Introduction
Motorola released the Moto G200 5G in November, nine months after the release of the first Ready For-capable smartphone, the Moto G100. And it's building up to be an excellent sequel, as well as one of the most intriguing bang-for-buck deals on the market right now. With significant improvements to the display, CPU, and camera, it appears to be a well-rounded product.
The Moto G200 5G has a mid-range price tag, but its specifications sheet borders on flagship territory. It immediately impresses with a 6.8" 1080p LCD panel with a 144Hz refresh rate and HDR10 compatibility. The Snapdragon 888+, one of the most powerful chipsets, can truly drive the fast-refreshing screen and will ensure you can get 144fps wherever support is there. Oh, and the triple camera on the back with that 108MP main and a 13MP ultrawide with focusing for Macro Vision really sounds pricey.
Motorola is well-known for its water-resistant designs, and the new G200 5G is no exception. The IP52 certification isn't very spectacular, since it protects no water splashes, let alone submersion, but official IP ratings aren't popular in this price bracket, so it won't hold the G200 back.
More Motorola DNA can be found in the 33W TurboPower charging for the huge 5,000mAh battery and the clean Android experience with little Moto tweaks. And we like the Ready For support, which, despite its cheesy moniker, provides a robust desktop experience.
And, although the bundle sounds amazing on its own, the Moto G200 5G's pricing is what truly piques our curiosity. In a smartphone world where costs are continually rising, this Motorola that might have easily been an Edge series member is priced at €449, though some shopping around may get you it for as little as €400 in some areas.
So, let's take a quick look at the whole Moto G200 5G specifications before we get started on our review.
When compared to the Moto G100, there are two significant exclusions. The microSD expansion slot is the first. We understand these are becoming increasingly rare these days, but it still hurts to see them leave. The second is the 3.5mm audio jack, which, given the popularity of TWS earbuds, may irritate fewer people.
There are no stereo speakers, which may count against the G200 when compared to certain competitors, but cutting cuts is the name of the game in the mid-range, and we will now see if Motorola cut the appropriate ones.
The Motorola Moto G200 5G is unboxed.
The Motorola Moto G200 comes in a lovely Moto box that matches the colour of the G200 inside.
A 33W TurboPower charger, a 3A USB-A-to-C cable, and a soft clear case are included in the box. And that covers all of the necessities, as well as a lot more than other manufacturers have recently offered.
A 144Hz LCD screen
The 6.8-inch IPS TFT LCD display has a resolution of 1,080 x 2,460 or 395ppi and a 20:9 aspect ratio. There is a single centred punch hole for the selfie camera and, happily, there is no strange light leakage or uneven illumination around the cutout. A flat piece of tempered glass protects the panel.
Let's begin with our standard display test, in which we measured 462 nits of maximum brightness when manually adjusting it with the scrubber. We achieved a great contrast ratio of 1633:1 when the deep blacks were combined.
When utilising Adaptive Brightness and exposing the phone to bright light, there is a 100-nit increase. This means we measured 558 nits and obtained a fantastic contrast ratio of 1627:1.
The minimum brightness at point white was exceptional at 1.9 nits, implying that using the phone in a really dark setting will be a breeze.
DCI-P3 colour space is supported by the Moto G200 5G. It has two colour modes: Saturated (the default) and Natural. With the exception of the white and grey tones, both produce a rather realistic depiction. When utilising the Saturated mode, there is a distinct shift towards blue, however when using the Natural mode, the movement is towards red.
You can fine-tune the colour temperature in any mode, but it will not result in considerably improved accuracy.
Then there's HDR10 compatibility. YouTube and Amazon Prime both stream high-resolution HDR material without a hitch. The Moto G200 supports Widevine L1 DRM, although it, like previous Moto phones, is not whitelisted on Netflix, and while it can deliver Full HD streaming, it does not support HDR.
Finally, consider the refresh rate behaviour. Motorola has three operating modes: fixed 60Hz, fixed 144Hz, and Auto.
The fixed refresh rates of 60Hz and 144Hz always compel the relevant refresh rate.
The Auto setting, on the other hand, alternates between 48Hz, 60Hz, 90Hz, and 120Hz. In theory, it should also be able to use 50Hz, but it will never reach 144Hz. This mode, which is the default option, should strike the best balance between power efficiency and smoothness.
When using Auto, the UI and compatible applications are displayed at 120Hz, while static graphics are displayed at 48Hz (and if you are not touching the screen). The same is true for streaming: the UI is typically 120Hz, but the video is either 60Hz or 48Hz depending on its frame rate.
Gaming is a little different; most games with unlocked refresh rates operated at 120Hz, while some, such as Dead Trigger 2 (also unlocked), ran at 60Hz. We tried a variety of games, and the bulk of them reached 120Hz, thus apps like Dead Trigger 2 are the exception rather than the rule.
