Moto G7 review - The best budget phone we've tried, hands down

The Motorola Moto G 7 is a budget-friendly smartphone that boasts a sleek design and impressive features. One of the standout features of this phone is its Gorilla Glass 3 protection on both the front and back, which makes it resistant to scratches and cracks. However, despite this protective layer, the phone's design does make it prone to smudges and fingerprints, making it look like it was plucked straight from a crime scene.

The Moto G 7's design is quite appealing, aside from the Motorola logo in the bottom left corner of the screen. The phone features an IP54 rating for water and dust resistance, which means it can withstand a little spritz of water but not being submerged underwater. The phone also has a headphone jack, but unfortunately, it's located in a USB-C port, which may be a drawback for some users.

The Moto G 7's dual rear cameras are a major highlight of the device, featuring a 12-megapixel main camera and a 5-megapixel depth camera. The 6.2-inch screen is massive compared to the 5.7-inch screen on its predecessor, the Moto G 6. While it may not offer a revolutionary viewing experience, the display has nice contrast and looks good in most situations. However, the corners of the screen are more pronounced than those on the Moto G 6, which can sometimes cause apps to fill the bottom two corners of the screen.

The phone runs Android 9 Pie with light customizations, providing a straightforward and simple user experience. This is one of the standout features of the Moto G 7, as many budget smartphones often come with heavy skins or bloatware that can slow down performance. The phone also comes with various shortcuts, including the ability to twist your wrist twice to open the camera, which is a personal favorite feature.

In terms of performance, the Snapdragon 632 processor makes the Moto G 7 significantly faster than its predecessor, the Moto G 6. This means that users can enjoy smooth performance and minimal lag or stuttering when using everyday apps and games. The phone also handles graphics well, particularly in games like Altos Odyssey, which impressed with its smooth performance.

The Moto G 7's battery life is another notable feature of the device. It lasted three hours longer than the Moto G 6 in our tests, despite not having wireless charging. However, the phone does come with turbo charging capabilities at the end of the day. Overall, these features make the Motorola Moto G 7 a compelling option for those looking for a budget-friendly smartphone.

One interesting feature of the Moto G 7 is its camera performance, particularly when using the Google Camera APK app, also known as g/km, which is essentially the camera app on the Pixel 3. When loaded onto the phone, the results are significantly improved, with more detail, dynamic range, and better color. This takes the Moto G 7's camera from a solid C- to a B+, making it a worthwhile upgrade for photography enthusiasts.

The selfie camera is also notable, featuring a fun auto-smile setting that can capture smiles up to five people in the frame. Additionally, there is a portrait mode on the selfie camera, which yielded decent results. Overall, the Moto G 7's camera experience is solid, particularly when using the Google Camera APK app.

