The latest moto g series phone from Motorola is always an interesting one. The line has become one of the companies most popular, offering great features at a great price. The moto g54 announced last month is their first 5G phone under $299, also bringing a large display, great camera with OIS and more.
The moto g54 5G comes in two style options, either a vegan leather option in Indigo Blue or a premium matte finish in Midnight Blue. Both look great, but Motorola have sent over the Indigo Blue model for review.
The sub-$300 market is a popular one, with a number of models available with great features. Does the moto g54 5G stack up? I spent three weeks with the phone and here’s how it went.
Design
When you pick up the moto g54 5G it’s a well balanced phone, sitting comfortably in your hand with the fingerprint sensor enabled power button resting on the right where your thumb is and the volume rocker just above. Though left handers may find this arrangement a little more difficult to use and may want to investigate the built-in Face Unlock.
The 6.5” display isn’t too tall, and the 20:9 aspect ratio makes it easy to hold as it’s not too thick. The phone has the usual bottom firing speaker which pairs with the earphone for stereo sound, and there’s a USB-C port at the bottom of the phone for data transfer and charging and yes, there’s a charger in the box. There’s a dual-SIM tray in the moto G54 5G, as well as room for a microSD card.
The rear of the phone is where you get the interesting vegan leather finish if you went for the Indigo Blue, or the matte polycarbonate feel if you go for the Midnight Blue. I’m usually a fan of the soft touch feel of vegan leather, but I feel the finish is a little subtle on the moto g54 5G, at least compared to the moto edge 40 I reviewed earlier this year.
The rest of the back of the phone is relatively clear except of course the familiar Motorola Batwing logo, and the camera island at the top left.
The camera island does make the phone a little rocky if you sit it on a desk, but the included TPU case surrounds and protects the phone, while also offering the benefit of evening out that camera bump. The phone has a ‘Water-repellent design’, so while it may be splashproof, the TPU case may give it that extra little bit you need if an accident happens.
Hardware
As with a number of their models, Motorola have opted to use a Mediatek processor with an octa-core Dimensity 7020 processor powering the phone with 8GB RAM and 128GB of on-board storage out of the box, but a microSD card slot supporting up to 1TB cards if you need more space.
The combination is quite powerful, with very few issues when it comes to performance. You can load apps and games without freezing, though multi-tasking can be a little slow if you’re running a lot of apps. Of course I ran the moto g54 through 3DMark and Geekbench, and here’s how it went.
Of course there’s great connectivity options including Bluetooth 5.3, dual-band Wi-Fi and all the GPS services you can shake a stick at. The highlight of the moto g54 5G is of course the 5G connectivity under $300. You get good 5G speeds while you’re out and about – or at least I did using my Boost SIM.
Display and Audio
There’s a big 6.5” IPS LCD display which offers a responsive 120Hz refresh rate, a great find on a phone in this price range. The refresh rate is set to auto by default, with the phone choosing between 60Hz/120Hz as required. You can force it onto 120Hz, though this will affect your battery life. I found the auto to be quite a good compromise between performance and quality, with smooth scrolling and gaming when required.
The display can also be tuned for colour, with a choice between natural and saturated, as well as letting you manually adjust the colour temperature if you like.
Motorola has used a FullHD+ resolution for the moto g54 5G, which is great for watching media on the go. It’s also decently bright, so you can see the display even in full sunlight.
To pair with the display are the speakers with the bottom firing speaker pairing with the earphone offering stereo sound with Dolby Atmos. The Atmos support gives you a boost in quality as well as giving you surround with Moto Spatial Sound.
The quality of sound isn’t fantastic, but it’s also better than you’d expect from a phone speaker. There’s a very good mid-range sound from the speakers, with a decent low-end, though it’s not going to be thumping out powerful, earth moving bass any time soon.
There is the bonus of a 3.5mm headphone jack on the bottom of the phone, to plug your good old wired headphones in when you need to – unfortunately there isn’t a headset in the box, but you’re able to use your own.
