Motorola's new Moto G200 5G is an affordable phone with flagship-level performance. A successor to the Moto G100, it has an even faster processor, better display, and an improved camera setup.
But what's the catch? After all, the Motorola Moto G200 costs just €449.99, so there have to be some compromises, right?
Well, there are definitely some. Although the Moto G200 is great in terms of performance and battery life, it generally lacks in the display and camera departments. The display of this phone has a very high refresh rate, but it doesn't have the vividness of AMOLED panels. The camera system is average, while many phones in this price range are expected to offer better camera performance.
The Motorola Moto G200 doesn’t feel very premium either. It has a plastic back which makes it feel a bit cheap, and the bezels of its display are small, but not the smallest we've ever seen. At least the sides of the phone are metal.
Still, the best about this phone is its Snapdragon 888+ chip, 5G connectivity, and its big, 144Hz screen. In a world where up until now, the best chip you could get for this price was a Snapdragon 778G powering a Samsung Galaxy A52s or a Motorola Edge 20, the Moto G200 sounds like an amazing deal.
This phone is perfect for those who want flagship performance on a budget. It might even be deserving of the ‘flagship killer’ title, as it really reminds me of the first OnePlus phone from back in the day. Just like the OnePlus One, this phone focuses on performance and value instead of a flagship build quality and excellent camera system.
Design
Surprise, surprise, it is another boxy-looking Motorola phone. Actually, the Moto G200 is rounder than the Edge 20 and Edge 20 Pro, but it still has rather square shapes.
This phone has nice color options, and it's back reflects light in a very stylish way. The camera module is the most interesting design element in this phone. The edgy lines surrounding the cameras are both modern and discrete looking. The cameras protrude enough for the phone to rock on a table, which might be a bit irritating to some.
The back of the phone features the Motorola logo in a different color, and the logo is even more reflective, which is a nice-looking design touch. The back has a matte finish, but it isn’t the best in terms of grip, so you better put on a case.
The Motorola Moto G200's sides are metal and slightly curved, which helps with handling this big phone. The fingerprint scanner is on the right side of the phone, built into the power button, and it works very well.
The front of the Moto G200 has a punch-hole selfie camera and relatively small bezels around the display. In terms of looks, it is similar to many other Motorola phones.
Unfortunately, this phone won’t be for everyone. It has a single bottom-firing speaker, which is a bit of a bummer, as some phones in this price range feature stereo speakers. The speaker itself has good mids and lows, but highs sound muffled. As mentioned above, this phone is also pretty big. It isn’t as wide as an iPhone 13 Pro Max, but it is taller. The Moto G200 also weighs 202g, but because of its size, it doesn’t feel heavy. The 8.9mm thickness is okay, but nothing impressive like the 6.9mm one of the Motorola Edge 20. This phone's haptics are average.
Display
The Moto G200 appears to be making a big tradeoff in the display department, using an LCD panel instead of AMOLED in order to keep the price down. This phone has a 6.8-inch 144Hz panel, with good maximum and minimum brightness and nice-looking colors. I believe Motorola decided to go for an LCD display to keep the costs down, and while I must admit this makes sense, some people might be put off by its lack of deep dark blacks and great saturation.
The display is easily readable in direct sunlight. However, the glass that covers it is a bit on the reflective side, which makes it harder to see in some particular situations.
The resolution of this display is good, but not the best. Because it is so large, it isn't the sharpest panel, and pixels are visible up close. Still, the FHD+ resolution is more than adequate for the Moto G200’s price point.
The 144Hz refresh rate of the display is perfect for gaming and makes the user interface feel very smooth and responsive.
The CIE 1931 xy color gamut chart represents the set(area)of colors that a display can reproduce,with the sRGB colorspace(the highlighted triangle)serving as reference.The chart also provides a visual representation of a display's color accuracy. The small squares across the boundaries of the triangle are the reference points for the various colors, while the small dots are the actual measurements. Ideally, each dot should be positioned on top of its respective square. The 'x:CIE31' and 'y:CIE31' values in the table below the chart indicate the position of each measurement on the chart. 'Y' shows the luminance (in nits) of each measured color, while 'Target Y' is the desired luminance level for that color. Finally, 'ΔE 2000' is the Delta E value of the measured color. Delta E values of below 2 are ideal.
The Color accuracy chart gives an idea of how close a display's measured colors are to their referential values. The first line holds the measured (actual) colors, while the second line holds the reference (target) colors. The closer the actual colors are to the target ones, the better.
The Grayscale accuracy chart shows whether a display has a correct white balance(balance between red,green and blue)across different levels of grey(from dark to bright).The closer the Actual colors are to the Target ones,the better.
The best part about this phone is its performance. The Motorola Moto G200 has one of the best processors out there, a Snapdragon 888+. This chip offers flagship performance and handles anything you throw at it with ease. There are pretty much no phones at this price point powered by this processor, and this is the strongest selling point of the Moto G200 5G.
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Motorola’s Moto G200 has 8GB of RAM and 128GB or 256GB of storage. Unfortunately, there is no microSD card slot, but you should still be fine with either storage version. The RAM is enough for multitasking, and the software on this phone feels well optimized. The phone doesn’t heat up easily, which is great news for heavy gamers.
