Motorola One Macro review: Macro photos, small price

In some areas, the Moto One Macro really shines, but with every single positive there's a negative. It feels cheap, the battery takes forever to ... Skiptomaincontentarea AdvertisementSignupforourdailynewsletterNewsletterCloseSignmeupSecondarymenuAdvertisementYouarehere:HomeMotorolaMotorolaOneMacroreview:Macrophotos,smallpriceMotorolaOneMacroreview:Macrophotos,smallpriceMobilephonesNathanSpendelow8Nov2019facebooktwittergoogle+emailImage1of21OurRating £99.00FromAmazonPricewhenreviewed 180incVATMotorola’slatesthandsetgetsupcloseandpersonalforlessPros MacrocameraisfunSuperbbatterylifeUnobtrusivesoftwareCons Displayaccuracyisn’tthebestDesignfeelsabitcheapSlowchargingAdvertisement Motorola’ssmartphoneoutputisunrelentingatthemoment.AlleyesmightcurrentlybefixedontheimminentMotoRazrrevamp,butdespitealreadyamassinganexhaustivelistofbudget-friendlyhandsets,MotorolahaslaunchedyetanothercheapophoneinanefforttogetpulsesracingbeforeChristmas.READNEXT:BestbudgetsmartphonesThisonefallsunderthe“One”range–aseparateline-upfromMoto’spopularG-serieshandsets,which,accordingtoitsmakers,appealsmoretotheyoungerendofthemarket.And,admittedlyspeakingasasomewhatout-of-touchtechjournalist,IreckontheMotoOneMacrodoesexactlythat–it’sawell-pricedsmartphonewhichfocusesonclose-upphotographytohelpboostyourInstagramgameonthecheap.MotorolaOneMacroreview:WhatyouneedtoknowMotorola’saim,ofcourse,istodobothofthesethingsbetterthanthecompetition.TheMotoOneMacroisdesignedasanattractivepropositionforfirst-timebuyersthataren’ttemptedbythehigh-pricedallureofflagshipsmartphones,optinginsteadforsomethingthatwon’tbreakthebankbutwilltakeartsypicturesforalltoadmire.Image2of21Andthat’skindofwhattheOneMacroendsupoffering.Otherthanthededicatedmacrolens–whichI’lldiscussinmoredetaillater–italsobenefitsfromasuiteofcameras,includingaregular13-megapixelcameraonthebackanda2-megapixeldepthsensortohelpwithblurredbackgroundportraits.TheOneMacroalsohasa6.2innarrow-aspectIPSscreen,witharesolutionof1,520x720.ItusesaMediaTekP70processorwith4GBofRAMand64GBofstorageandisfittedwitharatherlarge4,000mAhbattery.MotorolaOneMacroreview:PriceandcompetitionThekeyappealwithMotorola’sphones,ofcourse,ishowlittletheycost.TheMotoOneMacrocertainlydoesn’tdeviatefromthecompany’stried-and-testedformula,butitisn’tthecheapestsmartphoneinitsever-bulgingwarehouseeither.Shouldyoumanagetofindone(itseemstobeoutofstockinsomeplacesatthetimeofwriting)theMotoOneMacrocosts£179.MotorolaOneMacro(6,2InchHDPlusDisplay,MacroVisionCamera,64GB/4GB,Android9.0,DualSIMSmartphone),SpaceBlue£99.00BuynowThatplacesitdirectlyinthefiringlineofsimilarlylucrativebudgetoptionssuchastheSonyXperiaL3andNokia6.2,nottomentionstiffcompetitionfromwithinMotorola’sownranks;ourcurrentbudgetpick,theMotoG7Power,goesforaround£160thesedays.Ifyoucanconsideruppingyourbudgetalittle,thentheMotoOneActionisalsoasuperbchoice,costing£220.MotorolaOneMacroreview:DesignandkeyfeaturesIfyoureallycan’tstretchyourbudgetanyfurther,thentheMotoOneMacroisstillaprimecandidateforyourcash.Asfarasappearancesgo,itisabitbasic.Itdoesn’tcostalot,sothiscanbeexcusedslightly,butwe’verecentlyseenrivalmanufacturersstretchtheirhigh-enddesigntendrilsoutintothebudgetspacewithmiraculous-lookingresults.Image3of21Thefrontisn’tbadatall.The6.2inscreen(almost)coverstheentiresurfaceofthephone,asidefromtheskinnysidebezelsandthecirculardropnotcheatingitswayintothetopofthescreen.Thishousesan8-megapixelselfiecamera–withtheearpiecespeakerjustaboveit–andit’saprettyneatsetupconsideringtheprice.Seerelated