Motorola Moto G7 review

Introduction

Seven generations into it, the Moto G is now a whole four-player lineup instead of just one phone like it was in the good old days. Here we'll focus on the namesake of the 2019 roster - the Moto G7 proper, to see if it still has some of that great value the original was famous for.

At first glance, the Moto G7 isn't missing any of the requisites of a modern phone, and it better not be - at $300 or €250 it's some 50% more expensive than the Moto G was in 2013, even accounting for inflation.

For your money, you'd be getting a 6.2-inch display, and to be fair that's 70-odd percent more screen area that the Moto G - on that metric alone, you could say the price increase is justified. It's a tall screen too, complete with rounded corners, waterdrop notch and minimal bezels, so it's perfectly in sync with the times.

Technically, so is the chipset, although the Snapdragon 632 is anything but exciting, even if it did come out in the second half of last year. The Android 9.0 OS is as current as you can get too, so more points to the G7 for not lagging behind.

With enough RAM and storage, plus a dedicated memory card slot, 3.5mm jack and an FM radio receiver, the Moto G7 checks pretty much every box that a savvy consumer is looking for in the midrange. Meanwhile, a 'depth sensor' on the back lets the G7 boast a dual camera while keeping costs down - you could say it's the norm in this segment.

Motorola Moto G7 specs

• Body: Glass back, plastic frame, 157.0 x 75.3 x 8.0 mm, 172g; Ceramic Black, Clear White color schemes.
• Display: 6.2" IPS LCD, 1,080 x 2,270px, 19:9 aspect ratio, 405ppi.
• Rear camera: Primary 12MP, 1.25µm, f/1.8 aperture; phase detect autofocus; secondary 5MP depth sensor.
• Front camera: 8MP, 1.12µm, f/2.2 aperture, fixed focus lens.
• OS/Software: Android 9.0 Pie.
• Chipset: Snapdragon 632: octa-core CPU (4x1.8 GHz Kryo 250 Gold & 4x1.8 GHz Kryo 250 Silver); Adreno 506 GPU.
• Memory: 4GB of RAM; 64GB storage; dedicated microSD card slot.
• Battery: 3,000mAh Li-Ion (sealed), 15W charging.
• Connectivity: Dual SIM; Wi-Fi a/b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth 4.2; USB-C, 3.5mm jack.
• Misc: Rear-mounted fingerprint sensor; single, bottom-firing loudspeaker; three microphones (noise reduction).

Now, this being a whole lineup of Moto G7s, you can steer in different directions if this vanilla G7 isn't quite your thing. For example, the Plus will get you a faster chipset, higher-res cameras, and even faster charging, the Power will prioritize battery life, while the Play will come with significant savings to account for its lesser hardware.

Let's stay focused on the Moto G7, though, and leave the Plus, Power and Play aside. An unboxing is due.

Motorola Moto G7 unboxing

The Moto G7 comes in a green box that's color-coded to mean it's the G7 in particular inside and not any of the other three. Of course, you won't really know that it's just that we had all four at the office at one time, and they're all different, yet the same.

Remove the lid and the phone's right there already in a transparent silicone case - so that's what the tiny silver icon on the box meant. Other than the case, you'll also be getting a 15W charger that still has the TurboPower branding even if it's not quite as Turbo as the 27W unit that comes with the Moto G7 Plus. There's a cable too. No headset, though.