Motorola Moto G64 5G Review
The Motorola Moto G64 merely sees some refinements over its predecessor; it’s not a generational upgrade. However, that doesn’t detract from the fact that it is still a solid value-for-money smartphone. The Moto G64 is an ideal phone for camera enthusiasts. The 50 MP OIS-enabled primary camera is one of the best, if not the best, under ₹15,000. Add to that ludicrously long-lasting battery life, and camera lovers have themselves an amazing option to snap photos of their best moments. However, the display needs an upgrade – an IPS LCD display with only 460 nits of tested brightness doesn’t cut it in 2024.
Motorola has carved a solid space for itself in India’s cutthroat budget smartphone market by focusing on providing an elevated experience at an inexpensive price. One of the company’s latest entrants in the budget smartphone realm is the Motorola Moto G64 – the successor to the popular Moto G54 (review) from last year. The Moto G64 improves on a handful of specifications here and there, but this is not one would deem as a generational upgrade.
It faces tough competition from the likes of the Realme P1 (review) and POCO X6 Neo (review) as well. So, can the Motorola Moto G64 make its way into the Indian consumer’s consciousness, or will it get lost in the crowd? Let’s find out in my detailed Motorola Moto G64 review.
The Motorola Moto G64 is priced at ₹14,999 for the 8+128 GB variant. The 12+256 variant, on the other hand, retails at ₹16,999. With bank or exchange offers, you can avail a ₹1,000 discount bringing down the price to ₹13,999 for the base variant and ₹15,999 for the 12+256 GB variant. The phone is available in three colours – Mint Green, Pearl Blue, and Ice Lilac. The phone is available for purchase on Flipkart, motorola.in, and retail stores in India.
The Motorola G64 sports a similar design to its predecessor. The PMMA construction feels robust while having a touch of elegance because of its glass-like appearance. At 8.9 mm, it is not the slimmest phone at this price, but Motorola has still managed to keep the weight in check at just 192 g. That’s not an easy feat for a phone with a colossal 6,000 mAh battery, so props to Motorola here.
The colours on the new Motorola G64 are refreshing; the Mint Green, Pearl Blue, and Ice Lilac colour variants look fresh and premium. The metallic texture of the camera module also adds to the appeal. Additionally, the rear panel does a great job of resisting fingerprints, keeping its appearance pristine. The buttons, however, feel quite mushy; it’s similar to the issue I had with the Moto G54.
The phone also packs dual stereo speakers with Dolby Atmos support and IP52 dust and water resistance. I think it’s high time Motorola starts offering at least an IP54 or IP55 rating since some of its competition has caught up and surpassed it in this regard. So, the Motorola Moto G64 doesn’t have any major build and design changes, but the addition of some design flourishes has breathed new life into the budget G series.
My gripe with the budget Motorola G series’ displays continues. The Motorola Moto G64 has the exact same display as its predecessor which was subpar in 2023, so naturally, it is even worse in 2024. This is a 6.5-inch IPS LCD screen with Full HD+ resolution and 120 Hz refresh rate. Content viewed on the display looks crisp and the phone feels fluid because of the high refresh rate, but the colours aren’t very accurate.
Moreover, the brightness levels are very low by 2024 standards. With auto-brightness turned on, I only got a reading of 464 nits under bright sunlight which negatively impacts readability. The viewing angles are also subpar. The display comes with Widevine L1 and HDR support, but you can only watch HDR content on YouTube; Netflix and Amazon Prime Video don’t support HDR on this phone yet.
The Moto G64 houses an upgraded MediaTek Dimensity 7025 SoC with an improved maximum clock speed of 2.5 GHz. This is complemented by 8/12 GB of LPDDR4X RAM and 128/256 GB of UFS 2.2 storage. This is one of the most powerful processors at this price point, so there were minimal performance hiccups in my testing. Day-to-day operations were smooth and multitasking was seamless.
