The Motorola g62 5G is everything you need for $399. Qualcomm SoC, Wi-Fi 5 AC, BT 5.1, NFC, adequate performance, above social media standard camera and two-day battery life.
But it is very similar to the $349 Moto g51 5G exclusive to JB Hi-Fi that I nearly directed you to Motorola g51 5G – a well-priced, well-featured smartphone (review). There are minor differences in RAM, and the camera is the same as the Motorola g82 5G – exceptional value/features (smartphone review). You can’t blame Motorola for trying to fill every niche.
Spoiler Alert: Another superbly priced, fully-featured smartphone that you won’t regret buying.
We strongly advise you to buy a genuine model with Australian firmware.
It is easy to identify the Australian version – under Settings, About Phone, and Regulatory Labels, there is an Australian RCM C-tick mark. There is also an RCM C-Tick on the box. They use unique Australian 5G sub-6Ghz and 5G low-band frequencies, requiring local activation first.
Do not buy models PAU90020AE / PAU90006GB / PAU90002GB / PAUY0002IN, or those with a 6/.128GB capacity.
Note that Telco-supplied models have a single SIM and dedicated microSD. Retail models have dual hybrid SIM and microSD.
It is now in two parts – a summary and a separate 300+ line database-driven spec, including over 70 tests to back up the findings. It also helps us compare different phones and features.
We use Fail (below expectations), Pass (meets expectations) and Exceed (surpasses expectations or is the class leader) against many of the items below. We occasionally give a Pass(able) rating that is not as good as it should be and a Pass ‘+’ rating to show it is good but does not quite make it to Exceed.
You can click on most images for an enlargement.
Yes, another well-made glass slab. The rear is a fingerprint/greasy finger magnet, but you will use the bumper case anyway. The fingerprint sensor is on the power button, and the three-sensor camera is on the rear. All the buttons are on the right side at the ideal height for one-handed use.
It is a mid-sized 6.5” phone at 161.83 x 73.96 x 8.59mm x 184g.
It is a relatively bright and colourful 1080p FHD+ with a choice of Auto/60/120Hz. Our test software also reveals a 90Hz setting. It swaps between 60 and 120Hz, and the latter takes about a 20% toll on battery life. Leave it on 60Hz.
It is daylight readable (just – in the shade), but you cannot expect more at this price.
Screen orientation is an issue. The combo Accelerometer and Gyroscope are very sensitive, and the slightest movement sends it to landscape. I had to turn autorotation off.
Summary: Good IPS screen for the price
To put this in perspective, it is faster than a MediaTek Helio P0/G90/G70/Dimensity720 and slower than an SD730G.
It has a Gen 2 X51 modem for a maximum of 2.5Gbps download (it will never reach this).
The Adreno 619 GPU maxes out at 40fps for most games – not for gamers! Overall, it is pretty smooth.
The 128GB storage has mountable microSD expansion to 1TB. It also supports external SSD to 1TB as OTG drives (drag and drop).
It passed all tests commensurate with this price bracket. Impressively, it does not throttle under load.
Wi-Fi 5 AC is all you can expect, and it connects at 433Mbps. The antenna strength is quite good, out to 10m on the 5Ghz band.
BT 5.1 has Qualcomm standard codecs – SBC, AAC, aptX (most versions) and LDAC.
The dual GPS is welcome, but it easily loses satellites on cloudy days (and we are in the middle of a 100-year rain bomb). NFC supports Google Pay.
It is a dual hybrid SIM with one fitting a SIM or MicroSD (the Telco version is a single SIM). Only one can be active at a time, and if you have a 5G plan, it must be in SIM 1. It has two ringtones that are excellent for home and business users.
All you need to know is that it supports all Australian 4G/LTE and 5G sub-6Ghz and its low bands.
It is a great city, suburbs, and limited regional areas with decent coverage.
The battery is 5000mAh. But it is laughable that it comes with a USB 2.0 5V/2A charger that can take up to 4 hours. Using a USB-C 100W (well, anything above 25W) reduces this to 2 hours and 33 minutes. We repeated the tests several times.
By the way, the supplied USB-A to USB-C cable is for charging only – it won’t transmit data and will not handle 15W charging – buy a new charger and 3 to 5W cable.
It has excellent battery life. Moto should have provided a 15W faster charger for the pittance that would cost.
It has an Analytical: (bass/mid recessed; treble boosted) – crisp but not pleasant for most music. It will decode Dolby Atmos and downmix it to the earpiece and down-firing bottom speaker.
The soundstage is limited to the phone width, which, as is usual for earpiece/speaker, has a definite bottom bias.
The maximum volume is 80dB. Hands-free is adequate, but the sound is a little tinny.
It is well-made and should withstand the knocks, especially with a clear bumper cover. However, IP52 is a joke – ‘Vertically dripping water shall have no harmful effect when the enclosure tilts at an angle of 15° from its normal position.’ Still, it should withstand light rain.
There is no disclosed screen protection.
It ships with Android 12 and Motorola’s overlay My UX. You can reasonably expect Android 13 soon and two years of updates.
Android is almost pure, and the MY UX adds things like a camera app and Moto gestures.
It has everything you need apart from a faster charger.
Let’s face it – it is an entry-level Samsung SK5JN1, 50MP with tiny .64um pixels binned to 12.5MP and 1.28um. Add to that the Qualcomm SD480+ has entry-level AI image processing, which is adequate.
It has an Ultra-wide 8MP Samsung SK53H7 sensor that takes decent shots and a 2MP macro sensor.
The result is generally good photos in Day or office light. It struggles with low light introducing a lot of noise, but you will not see that on a 4×6″ print.
At $399, it gives Joe and Jane Average everything they need. It is a safe buy and yet another reason Motorola is shooting up the charts.
Let’s look at the 5G competition.
The OPPO A96 stands out with a faster Qualcomm SD680 SoC, 8/128GB RAM/Storage, 2-year warranty and 33W fast charge battery. It has the same 50MP and 2MP rear camera sensor but misses the 8MP Ultra-wide. It is the class leader, but Motorola has plenty to offer.
Motorola g62 5G, Motorola g62 5G, Motorola g62 5G
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