Motorola Moto M review: M for Midranger

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Synthetic benchmarks

The Moto M is powered by a Mediatek Helio P10 chipset, or if you're in India - the P15. There's little to set the two apart, though - it's all in the clock speeds. The 8 Cortex-A53 cores in the P10 are capped at 1.95GHz, while the P15's CPU can go as high as 2.2GHz. There's a bump in the Mali-T860MP2 GPU frequency as well - 800MHz for the P15, 700MHz for the P10.

We have the P10 version for review, in 3GB RAM spec - there's a 4GB option too, but not ours. We've reviewed a bunch of P10 devices already, so we have a lot to compare the Moto M against. Sadly, we won't be able to test Mediatek's claim for 10% improved performance.

We won't be deviating from the usual drill - starting off with some CPU benchmarks. In the single-core portion of GeekBench 4, the Moto M outperforms the Meizu M3 Max (Helio P10, too) and the Moto G4 Plus (Snapdragon 617). One similarly clocked (2.0GHz vs. 1.95GHz) Cortex-A53 in a Snapdragon 625 configuration posts better numbers, but none is a match for the high-flying A72 cores that can be found in the Helio X20-powered Redmi Note 4 and Redmi Note Pro.

GeekBench 4 (single-core)

Higher is better

Xiaomi Redmi Pro
1551
Xiaomi Redmi Note 4
1546
Oppo R9s
845
Asus Zenfone 3 ZE552KL
843
Motorola Moto Z Play
795
Lenovo Moto M
771
Meizu m3 max
687
Motorola Moto G4 Plus
669

The Snapdragon 617 inside the Moto G4 Plus is showing further signs of aging and is struggling to keep up with the rest in multi-core as well. The Moto M posts higher numbers here than the Meizu M3 Max, so it's shaping up to be one of the better P10 implementations already.

The Oppo R9s is not making a strong case for the S625, but the Zenfone 3 does redeem it, beating the Redmi Pro. The latter, on the other hand, isn't squeezing the most of its deca-core CPU - looking at the Redmi Note 4, the Helio X20 can do much better.

GeekBench 4 (multi-core)

Higher is better

Xiaomi Redmi Note 4
4456
Asus Zenfone 3 ZE552KL
4053
Xiaomi Redmi Pro
3885
Oppo R9s
3130
Lenovo Moto M
2921
Meizu m3 max
2625
Motorola Moto Z Play
2621
Motorola Moto G4 Plus
1822

Shifting our gaze to Antutu for a quantitative measure of overall performance, and the Moto M isn't breaking any records, but it's still the highest ranked P10 device around. There's a pretty wide gap between the P10 and the S625, with the Qualcomm chip clearly having the edge. The higher-grade Snapdragon 650 with the fancier A72 cores and the Helio X20 are clearly in a different league.

AnTuTu 6

Higher is better

Xiaomi Redmi Note 4
85162
Xiaomi Redmi Pro
77442
Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 (S650)
76186
Oppo R9s
66081
Asus Zenfone 3 ZE552KL
63358
Samsung Galaxy C7
62818
Motorola Moto Z Play
62217
Lenovo Moto M
51831
Oppo F1 Plus
51299
Samsung Galaxy J7 (2016)
49094
Meizu m3 max
48334
Lenovo Moto G4
46949
Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 (Helio X10)
45474
Motorola Moto G4 Plus
45190
Meizu m3 note
44898

The same can be said about the results produced in Basemark OS II - a fine showing for the Moto M among P10 peers, but a superior S625 and markedly more powerful Helio X20 and Snapdragon 650. The Moto M refused to play nice with Basemark OS II 2.0, so no scores from that one.

Basemark OS II

Higher is better

Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 (S650)
1914
Xiaomi Redmi Pro
1648
Samsung Galaxy C7
1368
Motorola Moto Z Play
1226
Lenovo Moto M
1127
Oppo F1 Plus
1114
Meizu m3 max
1009
Samsung Galaxy J7 (2016)
999
Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 (Helio X10)
956
Motorola Moto G4 Plus
951
Meizu m3 note
930

Graphics department isn't an area where we've come to expect excellence from Mediatek SoCs, much less midrange ones. So while the Moto M doesn't exactly impress, we're pleased to report that it is, again, one of the best-scoring P10 phones.

In Basemark X the F1 Plus comes closest to putting up a fight against the Moto M - of the P10 bunch that is. The Moto M's result is still no match for the higher-end Helios or the Snapdragon 625.

GFX 3.0 Manhattan (1080p offscreen)

Higher is better

Xiaomi Redmi Note 4
15
Xiaomi Redmi Pro
15
Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 (S650)
14
Oppo R9s
10
Asus Zenfone 3 ZE552KL
9.9
Motorola Moto Z Play
9.8
Samsung Galaxy C7
9.8
Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 (Helio X10)
8.5
Lenovo Moto M
7.1
Oppo F1 Plus
7
Lenovo Moto G4
6.5
Motorola Moto G4 Plus
6.4
Meizu m3 max
5.5
Meizu m3 note
5.4
Samsung Galaxy J7 (2016)
4.9

GFX 3.0 Manhattan (onscreen)

Higher is better

Xiaomi Redmi Note 4
15
Xiaomi Redmi Pro
15
Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 (S650)
14
Motorola Moto Z Play
10
Asus Zenfone 3 ZE552KL
9.7
Oppo R9s
9.7
Samsung Galaxy C7
9.6
Samsung Galaxy J7 (2016)
9.5
Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 (Helio X10)
7.9
Lenovo Moto M
7.6
Oppo F1 Plus
7
Lenovo Moto G4
6.8
Motorola Moto G4 Plus
6.6
Meizu m3 max
5.5
Meizu m3 note
5.4

GFX 3.1 Manhattan (1080p offscreen)

Higher is better

Xiaomi Redmi Note 4
9.5
Xiaomi Redmi Pro
9.5
Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 (S650)
9
Samsung Galaxy J7 (2016)
7.2
Motorola Moto Z Play
6.2
Samsung Galaxy C7
6.2
Asus Zenfone 3 ZE552KL
6.2
Oppo R9s
6.2
Lenovo Moto M
4.7
Lenovo Moto G4
4.2
Motorola Moto G4 Plus
4.1
Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 (Helio X10)
4
Meizu m3 max
3.6
Oppo F1 Plus
3.3
Meizu m3 note
2.5

GFX 3.1 Manhattan (onscreen)

Higher is better

Xiaomi Redmi Pro
9.5
Xiaomi Redmi Note 4
9.4
Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 (S650)
9
Motorola Moto Z Play
6.7
Samsung Galaxy C7
6.1
Asus Zenfone 3 ZE552KL
6.1
Oppo R9s
6.1
Lenovo Moto M
5.2
Lenovo Moto G4
4.5
Motorola Moto G4 Plus
4.4
Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 (Helio X10)
3.9
Meizu m3 max
3.6
Oppo F1 Plus
3.3
Samsung Galaxy J7 (2016)
3.2
Meizu m3 note
2.5

We're pleased with the performance put out by the Moto M - it's doing the best it can with the hardware provided. The Helio P10 chipset is no powerhouse, but as far as P10s go, this is among the best ones. Just be sure not to expect miracles in 3D gaming. But don't let that put you off. Mobile games are pretty good at scaling down the quality so we're pretty sure you won't have any issues running any of the available game titles.

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5. Performance

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