Motorola has been slowly adding low-cost 5G smartphones to its G series over the past year. We recently tested the Moto G51 and were very pleased with its performance. Motorola has now launched the Moto G71 5G, which is the first smartphone to use the new Snapdragon 695 SoC in India and also boasts a 50-megapixel primary rear camera. So is the new Moto G71 5G a reliable option or should you consider alternatives? I put this smartphone to the test to find out.
Moto G71 5G price in India
The Moto G71 5G available in a single configuration, with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. It is priced at Rs. 18,999 in India and sold exclusively on Flipkart. You can choose between two color options: Neptune Green and Artic Blue. I had someone before with me to review this.
Design Moto G71 5G
The Moto G71 5G is smaller than most other smartphones in this segment. In addition to its compactness, Motorola Attention has been paid to ergonomics and curved edges that make this smartphone comfortable in the hand. The Moto G71 5G has a 6.4-inch screen with a camera hole and thin bezels on the sides. This makes it easy to use the phone with one hand, although you still can’t easily reach the top of the screen.
Motorola used plastic for the frame of the Moto G71 5G, but it doesn’t come cheap. However, the right side feels a bit cluttered with four buttons stacked close together, while you only have the SIM tray on the left. The power button has a textured finish that can be easily distinguished based on touch alone. However, by the time you put the provided box in, you may have trouble finding the right button without looking. The volume buttons are located directly above and are easily accessible. They provide nice, engaging feedback. Further down is the Google Assistant button, it would be better if it was on the left side, for convenience. In your current position, you’ll need to stretch your fingers to reach it.
Moto G71 5G has a sharp AMOLED screen with a camera hole
Unlike most smartphones these days with side-mounted fingerprint scanners, Motorola has gone old-school with a capacitive fingerprint scanner on the back. It is well positioned and my fingers rest on it naturally when holding the device. Also, the back of the Moto G71 5G has a camera module, which protrudes only slightly from some of the other phones I’ve tested recently. The back has a glossy finish and it picks up fingerprints and smudges quite easily. You can use case out of the box to avoid this.
The 3.5mm headphone jack, main microphone, and USB Type-C port are on the bottom of the Moto G71 5G, along with the speakerphone. At the top, it has only one secondary microphone. The phone has a waterproof design and weighs 179g, which is manageable.
Moto G71 5G specifications and software
Motorola has taken a slightly different hardware approach with the Moto G71 5G. It has a 6.4-inch AMOLED display with full-HD+ resolution, scratch-resistant glass, and a standard 60Hz refresh rate. You can find smartphones like Realme 8s 5G (Review) and Moto G51 (Review) have higher refresh rates, but these phones don’t have AMOLED panels.
The Moto G71 5G is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 695, making it the first smartphone in India with this SoC. This octa-core chip is clocked at 2.2GHz and has 6GB of RAM. The G71 5G also has a RAM boost feature, which specifies 1.5GB of memory to be used as RAM, and the feature is enabled by default.
It has a 5,000mAh battery and supports 33W . fast charging
Moto G71 5G supports 13 5G bands, which is the highest number in this price range in India currently. It also supports 4G VoLTE, Bluetooth 5, NFC, dual-band Wi-Fi and six satellite navigation systems. It has a 5,000mAh battery and you get a 33W TurboPower charger in the box.
Motorola ships Moto G71 5G in stock Android 11and my unit got the December Android security patch. It is also expected to receive an update for Android 12, although progress for this implementation is yet to be confirmed. Customizing MyUX running on top is unobtrusive and those who prefer stock Android will still find themselves at home.
There are some useful additions like Moto Actions that allow you to perform certain actions with gestures. Older features include double gesture to turn on flash and flip to mute. Moto’s Gametime app lets you quickly mute incoming notifications and turn off auto-brightness during gameplay. Motorola’s smartphones have long been bloat-free and often come with Google apps pre-installed. However, the Moto G71 5G comes with Cred and Facebook, which thankfully can be dropped.
Moto G71 5G performance and battery life
The Moto G71 5G delivers speedy performance. The phone loads quickly with apps and games, and with 6GB of RAM, I can multitask between them with ease. However, I did notice unusual lag in the camera viewfinder when the battery level dropped below 15 percent, even without power saving mode on. This small irregularity aside, the Moto G71 5G did not disappoint. The rear-mounted fingerprint scanner is very accurate and requires only a single attempt to unlock the smartphone. Facial recognition is also consistent. I enjoyed watching videos on the AMOLED screen because it has good viewing angles and is bright enough even outdoors.
