Moto G82 review

Competition

The Moto G82 launched a few months back, and its price has gone down since then, putting the handset in a more advantageous position. On paper, the Moto G82 is a solid midranger with a bright and big enough OLED panel, a set of stereo speakers, exceptional battery life, good day-to-day performance, clean Android, and a somewhat comfy design.

But is it enough to tackle the plethora of sub-€300 rivals? As it's usually the case with the mid-range market, it's a bloodbath, and it was hard to pick just a few alternatives to the Moto G82.

Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 Pro 5G • Xiaomi Poco X4 Pro 5G • Samsung Galaxy A33 5G

Let's start with the Xiaomi camp. It has the Redmi Note 11 Pro 5G asking about €290, and the Poco X4 Pro in the same price bracket. Essentially, these two phones are almost identical and offer better overall camera performance, brighter displays and considerably faster charging. The Moto G82 edges out with longer battery life and twice the storage as a standard.

Samsung Galaxy A53 5G • Realme 9 Pro+

Samsung's portfolio has two possible choices - the Galaxy A33 for about €30 less than the Moto G82 and the Galaxy A53 for about €300 if you are lucky enough. Otherwise, it costs at least €320 at some third-party retailers. Arguably, the A53 is the better option even if that means spending about €40 more. It's a superior phone in almost every aspect except battery endurance. That's where the Moto G82 takes the lead.

The Galaxy A33, on the other hand, offers a similar user experience for the most part and asks a lot less in return. Ultimately, we think that the choice between the Moto G82 and the Galaxy A33 boils down to software preference. If you are into Samsung's heavily customized One UI 5.0, then go for it. The Moto G82 will surely appeal to stock Android lovers, though.

Realme has a compelling contender for you to consider. The Realme 9 Pro+ is selling for a little less than €300. Its OLED panel may be just 90Hz, but it's decently bright and gets the job done. The Dimensity 920 is definitely preferable over the Snapdragon 695 as it's more powerful and supports 4K video recording. Battery life is also solid, charging is blazing-fast, and the fingerprint reader is under the display, which is better than the side-mounted one, as versatility isn't its strongest suit.

Verdict

Motorola managed to put together a well-balanced smartphone with capable hardware. The Snapdragon 695 SoC performance seems to be adequate for the price bracket; the 6.6-inch OLED is color accurate and gets very bright; the battery life is outstanding; the clean Android experience is attractive.

Still, we can't recommend the Moto G82 without looking into what the competition has to offer. And more often than not, competitors seem to have a better camera performance - the main sensor is probably one of the smallest in the price category, leading to sub-par results. We've also seen faster charging and more comfortable, modern under-display fingerprint readers. The side-mounted on the Moto G82 is okay; it's just not as desirable as the under-display one.

All in all, the Moto G82 definitely deserves a spot on our recommendation list in the sub-€300 category. Camera image quality is below the average for the class. But if cameras aren't much of a priority, the G82 would make a solid daily driver.

Pros

• Lightweight design with splash protection.
• Bright and color-accurate 120Hz OLED.
• Outstanding battery life.
• Stereo speakers with good quality.
• Clean Android experience with some added Moto features.
• Generous 128GB base storage and microSD expansion slot.

Cons

• Camera performance is unsatisfactory; no 4K video either.
• We miss Moto's Ready For feature - a desktop-like environment on larger screens.