Bestphonecamera2022:ThebestAndroidandApplesmartphonecamerastobuyBestphonebatterylife2022:Thelongest-lastingsmartphonesrankedHowever,theclearestsignoftheOneMacro’sbudgetlineageisitsplasticrear.Itlacksthesturdier“4Dglass”constructionoftheOneAction(thoughitdoescostless)andthebackofthephoneflexesquiteabitwhenpressed.Theglossycoatingalsopicksupfingerprints,noend.Despitetheplastichousing,theMotoOneMacrodoesn’thavearemovablebackcovereither,soyouwon’tbeabletoswapoutthebatterywhenitfinallyrunsflat–somethingyou’reabletodowiththenewMotoE6Plus.Youcan,however,adduptoanextra512GBofmicroSDstorage,orsimplypopinasecondnano-SIM.Image10of21TheOneMacro’sotherphysicaldetailsarepreciselywhereyouexpectthemtobe.There’saUSBType-Cchargingportonthebottomedge,whichsadlyonlysupportschargingspeedsupto10W,whilethere’savolumerockerandpowerbuttonsensiblyplacedontherightside.Youwon’tneedtoditchyourwiredheadphoneseither,thankstothetop-mounted3.5mmheadphonejack.MotorolaOneMacroreview:DisplayAsforthescreen,theOneMacrohasa1,520x720resolutionIPSpanelmeasuring6.2inacrossthediagonal.ThisisactuallyoneofthebiggestdisplaysinMotorola’ssmartphonefleet,surpassedonlyslightlybytheOneAction,OneVisionandG8Plus.WhenIputitthroughourdisplaytestingprocedures,IfoundthattheMotoOneMacrowascapableofapeakbrightnessof577cd/m2inauto–whichmakesforgoodviewinginthegreatoutdoors–andithasapin-sharpcontrastratioof1,757:1.Image9of21However,oneareawheretheMotoOneMacrounderperformsisinoverallcolouraccuracy.AccordingtoourscrutinousColorMunkicolorimeter,theMacro’sscreenproducedanaverageDeltaEof3.02inthephone’s‘Boosted’displayprofile,withclearevidenceofundersaturationindarkredandlightbluetones,alongwithheavilysaturatedlightgreensandpurples.Infact,theOneMacro’scolourpaletteisabitofamess,andwhileyoushouldn’tbeoverlycriticalofaphonethischeap,it’snotlikeMotorolahasalong-standingrecordofbadbudgetscreens.Let’shopethisoneisaone-off,anditdoesn’thelpthatitisn’tcoatedinaprotectivelayerofGorillaGlass,either.Notonlyisitmorepronetoscratches,butitalsopicksupfingerprintsrathereasilytoo–justliketheback.MotorolaOneMacro(6,2InchHDPlusDisplay,MacroVisionCamera,64GB/4GB,Android9.0,DualSIMSmartphone),SpaceBlue£99.00BuynowMotorolaOneMacroreview:PerformanceandbatterylifeMovingthingstowardsamorepositivedirection,theOneMacro’sperformancehelpsnegatethisslowerosionofitsinitialappeal.Theinternalspecificationsaren’texactlymind-blowing,noraretheyindustry-leading,butwherethemerementionofaMediaTek-poweredhandsetwouldhaveforcedyoutorunforthehillsafewyearsago,thenewHelioP70chipsethasprovedtobeasolidperformerfortheprice.It’scertainlynotthefastest,butit’sfarfromtheslowesteither–andIactuallyfounditdidaprettygoodjobintheGeekbench4tests,asyoucanseebelow(note:benchmarkingwasblockedontheXperiaL3).It’sonaparwiththeMotoG8Plus’sperformance,whichusesaQualcommSnapdragon665andcosts£60more.TheOneMacroisn’tquiteasformidablewhenitcomestoplayinggames,however,andyoumighthavetotemperyourexpectationswithwhatyoucanplay.ItstormedthroughtheGFXBenchManhattan3.0tests,butshouldyoudecidetothrowanythingmoredemandingattheembeddedMali-G72GPU–liketherecently-releasedCallofDutyMobile–thenyoumightneedtodropyourin-gamegraphicssettingstoachieveaplayableframerate.Batterylife,ontheotherhand,isastounding.Thatmassive4,000mAhbatteryisclearlydoingitsjob,withtheMotoOneMacroreachingatotalof22hrs37minsbeforethebatteryfullydrained.Comparethenumbersinourbigdatasheet,andtheOneMacroisthetenthlongest-lastingsmartphonewe’veevertested,anditisn’ttoofarofftheMotoG7Powereither.It’sabitofashame,then,thatwhenthephonedoeseventuallyrunoutofjuice,ittakessuchalongtimetochargeitbackupagain.TheMotoOneMacroonlysupportschargingspeedsupto10W,andittook30minsworthofchargetoreach25%fromzero.MotorolaOneMacroreview:CameraAsthenamesuggests,it’sallaboutmacrophotographywiththeOneMacro.Well,itiswithoneofitsthreelenses,anyway:a2-megapixelf/2.2camerathatletsyougetascloseas2cmfromyoursubject.Theothertwoareamoreconventional13-megapixelf/2.0mainlens,completewithphasedetectionautofocus,anda2-megapixelf/2.2depthsensorforblurrybackgroundportraits.I’dhavemuchpreferredamoreusefulwide-angleorzoomsensor–especiallyasI’mnotthetypetopostmymugshotsonline–butIsupposeI’mjustbeingpicky.Unsurprisingly,themacrocameraistherealhighlighthere,anditwasratherenjoyabletestingitoutonavarietyofdifferentobjects.It’saseparatemodeinthecameraapp,justoneswipeawayfromthedefaultshootingmode,anditalsoallowsyoutotinkerwiththeusualselectionofmanualshootingsettings,includingexposurecontrol,whitebalance,ISOandRAWcapture.Providedyouhaveplentyoflight(thisisgoingtobeathemehere),close-uppictureslooksuperb,showingofflotsofintricatedetailsthatyouwouldn’tnormallybeabletocapture.Icapturedaclose-uppictureofa£1coin,forinstance,fromonly3cmawayandyoucanclearlyseetheintricatewritinganddetailingacrosstheedge.Theexperienceismorelimitedwhenthelightbeginstodim,however,andthe2-megapixelsensorclearlystrugglesindarkenvironments.Imagesareratherblurry,withunnaturallyblown-outhighlights.It’sasimilarstorywiththeothercamerastoo–the13-megapixelcameraisacrackingchoiceforsceneryshotsinthesunbutisn’tquiteasgoodattakingpicturesofyourhouseparty(mis)adventures.Asforvideo,theMotoOneMacroislimitedto1080precordingat30fps,albeitfullystabilised.Thefootagelookscrispandclear,withoutadoubt,butIwouldhavepreferredahandfulofextrashootingmodes–especiallyastheMotoOneActioncanrecordatupto4Kresolution.MotorolaOneMacroreview:VerdictItlivesuptoitsname,buttheMotoOneMacrofailstodeliverthegoodsinother,moreimportant,areas.WithChinesemanufacturerssuchasXiaomiandHonorbeginningtocornerthelow-endofthemarket,Motorola’sbudgetreignhasbeguntofalter,andsimplyofferingupamixedbagofasmartphonewon’tcutitin2019.MotorolaOneMacro(6,2InchHDPlusDisplay,MacroVisionCamera,64GB/4GB,Android9.0,DualSIMSmartphone),SpaceBlue£99.00BuynowInsomeareas,theMotoOneMacroreallyshines,butwitheverysinglepositivethere’sanegative.Itfeelscheap,thebatterytakesforevertocharge,andthedisplaysuffersfromwildlyinaccuratecolours.It’sfuntoshootthingsupclose,andithasalong-lastingbattery,butthat’saboutallthereistoit.MotorolaOneMacrospecificationsProcessorOcta-core2GHzMediaTekHelioP70(4x2GHz,4x2GHz)RAM4GBScreensize6.2inScreenresolution1,520x720Pixeldensity270ppiScreentypeIPSFrontcamera8MP(f/2.2)Rearcamera13MP(f/2.0),2MP(f/2.2)macro,2MP(f/2.2)depthFlashLEDDustandwaterresistanceNo3.5mmheadphonejackYesWirelesschargingNoUSBconnectiontypeUSBType-CStorageoptions64GBMemorycardslot(supplied)microSD(512GB)Wi-Fi802.11b/g/n(single-band)Bluetooth4.2NFCNoCellulardata4GDualSIMYes(sharedwithmicroSD)Dimensions(WDH)158x75x9mmWeight186gOperatingsystemAndroid9Batterysize4,000mAhReadmoreReviewsAdvertisementMostpopulararticlesThebestbudgetsmartphones:ThebestcheapphonesintheUKTheUK’sbestbroadbandprovidersBestSamsungphone2022:WhichGalaxyisrightforyou?Thebestsmartphonesyoucanbuyin2022Thebestphonecamerasin2022Bestmid-rangephone:AstonishinglyaffordablesmartphonesWhichRingvideodoorbellisrightforyou?BestAndroidphone:Thebestbudget,mid-rangeandhigh-endThebestprinterstobuyfrom£100ThebeststudentlaptopstobuyMostpopularreviewsXiaomiPocoF3review:A£329bargain329MotorolaMotoG50:OurpickofthebudgetMotoGs200BTWholeHomeWi-Fi:AfullyfeaturedmeshWi-Fisystem300NokiaXR20review:Aruggedhandsetbuttoomanycompromises450AnkerSoundco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