Battery Life
The Motorola Moto G200 5G is powered by a big 5,000 mAh battery, and the manufacturer claims 36 hours of battery life on a single charge with intensive usage. Our test is a little different, but the findings are satisfactory.
The Moto G200 5G was rated as having a total endurance rating of 102 hours. It performed admirably in terms of call time, and it did not disappoint in our on-screen tests, clocking it at 13+ hours of web surfing and 15 hours of video playing. The standby battery consumption was the only average component.
Charging Speed
The Moto G200 5G supports 33W TurboPower charging and ships with the necessary charger.
When connected to the 33W power adapter, the G200 charges from 0% to 52% in 30 minutes. A full charge takes 74 minutes, which is an excellent result both inside and outside of the mid-range class.
Speaker Quality
The Motorola Moto G200 5G has a single bottom-firing speaker, which is a letdown. In our volume test, the speaker received a Good rating, and we can confirm that it is sufficiently loud while ringing or playing Moto's notification noises.
The speaker quality, on the other hand, is average - speech and mid-tones sound OK in general, but there is no bass and the high tones are scarcely audible.
Android 11 "vanilla" with Moto app and Ready For support
A similar firmware is used by the Motorola G200 5G, the spiritual successor to the original Ready For-compatible smartphone. In fact, if you've used any of the previous high-end Moto phones, you'll feel perfectly at home.
Motorola has promised one major Android version upgrade, which means the phone will receive the already available Android 12, as if that's anything to be proud of. This is frustrating because we, and we're sure many other customers, anticipate it to get Android 13 later this year. Let's hope Motorola reconsiders their policy.
So, the Moto G200 has a standard Android appearance with a slew of in-house features added on top and managed through the Moto app hub. The 'Ready For' functionality is also available; it is similar to Samsung's DeX, but with fewer options.
Then there are the motions. You've probably seen the karate chop gesture that switches on and off the flashlight, as well as the twisting motion that launches the camera app. Both are functional even when the device is locked.
The lift-to-unlock gesture complements face unlock by unlocking the handset as soon as you pick it up and glance at the screen.
A swipe-to-split capability is also available, which activates split-screen multitasking. There's also the Power touch. When you double-tap the power button, you'll get a shortcut menu where you may organise programmes, tools, and even contacts for easy access.
Camera , Photo & Video quality
On the rear of the Motorola Moto G200 5G is a triple camera with a 108MP primary camera, a 13MP ultrawide-angle lens, and a 2MP depth sensor. A dual-LED flash is also included.
The front-facing camera is housed in a punch-hole and has a 16MP Quad-Pixel sensor.
The main camera of the Motorola G200 is comparable to that on the Moto Edge 20. It employs a 108MP Samsung ISOCELL S5KHM2 module, sometimes known as simply HM2, that measures 1/1.52" and has 0.7m pixels and an f/1.9 24mm lens. The colour filter is Nonacell, which means that 9 sensor pixels are merged into one 2.1m pixel, resulting in a 12MP output resolution. Although PDAF is available, there is no optical stabilisation. Night Mode is only available on the main camera.
The ultrawide-angle camera is equipped with a 13MP Hynix Hi1336 sensor with 1.12m pixels and an f/2.2 12mm lens. This camera has autofocus, which enables Macro Vision and allows you to snap macro shots from as near as 3cm.
The front-facing camera is equipped with a 16MP OmniVision OV16A1Q 1/3.06" sensor with 1.0mm pixels and a Quad-Pixel filter. It is positioned behind a 28mm f/2.2 lens. The emphasis is set. This camera's normal output is 4MP, however it also has a 16MP option.
Photo Quality
The main camera stores 12MP photographs by default, but you may choose a lesser quality of 8MP or utilise the high-resolution 108MP option.
The standard 12MP photographs are rather appealing. They have a lot of detail and balanced processing - the greenery appears beautiful, and the delicate items aren't over-sharpened, which is common these days. The noise is kept to a minimum.
The contrast in these photographs is great, giving them a vivid appearance, but the dynamic range is moderate. Motorola appears to have established a decent mix between contrast and dynamic, and the samples we collected are delightfully genuine.
However, there is an argument to be made for photographing in this high-resolution, extremely fake mode. Shooting 108MP photographs and then resizing them to 12MP yields significantly more information than shooting in the normal mode.
Oh, and these reseized photographs have improved colours and a larger dynamic range. However, the improvements aren't significant enough to warrant the extra effort most of the time, so we'd only utilise this option for images that are worth it.
These low-light images also have acceptable exposure and a strong dynamic range, and clipped highlights are less common and smaller than predicted. Sure, they aren't the finest nighttime photographs we've seen, but they're up there with the best in this category.
Selfies
The selfie camera on Motorola Moto G200 has a 16MP Quad-Bayer shooter behind f/2.2 fixed-focus lens. It saves 4MP images by default but if you want - you can set it up to save its native 16MP resolution instead.