Since the Moto G71 5G is the first smartphone in India to use the Qualcomm Snapdragon 695 SoC, I was curious to see how it compares to the competition. In the AnTuTu benchmark, the Moto G71 5G achieved 3,78,268 points, higher than what MediaTek Dimensity 810 offers. Redmi Note 11T 5G (Review) be managed. The Moto G71 5G scored 668 and 1,900 points in Geekbench 5’s single-core and multi-core tests, respectively. It also hit 60 fps and 18 fps in the T-Rex and multi-core tests, respectively. GFXBench’s Car Chase respectively, and 4,159 in 3DMark’s Sling Shot test.
The triple camera module on the Moto G71 5G does not protrude much
I played Battlegrounds Mobile India (BGMI) on Moto G71 5G and it defaulted to ‘HD’ graphics and ‘High’ frame rate. The game is playable at these settings without any problems. After about 33 minutes, I observed a six percent drop in battery level, which is tolerable. The phone was not warm to the touch after this gaming session.
I got about a day and a half of the Moto G71 5G’s battery life, and the average user can get more out of it. For heavy users, the phone should be able to provide a day of use. In our HD video loop test, the G71 5G ran for 17 hours and 58 minutes, which is relatively good with a 5,000mAh battery. Motorola included a 33W charger in the box that charges this phone quickly. It managed to take the phone from 0 to 54% in 30 minutes and about 91% in an hour.
Camera Moto G71 5G
The Moto G71 5G has a triple camera setup that includes a 50-megapixel main camera with f/1.8 aperture, an 8-megapixel ultra-wide-angle camera with a 118-degree field of view, and a 2-megapixel macro camera. For selfies, it has a 16-megapixel front camera. Motorola’s camera app is simple and easy to use. The most commonly used photo and video modes are front and center, while the others are hidden under the menu. The phone also remembers the most recent shooting mode, making it convenient for you to start over. Aside from the laggy viewfinder I mentioned before, I had no other issues with the camera app.
The Moto G71 5G quickly locks focus and exposure. The phone saves photos at 12.5 megapixels by default. Daytime shots have good detail and subjects at a distance are recognizable. However, dynamic range is strictly average, so capturing bright scenes results in some bright highlights. Photos taken with the ultra-wide-angle camera have less detail than the photos taken and appear to be warped at the edges of the frame.
Moto G71 5G daytime camera model. Top to bottom: standard, super wide (tap to see full size)
Close-ups are sharp and colors are quite accurate. The phone also adds a gentle blur to the background thanks to its wide aperture, which helps the subject stand out. The camera UI will suggest switching to the macro camera when you’re close enough to the subject. Macro shots are not detailed, but the camera allows you to get very close to the subject. Subjects taken in Portrait mode had good edge detection, and I was able to set the level of blur before shooting.
Camera samples of Moto G71 5G. Top to bottom: close-ups, macros, and portraits (tap to see full size)
Camera performance in low light is average. Photos are not detailed and enlarging them will cause a lot of grain to appear. With Night mode on, the phone takes about four to five seconds per shot. The output is too bright and this makes a huge difference, especially in shadow areas. However, the artifact process is visible on closer inspection.
Moto G71 5G low-light camera model. Top: standard, bottom: Night mode (tap to see full size)
Selfies taken with the Moto G71 5G are sharp, and portraits have a good background blur effect. Low-light selfies are good enough to post on social media.
Moto G71 5G selfie camera samples. Top: daylight selfie portrait, bottom: low light selfie (tap to see full size)
Video recording tops out at 1080p for the main camera as well as the selfie camera. This phone only has electronic image stabilization (EIS) and it is enabled by default. Footage when walking around has very slight shimmer during the day and this is amplified in low light.
Identify
The extra Rs. The 20,000 smartphone market is slowly seeing an increase in 5G-enabled smartphones from every manufacturer. The Moto G71 5G is a capable model in this price segment and one that you should definitely consider for your next purchase. It has a good processor, good battery life with fast charging, and a good camera. The Moto G71 5G will especially appeal to those who prefer a no-frills design and a classic software experience.
Camera performance in low light is one of the areas where the Moto G71 5G can’t be the best. If you are looking for alternatives in this price range, Redmi Note 11T 5G (Review), Realme 8s 5G (Review), and iQoo Z3 (Review) is also worth a look.
