Moto One Power review: Value-for-money mid-range phone with big 5,000mAh battery

Brand: Motorola
Product: Moto One Power
Key specifications: 6.2-inch Max Vision Full HD+ display, Dual 16-megapixel and 5-megapixel rear cameras,Qualcomm Snapdragon 636 octa-core processor, 5,000mAh battery, 4GB of RAM,Android One
Price: ₹14,999
Rating: 3.5/5

Motorola's Moto G-series is credited for kicking off the trend of high-specced smartphones for the budget and mid-range segments in India. Though rival Xiaomi implemented the same formula and even succeeded, Motorola hasn't been able to pull off the same buzz as it did with the first two generations of Moto G.

The company is now betting big on its new Moto One Power, which is based on Google's Android One programme. Launched for ₹15,999 (now available for ₹14,999), Motorola Moto One Power takes on Xiaomi's Mi A2, which also runs on Google's Android One.

Unveiled at the IFA conference in Berlin this year, Moto One Power is one of the first Motorola phones to sport notch and full-screen display. The highlight of this phone is a big 5,000mAh battery coupled with the company's fast turbo charging support.

As explained in our detailed first impressions, Motorola's Moto One Power is unlike any other mid-range Motorola phone you may have seen in the past. It skips the iconic circular watch-dial-like camera module on the back and has more run-on-the-mill design with a vertical camera setup on the left top corner.

The fingerprint sensor is placed on the back. The front is evidently a big change with a fuller screen and notch on the top.

What makes Moto One Power different from contemporary mid-range phones is the thickness and weight. It's 8.98mm thick and weighs around 209 grams. Rival Mi A2 is 7.3mm thick and weighs 168grams. One of the possible reasons behind Moto One Power's thick body and weight could be the big battery inside.

The good thing is that it still manages to be compact with a 6.2-inch display, almost the size of OnePlus 6T. The bulky design, however, reminds us of Gionee's giant brick-like Marathon series.

Moto One Power comes with a 16MP and 5MP dual-rear camera system. The camera delivers pretty decent results in daylight but significantly deteriorates in the lowlight.

The HDR mode, however, comes in handy to improve photos quality in poor lighting.

Based on Android One, Moto One Power offers near stock Android experience. The phone was recently updated to Android Pie. The update brought most of the features available on Google's latest mobile OS iteration along with dual VoLTE support, new interface, and improvements to the camera performance. ALSO READ: Machine Learning to Digital Wellbeing, here are top features of Android Pie

The update, however, has been more critical to the smartphone's battery. While the 5,000mAh battery delivered for more than a day, the software-level optimisation (adaptive battery) has helped increase battery life of the phone. The phone lasts more than a day even if you're a power user.

On basic usage such as browsing and multimedia streaming, the phone is likely to give more juice. The turbo charging now supports USB Type-C and ensures you've about 40-50% charge in roughly 30 minutes. ALSO READ: Nokia 7.1 vs Xiaomi Mi A2 vs Moto One Power

Moto One Power relies on Qualcomm Snapdragon 636 processor coupled with 4GB of RAM. It may seem slightly inferior compared to Xiaomi Mi A2's Snapdragon 660 + 4GB RAM (base model), but One Power delivers satisfactory performance. From playing graphic-intensive games such as PUBG Mobile or Marvel Contest of Champions to long sessions of multimedia streaming, One Power does not lag at all.

Verdict
Moto One Power may have cut corners in terms of design but it's a good enough mid-range phone with excellent battery life. The camera, however, could have been slightly better. Xiaomi Mi A2 is still the best camera phone under ₹20,000 in India. That said, Xiaomi's new Redmi Note 6 Pro also uses Qualcomm Snapdragon 636 processor and is available at a starting price of ₹13,999. Compared to Redmi Note 6 Pro, Moto One Power looks like a definite alternative.