay,thismightbethelongest-lastingMotorolaOnephoneofthelot. IwasabletogetafulltwodaysofmoderateuseoutoftheMacroinbetweencharges,duringwhichtimeIindulgedinaboutofintensivephoto-takingandafairamountofwebbrowsing. Elsewhere,15minutesofNetflixstreamingwiththebrightnessatfullsappedjust3%ofthecharge.Togiveyouapointofreferencehere,somethingliketheNokia7.2(whichhasaveragestamina)lost5%underthesamecircumstances. Youdon’tgetthe15WTurboChargeroftheMotorolaOneZoomhere,however.Thisbeingacheaperphone,youonlygeta10Wunitinthebox–althoughit’sstillnoslouch. Related:Bestmid-rangephones  ShouldIbuytheMotorolaOneMacro? Motorola’slineofOnephonesofferscleandesign,elegantsoftware,andcompetentperformanceacrosstheboard.TheMotorolaOneMacrooffersallofthesethingsatthelowestpriceofthemall. It’sasolidpickforanyonewithlessthan£200tospendfortheseveryreasons.Inparticular,thephone’sperformance,cleanAndroidOneUI,andexemplarybatterylifeproveconsiderabledraws. GettingrightupclosetotheOneMacrodoesn’tflatterit,however.Thecoresellingpointofadedicatedmacrocameraturnsouttobesomewhatunderwhelming,evengimmicky,withnoisyresultsandlimitedpracticalbenefit.Thephone’s720pdisplay,meanwhile,isanotabledowngradefromtherestoftherange. Howwetestphones Wetesteverymobilephonewereviewthoroughly.Weuseindustrystandardteststocomparefeaturesproperlyandweusethephoneasourmaindeviceoverthereviewperiod.We’llalwaystellyouwhatwefindandwenever,ever,acceptmoneytoreviewaproduct. Findoutmoreabouthowwetestinourethicspolicy. Usedasourmainphoneforthereviewperiod Reviewedusingrespectedindustrybenchmarksandrealworldtesting AlwayshasaSIMcardinstalled Testedwithphonecalls,gamesandpopularapps TrustedScore ByJonMundy Contactvialinkedin Jonisaseasonedfreelancewriterwhostartedcoveringgamesandappsin2007beforeexpandingintosmartphonesandconsumertech,dabbling inlifestyleandmediacoveragealongtheway.Besidesbein… Editorialindependence Editorialindependencemeansbeingabletogiveanunbiasedverdictaboutaproductorcompany,withtheavoidanceofconflictsofinterest.Toensurethisispossible,everymemberoftheeditorialstafffollowsaclearcodeofconduct. Professionalconduct Wealsoexpectourjournaliststofollowclearethicalstandardsintheirwork.Ourstaffmembersmuststriveforhonestyandaccuracyineverythingtheydo.WefollowtheIPSOEditors’codeofpracticetounderpinthesestandards. Whytrustourjournalism? Foundedin2004,TrustedReviewsexiststogiveourreadersthorough,unbiased andindependentadviceonwhattobuy. Today,wehavemillionsofusersamonthfromaroundtheworld,andassessmorethan1,000productsayear. Editorialindependence Editorialindependencemeansbeingabletogiveanunbiasedverdictaboutaproductorcompany,withtheavoidanceofconflictsofinterest.Toensurethisispossible,everymemberoftheeditorialstafffollowsaclearcodeofconduct. Professionalconduct Wealsoexpectourjournaliststofollowclearethicalstandardsintheirwork.Ourstaffmembersmuststriveforhonestyandaccuracyineverythingtheydo.WefollowtheIPSOEditors’codeofpracticetounderpinthesestandards.