Motorola Moto G53 review

Introduction

The Motorola Moto G53 5G is part of the company's refreshed mid-ranger portfolio. The main new addition it brings to the table is 5G connectivity. While the G53 offers solid specs, the addition of 5G appears to have been a costly one.

Compared to its predecessor - the Moto G52, the G53 comes with a Snapdragon 4xx class chipset - the Snapdragon 480+ in particular, whereas the G52 sports a Snapdragon 680. There have been some display downgrades as well. The G53 swaps the FullHD+ OLED panel of the G52 for an HD+ IPS LCD one. At least on the plus side, the refresh rate is up from 90Hz to 120Hz on the G53.

Motorola Moto G53 specs at a glance:

• Body: 162.7x74.7x8.2mm, 183g; Glass front, plastic back, plastic frame; Water-resistant design.
• Display: 6.50" IPS LCD, 120Hz, 720x1600px resolution, 20:9 aspect ratio, 270ppi.
• Chipset: Qualcomm SM4350-AC Snapdragon 480+ 5G (8 nm): Octa-core (2x2.2 GHz Kryo 460 & 6x1.8 GHz Kryo 460); Adreno 619.
• Memory: 64GB 4GB RAM, 128GB 4GB RAM, 128GB 6GB RAM, 128GB 8GB RAM; microSDXC (uses shared SIM slot).
• OS/Software: Android 13.
• Rear camera: Wide (main): 50 MP, f/1.8, 1/2.76", 0.64µm, PDAF; Macro: 2 MP, f/2.4.
• Front camera: Wide (main): 8 MP, f/2.0, 1/4", 1.12µm; or Wide (main): 16 MP, f/2.2, 1.0µm.
• Video capture: Rear camera: 1080p@30fps; Front camera: 1080p@30fps.
• Battery: 5000mAh; 18W wired (China, LATAM), 10W wired (International), Reverse wired.
• Misc: Fingerprint reader (side-mounted); FM radio (market/region dependent); 3.5mm jack; stereo speakers.

The rear cameras are different too. The main 50MP camera uses a smaller sensor with 0.64µm pixels (1.28µm with binning). As you can expect, the camera is capped at 1080p video capture (at only 30fps, not 60fps like the G73). Additionally, there is a plain 2MP macro cam instead of an ultra-wide camera.

Probably the most inexplicable downgrade of all, however, is to the charging. Just like its predecessor, the G53 comes with a hefty 5,000 mAh battery. Unlike it, however, the G53 only supports 10W charging in the international model and 18W in China and Latin America.

Despite these shortcomings compared to its predecessor, the Moto G53 still deserves a chance to impress us in practice. Join us on the following pages as we dig deeper.

Unboxing

The Moto G53 ships in a two-piece box made of cardboard and colored in a natural-looking cardboard brown. Motorola has had this recyclable package initiative going on for some time now. The very minimal printing on the box is done with soy ink as well.

On the inside, despite the lack of plastic, there is still a cradle to protect the phone and a couple of compartments on the bottom level.

The G53 comes with a charger in the box. Also, a USB Type-A to Type-C cable. That about sums up the accessory package. There is no case or anything like that.