If you are looking at Motorola phones to buy, you are probably here because of the clean Android experience, Android 11 out of the box on the Moto G30. While the UI basics are, indeed, stock, Motorola has introduced a host of neat features that add value without getting in the way.
A single Moto app combines all the proprietary features. The first category is personalization allowing you to choose the icon shapes, the quick toggles appearance, the accent colors and the font. There is also a wide selection of wallpapers, the same ones you'd find in the Google Wallpapers app, plus some Moto-specific interactive ones.
Then come the gestures. The karate chop motion that turns on and off the flashlight is here along with the twisting motion that launches the camera app. Both work even when the device is locked. The lift to unlock gesture works well with the face unlock as it unlocks the device as soon as you pick it up and look at the screen. A new addition is the swipe to split function that triggers the split-screen functionality.
The display-related features are Peek Display and Attentive Display. The former works as a second-best alternative to the Always-on display but with some added functionality. The screen lights up when it detects motion that's close to the phone (most likely uses the proximity sensor) or when you pick it up. Once you've received some kind of notification, you can tap on it and see the message itself and even interact with it from the lock screen. As for the Attentive Display, it's pretty self-explanatory - it disables the screen timeout as long as there's a face looking at the screen. Pretty useful when reading long articles, though you do probably scroll often enough for the screen not to lock anyway.
Since Android 11 brings some new features of its own, Motorola has added a 'What's new' section to get you acquainted with those. The one-time permissions allow you to grant access to certain apps to your storage, location, contacts, etc., only temporary. You will be asked again when the app needs the said permission once more when you use it. Notification grouping is an effort to keep your notification shade tidy and focus on your conversations. Notification cards from ongoing conversations from your messaging apps will appear on top as high-priority compared to other app notifications.
Bubbles is one of the long-awaited features for messaging apps that Facebook's Messenger has had for years now. The apps that support the feature will prompt you with a notification in the form of a floating, interactive bubble. Tapping on it will open up the chart for a quick reply, just like Messenger.
Nearby Share with other Android devices a recent Android version is also possible, so transferring files has never been easier. And lastly, we have the updated power menu that now displays shortcuts to connected devices such as home automation or Chromecast through the Google Home app.
Lockscreen • Homescreen • Folder view • App drawer • Notifications • Quick toggles
The optimized charging feature is a new find that's not necessarily inherited from the Android 11 OS, but it basically does what all similar features from other brands offer. It learns your usage and charging patterns, so it doesn't 'overcharge' the battery, although this term isn't exactly correct. What it does is charge the handset to 80% and then delay the last 20% until right before you disconnect the adaptor. You need to toggle it on, though, as it's disabled by default.
The G30 being more powerful than the G10, we didn't really encounter any delays or hiccups in general operation across the UI and menus. The fingerprint reader, as we mentioned on the previous page, leaves a slightly unresponsive impression. It's not that it's slow to unlock - you get the vibration feedback when the fingerprint's scan is successful; it's just that lighting up the display takes a bit longer than usual.
The Moto G30 is powered by the Snapdragon 662 chipset, a midrange piece of silicon introduced in 2020 and built on an 11nm process. It features an octa-core CPU in a 4+4 configuration with Kryo 260 Gold cores in the high-performance cluster (Cortex-A73-based) and Kryo 260 Silver ones (Cortex-A53-based) for less demanding tasks. The graphics department is handled by the Adreno 610 GPU.
Different RAM and storage options exist, from 4GB/64GB to 6GB/128GB, with our review unit being the base spec.
The Moto G30 posted predictable numbers in benchmarks, on par with other SD66x-equipped handsets. The Realme 7 with its beefier Helio G95 and the Poco X3 NFC with a 7-series SD732G are in a different league for CPU performance in GeekBench. The Galaxy A21s that you can get for Moto G30 money in most places isn't as powerful, while the more expensive A31 is slightly ahead in single-core, slightly behind in multi-core.
Higher is better
Higher is better
This is more or less the way things stand in Antutu - Moto G30 is a bit more powerful than the Galaxies in the price range, on par with the SD66x competitors, and way behind the Realme 7 and the Poco X3.
Higher is better
When it comes to GPU oomph, the Moto G30 has just the right amount of it for its 720p display and puts out respectable fps numbers in the onscreen tests in GFXBench. The Realme 7 and the Poco X3 remain ahead, even with their higher-res 1080p screens, with the gap widening in raw-power offscreen tests.
Higher is better
Higher is better
Higher is better
Higher is better
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