Motorola Defy (2021) in for review

02 August 2021
Tough, rugged, reasonably priced and fairly-specced.

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  • C
  • Concerned interest
  • fmg
  • 03 Aug 2021

Kindly produce dual SIM or hybrid/optional dual SIM version. Introduce the exposed heat sink at the back to more manage the heat and for its attractions. Head phone jack would be a plus ...

    • ?
    • Anonymous
    • RIL
    • 03 Aug 2021

    1. It's "LeMoto" so yeah already a lost cause at OS/software updates.

    2. What clown would pay that much for a Snapdragon 662 phone rugged or not?

    3. I maintain that rugged phones should pack a minimum of 6000mAh batt upwards not less.

    This is a tarnish to that good ole Defy name tbh.

      • ?
      • Anonymous
      • 7tW
      • 02 Aug 2021

      Motorola is very sluggish in giving the next OS update even whatever is due, we bought a one fusion plus exactly a year back, and are still behind Motorola asking for the update, but all we get is pre mentioned messages like it's eligible but is pending partner approval and we know it's late and it's frustrating, we apologise for the delay, we will inform you when it's ready, and it's almost more than a year now after it's launch, Beware new Motorola customers to be !

        Anonymous, 02 Aug 2021Nokia (HMD) is crap sorry but it is. Motorola is differe... moreThat's a fair comment and have to say I have to agree about HMD. My last Motorola was my favourite phone I've owned a Moto X 2014 and I only retired it this year because my banking app which I can't live without stopped being supported on android 6 marshmallow. So far been very happy with my Poco but will see how it goes over time and haven't used a Moto since Lenovo took over so can't comment on how they perform. The new edge models look interesting but no stereo speakers bit of a deal breaker having used phone with them now unfortunately and also having 2 day battery life with 5160mah battery don't want to go back to battery anxiety ever again (the Moto X biggest Achilles heel). Also I prefer IPS LCD screens over amoled as I suffer with sore eyes and headaches when using phones with amoled screens. I can't stand folks arguing over android v iOS or stock android v skinned etc it's simply about getting the phone with the specs, features and price you happy with and enjoy it. If you get a phone you don't like then return it and try another it's that simple! Anyways as usual peace guys ✌️

          • ?
          • Anonymous
          • p37
          • 02 Aug 2021

          Acorns, 02 Aug 2021This isn't a argumentative reply just a personal exper... moreNokia (HMD) is crap sorry but it is.

          Motorola is different, they work on their UI, unlike HMD. They have also other nigles wuth charging ports, i had on a Nokia X6.

          I don´t like MIUI, and other modifed ROMS. First all works fine but given time, they will have other randoms bugs that will afect the stability, because that´s how they work. Then they just keep pushing updates continuously to fix them and affecting other things.
          You don´t have that problem ( stability) on Moto, you simply DON´T. Everything works fine from day one. And that´s why people don´t care about specs, they want something reliable.

            Anonymous, 02 Aug 2021Yes they did, for brief, resort to Android for some of thei... moreAbsolutely, looks like Nokia and Motorola fans all think the same way. Let's hope they read these posts from their fans and take notice 👍

              Anonymous, 02 Aug 2021For those complaining about specs: Moto phones are made ... moreThis isn't a argumentative reply just a personal experience (I just like good experience and value for money regardless of brand). I bought a Nokia 5.3 (I know this a Motorola thread sorry) because I wanted a stock android phone with ok specs for the money and having read the reviews it seemed just what I was looking for but the build quality was really poor, it had a lot of random bugs and overall the experience was very poor. I took it back and decided to give the Poco X3 NFC a try as it was the same price with way better specs and honestly it was like night and day difference. The Poco really did deliver where the Nokia disappointed. Build quality, screen, battery life performance,specs etc all much better. Yes there are a few bugs in MIUI but nothing that spoils the experience and for the price are easily forgivable and it's also been guaranteed android 12 and miui 13 so updates been fine too. If you read my other posts you will see I like both Motorola and Nokia and wish they would get back in the game properly but at the moment they are overpriced and underspecced against other makers out there. That's just my personal opinion not a Poco fanboy just a consumer who values good tech and value for money. Peace ✌️

