Motorola G7 Review

Motorola has been trying to beat Xiaomi and other Chinese manufacturers in the budget segment for a long time now. Even though the smartphone maker was not able to do major damage, it managed to create a separate user base for its budget devices. Yes! We’re talking about the popular Moto G lineup. Right from its inception, this lineup went forward with one simple philosophy – Quality on Budget. 

Following that footstep, we now have the latest Moto G7 with us for the review. For those who’re unaware, Motorola launched a trio of G7 smartphone called Moto G7, Moto G7 Play, and Moto G7 Power. Later on, the brand ended up launching the Plus variant with improved specifications. Moto G6 was one of the most popular budget devices which managed to impress the tech community.

Well, Moto G-lineup scores well in terms of quality since its inception. But, what about the overall performance and software? We’ll answer that in our in-depth review of Moto G7. 

Moto G7 comes in a single storage variant featuring 4GB of RAM and 64GB of internal storage. It is available in two different color options namely Clear White and Ceramic Black. Initially, the smartphone was launched with a price tag of INR 16,99. Facing the immense competition in the budget tier, the brand decided to drop the price a bit. You can now purchase the smartphone from Amazon India setting you back around INR 11, 475 at the time of writing this review. 

Moto G7 comes in the signature box of G-lineup featuring green color accents with a big Motorola logo on the front and device name at the bottom front. Opening the box, you will first see the device itself covered in a protective layer. There is a transparent silicone cover bundled inside the box. Keeping both the things aside for a while, there is a SIM ejector pin and some reading manuals. Apart from this, you get a normal wall adapter having Quick Charging 2.0. As expected, you also get a Type-C USB cable for charging. 

Here is a quick overview of what you’ll be getting inside the box: 

 – Motorola G7 

 – Wall Charger

 – USB Type-C cable 

 – SIM ejector pin 

 – Manuals and Documentations

Before we jump right into our comprehensive review, let’s have a quick glance at the specifications first. 

 – Display: 6.2-inch IPS LCD panel, 1080×2270 pixels, 405ppi 

 – CPU: Snapdragon 632 chipset, 14nm 

 – GPU: Adreno 506 

 – RAM & ROM: 4GB & 64GB 

 – Rear cameras: 12MP+5MP

 – Selfie camera: 8MP 

 – Software: stock Android 9.0 Pie 

 – Battery: 3,000mAh capacity, 15W fast charging 

 – Weight: 172g 

 – Dimensions: 157×75.3x8mm 

With key specs cleared out of the way, let’s jump right into our in-depth review kicking off with the first aspect.

Moto G7 follows the footstep of its predecessor i.e. G6 in terms of design ideology. The smartphone looks similar to the previous-gen offering with few changes in the dimensions. Motorola managed to make the G7 look much more premium than it is actually priced. The smartphone maker has used the glass and metal sandwich design to deliver a more premium experience at a budget price. The moment you’ll hold the device, you will feel the curved sides giving it much more comfortable. 

Just like any glass smartphone, we found Moto G7 to be quite slippery and you might want to use the bundled case just in case. At the back, there is a dual-camera module accompanied by an LED flash. You’ll find the sensor in the company’s signature circular bump. Interestingly, there is a physical fingerprint sensor at the back underneath the Moto logo. The front, on the other hand, is dominated by a decent IPS LCD display with an added Corning Gorilla Glass protection. There are thin bezels on the side and relatively thicker chin which is the case with every other budget device nowadays. Motorola went with the waterdrop notch this time and it does manage to increase the screen size by still keeping the compact form factor. 

Coming to the buttons and ports, there is a power key and volume rockers on the right side while there is nothing on the left side. Both the buttons have very tactical feedback and work perfectly fine. At the bottom, you’ll find a 3.5-mm headphone jack, USB Type-C port, and speaker grille. Moreover, Moto G7 is splash proof meaning it can withstand rain shower to some extent.

Overall, Moto G7 seems pretty solid and does not feel cheap at all. The smartphone continues the legacy of G-lineup and does not disappoint us at all. If you’re looking for a premium build quality, then you can consider looking at the Moto G7. 

Moto G7 is equipped with a 6.2-inch IPS LCD display panel on the front featuring a teardrop notch which houses the selfie camera. The bezels are quite thin on the side while the chin is relatively thick This display allows the smartphone to hit an impressive 81% screen-to-body-ratio at this price segment. For an added protection, the display comes with a layer of Corning Gorilla Glass 3. In our daily usage, we noticed a few hairline scratches appearing on the screen so you might want to use it carefully. 

In our daily usage, we found no major issue with the display whatsoever. The entire experience was pretty decent and the colors were quite crisp. The display has a resolution of 1080×2270 pixels with 405ppi pixel density. The display is bright enough to deliver decent experience under sunlight conditions. The notch on the top and thin bezels somewhat give an immersive experience. If you’re into one-hand usage, then you might struggle a bit since the display is quite tall having an aspect ratio of 19:9. 

Overall, you should not find any annoying problem with the display. The entire display experience is on point considering the price tag. We watched tons of movies and streamed content on this device and we absolutely loved it.

