Motorola Moto M review: M for Midranger

Synthetic benchmarks

The Moto M is powered by a Mediatek Helio P10 chipset, or if you're in India - the P15. There's little to set the two apart, though - it's all in the clock speeds. The 8 Cortex-A53 cores in the P10 are capped at 1.95GHz, while the P15's CPU can go as high as 2.2GHz. There's a bump in the Mali-T860MP2 GPU frequency as well - 800MHz for the P15, 700MHz for the P10.

We have the P10 version for review, in 3GB RAM spec - there's a 4GB option too, but not ours. We've reviewed a bunch of P10 devices already, so we have a lot to compare the Moto M against. Sadly, we won't be able to test Mediatek's claim for 10% improved performance.

We won't be deviating from the usual drill - starting off with some CPU benchmarks. In the single-core portion of GeekBench 4, the Moto M outperforms the Meizu M3 Max (Helio P10, too) and the Moto G4 Plus (Snapdragon 617). One similarly clocked (2.0GHz vs. 1.95GHz) Cortex-A53 in a Snapdragon 625 configuration posts better numbers, but none is a match for the high-flying A72 cores that can be found in the Helio X20-powered Redmi Note 4 and Redmi Note Pro.

GeekBench 4 (single-core)

Higher is better

• Xiaomi Redmi Pro
  1551
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 4
  1546
• Oppo R9s
  845
• Asus Zenfone 3 ZE552KL
  843
• Motorola Moto Z Play
  795
• Lenovo Moto M
  771
• Meizu m3 max
  687
• Motorola Moto G4 Plus
  669

The Snapdragon 617 inside the Moto G4 Plus is showing further signs of aging and is struggling to keep up with the rest in multi-core as well. The Moto M posts higher numbers here than the Meizu M3 Max, so it's shaping up to be one of the better P10 implementations already.

The Oppo R9s is not making a strong case for the S625, but the Zenfone 3 does redeem it, beating the Redmi Pro. The latter, on the other hand, isn't squeezing the most of its deca-core CPU - looking at the Redmi Note 4, the Helio X20 can do much better.

GeekBench 4 (multi-core)

Higher is better

• Xiaomi Redmi Note 4
  4456
• Asus Zenfone 3 ZE552KL
  4053
• Xiaomi Redmi Pro
  3885
• Oppo R9s
  3130
• Lenovo Moto M
  2921
• Meizu m3 max
  2625
• Motorola Moto Z Play
  2621
• Motorola Moto G4 Plus
  1822

Shifting our gaze to Antutu for a quantitative measure of overall performance, and the Moto M isn't breaking any records, but it's still the highest ranked P10 device around. There's a pretty wide gap between the P10 and the S625, with the Qualcomm chip clearly having the edge. The higher-grade Snapdragon 650 with the fancier A72 cores and the Helio X20 are clearly in a different league.

AnTuTu 6

Higher is better

• Xiaomi Redmi Note 4
  85162
• Xiaomi Redmi Pro
  77442
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 (S650)
  76186
• Oppo R9s
  66081
• Asus Zenfone 3 ZE552KL
  63358
• Samsung Galaxy C7
  62818
• Motorola Moto Z Play
  62217
• Lenovo Moto M
  51831
• Oppo F1 Plus
  51299
• Samsung Galaxy J7 (2016)
  49094
• Meizu m3 max
  48334
• Lenovo Moto G4
  46949
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 (Helio X10)
  45474
• Motorola Moto G4 Plus
  45190
• Meizu m3 note
  44898

The same can be said about the results produced in Basemark OS II - a fine showing for the Moto M among P10 peers, but a superior S625 and markedly more powerful Helio X20 and Snapdragon 650. The Moto M refused to play nice with Basemark OS II 2.0, so no scores from that one.

