Moto G34 review: Budget range smartphone with powerful performance

Moto G34 review: The new Motorola smartphone shines bright in the budget segment. Check out the full review to know if it's worth the hype.

The Moto G34 is priced at Rs.10999 (Aishwarya Panda/ HT Tech)

Moto G34 review: Motorola has been rolling out its G-series smartphones for over a decade now, and a new generation was launched in January. The Moto G34 was announced in the budget segment with its vegan leather back, punchy color options and some great specs. And I must say right at the start that I was astonished by the powerful performance of this budget offering. I have been using the Moto G34 for over a week now and from performance, user interface, to camera, it has topped the charts in my opinion. Have an in-depth look at the Moto G34 review.

Moto G34 review: Design

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The smartphone is available in three unique color options: Charcoal Black, Ice Blue and Ocean Green. (Aishwarya Panda/HT Tech)

The smartphone is available in three unique color options: Charcoal Black, Ice Blue and Ocean Green. (Aishwarya Panda/HT Tech)

The Moto G34's unique offering is its vegan leather back with a lightweight design. The smartphone is available in three unique color options: Charcoal Black, Ice Blue and Ocean Green. I have the Ocean Green color which consists of a leather back while the Charcoal Black and Ice Blue variant sports an Acrylic Glass back. If we look into leather back, I was not much flattered by the choice of leather as in Motorola's other devices which looked quite premium in my opinion. Although the color is quite attractive, the leather seems to take away its beauty when it comes to its other features. On the back, the device also houses a dual camera sensor with an LED flashlight and the Motorola branding.

On the right side, you will find the volume and on the left side, it sports the SIM storage. On the bottom, the Moto G34 houses a USB-C type port, speakers, and a 3.5 mm audio jack. Overall, I like how compact and lightweight the device is apart from its back design. The smartphone is comfortable to hold in hand and it does not slip. The smartphone also does not attract any dust or fingerprints, keeping it looking clean and shiny at all times.

Moto G34 review: Display

 

The Moto G34 features a 6.5-inch HD+ IPS LCD display. (Aishwarya Panda/ HT Tech)

The Moto G34 features a 6.5-inch HD+ IPS LCD display. (Aishwarya Panda/ HT Tech)

The Moto G34 features a 6.5-inch HD+ IPS LCD display which provides crisp visuals and punchy color. On the front screen, it comes with a a noticeable amount of bezels, while on the sides they are quite sleek. Although, I do not have any complaints about the display, but there is a noticeable difference between an AMOLED and an LCD display. The differences were not very visible while streaming content or playing games. However, you can clearly experience the LCD panel while performing basic smartphone tasks such as scrolling social media. You must also note that while playing the BGMI battle royale game, the highest setting only reaches HD mode. The Moto G34 offers up to 120Hz refresh rate, making the smartphone's navigation swift and easy. The touch was very responsive and I did not face any lag or stuck screen issues.

Now that the good parts of the display have been discussed, let's also explore where the users could face significant problems having an LCD screen. The Moto G34 offers up to 580 nits peak brightness which is comfortable for streaming movies and screens indoors. However, during peak sunlight hours, the screen gets completely dark making it hard to use outdoors. Therefore, you might face such problems during the daytime with such low brightness.

Moto G34 review: Camera

The smartphone comes with a 50 MP primary camera and a 16MP front camera. (Aishwarya Panda/ HT Tech)

The smartphone comes with a 50 MP primary camera and a 16MP front camera. (Aishwarya Panda/ HT Tech)

The Moto G34 features a dual camera setup which consists of a 50 MP primary camera and a 2MP Macro camera. The primary camera manages to capture snappy images with great detail and crisp colors. I will not say that it is the best in the market in the camera department, but it will surely not disappoint you. It captures decent images, making it perfect for social media purposes. However, the main sensor struggles to focus on the subject when put in portrait mode. It unevenly brings focus making it harder to take portrait images. Its night camera also manages to capture satisfactory images with fine details and lights.

On the front, the Moto G34 sports a 16MP front camera which was decent in places where the lights are good. It captures every detail of the face and while making it bright which I liked about the device. Therefore, overall the Moto G34 is a hit in the sub Rs.10000 category. I believe it could be a great competition to Lava Blaze 2, Infinix Hot 40i, and more in the category.

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Moto G34 review: Performance

 

The device comes with an octa-core 6nm Snapdragon 695 chipset. (Aishwarya Panda/ HT Tech)

The device comes with an octa-core 6nm Snapdragon 695 chipset. (Aishwarya Panda/ HT Tech)

The smartphone is equipped with an octa-core 6nm Snapdragon 695 chipset which handles the day-to-day tasks easily. Despite being an old chipset, I was surprised at how perfectly the smartphone performed throughout. I did not face any stutter or lag while switching between apps frequently or playing heavy-duty games. There were no instances of frame drops and slow movements as I was easily able to play BGMI for about an hour. Then I also instantly switched to Netflix, to see if there was any heating or lag, but there was none. In terms of performance, this is one of the best smartphones in the budget segment.

The smartphone also offers enough storage of 4GB/6GB RAM and 128GB internal storage. It runs on Motorole's MyUX based on Android 14. I find the company's UI very intuitive and easy to use. It looks attractive as well, therefore, people who like to maintain their aesthetics would love how the device could be customised and used. The UI also enables users to choose the gesture navigation, game mode, sidebar, and much more. Additionally, with Moto G34, users also get one year of OS upgrade and 3 years of security updates.

One of the annoying things about the smartphone was the bloatware and pre-installed apps. Although, you will not notice flashy advertisements.

Moto G34 review: Battery

 

The Moto G34 is backed by a 5000mAh battery. (Aishwarya Panda/ HT Tech)

The Moto G34 is backed by a 5000mAh battery. (Aishwarya Panda/ HT Tech)

Rating

4 out of 5

Price

INR 10,999/-

Product Name

G34

Brand Name

Motorola

Pros

• Lasting battery
• Satisfactory performance
• Swift UI

Cons

• Portrait mode
• Pre-installed apps

Specifications

• Display
  6.5-inch
• Rear camera
  50 MP
• Front camera
  16 MP
• Processor
  Snapdragon 695
• Battery
  5000 mAh

The Moto G34 is backed by an impressive 5000mAh battery. With basic smartphone usage such as calling, scrolling social media, streaming videos, or light gameplay it will provide you with up to 7 hours of performance time on a single charge. Despite being a budget device, its battery performance was exceptional. The device supports a 20W fast charging that takes about 1 hour and 30 minutes of charge time. Therefore, the device has the ability to last over a day with medium usage, making it one of the better handsets in this segment.

Moto G34 review: Verdict

If you are looking for a budget smartphone which could manage all your basic tasks swiftly then you should not think twice about the Moto G34. Performance-wise, the smartphone has the qualities which a budget buyer would need. The camera performance was also decent, although the portrait mode is a bummer. Also, if you are not a fan of vegan leather back then you can consider other color options that have Acrylic Glass. Apart from its minimalistic design, there was nothing much about the Moto G34 that I did not like.