In conclusion, the Motorola Moto G 7 is a budget-friendly smartphone that offers a range of impressive features and a sleek design. With its Gorilla Glass protection, dual cameras, excellent battery life, and near-stock Android experience, this phone is well worth considering for those looking for an affordable option without sacrificing too much in terms of performance or features.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enhey it is easy to be lured by flagship phones like the iPhone 10s the Galaxy S 10 and the pixel three each one has cutting-edge design a bounty of features but they also come with a hefty price for example the pixel three starts out at eight hundred dollars the galaxy s 10 nine hundred dollars in the iPhone ten starts out at $1000 $1000 that's a lot of money okay hey Apple and Samsung do have more value oriented flagships like the Galaxy S 10 II and the iPhone 10 are but those are still 750 dollars that is why it is undoubtedly impressive that the Moto G 7 only costs $300 $300 it offers the best balance of price design and features pretty much of any phone you can get today at $300 the Moto g7 costs $50 more than last year's moto g6 and yes that is a significant price increase but I kind of think it's worth it for the improvements you get and not to mention this phone will be discounted in fact there's a couple websites now that offer some discounts on the Moto g7 when I first saw the Moto g7 I was taken by its dapper design there's a modern sleek vibe to it all now where this differs from the Moto G 6 is kind of two main areas one is you have this dewdrop notch in the top here and on the back there's the fingerprint reader which is peppy and fast also I kind of like how Motorola put their logo in there I think it's pretty cute so there is Gorilla Glass 3 on the front and back of this phone and it makes this thing look maybe but this phone deserves an award for the phone that it's easiest to smudge because this thing right now looks like it came out of an episode of CSI or Law & Order or NCIS you get the idea Chicago PD Dick Wolf sungchung crime scene get it let's move on hey overall the design of the Moto G 7 is quite appealing aside from the Motorola name here in the bottom touch but they did add IP 54 water and dust resistance so that's good now you can't submerge this phone underwater but you can't get a little spritz on it so better than nothing the Moto G 7 also has a headphone jack in a USB C port there's a single speaker on the bottom which was serviceable but sounded sometimes tinny there are dual rear cameras a 12 megapixel main camera and a 5 megapixel depth camera the 6.2 inch screen seems gigantic compared to the 5.7 inch screen on the Moto G 6 what is bonkers is that Motorola was able to add so much more screen real estate without making the body much bigger the display has nice contrast and looks good in most situations it definitely won't wow you when you compare it to screens on mid-range or premium phones the corners on the screen are much more pronounced than the tiny ones on the Moto G 6 and while most apps adapt to them sometimes like when I played pub beat the gang would fill the bottom two corners of the display but have a black bar across the top it's a little odd and if you're sensitive about such things it will drive you nuts the Moto G 7 runs Android 9 Pi with light customizations overall the experience is simple and straightforward and that's what makes the Moto G 7 so appealing that end well all the cool shortcuts motorola adds to the phone twist your wrist twice to open the camera which is my favorite way to open a camera on any phone you lay the phone facedown to trigger do not disturb mode there's one button nav which adds a small bar in the bottom of the screen that you can tap hold or swipe to trigger different actions there's also an always-on screen you just hover your hand over the display to see the time the combo here is not going to compete with the likes of the pixel 3 or the iPhone 10s or even something like the 1 + 16 the Moto G sevens camera experience is basically a C - and that is not a knock for $300 I get portrait mode slow-motion video in 4k video and the photo image quality is decent that's pretty impressive portrait mode has a nice realistic looking background blur though shots can feel a bit soft photos taken in low-light appear very painterly with all the noise correction the mother-to-be 7 applies if you're big on using your phone and shoot video the d7 might not be for you and good light videos looked okay but suffered from a limited dynamic range if you want to record a fun moment with friends or something adorable your child does this phone is more than capable but here is an interesting wrinkle if you're savvy enough to load the Google camera apk also known as g/km which is essentially the camera app on the pixel 3 you will be rewarded the results are I openin photos taken with a Google camera app on the Moto G 7 have more detail dynamic range and better color they're still not as good as the pixel 3 but using this app takes the Moto G 7 camera from C - to a solid B the selfie camera is good and has a fun auto smile setting where I won't take the photos to everyone in the frame smiles up to 5 people there is also a portrait mode on the selfie camera and it yielded decent results the Snapdragon 632 processor makes the Moto d7 much faster than the Moto G 6 in everyday use I never noticed any lags or animation stutters or apps having problems opening it just worked I played a few games in the Moto G 7 including Altos Odyssey and pub G in low quality mode I was impressed with how well the phone handled the graphics of Altos Odyssey and the fact that after playing about an hour's worth of pub G that the phone was barely warm the Moto G sevens battery lasted three hours longer than the Moto G 6 did in our tests even though it doesn't have wireless charging the Moto G 7 has