In synthetic benchmarks, the Moto G64 brawled against the Realme P1 with each throwing punches and beating the other in different benchmarks. The Moto G64 scored 5,00,558 in AnTuTu v10, which was lower than the Realme P1’s stellar 600K+ score but it did comfortably beat out the POCO X6 Neo. In GeekBench, the Moto G64 proved to be superior to the Realme P1 and POCO X6 Neo, in both Single Core and Multi Core tests. The same results prevailed in PCMark Work as well showing the Moto G64’s processing power.
However, in GPU benchmarks, the Realme P1 had a stronger showing in every single test. Nevertheless, the Motorola G64 still managed to put out some impressive scores that had the POCO X6 Neo beat. In real-world scenarios, I found that the Realme P1 is a much more reliable gaming phone. The Moto G64 faced random lag and stutters when playing BGMI or Call of Duty: Mobile for more than 15 minutes at Medium graphics which was not the case on the Realme P1.
Gaming performance aside, this is a solid performer though. Moto’s MyUX software is one of the cleanest on the block. However, software updates are a problem. Until a few weeks ago, the Moto G54 was still running Android 13, so it is very slow to get the latest updates. Additionally, you only get one year of OS updates on the Moto G64 – so you will only get Android 15 on this device and that’s where the road ends. You do get three years of security updates though.
If you’re looking for a versatile camera system on a budget, the Motorola Moto G64 is one of your best bets. While others in the same price range shy away from offering perks such as OIS and useful secondary cameras, the Moto G64 flips the script on its head. It features a 50 MP primary camera with OIS and an 8 MP ultrawide shooter with Auto Focus that also allows it to double as a macro camera. The phone has a 16 MP front camera for selfies. However, video recording is capped at 1080p at 60 fps.
In ideal lighting conditions, the Moto G64’s primary shooter does a commendable job. It clicks sharp photos with natural colours and excellent dynamic range. Close-up photos, however, come out a bit soft at times – especially if the object is moving because the shutter speed is a bit sluggish. So, close-up shots are a bit of a hit-or-miss. That aside, this camera is near perfection for the price.
Portrait photos look like they’ve been clicked on a mid-range phone! The skin tones are on point, the detail levels are good, and the edge detection is brilliant. Very impressive stuff from Motorola here. Low-light photos also have good clarity and colours, however, there is some noise in the skies in a couple of shots.
As for the 8 MP ultrawide shooter, it clicks decent pictures in daylight but the shadows do get slightly crushed. Still, the pictures look impressive for a phone at this price. You can also click macro shots which look solid due to the addition of autofocus.
The Motorola Moto G64 has exceptional battery life. The phone draws power from a massive 6,000 mAh cell that lasts a good two days with ease, even with heavy usage. The Dimensity 7025 is slightly more power efficient than the 7020, meaning it outperforms last year’s Moto G54 when it comes to endurance. You also get support for 30 W fast charging, and there’s a 33 W fast charger provided in the retail box.
In our 4K video loop test on VLC, the Motorola G64 played 4K videos on loop for a whopping 19 hours. The phone lost only 3 per cent battery when playing Netflix videos for half an hour. If you’re a light user, you may even be able to squeeze three days of usage out of the Moto G64 without having to reach for the charger!
The Motorola Moto G64 merely sees some refinements over its predecessor; it’s not a generational upgrade. However, that doesn’t detract from the fact that it is still a solid value-for-money smartphone. The Moto G64 is an ideal phone for camera enthusiasts. The 50 MP OIS-enabled primary camera is one of the best, if not the best, under ₹15,000. Add to that ludicrously long-lasting battery life, and camera lovers have themselves an amazing option to snap photos of their best moments.
However, the display needs an upgrade – an IPS LCD display with only 460 nits of tested brightness doesn’t cut it in 2024. Moreover, Motorola needs to improve its software update policy and make it more regular. As a whole though, the Motorola G64 impressed me with its stellar camera and dependable performance. If you want a phone with a brighter AMOLED display, you could consider the Realme P1 instead.
