Motorola Moto G34 5G review

Motorola has all the time been a fantastic model for these trying to decide up a cheap however high quality smartphone. Now, the corporate is providing a brand new mannequin that prices lower than most of its rivals however boasts some respectable specs.

Can something this low cost, simply £149, be any good? I take the Moto G34 5G for a area take a look at to search out out.  

Design & Construct

• Fairly mild and compact
• Aspect-mounted fingerprint sensor
• Vegan leather-based model accessible

Whenever you first decide up the Moto G34 5G it’s stunning how mild and comfy it feels within the hand.

The 162.7 x 74.66 x 8.19mm dimensions make it compact relatively than small, with the ability button on the precise flank sitting just below the thumb as you maintain it in your hand. That is good because it additionally homes the fingerprint sensor to unlock the cellphone, which labored nicely all through my time with the gadget.  

Actually, the development is similar to the nice Moto G13 that I reviewed a short while again, and which is remarkably even cheaper than this gadget. 

A metallic chassis and plastic rear panel reduces the heft, whereas additionally giving an affordable degree of grip. This may be elevated in case you go away the matt end model (Charcoal Black or Ice Blue) and plump for the vegan leather-based version that is available in Ocean Inexperienced. 

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There’s no case within the field, in contrast to the Moto G13 and among the Chinese language fashions on this value vary, however you do get a charger and cable, which is one thing of a novelty lately. 

As I’ve mentioned, it’s a light-weight gadget, weighing in at 179g (or 181g for the vegan leather-based model), however that doesn’t imply that Moto has skimped on options.

You get a 6.5-inch LCD show, twin rear cameras, USB-C charging port, nano-SIM tray with house for a microSD card, all packed right into a slimline case that appears trendy and sensible. 

Controls embrace quantity up and down, that are located above the ability button on the precise flank, and on the prime and backside edges you’ll discover the one devoted speaker, 3.5mm headphone jack and microphone. Just about all the things you want.  

Motorola states that the G34 5G is water-repellant relatively than waterproof. This implies which you could’t submerge the gadget, but it surely ought to survive the odd spill or wet downpour.

We don’t anticipate IP68 and even IP54 rankings on telephones this low cost, so it is a respectable degree of safety on this value bracket. 

Display screen & Audio system

• 6.5-inch LCD show
• 120Hz variable refresh price
• Stereo audio system and three.5mm headphone jack

A 6.5-inch LCD IPS show is the panel of alternative on the G34 5G.

Surprisingly it runs with a 120Hz refresh price (even 90Hz could be spectacular at this value), preserving issues clean more often than not. There are some juddering moments when shifting via menus and web sites with loads of graphics or photographs, however for almost all of actions it’s a pleasant display screen to make use of.

The refresh price is definitely variable, between 60- or 120Hz, and I discovered it greatest to enter the settings and set it completely to 120Hz if you would like the optimum efficiency. This does price battery life although. 

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The decision tops out at 720p, which can appear somewhat underwhelming in lately of Full HD+ or Quad HD panels, however once more you want to contemplate the worth.

That being mentioned, this doesn’t really feel like a finances panel that you want to make excuses for, because the rendering is vibrant, vibrant and sharp. I measured the utmost brightness at round 500 nits, which is lots to make issues seen when outdoors, though it could wrestle in excessive daylight.  

Motorola has Dolby Atmos marked on the highest fringe of the G34 5G, however I wouldn’t get your hopes up. The audio can get loud, however the stereo soundscape comes from the devoted speaker on the underside edge and the cellphone speaker on the prime.

This delivers a blended bag of tones, with music sounding skinny and with distorted edges whenever you push the amount. It’s satisfactory, however not spectacular. 

Fortunately there’s a 3.5mm headphone jack you need to use to up the standard by plugging right into a pair of respectable cans, plus the 5.1 Bluetooth capabilities will fortunately join the G34 5G to any variety of exterior audio system. 

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Specs & Efficiency

• Snapdragon 695G 5G chipset
• 4GB RAM (expandable through digital RAM)
• 128GB storage (expandable as much as 1TB)
• Just a few app crashes and glitches

As an on a regular basis gadget, the G34 5G performs competently.

The interface is clear, apps work nicely, and also you solely discover the constraints of the Snapdragon 695G 5G chipset when launching apps or utilizing extra demanding functions. There generally is a few stutters and pauses right here and there, which could be off placing in case you’re used to quicker telephones, however you quickly modify.  