turbo charging at the end of the day the motorola moto G 7 has a slick design decent dual cameras excellent battery life and runs a near stocks version of Android 9 PI all of which make this budget phone worth every pennyhey it is easy to be lured by flagship phones like the iPhone 10s the Galaxy S 10 and the pixel three each one has cutting-edge design a bounty of features but they also come with a hefty price for example the pixel three starts out at eight hundred dollars the galaxy s 10 nine hundred dollars in the iPhone ten starts out at $1000 $1000 that's a lot of money okay hey Apple and Samsung do have more value oriented flagships like the Galaxy S 10 II and the iPhone 10 are but those are still 750 dollars that is why it is undoubtedly impressive that the Moto G 7 only costs $300 $300 it offers the best balance of price design and features pretty much of any phone you can get today at $300 the Moto g7 costs $50 more than last year's moto g6 and yes that is a significant price increase but I kind of think it's worth it for the improvements you get and not to mention this phone will be discounted in fact there's a couple websites now that offer some discounts on the Moto g7 when I first saw the Moto g7 I was taken by its dapper design there's a modern sleek vibe to it all now where this differs from the Moto G 6 is kind of two main areas one is you have this dewdrop notch in the top here and on the back there's the fingerprint reader which is peppy and fast also I kind of like how Motorola put their logo in there I think it's pretty cute so there is Gorilla Glass 3 on the front and back of this phone and it makes this thing look maybe but this phone deserves an award for the phone that it's easiest to smudge because this thing right now looks like it came out of an episode of CSI or Law & Order or NCIS you get the idea Chicago PD Dick Wolf sungchung crime scene get it let's move on hey overall the design of the Moto G 7 is quite appealing aside from the Motorola name here in the bottom touch but they did add IP 54 water and dust resistance so that's good now you can't submerge this phone underwater but you can't get a little spritz on it so better than nothing the Moto G 7 also has a headphone jack in a USB C port there's a single speaker on the bottom which was serviceable but sounded sometimes tinny there are dual rear cameras a 12 megapixel main camera and a 5 megapixel depth camera the 6.2 inch screen seems gigantic compared to the 5.7 inch screen on the Moto G 6 what is bonkers is that Motorola was able to add so much more screen real estate without making the body much bigger the display has nice contrast and looks good in most situations it definitely won't wow you when you compare it to screens on mid-range or premium phones the corners on the screen are much more pronounced than the tiny ones on the Moto G 6 and while most apps adapt to them sometimes like when I played pub beat the gang would fill the bottom two corners of the display but have a black bar across the top it's a little odd and if you're sensitive about such things it will drive you nuts the Moto G 7 runs Android 9 Pi with light customizations overall the experience is simple and straightforward and that's what makes the Moto G 7 so appealing that end well all the cool shortcuts motorola adds to the phone twist your wrist twice to open the camera which is my favorite way to open a camera on any phone you lay the phone facedown to trigger do not disturb mode there's one button nav which adds a small bar in the bottom of the screen that you can tap hold or swipe to trigger different actions there's also an always-on screen you just hover your hand over the display to see the time the combo here is not going to compete with the likes of the pixel 3 or the iPhone 10s or even something like the 1 + 16 the Moto G sevens camera experience is basically a C - and that is not a knock for $300 I get portrait mode slow-motion video in 4k video and the photo image quality is decent that's pretty impressive portrait mode has a nice realistic looking background blur though shots can feel a bit soft photos taken in low-light appear very painterly with all the noise correction the mother-to-be 7 applies if you're big on using your phone and shoot video the d7 might not be for you and good light videos looked okay but suffered from a limited dynamic range if you want to record a fun moment with friends or something adorable your child does this phone is more than capable but here is an interesting wrinkle if you're savvy enough to load the Google camera apk also known as g/km which is essentially the camera app on the pixel 3 you will be rewarded the results are I openin photos taken with a Google camera app on the Moto G 7 have more detail dynamic range and better color they're still not as good as the pixel 3 but using this app takes the Moto G 7 camera from C - to a solid B the selfie camera is good and has a fun auto smile setting where I won't take the photos to everyone in the frame smiles up to 5 people there is also a portrait mode on the selfie camera and it yielded decent results the Snapdragon 632 processor makes the Moto d7 much faster than the Moto G 6 in everyday use I never noticed any lags or animation stutters or apps having problems opening it just worked I played a few games in the Moto G 7 including Altos Odyssey and pub G in low quality mode I was impressed with how well the phone handled the graphics of Altos Odyssey and the fact that after playing about an hour's worth of pub G that the phone was barely warm the Moto G sevens battery lasted three hours longer than the Moto G 6 did in our tests even though it doesn't have wireless charging the Moto G 7 has turbo charging at the end of the day the motorola moto G 7 has a slick design decent dual cameras excellent battery life and runs a near stocks version of Android 9 PI all of which make this budget phone worth every penny\n"