Motorola Moto G22, fingers on: Reasonably priced, however higher worth is offered

Finances handsets are a key a part of Motorola’s smartphone portfolio, and its G vary at present contains a number of fashions that value lower than £300 within the UK. At first of the 12 months I appeared on the Moto G200, whose price ticket of £399 on the time has now come all the way down to £319.99. The Moto G22, which doesn’t supply 5G, is much more inexpensive, costing simply £129.99 (diminished from £149.99). It is available in two colors: Cosmic black, which I used to be despatched to assessment, and Iceberg Blue. 

There’s nothing fallacious with the feel and appear of the Moto G22. It has a plastic chassis with a mildly reflective backplate. The display screen sits in noticeable bezels, significantly on the backside edge, however the bezels are on no account large and will not be particularly off-putting. For the file, Motorola claims a screen-to-body ratio of 89.03%, though our calculation places it at 83%. 

The Moto G22 is a bit on the thick facet at 8.49mm, however the remaining measurements are effective — 74.9mm large by 163.95mm deep and 185g. Many customers will probably be happy to see a 3.5mm headset jack within the prime edge. There is a USB-C port on the underside edge for charging and PC connection, and in lieu of an IP ranking, Motorola claims a ‘water-repellent design’.

The rear digicam setup is fairly good for a funds handset: 50MP f/1.8 large angle, 8MP f/2.2 ultra-wide angle (118°), 2MP f/2.4 macro and a 2MP f/2.4 depth sensor. On the entrance there is a 16MP f/2.45 selfie digicam sitting entrance and centre in a punch-hole on the prime of the display screen.  

With admittedly little testing time, I discovered that the 50MP large angle and 8MP ultra-wide cameras each took respectable images. Nevertheless, the macro lens has a set focus and is not significantly helpful. One of the best you will do in relation to video is FHD decision at simply 30fps. 

The Moto G22 runs Android 12 and there isn’t any UI overlay or bloatware, so it delivers a simple consumer expertise proper out of the field. 

Battery life is sweet. With a 5000mAh battery the Moto G22 ought to preserve going past a full day, and would possibly, for some customers, even stretch right into a second day. Motorola claims 37.8 hours, which appears optimistic. 

When the battery runs low, you are are caught with a 15W charger. That is interminably sluggish by right this moment’s requirements, and it isn’t potential to ship a fast burst when you’re on the point of exit, for instance. Charging is a deliberate course of that can take time. Once I plugged the handset in with the battery at 34% it took quarter-hour to get to 44% and one other quarter-hour to get to 54%. 

The 6.5-inch IPS display screen has a 90Hz refresh charge, however the decision is simply 1,600 by 720 pixels (268ppi) which leaves textual content wanting sonewhat blurred; studying net pages, emails and so forth just isn’t a satisfying expertise. 

The handset is powered by a MediaTek Helio G37 SoC which, as famous earlier, doesn’t supply 5G help. The mixture of this entry-level chipset and 4GB of RAM makes the Moto G22 really feel distinctly under-powered: I observed tardy responses to display screen faucets, hesitation whereas net pages resolved, and a basic feeling that even the best of duties — like doing a search in settings — was an excessive amount of for the telephone because it stuttered to ship outcomes. On a regular basis use may show difficult for the impatient. 

Within the Geekbench 5 CPU check the Moto G22 delivered common single core and multi core scores of 172 and 942 respectively. These are low scores, and mirror the general real-world efficiency of this handset. By means of comparability, flagship handsets register over 1000 (single core) and over 3200 (multi core) on Geekbench 5. 

The Moto G22 has 64GB of inner space for storing, of which 13GB was used out of the field, leaving 51GB free. The SIM caddy accommodates a pair of Nano-SIMs and a MicroSD card, so customers can add extra storage if essential. It is good to see the flexibility so as to add storage with out sacrificing a SIM card. 

General, Motorola’s Moto G22 is a well-made funds smartphone with good battery life, however its entry-level chipset, low-resolution display screen and sluggish charging pace let it down. You will discover higher worth elsewhere. 

Motorola Moto G22 specs

OSAndroid 12ProcessorMediaTek Helio G37RAM4GBStorage64GB, 128GBMicroSD card slotyesDisplay6.5-inch IPS LCD, 90HzResolutionHD+ (1600 x 720, 20:9, 268ppi)Display screen to physique ratio (claimed)89.03percentRear cameras50MP f/1.8 large angle • 8MP f/2.2 ultra-wide angle (118˚) • 2MP f/2.4 macro •  2MP f/2.4 depthFront camera16MP f/2.45Audio1x speaker, 1x mic, 3.5mm headphone jackNetworks2G GSM, 3G HSPA, 4G LTESIM slots2x Nano-SIMBluetooth5.0Wi-FiWi-Fi 5 (802.11ac)LocationGPS, A-GPS, LTEPP, SUPL, GLONASS, GalileoBattery capacity5000mAhBattery life (claimed)37.8hBattery charging15WSecurityfingerprint reader (side-mounted), face unlockSensorsproximity, ambient gentle, accelerometer, gyroscope, e-compass, SARDimensions74.94mm x 163.95mm x 8.49mmWeight185gIP ratingno (‘water repellent design’)Within the boxMoto G22, 10W charger, USB-C cable, guides, SIM toolPrice£129.99 (diminished from £149.99)

Alternate options to contemplate

As the price of residing spirals, many smartphone patrons will both be hanging onto their present handsets for longer, or trying to the inexpensive finish of the marketplace for their subsequent buy. Two telephones that, in our opinion, supply higher worth than the Moto G22 are Poco’s 5G-equipped M4 Professional 5G (£159, down from £249) and Motorola’s (non-5G) Moto G31 (£129.99, down from £169.99).

RECENT AND RELATED CONTENT

Motorola Moto G200 5G, fingers on: Massive display screen, good specs, honest value

Motorola Edge 30, fingers on: A really skinny mid-range telephone with a 144Hz AMOLED display screen

Motorola Moto G50, fingers on: Reasonably priced 5G, with spectacular battery life

Android 13 is formally right here. Solely in case you have the correct of telephone, that’s

The 8 finest telephone offers: Rating a brand new iPhone or Android on sale

Learn extra evaluations