The 4MP default selfies are nice - there is adequate detail and noise is minimal, the sharpness isn't overdone, the colours are dependably true, and the contrast is strong. When necessary, Auto HDR boosts the dynamic range.
The final image in the set below was captured in 16MP resolution. On a pixel level, it is softer, but it has a lot more overall detail.
Portraits taken with the front camera are adequate but unimpressive. The separation isn't as good - its flaws are concealed by extra blur around the subject's outlines, and ears and hair are frequently affected. Aside from that, the rest is standard selfie fare.
The Competition
The Motorola Moto G200 5G is shaping out to be one of the greatest bargains this holiday season. It boasts one of the industry's smoothest screens, one of the quickest chipsets, a very robust camera system, and a huge battery with rapid charging. There's also a quick Android experience and, last but not least, an eye-catching design.
The Snapdragon 888+ processor in a €450 smartphone is a difficult bar to reach, much alone exceed. Still, let's look at the competition and see where the G200 sits in the market right now.
The beautiful Samsung Galaxy A52s is the first competition that springs to mind. It's already roughly €100 cheaper and has a lot going for it. Over the G200, it has a 64MP OIS main camera, dual speakers, a 3.5mm connector, and complete IP67 dust and water protection. Meanwhile, the Moto boasts a speedier chipset (SD888+ versus SD778G), cleaner software, and Ready For support. If you require productivity, the G200 is the one for you; otherwise, pick this less expensive Galaxy.
The Xiaomi 11T is an intriguing proposition at a comparable price. It includes a fantastic AMOLED display with improved picture quality and Dolby Vision compatibility, a strong dual speaker arrangement with Dolby Atmos support, and a quicker 67W charging capability. The 11T features a comparable camera arrangement, however it runs on the lesser Dimensity 1200 5G processor and boots MIUI, which Android purists will not appreciate.
The OnePlus 8T presently costs the same as the Moto G200 and is an option to consider. It boasts a 120Hz Fluid AMOLED display and is powered by the still-capable Snapdragon 865 5G CPU. The phone has stereo speakers, an optically stabilised primary camera, 67W rapid charging, and the always-quick OxygenOS interface. These are enough to win over many customers, but the additional performance, quicker refresh rate, and Ready For support might easily tip the scales in favour of the Moto G200 5G.
The Realme GT 5G, which costs around €450, should also be on your radar. It features a 120Hz AMOLED display and is powered by the same Snapdragon 888 5G CPU. Although its camera is less powerful, the GT provides stereo speakers, a 3.5mm connection, and quicker charging than the Moto G200. There is also no Ready For option on the Realme.
Finally, if you appreciate what Motorola did with the G200 and want the same experience but don't need all that power, the Moto Edge 20 features an even better 144Hz OLED screen and the same software package with clean Android 11 and Ready For support. In addition to the same 108MP primary camera, the Edge 20 has an 8MP 3x telephoto and a 16MP ultrawide snapper. The selfie camera is also improved, with a 32MP sensor. The Moto Edge 20 is around €100 less expensive than the Moto G200, and if the top-tier Snapdragon 888+ doesn't make more sense than the quite adequate Snapdragon 778G 5G processor, you might as well save some money.
Our Verdict
As a result, the Motorola Moto G200 5G is a worthy successor to the G100, bringing a slew of significant updates to the key hardware components. The G200 is also a more powerful option to the Edge 20, and it may have performed well in the Edge 30 range as well. Aside from product positioning, the Motorola Moto G200 5G is a fantastic mid-range offering with a top-tier screen and flagship speed, a good camera, and no major flaws in its performance.
Because of the cost-cutting necessary to achieve the price tag, there are no stereo speakers, a plastic body (albeit it is tastefully constructed), and no telephoto shooter. Those were things that were clear from the specifications sheet, so if they were deal breakers, you probably wouldn't be here in the first place.
What we're not excited about is the guaranteed one major Android version upgrade, which means the G200 5G will most likely never get beyond Android 12. While this may not seem like a significant disadvantage in comparison to current competition, phones running Android 12 out of the box and extended support may find it simpler to overtake it.
However, for €449 or less, the Moto G200 5G is a terrific deal with more power than we could have hoped for and numerous value-added features such as the 144Hz refresh rate, Ready For support, unrivalled speed (in its price range), and clean Android experience. That is why we wholeheartedly endorse it.
PROS
- Water-repellent design and a sturdy construction.
- Great LCD screen, 144Hz, HDR10, with a little cutout.
- Long battery life, quick charging
- Excellent performance.
- Day and night, main and ultrawide cameras that are dependable.
- Excellent selfies.
- Clean Android, Moto app, and support is available.
- There are no stereo speakers.
- One big Android update is insufficient. More so when releasing with last year's Android Dropped the G100's 3.5mm jack and microSD slot