                • ?
                • Anonymous
                • vGG
                • 02 Aug 2021

                Acorns, 02 Aug 2021Again I agree with your comment, both symbian and windows w... moreYes they did, for brief, resort to Android for some of their low cost phones. It was called Nokia X and I did get one to try it but it was quite different in experience than android and the lack of apps once again caused it's flop. Let's hope the real Nokia returns back and takes back it's position as the best phone maker ever

                  Anonymous, 02 Aug 2021For those complaining about specs: Moto phones are made ... moreIt's not an indestructible phone. No phone is (Not even the NoPhone) It just has a rugged exterior and victus glass on it. A drop on concrete at a specific angle and it breaks just as any other phone. In fact, Moto mentions that the phone is drop proof upto a certain height and if it falls on it's back or side, not the screen. So clearly, there are terms and conditions to that ruggedness

                    Acorns, 02 Aug 2021Again I agree with your comment, both symbian and windows w... moreYes, Nokia phones did have a lot of features back then which, just like their phones were advanced compared to the rival brands. Unibody design and high resolution camera, sophisticated operating system (Symbian was the best OS for smartphones that time, and even their feature phones were way better than any other phones) were just some of all the technological advancements they brought. Several iconic designs were introduced, the list is just endless. Such was the sophistication of Nokia back then. Whatever Nokia phone that one would pick was fine craftsmanship and a work of art of it's own (N93 being my favourite) unlike the phones today that are all the same looking. Yes it is very possible that he could be working for a rival company and purposely took all the bad decisions to destroy Nokia. The fact that he was in Microsoft before and joined them back after crippling Nokia is the proof of his intended acts. Microsoft then bought Nokia's phone business later on so it is clear that all he did was on purpose and it is no doubt he is considered as the worst CEO ever

                      • ?
                      • Anonymous
                      • p37
                      • 02 Aug 2021

                      For those complaining about specs:

                      Moto phones are made to be easy to use, bloat free software and non demanding users. For what they are , trey are truly brilliant. Because of the 720HD+ screen things move more easily and fluid, also drains less battery which btw is better than those xiaomis and realmes that you mentioned.
                      My wife is really happy with her G50, so you think she even knows about HD+ or FHD+? She doesn´t care about it.
                      So for those power users go for those garbage brands who are destroying the mobile sector with tons of useless new phones, that others simply can´t compete because Motorola and nokia still care about giving a great android experience unlike others.

                      About the XR20, yes it´s a great phone, better than this one, but hwo many of you are willing to pay almost 500€ for Snapdragon 480? The G50 qith 128GB in my country costs 199€...

                      About the defy is a phone (again) for those who don´t care about specs. They´re loking for a indestructible phone, huge battery life, and want reliability of a well known brand and a Dogee or other sub par chinese crap. for 300€/350€ (not sure) i think it´s ok.

                      Yes a 128gb would have been well apreciated.
                      Now let the show beguin and those xiaomi etc fan loyals bashing on my comment :)

                        • m
                        • marco
                        • dZY
                        • 02 Aug 2021

                        soc to weak. phone way too long , anything over 15 cm is really such a pain. It is exactly over the edge ergonamically. yea yea all asians love big phones, but they put them in their handbags etc . This thing is to big to be caried on the work floor