Motorola consists of 4GB of RAM as normal, with an additional 4GB of digital RAM accessible in case you’re keen to give up that quantity out of your onboard storage. I’d suggest you do, as 4GB is low even for a finances smartphone in 2024.

Even with the increase, I did run into just a few glitches right here and there. 

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Probably the most persistent was with the digicam app. A number of occasions I discovered that taking a fast take a look at the picture I’d simply captured throughout the app, then going again to the stay digicam would typically trigger the app to both clean out the show or crash solely. It’s exhausting to know whether or not it is a particular glitch within the software program, which could be cured by an replace, or the shortcoming of the gadget to cope with calls for of the appliance. 

I examined out the gaming prowess of the gadget by a session in Asphalt 9 Legends, all of which ran easily and with an appropriate quantity of warmth within the rear of the chassis. I’m not satisfied it will deal with extra concerned 3D video games, similar to Genshin Affect, however for a fast little bit of leisure whereas ready for the bus or a mate to show up, the Moto G34 appears as much as the job. 

There’s loads of storage on supply if you wish to play video games, with 128GB of inside capability that may be expanded by an additional 1TB in case you match a microSD card. You additionally get NFC, Wi-Fi 5, GPS, and Bluetooth 5.1 capabilities, making the Moto a superb all rounder. 

Maybe one of many largest attracts right here, particularly at beneath £150, is the inclusion of 5G assist.

For probably the most half, the G34 5G was dependable and strong, if somewhat ponderous when requested to change between apps, however the digicam difficulty was a bit disappointing. 

Right here’s the way it fared in our normal set of benchmarks so you’ll be able to see the way it holds up in opposition to its closest rivals. 

Motorola Moto G34 5G benchmarks

Cameras & Video

• 50Mp f/1.8 primary digicam
• 2Mp f/2.4 macro digicam
• 1080p @ 30fps video

Cameras can typically be the place cheaper telephones fall down.

It’s an fascinating strategy then from Motorola, because it avoids the overkill issue that so many finances fashions have adopted just lately, with triple or quadruple lenses, and as an alternative retains issues good and easy.

Within the rear module, you’ll discover the principle 50Mp f/1.8 digicam, accompanied by the 2Mp f/2.4 macro. Now, admittedly, the latter is normally not value bothering with on most telephones, but it surely does enable for depth notion when utilizing the portrait mode, so its inclusion is justified. 

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The principle sensor makes use of pixel-binning to create photographs, whereby 4 pixels are blended into 1, making the ultimate picture 12.5Mp relatively than 50Mp. Once more, all completely acceptable and a method employed on most trendy gadgets now. 

Technical jargon apart, the Moto G34 5G can take good footage.

Give it some respectable mild and it’ll return strong photographs that may be greater than advantageous for social media. Colors can seem considerably oversaturated at occasions, however this may be solved by modifying or making use of a filter. There generally is a slight delay when it’s darker, and night time photographs (with or with out Night time Mode) are rather less spectacular, as digital noise creeps in. That being mentioned, it’s nonetheless very respectable general for a cellphone that prices as little because the G34 5G.

Portrait modes make a decent fist of blurring the background and choosing out foreground topics, though the digicam can have bother differentiating delicate edges (similar to hair) if the background is busy. This can lead to delicate edges that don’t look actual.

Selfies are taken by the 16Mp f/2.4 entrance dealing with digicam and are crisp, clear and advantageous for posting on Fb, Snapchat or your different social platform of alternative

Right here’s a gallery of digicam samples taken on the Moto G34 5G:

Video tops out at 1080p/30fps, so it’s not the very best high quality, however once more the theme with the Moto G34 5G is that all the things is sweet sufficient and by way of video this stays true. Focussing is correct and monitoring, as long as there’s a wholesome quantity of sunshine accessible, retains up with shifting topics. 

Battery Life & Charging

• 5000mAh battery
• 18W charging speeds
• Charger and cable included within the field

As I discovered with the Moto G13, the battery life on the G34 5G is nice. Within the two weeks of testing, I repeatedly ended the day with 30% of cost nonetheless accessible and extra on a number of events. This included utilizing the Moto as a navigation gadget in my automobile, with the display screen on for a few hours, in addition to listening to podcasts, checking social media and a little bit of internet browsing.

Clearly, in case you lock the refresh price at 120Hz and spend all day in vibrant daylight the place the auto brightness maxes out, then these numbers will lower. However throughout a number of typical days, the Moto by no means left me worrying about the place the charger was.