As mentioned earlier, this phone has 5G. It is Sub-6GHz, and I’ve had no problems with reception, internet speeds, or call quality. Check out the benchmark comparisons of the Moto G200 too:
If the T-Rex HD component of GFXBench is demanding,then the Manhattan test is downright gruelling.It's a GPU-centric test that simulates an extremely graphically intensive gaming environment that is meant to push the GPU to the max. that simulates a graphically-intensive gaming environment on the screen. The results achieved are measured in frames per second, with more frames being better.
The Motorola Moto G200 runs Android 11 out of the box. It has a clean user interface, with only some Motorola-specific features added. An update to Android 12 is expected. I’ve had no software-related problems with my review unit.
Motorola’s Ready For software platform is present on the Moto G200. This platform allows your phone to act as a computer when connected to an external display like a TV or a monitor. You can use the phone’s display as a trackpad and keyboard. You can also connect accessories via Bluetooth.
When connected to a Windows 10 PC, the Ready For platform lets you easily move around files from your phone to your computer. You can also access all of your apps, notifications, make and receive calls, and text from your PC when the phone is connected. You can connect the Moto G200 both wirelessly and via USB. Keep in mind that the latter is more reliable, especially if your Wi-Fi connection isn’t the best.
Camera
The Motorola Moto G200 has a triple-camera system featuring a 108MP main shooter with an f/1.9 aperture. It also has an 8MP f/2.2 ultra-wide camera and a 2MP f/2.4 depth sensor.
It is fair to say that the Moto G200 isn’t a camera champ. Photos taken during the day by the main 108MP camera pack plenty of detail, but the results look a bit warmer than in real life. Exposure is accurate, and focus is fast. Just like the Edge series, the Moto G200 has Ultra Pixel technology. This technology combines nine pixels into a single larger one, so theoretically, the camera will have better low-light performance. This grouping of pixels is the reason why the camera takes 12MP photos instead of 108MP ones.
The 8MP ultra-wide camera disappoints. It produces pictures with low levels of detail even during the day. The exposure is accurate, but I noticed that it likes to blow out yellows and other light warm tones. The Moto G200 also has a Macro mode. This mode can capture some nice pictures, but it often struggles with focusing on the first try, so you better make sure the object you’re shooting is in focus.
Motorola’s Moto G200 does not have a periscope or a portrait/telephoto shooter. Light zooming in is fine, but after 3x digital zoom the image starts to deteriorate more noticeably.
Night photography with the Moto G200 isn’t that impressive either. The main camera struggles when capturing smaller or far- away objects, as the results look grainy and sometimes very blurry. The colors are a bit washed out. Thankfully, the Night Vision mode helps with those, as it offers more saturation and bumps up the highlights. Night Vision is definitely recommended in order to end up with usable results.
The ultra-wide camera is simply unusable during the night. The 8MP sensor struggles not only with detail but also with focusing. Exposure and color reproduction aren't accurate at all.
When it comes to the selfie camera, it has a 16MP sensor with f/2.2 aperture. It is capable of producing some nice selfies, but these aren’t very detailed. Pictures often look a bit soft, and the camera sometimes struggles to find the right exposure. During the night, detail is adequate, especially with Night Vision on, and the camera produces good results.
Video-wise, the Moto G200 is alright. This phone can record in 8K 24fps, but I won’t advise you to do that. The end 8K video is very shaky, as the stabilization seems to be almost non-existent. The 4K 30fps video looks great during the day, and it's the overall best choice. It captures plenty of detail with accurate exposures and colors. The 60fps 4K video is less stable as it is shakier, but it's good if you’re not moving around much and you are trying to capture moving objects. The 60fps video setting captures less detail than the 30fps one.
During the night, I recorded in 4K 30fps. The Moto G200 seemed to struggle with focusing, and overall, the video looks blurry and definitely not as great as the one from during the day. This phone’s cameras aren’t very good in low-light conditions, so if you’re keen on filming during the night, I suggest you go for an iPhone or a Samsung Galaxy device instead.
Battery life
The Motorola Moto G200 has a 5,000mAh battery. With the screen’s refresh rate setting set on Auto, the phone lasted me almost two days on a single charge. If you go for the 60Hz refresh rate setting, this phone will probably last even longer. The software and hardware seem to be well optimized, as the battery doesn’t drain a lot during the night.
When it comes to charging, the Moto G200 isn't very impressive. Motorola’s mid-range phone supports 33W wired charging and has no wireless charging capabilities. I managed to charge the battery from 20 to 80% in about an hour. There are many faster-charging phones out there, but in this price range, the charging speed of the G200 is fine.
However, you do get the 33W charging brick in the box, which is a nice gesture. Less and less smartphones nowadays come with a charger. Props to Motorola for even including a silicon case in the box. The case is clear and feels quality made.
Iskren, a tech journalist at PhoneArena, has been passionate about technology since his childhood, sparked by his early experiences with phones like the Ericsson T28 and Sony Ericsson P910i. After earning a bachelor's degree in Media and Journalism, he turned his fascination with smartphones into a career, with a particular interest in Apple and Motorola. Outside of his tech pursuits, Iskren enjoys watching TV series, movies, driving, and has a deep passion for cars and Formula 1. He looks forward to the future of mobile tech, particularly the potential of rollable smartphones.
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