                          L.O.R.D, 02 Aug 2021Yes it's been out of my understanding too, some of the... moreAgain I agree with your comment, both symbian and windows were great operating systems both destroyed by lack of apps and support and the way Elop single handedly destroyed Nokia makes you wonder if he was actually working for one of Nokia's competitors at the time? He must have been extremely dumb or taking large backhanders from somewhere to put Nokia out the picture. I loved my Nokia N8 which had an awesome camera, an AOD (back in 2011!) and a bulletproof design. Again they dabbled with a weird fork of android that yet again had no app support (seems to be a recurring theme around that time). I guess I use android by default as every other OS I've tried seems to die through lack of support. I did try an iPhone but just couldn't get along with it and just before I got my Moto g I tried a Samsung galaxy S3 mini which almost put me off android for life as I hated it and no matter how much folks say the new one UI is much better that S3 experience put me off Samsung phones to this day unfortunately. Anyways here's to hoping both Nokia and Motorola decide to get folks in who understand their brand and fanbase and put them back on the map properly where they belong 👍✌️

                            • ?
                            • Anonymous
                            • F3x
                            • 02 Aug 2021

                            Anonymous, 02 Aug 2021It's a shame that they removed ShatterShieldThis was amazing!

                              Acorns, 02 Aug 2021I honestly don't understand the decision making proces... moreYes it's been out of my understanding too, some of the decisions they took, like why Nokia discontinued the Symbian series when they could have easily used it on their feature phones. Symbian was still very advanced to be used as a feature phone OS at least, if not as a smartphone OS after the advent of Android and iOS but they shelved it and what people got were the Asha or those java phones running some form of experimental OS that Nokia developed for feature phones when it was not even required. Then the Windows Phones were discontinued for the lack of interest and market share when they could have just let Android apps support or even better adapt to Android OS but once again they did not

                              There were several people that were of the opinion that Symbian was still being quite capable for the job but they killed it anyways. I believe that politics and poor decisions are to blame as the Nokia CEO at the time, Stephen Elop, for some reason thought it was better to kill Symbian and not to adapt to Android or even let Nokia phones run android apps. A lot of people still believe that, that one man was what led to the ultimate downfall and demise of Nokia. If you look up his name, you will find a lot of articles that talk about that person and how he destroyed Nokia with his poor decisions. It's almost a crime

                                Anonymous, 02 Aug 2021Nokia XR20 competetion? I'd buy the Nokia all day long better updates.

                                  L.O.R.D, 02 Aug 2021Yes same, the Moto G was too my first Android phone. I thin... moreI honestly don't understand the decision making process at companies like Nokia and Motorola. They have an uncanny knack of taking the things fans of their brands love and what makes them unique and which are their best selling points and replacing them with boring generic stuff that makes them no different to any other brand? Surely they can't be that clueless to understand what made them stand out and why people loved their products? The saying 'if it ain't broke don't try and fix it' should be the motto on their office walls!

                                    • ?
                                    • Anonymous
                                    • 7kk
                                    • 02 Aug 2021

                                    Nokia XR20 competetion?

                                      • ?
                                      • Anonymous
                                      • vGG
                                      • 02 Aug 2021

                                      PiCosm, 02 Aug 2021I had the original one! Fond memories of dropping it into a... moreYes waterproof phones were indeed rare but even without an IP rating those Lumia phones were water resistant even more than the phone we have today.

                                      There was an incident where a Lumia 820 was dropped in a river and the owner found the phone after almost nine months. After drying it thoroughly, it was running again. LMAO the Nokia phones were indeed tanks of their era. We need that Nokia again

                                        Acorns, 02 Aug 2021Yeah the original Moto g was my first android phone when I ... moreYes same, the Moto G was too my first Android phone. I think that phone is to credit for making Android popular as it was priced way lesser than premium droids of the time. I finally got it when I could no longer use my then favourite Nokia 5130 Xpress Music since smartphones took over and the phone was getting obsolete, and then changed several phones but never quite liked any as the Nokia phones I used before. True, phones have become boring today. Nokia perhaps will bring the old Lumia design again at some point, but it should run on Android and not the pathetic Kai OS that their recent nostalgia phones do, as I would like to use the Lumia reboot phones as main phone

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