The Moto G50 5G is a fairly budget-oriented smartphone that aims to deliver 5G connectivity and decent specifications at a budget-friendly price point. It does come with solid specifications including a Dimensity 700 chip with 4GB RAM and 128GB storage, a triple camera setup with a 48MP f1/.7 main lens, and a 5,000mAh battery. But are these enough to make it standout in a crowded market?
| Chipset | MediaTek Dimensity 700 |
| Screen | 6.5-inch IPS, 1600 x 720, 90Hz |
| RAM | 4GB |
| OS | Android 11 |
| Rear Camera | 48MP f/1.7 Main, 2MP f/2.4 Macro, 2MP f/2.4 Depth |
| Front Camera | 13MP f/2.2 |
| Storage | 128GB, expandable via MicroSD Slot |
| Network | Dual-SIM, 5G |
| Connectivity | Dual-Band WiFi 802.11ac, Bluetooth 5.0, NFC, USB Type-C |
| Battery | 5,000mAh, 15W Fast Charging |
| Others | Fingerprint Scanner |
| Colors | Steel Gray, Aqua Green |
The Moto G50 5G is encased in a blue box with its name and logo embossed at the front. It comes with the basic necessities including a 20W wall adapter, a USB Type-C cable, a pair of earphones, and a silicone case.
The Moto G50 5G resembles older smartphones with a rather thick 9.3mm frame. All its edges are curved, however, which allows for a comfortable holding experience. Bezels for its screen are fairly wide as well especially the bottom chin.
The chassis is made out of plastic with a reflective finish. The rear comes in a deep blue colorway with light blue reflections when light hits it at an angle. Its cameras are located at the top left and the camera bump is rather small, perhaps hidden behind its thick build.
All its buttons are located at the right-hand side. It sports a volume rocker, a power button with a built-in fingerprint scanner, and a dedicated assistant key. They offer light activation but resistive enough for a tactile experience. Tapping the power button twice brings up a quick launcher where you can put some of your favorite apps for faster access.
At the left-hand side is its SIM tray which holds a SIM slot and a hybrid SIM/MicroSD slot. Its bottom houses a USB Type-C port, a bottom-firing speaker, and a 3.5mm audio jack.
The smartphone sports a 6.5-inch 1600 x 720 IPS display. Despite the large bezels, it does come with modern amenities like a 90Hz refresh rate. Viewing angles are good with no noticeable color shifting at the sides. Colors are presented fairly well and can achieve a neutral profile by using its Boosted setting.
Color coverage on the Moto G50 5G isn’t great but is decent enough for normal use. Brightness can reach more than 300 cd/m2 according to our measurements and contrast ratio is pretty decent as well at 1465:1.
90Hz refresh rate is nice to have but it is becoming increasingly common with every smartphone release. It does offer a smoother experience both in gaming and general use but some games do not officially support 90fps.
The Moto G50 5G, surprisingly, sports stereo speakers. It might only have a single-bottom firing speaker but its earpiece doubles as a secondary speaker to enable stereo. It can get pretty loud but audio fidelity is disappointing. Sound stage is tight and audio tend to blend together while playing songs.
The device ships with a vanilla installation of Android 11. Pre-installed apps are kept to the essentials including Google services like Gmail, Chrome, Duo, and YouTube. It has most of the essentials of an Android smartphone such as multi-window support and dark mode.
It does get an additional Moto app, which focuses on its customization. The app allows additional personalization such as custom icons and wallpapers. Users can toggle settings here usually found in the settings menu like display preferences, gestures, audio effects, and power touch.
The Moto G50 5G ships with three cameras at the rear: a 48MP f/1.7 main, a 2MP f/2.4 macro, and a 2MP f/2.4 depth sensor. Unfortunately, there is no ultrawide camera on the device. The camera app is simple to use with only Video and Photo available by default.
Its more advanced options can be accessed through its third menu. It has most of the standards like Panorama, Ultra Resolution, Portrait, Night Vision, Pro, AR Stickers, Timelapse, Slow Motion, and Spot Color. It also has access to several filters via Live Filter.
Its 48MP f/1.7 main lens captures excellent images in daylight or in good lighting. Dynamic range is good and details are pretty sharp. Colors are fairly neutral, which may lead to some muted images especially if the weather or lighting isn’t top notch.
The 2MP f/2.4 macro lens on the Moto G50 5G is significantly less impressive than its main camera. It can get close to subjects at around 4cm but its low resolution tends to lose some of the details and the colors can get drab. We suggest using the main camera for close ups to get better results.
At the front is a 13MP f/2.2 selfie shooter. It performs well and is able to take natural-looking selfies without tinkering with the settings. Dynamic range is a bit low, which may bring down image quality in high contrast situations.
Inside its reflective plastic chassis is a MediaTek Dimensity 700 chip with 4GB RAM. Storage is plentiful at 128GB but you can expand it by up to 1TB via its hybrid SIM tray.
Performance of its Dimensity 700 chipset is pretty average but it can deliver a smooth experience throughout. AnTuTu places the smartphone above the 200,000 mark and GeekBench scores 542 in single core and 1686 in multi-core performance.
Its GPU can play most mainstream games like Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, League of Legends: Wild Rift, and Call of Duty Mobile at a steady 60fps. Graphically intensive games such as Genshin Impact will need some settings to be turned down in order to get a playable 30fps.
Battery life is one of the main strengths of the Moto G50 5G. It might only come with a 5,000mAh battery but the smartphone is able to do much with it. A single charge should be able to last you more than 24 hours before needing to go back to its charger.
Running a quick PCMark Work 3.0 battery test on the G50 5G with medium brightness and volume yields 26 hours from 100% to 20% in a single charge.
The battery supports 15W Fast Charging even though the smartphone ships with a 20W adapter. It will a solid 2 hours to top up the battery from 0% to 100%, which is quite a wait for some users.
The Moto G50 5G is placed in an incredibly competitive segment in the market and it doesn’t really standout aside from its 5G capabilities. Its overall design reminds us of smartphones of yesteryear and its thick profile, large bezels, and chin doesn’t help sell itself either.
Its main 48MP f/1.8 camera offers decent image quality in good conditions but its 2MP f/2.4 macro lens fails to perform with dull colors and low resolution. Frankly, an ultrawide camera would have been a better call compared to a macro and depth sensor.
The smartphone does have redeeming qualities. Performance of its Dimensity 700 chip is decent and most users will be able to play mainstream games without a hitch. Battery life is simply one of its strong suits able to last more than 26 hours in PCMark Work 3.0 loop. The vanilla Android 11 experience also offers a lightweight installation without any bloat that we expect from other brands.
Overall, the Moto G50 5G isn’t the best budget option in the market but it does have solid aspects to its like its main camera, performance, and battery life. It will offer a solid enough smartphone experience to most users who are tired of the seeing the same three brands releasing iterative versions of their mainstream device.
The Moto G50 5G is now available in the Philippines for PhP 10,495. It is available in Steel Gray and Aqua Green color variants and can be purchased via Shopee and Lazada as well as Lenovo and Motorola authorized retail stores nationwide.