Battery and Charging
Like many of the phones in Motorola’s range, there’s a large 5,000mAh battery included in the moto g54 which promises long battery life. There’s a 20W charger included in the box, but the phone only supports 15W charging and there’s no wireless charging support.
For battery use you’ll get a good day of use out of it, and if you’re not a heavy phone user you can definitely push into the second day before needing a charge.
Once you need a charge, the phone isn’t the fastest. I did a few tests from 0% to full and here’s how it went:
- 5 minutes – 5%
- 15 minutes – 15%
- 30 minutes – 31%
- 60 minutes – 62%
- 90 minutes – 89%
- 120 minutes – 100%
At this end of the market, fast charging isn’t a guarantee and you do get the charger in the box which is unfortunately a ‘Bonus’ these days. It’d be nice to get faster charging, but you may want to do so overnight.
Camera
The moto g54 5G includes a fairly decent set up for a sub-$299 phone. There’s a 50MP main sensor on the rear with Optical Image Stabilisation (OIS) for more steady shots and a 2MP macro sensor on the rear. For selfie fans there’s a 16MP selfie camera located in a punch hole notch in the display.
The 50MP main sensor can capture great shots in good light aided by the Optical Image Stabilisation (OIS), with a fairly decent capture under low-light conditions as well. During the day, the 50MP sensor captures great colours and details.
In low light you get some good quality shots from the 50MP sensor, thanks to that OIS allowing for long exposure times. The sensor doesn’t quite like extreme low-light conditions, but it does offer some decent captures.
The 2MP macro sensor is, well, it’s there. I’ve never been a huge fan of macro sensors, preferring a good ultrawide, or even a basic 2x optical telephoto. Still it takes a decent image in up close conditions.
The selfie camera can capture a pretty good shot. One interesting feature is the Face Retouch which Motorola says ‘can automatically enhance photos, so you and your friends are always camera-ready’. I’ve amped up all the settings in this comparison shot, with one original and the other utilising the various options including a slimmer face, larger eyes, slimmer nose and different tones for colouring.
Software
The moto g54 comes running Android 13 with the Motorola myUX skin over the top and running the August 1st security patch.
I was disappointed initially to find the phone on the August security update with no OTA update available. However as I was prepping the review to publish, the October 1st security update came through, so we’re up to date.
There will be an update to Android 14 which was recently released, though this is the only OS update that Motorola have promised which is hugely disappointing.
The Motorola myUX software overlay is one of the more understated Android skins available, with very little distinguishing it from stock Android. There’s the usual great gestures like twisting your wrist to open the camera, or chopping down twice to quickly turn on the flashlight.
There are some pre-installed Motorola apps such as the ‘Moto’ app, formerly ‘MyMoto’ which is where you can learn more about the phone, including being guided through theming, as well as learning new tips and tricks about your phone.
There’s also the Family Space app for setting up family friendly spaces so you can hand the phone off to your kids without them going through your data, or the Moto Secure app for controlling all your secure settings, including offering a locked folder to store private things in.
In terms of third party apps and utilities installed, there are a few. You get the Dolby Atmos utility for spatial audio, as well as an FM Radio app (Great for using inside a stadium to listen to the commentary). You will also see the phone attempt to install a number of Google apps at first login, as well as TikTok, Booking.com and LinkedIn apps, though you can choose to uninstall them to save space, or just take back your phone if you choose.
Should you buy it?
The moto g54 5G offers an affordable, well performing handset with 5G support, good camera system and that 120Hz refresh rate on the display.
Of course it isn’t all sunshine and roses. The rear camera could do with an ultrawide sensor to replace that 2MP Depth Sensor. The Charging speeds could be better and of course the Software Update situation with only a single OS update is very disappointing.
With all that in mind, the moto g54 5G offers a good balance of features and pricing for most people. There will always be more features to add, but as it stands the moto g54 5G will deliver what you want, at the right price.
You can check out the moto g g54 5G for $299 RRP instore at JB HiFi, Harvey Norman, Office Works, The Good Guys, Big W and Bing Lee, or online from Amazon and Motorola.com.au.
