Motorola launched its Moto G6 phone in India this week and instead of comparing it with other brands, we pit the phone against its predecessor. The Moto G5S Plus is still there in the market priced at 13K, that’s close to how much you’ll pay for the Moto G6 too.
What’s changed with the Moto G6 and is it better than the Moto GS Plus?
Design
The look and feel of the Moto G6 is entirely different from what we saw with the Moto G5S series last year. Moto has ditched the reliability of a metallic body, for the aesthetically pleasing glass design.
Even though the Moto G6 is thicker than the Moto G5S Plus, the former has a better feel in the hand with its rounded edges.
The switch from metal to a glass body doesn’t excite us, especially with respect to its ruggedness.
The glass body attracts fingerprint smudges with ease and you’re always worried about breaking the phone, which wasn’t the case before. It’s still splash-resistant though, but the durability factor has been lost.
On the Moto G6 you’ll notice that the size of the home button on the front is smaller than that of the Moto G5S Plus. This has ensured that Motorola can adopt the 18:9 ratio screen format for the Moto G6, which has become the standard screen dimension this year.
All in all, the design changes are significant but were they necessary? Not sure about that.
Display
Moving on from the 5.2-inch on the Moto G5S and 5.5-inch on the Moto G5S Plus, this year’s Moto G6 looks to match the trends. The phone carries a 5.7-inch screen with 2,160x1,080 pixels resolution, indicating the 18:9 ratio in use.
As you can see here, the bezels are still big at the bottom, but the top part has been shaved off, leaving out space for the speakerphone and camera.
The colours remain the same, bright, easy to read and sharp without going overboard.
Motorola claims that the pixel per inch (ppi) has increased from 401 on the Moto G5S Plus to 424 ppi with the Moto G6. Even if that makes a difference, to the naked eye the change isn’t a big one.
Hardware
This is where it gets interesting. The Moto G6 packs the Snapdragon 450 processor, which is an upgrade on the Snapdragon 430 we saw on the Moto G5. However, Moto G5S Plus packs the Snapdragon 625 processor, which is more of a mid-range, workhorse hardware. You can buy the Moto G6 with either 3GB RAM and 32GB storage, or 4GB RAM with 64GB storage.
Storage is expandable up to 256GB on both the phones, but with Moto G6 you can do that without sacrificing the second SIM slot.
Both are dual-SIM phones, with support for 4G, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth but with the Moto G6, you’re looking at the first Moto G phone to come with USB Type C port for charging and data transfer.
Just like the Moto G5S Plus, you get a 3,000mAh battery unit on the Moto G6 as well, with support for Motorola’s patented turbo charging.
Camera
The Moto G5S Plus packs an underwhelming camera. I don’t say that just because the 13-megapixel dual sensors at the back came with aperture f/2.0 last year. It’s also because the sensor used on the device couldn’t click decent pictures in day or low-light conditions.
With the Moto G6, they have tried to change that part by adopting two different, 12-megapixel and 5-megapixel sensors at the back, with aperture f/1.8. This change offers images with better detail and even in low-light there’s some improvement.
You can also record 1080p videos at 30 and 60 frame per seconds (fps).
Shot with Moto G6.
(Photo: The Quint)
At the front you have a 16-megapixel shooter with flash for selfies and in addition to that you can also use face recognition to unlock the device on the Moto G6.
Worth the Upgrade?
The design changes are big, with the Moto G6 getting a glass body and an 18:9 ratio screen with 2160x1080 pixels resolution. The hardware upgrade is incremental and the battery size remains the same, with turbo charging on board.
The cameras are definitely better than the Moto G5S Plus and if you’re in the market for a phone with good imaging quality, then the Moto G6 could be worth looking at.
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