We review a variety of devices on DroidApp. We have already tested the necessary smartphones, and now it is the Motorola Moto G15's turn. In our Moto G15 review, we discuss our findings from the past few weeks with the green-coloured device.
Moto G15 review
Around 150 euros buys you Motorola's Moto G15. The smartphone has recently become available in our country, and in recent weeks we have had the opportunity to put the phone through its paces. We are especially curious about the answer to the question; do you have to make many concessions for a device of this amount, or is it not all that bad? We take you through the answer to that question in our Moto G15 review.
Design and interface
Upon receiving the Moto G15, we immediately notice that the phone comes pretty complete. In fact, we see not only the device, a USB-C cable and a SIM pin, but also a silicone case for around the device. If you use this case, only then you won't feel the back made of vegan leather. This leather-like look ensures that the device sits well in your hand, and doesn't slip out of your hands easily. It also gives the phone a more luxurious look at the same time.
Small the device is not; the Moto G15 features a hefty 6.7-inch LCD screen with Full-HD resolution. On sunny days, this is still perfectly readable. However, the image does turn black when using (my) polarising sunglasses when using the screen in landscape, such as when taking a photo. Don't expect more expensive features like a high refresh rate, as the price of this device doesn't reflect that. On the left side is room for a memory card and two SIM cards, on the right are the volume keys and the power button. This power button also houses the fingerprint scanner. On top, we even see a 3.5 millimetre jack for a headset.
The interface is nice and clean, as we are used to from Motorola. However, we do see a large amount of bloatware on the device. Ranging from various games to different applications. Motorola could have left this out. Users know exactly which applications they want to use. Thereby, Motorola already happily lets you know during setup that it adds some extra bloatware.
Communication and multimedia
We notice that the Moto G15 is not a high-end smartphone when it comes to connections. This is because the phone only offers a 4G connection and thus cannot handle the 5G network. Otherwise, the call quality is fine. In terms of multimedia, the Moto G15 performs fine as you would expect in this segment. The volume can be quite loud and it doesn't even sound very bad. For the music lover, there is Dolby Atmos.
Camera
On the Motorola Moto G15, you will find two cameras. These are a 50-megapixel main camera and a 5-megapixel wide-angle lens. The camera app is not the very fastest, but that's actually true of the entire device (more on that later).
The pictures themselves are really not bad for a €150 device. Even at night, you can still take a nice picture with this camera, as we did in the city of Groningen. However, we regularly see some dark shadows and sometimes there is a strange haze over the picture. Overall, the camera is sufficient for those who take the occasional photo.
Want to see more photos we took with the Moto G15? Then check out the digital photo album here.
Video camera
The Motorola's video capabilities are reasonable. You can film in up to 1080p Full-HD. The footage looks a bit grainy on the big screen. A video we shot with the phone can be found below.
Performance and battery life
You're buying a device worth around 150 euros. Of course, you can't expect everything in terms of speed and features then. However, the chipset struggles with it. The MediaTek Helio G81 and 4GB of RAM are hard to push forward. Especially when multitasking, the user's patience is sorely tested.
On the other hand, the battery life of the 5200 mAh battery is very positive. Without much effort, two days is certainly achievable. If you use it less, you should be able to get more out of it. As the screen time information kept resetting itself, we don't have this data unfortunately. Charging takes over two hours and can be done with 18W.
Update policy
With the announcement of the Motorola Moto G15 also came immediate information about the update policy. Special detail: there will be no more Android updates for the device. A bizarre fact, as the Samsung Galaxy A16 costs almost the same and gets no less than six years of updates! Motorola does choose to provide the phone with security updates for two years. Very meagre, despite the price range, as Samsung thus proves it can do better.
Review
If you are looking for a smartphone up to 200 euros, the Moto G15 quickly comes to mind. It is a stylish device in nice colours; and that is far from always the standard case with brands. Thereby, the phone is comfortable to hold thanks to the use of vegan leather. The camera delivers quite nice pictures, the screen is very pleasant on sunny days and the battery life is very good.
Still, the Moto G15 is a device we find hard to recommend. After all, the processor is not up to speed. If you have a bit more patience and only use the smartphone infrequently, then the Moto G15 might be a good choice, but otherwise we would still shell out a bit more money, for example for a Galaxy A16 that also has better updates.
You can buy the Moto G15 from Bol.com, Belsimpel, MediaMarkt, Mobiel and Coolblue.