Under the hood, the device runs on the Qualcomm Snapdragon 632 chipset coupled with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of onboard memory. For those who’re unaware, Snapdragon 632 is based on the 14nm manufacturing process having eight cores clocked at 1.8GHz. For gaming, the device makes use of the capable Adreno 506 GPU. 

Now, the SD 632 is not the powerful one which you can find at this price but it still manages to get things done. In our daily usage, Moto G7 worked surprisingly well and we faced no major issues at all. There were a few scenarios of lag and stuttering during our usage. Switching between apps is very smooth and the app does stay in the memory for a longer period of time. If you’re an average user, you should not face any issue with the device related to performance. Things shift to the worse side during heavy multitasking. It’s not bad per se but multitasking is something which this phone does not perform well. 

Coming to gaming, we tried playing Pubg Mobile on this smartphone on medium settings. Of course, the device will not be able to handle max settings considering the price tag. There were few occasional frame drops that should not bother you that much. With that said, there was no problem in rendering. At this price tag, it is not the best smartphone for gaming but surprisingly, it can handle it pretty well. 

Just like any other Moto device, this one too runs on the stock Android software based on the latest Android Pie out-of-the-box. Every single time, Motorola manages to deliver impressive software experience. Moto G7 is a prime example of that. The software integration is excellent and the device runs it smoothly and flawlessly. Even in terms of bloatware, there are no useless or annoying applications. Instead, you get a few Motorola applications that do not degrade your experience in any way. 

Since it is a near-stock Android experience, there is not much going on in terms of software. You get the same home screen setups, swipe-up menu, and drop-down notification center. Although the brand has added a few apps to give you some additional features. For instance, Moto Action gives you control over the gestures to fire up tasks or apps quickly. You can turn on the flagship if you karate chop your phone. Personally, I never used this type of gestures and in fact, I don’t use gestures at all that much. On the contrary, you might like the addition of it depending on your personal preferences. 

In conclusion, Moto G7 does not leave us disappointed in terms of software integration. If you’re someone who prefers a stock experience more, then you will definitely like this device. Unlike Xiaomi, there are no annoying ads all over the UI giving G7 an edge over the Chinese manufacturer in the software department.

As mentioned earlier, Moto G7 comes with a dual-camera module at the back consisting of a primary 12MP sensor and a secondary 5MP lens. The primary lens has an aperture of f/1.8. The camera is setup is not versatile since it misses a wide-angle lens which has become a trend even at the budget price segment. The camera app is pretty straight forward and easy to use so you will not face any issue in that aspect. There are plenty of shooting modes which you can play around with. 

Coming to the imaging, the primary sensor captures well-lit shots with a good level of detail in daylight conditions. The pictures turned out to be quite satisfactory considering the price tag. The software tends to increase the exposure quite a bit while the white balance is pretty decent. Like any other budget phone, Moto G7 struggles in low-light conditions. The shots at this condition turn out to be full of noise, grain and less level of details. The competitors, on the other hand, manages to take lead in low-light scenarios. 

The secondary 5MP camera can click blurred shots pretty nicely which is something I was not expecting at all. For this price point, the depth sensor does its job pretty decently with edge detection to be on point. Moving to video recording, there is EIS in the device which comes in play when you shoot videos to up to 4K resolution. Although to offer more stability, the video crops a bit for some odd reasons. If you do not want that, you can turn of EIS from the settings but that will result in a rather shaky video. 

For selfies, there is an 8MP front snapper housed inside the notch. Just like the rear cameras, the front snapper manages to take well shots with a good level of details in well-lit conditions. While the selfie camera struggles a lot in the low-light conditions. 

Moto G7 is backed by a rather smaller 3,000mAh battery which supports 15W turbo charging. Surprisingly, the device still manages to perform well which could be due to the impressive optimization of the software. You will have to charge the device twice a day if you’re a heavy user. An average user might be able to stretch the battery to the entire day. 

Motorola was the early adopter of Type-C port at this price segment and it is good to see that the same is still the case. For charging, you get a Type-C port at the bottom. The smartphone can completely charge from zero to 100% in an hour. Fast charging is something that most of the competitors lack at this price point which gives Moto G7 a solid edge here. 

For audio, there is a speaker grille at the bottom which has decent sound output. It’s not extremely loud nor poorly low – it’s at the sweet middle spot. Even at max volumes, we noticed no sign of audio distortion at all. There is a 3.5-mm headphone jack which also delivers decent output. 

Coming to biometrics, there is a physical fingerprint sensor at the back underneath the Moto logo. The sensor works pretty quickly and is absolutely reliable. You also get Face ID integrated at the software level which is also fairly quick but is not reliable since it uses 2D representation of your face. 

Moto G7 comes with all the standard connectivity features which you will see on other devices at this price tag. These features include Bluetooth 4.2, dual-band WiFi, GPS, FM Radio and USB Type-C port for charging. Surprisingly, there is no NFC on the global model except Europe-based models.

Pros: 

 – Premium design and build 

 – USB Type-C port 

 – Bright and vivid display 

 – Stock Android experience 

Cons: 

 – Average battery life 

 – Cameras are not that impressive 

 – No NFC except on Europe version