Basemark OS II

Higher is better

• Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 (S650)
  1914
• Xiaomi Redmi Pro
  1648
• Samsung Galaxy C7
  1368
• Motorola Moto Z Play
  1226
• Lenovo Moto M
  1127
• Oppo F1 Plus
  1114
• Meizu m3 max
  1009
• Samsung Galaxy J7 (2016)
  999
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 (Helio X10)
  956
• Motorola Moto G4 Plus
  951
• Meizu m3 note
  930

Graphics department isn't an area where we've come to expect excellence from Mediatek SoCs, much less midrange ones. So while the Moto M doesn't exactly impress, we're pleased to report that it is, again, one of the best-scoring P10 phones.

In Basemark X the F1 Plus comes closest to putting up a fight against the Moto M - of the P10 bunch that is. The Moto M's result is still no match for the higher-end Helios or the Snapdragon 625.

GFX 3.0 Manhattan (1080p offscreen)

Higher is better

• Xiaomi Redmi Note 4
  15
• Xiaomi Redmi Pro
  15
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 (S650)
  14
• Oppo R9s
  10
• Asus Zenfone 3 ZE552KL
  9.9
• Motorola Moto Z Play
  9.8
• Samsung Galaxy C7
  9.8
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 (Helio X10)
  8.5
• Lenovo Moto M
  7.1
• Oppo F1 Plus
  7
• Lenovo Moto G4
  6.5
• Motorola Moto G4 Plus
  6.4
• Meizu m3 max
  5.5
• Meizu m3 note
  5.4
• Samsung Galaxy J7 (2016)
  4.9

GFX 3.0 Manhattan (onscreen)

Higher is better

• Xiaomi Redmi Note 4
  15
• Xiaomi Redmi Pro
  15
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 (S650)
  14
• Motorola Moto Z Play
  10
• Asus Zenfone 3 ZE552KL
  9.7
• Oppo R9s
  9.7
• Samsung Galaxy C7
  9.6
• Samsung Galaxy J7 (2016)
  9.5
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 (Helio X10)
  7.9
• Lenovo Moto M
  7.6
• Oppo F1 Plus
  7
• Lenovo Moto G4
  6.8
• Motorola Moto G4 Plus
  6.6
• Meizu m3 max
  5.5
• Meizu m3 note
  5.4

GFX 3.1 Manhattan (1080p offscreen)

Higher is better

• Xiaomi Redmi Note 4
  9.5
• Xiaomi Redmi Pro
  9.5
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 (S650)
  9
• Samsung Galaxy J7 (2016)
  7.2
• Motorola Moto Z Play
  6.2
• Samsung Galaxy C7
  6.2
• Asus Zenfone 3 ZE552KL
  6.2
• Oppo R9s
  6.2
• Lenovo Moto M
  4.7
• Lenovo Moto G4
  4.2
• Motorola Moto G4 Plus
  4.1
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 (Helio X10)
  4
• Meizu m3 max
  3.6
• Oppo F1 Plus
  3.3
• Meizu m3 note
  2.5

GFX 3.1 Manhattan (onscreen)

Higher is better

• Xiaomi Redmi Pro
  9.5
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 4
  9.4
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 (S650)
  9
• Motorola Moto Z Play
  6.7
• Samsung Galaxy C7
  6.1
• Asus Zenfone 3 ZE552KL
  6.1
• Oppo R9s
  6.1
• Lenovo Moto M
  5.2
• Lenovo Moto G4
  4.5
• Motorola Moto G4 Plus
  4.4
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 (Helio X10)
  3.9
• Meizu m3 max
  3.6
• Oppo F1 Plus
  3.3
• Samsung Galaxy J7 (2016)
  3.2
• Meizu m3 note
  2.5

We're pleased with the performance put out by the Moto M - it's doing the best it can with the hardware provided. The Helio P10 chipset is no powerhouse, but as far as P10s go, this is among the best ones. Just be sure not to expect miracles in 3D gaming. But don't let that put you off. Mobile games are pretty good at scaling down the quality so we're pretty sure you won't have any issues running any of the available game titles.