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The Moto G8 could be the best new smartphone for under $200

moto g8
© Motorola

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The Moto series from Lenovo's subsidiary Motorola is characterized by comparatively low prices. With the new Moto G8, Motorola is updating its G-series with some current features. The Moto G8 comes with a triple camera and a Snapdragon 665 processor.

For a price of around €200, buyers of the Moto G8 also get a 4,000 mAh battery and Quick Charge technology. At the same time, Motorola is providing the new smartphone with a 10-watt quick charger, which at least allows it to recharge more quickly than with a conventional power supply unit. Android 10 is pre-installed at the factory, and the Moto G8 again comes with some exclusive software gimmicks, such as the hugely popular Moto Actions. These allow for extra gesture controls, such as taking a screenshot with three fingers or muting the phone by flipping it over, as well as the Google Assistant for processing voice commands. Google Lens also analyzes objects and spits out information in real-time. 

Processor, memory, and storage

For the low price, Motorola delivers only the small storage space of 64GB. However, this can be expanded by up to 512GB using a microSD card. Motorola's processor is the 11 nm chip Snapdragon 665, which was designed by Qualcomm in early 2019 primarily to improve AI processes. The Moto G8 is supposed to profit in the area of the camera, especially, from the middle-class chip. It consists of eight cores and clocks between 1.8 GHz and 2 GHz. There is no 5G for the chip, but the Snapdragon 665 supports LTE mobile communications with up to 600 Mbps download and 150 Mbps upload. Internally, 4GB of RAM is available for computing operations.

Display and design

The Moto G8 fits into the current conventional smartphone design. It's made of glass and iridescent color reflexes are used on the back. The camera is installed vertically on the upper left. As is typical for Moto, and the "M" in the fingerprint sensor is located in the middle. A punch-hole display catches the eye at the front, which has relatively thin bezels at the upper edge. The telephone receiver is integrated into the frame at the top. Motorola doesn't manage to keep the frame as narrow at the bottom. The display has a screen diagonal of 6.4 inches. Motorola calls this its "Max-Vision" display. The resolution of 1,560 x 720 pixels is only HD+. So, you can make considerable concessions on the IPS display for the price. The Moto G8 weighs 188 grams and is available in blue or white.

Triple camera with laser autofocus

Especially the camera is a sales argument for Motorola at the G8. Lenovo's subsidiary uses three lenses here:

  • 16-megapixel skin camera (ƒ/1.7, 1.12 µm)
  • 2-megapixel macro camera (ƒ/2.2, 1.75 µm) minimum focus distance 2 cm
  • 8 MP (ƒ/2.2, 1.12 µm) 118-degree ultra-wide-angle sensor
  • Plus a laser autofocus
Motorola moto g8 Blau 14
Macro and wide-angle shots are possible with the Moto G8. / © Motorola

 

With the Moto G8, you can create and save photos in RAW format. In addition to numerous photo gimmicks such as the Bokeh effect or Auto Smile Shutter, Google Lens is also used as an assistant. On the front, the 8-megapixel selfie camera (ƒ/2.0, 1.12 µm) takes pictures and comes complete with beauty mode, group selfie mode or gesture-selfie option.

Availability and price

The Moto G8 is now available exclusively through Amazon at a price of €199.99

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  • 1
    KornHans Apr 24, 2020 Link to comment

    Realme 6i Vs Moto G8?


  • 20
    Reg Joo Mar 7, 2020 Link to comment

    Spec sheet. Was looking if nfc was included, would make it a best buy if there.

    Sorin


    • David McCourt 16
      David McCourt Mar 9, 2020 Link to comment

      No NFC I'm afraid Reg.

      Sorin


  • David Martrano 29
    David Martrano Mar 7, 2020 Link to comment

    10watt charger? That's it for 2020, yikes!

    Sorin


  • 49
    storm Mar 6, 2020 Link to comment

    You're the first I've seen say $200 region. The others that list a price go high $200s like$270 or 280.

    Sorin

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