Motorola Moto M key features
5.5 IPS LCD of 1, 080 x 1, 920px resolution; 401ppi
Body measuring 151.4 x 75.4 x 7.9 mm and weighing in at 163g
Mediatek Helio P10 chipset, octa-core 1.95GHz Cortex-A53, or
Mediatek Helio P15 chipset, octa-core 2.2GHz Cortex-A53 ( India only)
Mali-T860MP2 GPU; 3GB/4GB of RAM
32GB/64GB of storage; hybrid microSD card slot ( uses SIM slot 2)
Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow
16MP main camera with f/2.0 aperture, 1.0µm pixel size, PDAF, dual-tone LED flash
1080p@30fps video capture
8MP front-facing camera, 1.12µm pixel size
Rear-mounted fingerprint reader
Dual-SIM; Cat. 6 LTE support; 802.11 a/g/b/n/ac; Bluetooth 4.1, A2DP, LE; GPS; FM radio
3, 050mAh battery
Type-C 1.0 reversible connector
Water-repellent nano-coating, splash and dust resistant
Main shortcomings
No NFC
Hybrid card slot limits usability
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.
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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
16MP camera gets the job done, but doesn’t impress
The Moto M comes with a 16MP primary camera with a f/2.0 aperture lens. Don’t let that fool you into believing it’s the same one used on the Moto Z Play - the pixels on the M are tiny - just 1.0µm. In comparison, the ones on the Z Play are 1.3µm ( which may not be much in absolute terms, given the micron unit, but it’s a significant difference in performance) .
That aside, there still is phase detection autofocus, like on the big boys’ cameras, and a dual LED flash is here to help in the dark.
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You’d think that a camera app should be pretty much consistent in its looks between devices from the same manufacturer, only more feature-rich on the higher-end model. Well, no, not in Motorola’s case. Or rather, it’s two camera apps that Lenovo, the parent company, distributes among its devices without much concern which brand is stamped on the box.
There’s nothing wrong with the app itself, though. Okay, nothing other than the front/rear camera toggle high up in the right corner, which is difficult to reach single-handedly. That aside, it gives you an HDR toggle and flash mode switch plus more detailed settings like ISO and White balance two taps away in the menu.
Camera interface
Image quality on the Moto M is decent, but it has its peculiarities. For one, its photos have a pronounced warm color reproduction. Auto exposure also tends to be geared in such a way that photos get slightly underexposed. That may be so to combat the effects of the small pixels and possibly preserve highlights, but physics is a tough opponent, and dynamic range isn’t great.
Resolved detail is high, though, particularly with high-frequency subject matter like foliage. Noise is present too, and quite abundant too even at base ISO and plenty of light.
Camera samples
The HDR mode on the Moto M yields quite dramatic results. Gone are the warm colors and the images get a strong cold blue cast. Some of the highlight detail gets salvaged, but that’s not what you’ll be noticing first in the HDR shots.
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HDR mode: off • on • off • on
There’s always our Photo compare tool where you can examine from up-close how the Moto M’s photos compare to those from rival smartphones. We’ve pre-selected the Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 and the Lenovo K6 Note, but you can pick any other phone we’ve tested through the years.
Selfie camera
The front-facing camera on the Moto M is an 8MP f/2.0 unit. At 1.12µm, its pixels are larger than those on the main camera.
The selfies are packed with detail, skin colors are true-to-life, and the fixed-focus distance has been picked well, so your mug is in focus when you hold the camera at arm’s length. You’d think that should be the case with all fixed-focus selfie cams, but you’d be surprised.
Of course, there is a beautification feature, don’t worry. It fixes blemishes, brightens up the skin and whitens the teeth.
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Selfie samples: Beautification off • Beautification on at the highest setting
Video camera
The Moto M records video up to 1080p/30fps - there’s not much more to be expected in its segment, plus we all know how the P10 chipset can’t handle all that number-crunching.
The videos are encoded with a bit rate just short of 17Mbps while audio gets 128Kbps, in stereo.
There’s little to like about those videos, unfortunately - details are mushy, and colors are bland.