In the usual PCMark battery take a look at we run on all telephones (with brightness set to 200 nits), the G34 5G scored 12 hours and 42mins, which is fairly spectacular.  

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It must be famous that the place firms like Apple have lengthy since stopped supplying charger within the containers with its stupidly costly gadgets, Motorola has extra compassion for its prospects. The package deal features a 20W charger and USB-C cable within the field so that you’re good to go with no need anything.    

Placing the charger to make use of returns the absolutely discharged battery to 100% in round 1 hour and 50 minutes, which is fairly poor lately. That is regardless of Motorola calling it ‘TurboPower charging’. The cellphone truly attracts 18W of energy, not the total 20W of the equipped adapter.

For a fast top-up, the gadget reached 19% after quarter-hour and 37% at half-hour. At this value it’s hardly any shock that there’s no wi-fi or quick charging, so that you’ll wish to bear in mind to cost this in a single day.

Software program & Apps

• Android 14
• One assured Android improve
• Safety updates till 2027

Motorola has all the time been among the finest manufacturers for clear variations of Android.

That’s the case with the G34 5G, which options an virtually untouched model of the working system, with just a few instruments that allow you to customise themes, icons and stuff like that. There are a set of Moto apps that vary from security-based ones to digital detox, however they don’t take up a lot room and can seemingly be fairly helpful.

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The interface itself is easy and simple to familiarize yourself with, and you’ll determine whether or not to have software program navigation buttons on the backside of the display screen or use gestures as an alternative. Bloatware is saved to a minimal, with only some third-party apps pre-installed, all of which could be deleted. 

You get Android 14 with the Moto, and also you’re assured an improve to Android 15 when it launches. There’s additionally three years of safety updates, so the G34 5G will likely be usable till not less than 2027. 

Value & Availability

You should purchase the Moto G34 5G from Motorola within the UK for £149.99 or in mainland Europe for €179.99, but it surely received’t be launched within the US. On the time of writing, it wasn’t listed on Amazon, however with a lot of Motorola’s vary accessible from the retailer, it ought to solely be a matter of time.

If you need an excellent cheaper mannequin, the Moto G13 is a superb little cellphone and prices round £130, though you do miss out on 5G assist.

One other good possibility is the Xiaomi Poco M4 Professional, which retails for round £189, has quick charging and an AMOLED show, but in addition misses out on 5G.

To see the fashions we at the moment suggest on this sector of the market, try our greatest finances telephones and greatest finances Chinese language telephones roundups.

Do you have to purchase the Motorola Moto G34 5G?

Funds telephones can typically be an excercise in compromise and, to a sure extent, that’s true with the Motorola G34 5G.

For a really inexpensive value, you get a pleasant design, beneficiant storage (which is expandable), principally strong efficiency, and respectable cameras. There’s additionally a little bit of lag within the reponse occasions, stuttering efficiency, and the cameras aren’t actually as much as a lot when the lights drop.

Nevertheless, the intention right here appears to be ‘ok’, and the Moto is certainly that.

Want an affordable cellphone for WhatsApp, social media, listening to podcasts or music, plus some internet shopping? It’s all right here.

Desire a gadget to offer to the youngsters or an aged relative who needs a cellphone however doesn’t want bells and whistles? The Moto has you coated.

Is it the perfect cellphone round? No, clearly not.

Is it among the finest discount? Nicely, now, that’s a special story.

Specs

• Android 14
• 6.5-inch IPS LCD panel, 1600 x 720 decision, 20:9 side ratio, 120Hz refresh price
• Snapdragon 695 5G Cellular Platform with 2.2GHz octa-core Kryo 560 CPU, 840M Hz Adreno 619 GPU
• 4GB RAM (boosted by as much as 4GB of digital RAM)
• 128GB storage (expandable by as much as 1TB through microSD)
• 50Mp f/1.8 primary digicam
• 2Mp f/2.4 macro digicam
• 16Mp selfie digicam
• Fingerprint sensor in energy button
• Stereo audio system (together with cellphone speaker)
• 3.5mm headphone jack
• Bluetooth 5.1
• NFC
• GPS
• Wi-Fi 5
• USB-C (USB 2.0) charging port
• 5000mAh battery
• 20W charger (gadget able to 18W charging)
• 162.7 x 74.66 x 8.19mm
• 179g (181g vegan leather-based)