Moto G84 review

The competition

The Moto G84 is a very affordable device. Its MSRP in India is INR 19,999. In Europe, it is selling for €299, and we've spotted it on Amazon US for $450. That's for the 256GB 12GB RAM version offered on the market. Overall, it's not a bad value, especially in India.

That being said, the Moto G84 has plenty of competition. Let's kick things off with Samsung and the popular Galaxy A54. A 128GB/8GB model will run you around $320/€370, while a 256GB/8GB variant costs about $370/€410, placing it kind of in the same ballpark, depending on the market. The Samsung phone comes with expandable storage, unlike the G84 and also offers IP67 ingress protection and Gorilla Glass 5 protection for its display. The Galaxy A54 also has a 120Hz AMOLED panel with HDR10+ support. Battery life is about on par with the Galaxy, although the Samsung mid-ranger is limited to 25W charging. The Galaxy A54 also has better 50MP OIS-enabled main and 12MP ultrawide cameras but lacks a telephoto shooter.

Another Samsung phone worth mentioning is the much cheaper Galaxy A34, which brings a similar overall experience on a much tighter budget.

Unsurprisingly, there are a couple of viable options over in camp Xiaomi. The Poco F5 would have been our first choice, but it is a bit outside the budget. A 256GB 8GB RAM Xiaomi Poco X5 Pro can currently be had for around €290 in Europe, $300 in the US and INR 23,000 in India. Some of its highlights include a 6.67-inch, 120Hz, 10-bit, Dolby Vision and HDR10+ AMOLED display, a large 5,000 mAh battery with fast 67W charging, a decent Snapdragon 778G chipset - more potent than the Snapdragon 695 inside the Moto G84. You also get Gorilla Glass 5 on the front of the Poco and a versatile camera setup with a 108MP shooter at the helm.

Alternatively, you could lower the budget quite significantly and go for something like the ever-popular Redmi Note 12 Pro. Despite its lower price, it still offers much of the same Xiaomi experience, including stereo speakers, a 5000 mAh battery with 67W charging and a 10-bit 120Hz HDR AMOLED display.

Samsung Galaxy A54 • Xiaomi Poco X5 Pro • Realme 11 Pro • Google Pixel 6a

The Realme 11 Pro+ might be a bit too expensive to consider, but its little sibling, the Realme 11 Pro, is worth checking out. It is still a bit pricier than the G84, but potentially worth it. It offers a large 6.7-inch, 120Hz AMOLED HDR10+ display, stereo speakers, a large 5,000 mAh battery with 67W charging and an interesting 100MP main camera with OIS. You don't get an IP rating, though.

Last but definitely not least, why not consider a Google Pixel? As long as a large display isn't high up on your wish list. The new Pixel 7a would naturally be our first choice with its 90Hz OLED display, 64MP main camera and nicer 13MP selfie. However, it's a pricier, closer to the €500 mark.

The older Pixel 6a is far from outdated, though. Sure, you'll have to live with a 60Hz refresh rate and a much smaller display, but one that is still HDR-capable. The Pixel 6a also offers IP67 ingress protection stereo speakers and decent battery endurance. Its camera system is still world-class, mostly thanks to Google's prowess in computational photography. And all of this, plus pure Android and very long software support, can be had for just around €370/$320/INR 31,000 at current pricing.

Our verdict

The Moto G84 is what we would call a very non-offensive device. It rocks a classical look without any unnecessary austerity while still offering a splash of personality for those who want it in the signature Pantone Viva Magenta color option. It is a very well-constructed and, possibly more importantly, surprisingly light and well-balanced device. While imperfect, the included IP54 ingress protection also offers peace of mind.

There is plenty to like about the 6.5-inch P-OLED display of the Moto. It gets very bright and has excellent color accuracy and even 10-bit colors. Unfortunately, these two excellent aspects are not leveraged for HDR support, which seems like a missed opportunity. Besides that, the Moto G84 offers a surprisingly enjoyable multimedia experience thanks to the already-mentioned display and a very competent stereo speaker setup. There is even a 3.5mm audio jack if that is your thing.

The 5,000 mAh battery, while not the fastest in terms of charging, also offers great battery endurance all around. We also generally enjoyed our experience with the cameras on the Moto G84, particularly during the day. The autofocusing ultrawide that doubles as a macro shooter is worth highlighting in particular.

Unfortunately, the overall excellent value package of the G84 is badly soiled by Moto's choice of chipset. The Snapdragon 695 simply has no place on a modern 2023 device. It was never particularly good, even when it was new a couple of years ago, and nowadays, it is just woefully underpowered compared to what the competition is offering. However, one of the biggest blows it delivers is the 1080p video capture resolution limitation. Honestly, the Snapdragon 695 kind of ruins the G84 for us.

If, however, you don't particularly care about performance, which, mind you, is still decent in practical day-to-day terms and can live with the Snapdragon 695, the rest of the G84 package is solid through and through.

Pros

• Slick classical design with solid build quality, Gorilla Glass, IP54 ingress protection and a light body.
• Bright P-OLED display with great color accuracy and 10-bit color.
• Good price/performance ratio.
• Great battery life.
• Impressively clean stereo speaker system with Dolby Atmos and Spatial Audio, plus a 3.5mm audio jack.
• Clean nearly AOSP software with some powerful Moto additional features.
• Good daylight camera performance all-around.
• 256GB base storage and expandable storage.
• Generous retail package.

Cons

• Display has no HDR support.
• High refresh handling needs some work, especially for gaming use.
• The Snapdragon 695 is aging, not particularly performant and limits video capture to 1080p.
• Low-light camera performance is only average.