Motorola Moto E15 review: For this price, it’s hard to find better

Finest Costs At the moment: Moto E15

Motorola has lengthy held a level of dominance over the finances smartphone market. Not solely as a result of it releases new fashions so commonly that there’s all the time one thing new hitting the cabinets, however as a result of the telephones it releases are literally fairly nice.

Its new Moto E15 continues that pattern and, whereas it gained’t be of any curiosity to flagship consumers because of its comparatively modest efficiency, we’d say this mannequin strikes the right stability between worth and performance. It feels as if it’s greater than the sum of its elements.

For below £70/$90, you get a great-looking cellphone with an enormous display screen, stereo audio system, and an honest 32Mp snapper. Naturally, it might do with extra energy, but it surely does pack a few days of battery life.

Right here’s what it was like to make use of.

Design & Construct

• Fingerprint reader
• SD card slot
• Smooth case included

Contemplating the value, we’re notably impressed by the general development of the Moto E15. It doesn’t look markedly totally different to the E14, which was already a fairly handsome finances cellphone.

An enormous a part of that comes all the way down to texture. Reasonably than the matt floor you would possibly count on, Motorola has opted for a vegan leather-based end that provides loads of grip, whereas additionally trying nice up shut. There are Denim Blue, Misty Blue, and Recent Lavender choices obtainable. Will it patina over time? That continues to be to be seen.

There’s a USB-C port, mic and speaker on the underside, and a headphone jack on the highest. There’s a quantity rocker and fingerprint reader constructed into the Sleep/Energy button, which is an enchancment on final 12 months’s mannequin.

On the left, the SIM tray additionally consists of house for an SD card, that means you possibly can add to the 64GB of onboard storage.

Lloyd Coombes

We’ll come to the 6.6-inch LCD show subsequent, however the very first thing to say is that it’s so good to see cheaper telephones packing massive shows which used to price considerably extra. Certain, it’s LCD and it’s not the sharpest or brightest, however that makes the Moto E15 an ideal alternative for anybody with poor eyesight who might in any other case battle to learn a cellphone.

The bezel is uniformly skinny, and there’s a hole-punch type 8Mp front-facing digicam that’s centrally positioned. Reasonably than a extra outlined digicam cutout on the again, it virtually appears to be like as if the 32Mp rear digicam is attempting to burst via, but it surely’s solely received so far as the lenses.

Display screen & Audio system

• 6.5.inch panel
• 90Hz refresh charge
• 720p decision

Should you have been anticipating important upgrades from the E14 whereas its worth level is maintained, we’re sorry to say that though this panel is marginally (0.1 inches) bigger, it’s nonetheless solely nearly HD, for the reason that decision is 720p.

Nonetheless, it retains a 90Hz refresh charge and is sweet and brilliant. Telephones on this worth vary are inclined to have fairly dim screens, so its brightness is an enormous level within the E15’s favour.

Lloyd Coombes

One other factor telephones on this worth bracket don’t all the time have a tendency to supply is stereo sound. There’s a speaker right here within the earpiece and one on the underside subsequent to the charging port. Not solely does that imply way more well-rounded audio for nearly any objective, but it surely additionally permits for Dolby Atmos help.

Dolby Atmos permits a extra various array of equaliser choices, and the audio system get surprisingly loud, which is sweet.

Specs & Efficiency

• MediaTek Helio G81 Excessive
• 2GB of RAM
• 64GB inside storage

Naturally, we’re a fairly low-cost processor right here, and it is smart at this worth. Nonetheless, we’d have appreciated slightly extra RAM.

2GB simply isn’t sufficient, and sadly we will’t suggest the Moto E15 as an influence consumer machine. Nevertheless, the choice so as to add Digital RAM from the space for storing is welcome when you do something notably demanding.

Switching between apps, notably Google’s inventory ones, is ok, however as quickly as you throw extra demanding apps or video games into the combo, issues take a flip.

Opening Chrome can take slightly longer than we’d like, and video games like PUBG Cell and Wild Rift might want to run primarily solo in order for you any sort of respectable efficiency.

Well-liked titles like Genshin Impression merely gained’t work on the cellphone, both, and neither does our Geekbench 6 benchmark.

Lloyd Coombes

Storage-wise, the cellphone comes with simply 64GB, which is perhaps sufficient for some customers, however at the least you possibly can add a microSD card to extend it.

Moto E15 benchmarks

Cameras

• 8Mp entrance digicam
• 32Mp rear digicam

The 32Mp rear digicam on the E15 combines 4 pixels into one, primarily developing with an 8Mp picture however one with extra element consequently. There are solely two zoom modes (1x and 2x), and there’s loads of noise when capturing video, with the dearth of stabilisation making any film really feel slightly Blair Witch.

It takes respectable sufficient photographs, although, and whereas the small print can get a tad fuzzy on the edges of an image and foliage can form of blur into one mass, it’s not the worst digicam we’ve seen.

Photos taken at evening aren’t excellent, although. There’s a jaggedness to edges and an incapacity to separate greys from darker blacks in photos. It’s not horrible, but it surely’s removed from good.

Battery Life & Charging

• 5,200 mAh battery
• No charger in field
• 18W max charging

Sadly, there’s no charger within the field for the Moto E15, so that you’re solely getting a USB-A to USB-C cable and might want to use an current plug or different machine to cost.

The Moto E15 ran for 15 hours and quarter-hour with PCMark’s battery take a look at, which is spectacular for a cellphone that prices this little.

It takes round 90 minutes to cost totally with an 18W charger and, even with out participating the battery-saving options, it could possibly simply final the 2 days Motorola guarantees.

Lloyd Coombes

Software program & Options

• Android 14 GO
• Moto overlay
• Lower than 2 years of safety patches

There’s Android 14 GO below the hood of the Moto E15, which on one hand means it’s a watered-down expertise in comparison with the complete model, however on the opposite probably helps hold efficiency transferring alongside, with 2GB of base RAM obtainable.

Lloyd Coombes

There are some bloatware apps included (Fb Lite, LinkedIn, Amazon Music), however for essentially the most half, Motorola’s interface isn’t too intrusive and feels largely inventory.

You gained’t be getting any OS updates with the E15, although, and safety updates will cease after December 2026. Nonetheless, given the value, we’d think about you’ll be out there for an E16 by then.

Worth & Availability

The Moto E15 is accessible internationally. Within the UK, it launched at £69.98, but it surely’s now obtainable for much less. You should purchase it within the UK from Motorola for £59.98 on the time of writing, or from Amazon for £58. Within the US, you should purchase it from Amazon for $85. At these costs, it’s comprehensible that it cuts some corners however you possibly can see the way it compares to out high suggestions in our round-up of the very best finances telephones.

All variations include 2GB of RAM and 64GB of storage.

Do you have to purchase the Moto E15?

Should you’re searching for an inexpensive, usable cellphone that’s received nice battery life and an enormous display screen, chances are you’ll effectively have discovered it. You gained’t be pushing the boundaries of cellular efficiency, positive, however the Moto E15 remains to be effectively price a search for budget-conscious smartphone consumers.

Specs

• Processor: MediaTek Helio G81 Excessive
• Safety: Passcode, Fingerprint scanner
• Inner storage: 64GB
• Expandable storage: Sure
• Sensors: None
• Reminiscence (RAM): 2GB
• Battery: 5,200 mAh
• Show: 6.7-inch LCD
• Decision: 1604×720
• Rear digicam: 32Mp
• Entrance digicam: 8Mp
• Dimensions: 165.7 x 76 x 8.2 mm
• Weight: 188g
• Ports: USB-C port, headphone jack