Moto G60, Moto G40 Fusion first impressions: Motorola joins the ‘specs war’ to take on Xiaomi and Realme

Motorola expanded its value-oriented Moto G line-up on Tuesday with the introduction of two new phones: Moto G60 and Moto G40 Fusion. Both phones are launching first in India. They are Motorola’s answer to Xiaomi’s Redmi Note 10 Pro Max and Redmi Note 10 Pro. The Moto G60 will also compete with the Realme 8 Pro.

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Moto G60 and Moto G40 Fusion are virtually the same phones with the only major difference being the former has a more powerful main camera (it also has a higher resolution front camera). The Moto G60 also supports NFC if you’re into that sort of thing. There is obviously, the price difference. While the Moto G40 Fusion starts at Rs 13,999, the Moto G60 starts at Rs 17,999. For some context, the Redmi Note 10 Pro Max starts at Rs 18,999, while the Redmi Note 10 Pro starts at Rs 15,999. The Realme 8 Pro starts at Rs 17,999.

Join them, to fight them

Just one look at the spec-sheets of the Moto G60 and Moto G40 Fusion is enough to figure out Motorola’s new strategy. Motorola is joining the specs war and while this strategy has been in place for some time now, with its new phones, it seems finally ready to match Xiaomi and Realme on an even ground.

There is a lot of ground to cover so, let’s get started.

Moto G60 and Moto G40 Fusion are virtually the same phones. (Photo credit: Saurabh Singh/Financial Express)

As mentioned earlier, both Moto G60 and Moto G40 Fusion are virtually the same phones. They have largely the same specs. They also have the same design. Sort of like the Redmi Note 10 Pro Max and Redmi Note 10 Pro.

Both phones have 120Hz screens. (Photo credit: Saurabh Singh/Financial Express)

The big draw here is the tall 6.8-inch LCD “max vision” display with full-HD resolution and fast 120Hz refresh rate. The panel gets sufficiently bright and shows rich colours with Motorola offering three pre-sets – natural, boosted and saturated – for calibration. There is no manual toggle though. Motorola’s AI algorithm can decide the optimum refresh rate between 60- and 120Hz that is better suited for specific scenarios when set to auto mode. Rounding off the package is HDR10 support.

Also Read | Realme 8 Pro review: Starry-eyed 108MP camera wonder

Under the hood, both phones come with the tried and tested Qualcomm Snapdragon 732G processor (also seen inside the Redmi Note 10 Pro Max and Redmi Note 10 Pro while the Realme 8 Pro has Snapdragon 720G). This is paired with up to 6GB RAM and up to 128GB storage – this is uMCP with Motorola claiming performance on the lines of UFS2.2. Both phones also support expandable storage of up to 1TB via a hybrid micro-SD card slot. Powering the phones is a massive 6,000mAh battery with 20W fast charging (QC4.0). Motorola will bundle a compliant charger in the box.

Moto G60 has a 108MP camera. (Photo credit: Saurabh Singh/Financial Express)

The Moto G60 becomes the third phone under 20K to sport a high-resolution 108MP primary camera. Motorola is using the same Samsung ISOCELL HM2 1/1.52-inch sensor with 0.7µm pixels as Xiaomi and Realme. This is paired with a slightly larger f/1.7 aperture lens (f/1.9 in Note 10 Pro Max, f/1.88 in Realme 8 Pro) so technically, it should be wee bit better at gathering more light. While initial results seem promising, the phone can be slow to focus and personally, I am not impressed with the shutter speed as well. The phone is definitely in need of a software update.

The Moto G40 Fusion swaps the 108MP camera with a watered down, though still very capable 64MP sensor. This paired with an 8MP ultra-wide-angle camera that does double duty as a macro shooter. There is also a 2MP depth camera, to serve as the customary spec-filler. Both phones can record 4K videos @30fps. The ultra-wide-angle camera tops out at 1080p @30fps in both phones.

The Moto G60 has a 32MP front camera while the Moto G40 Fusion comes with a 16MP front cam.

Both phones are claimed to be water-repellent. (Photo credit: Saurabh Singh/Financial Express)

Design is perhaps the weakest link of the Moto G60 and Moto G40 Fusion especially next to competition. Both phones are big and chunky (225g, 9.8mm) with a plastic back (available in glossy Dynamic Gray and matte Frosted Champagne) and screen protection that Motorola claims is somewhere between Corning Gorilla Glass 3 and 5 – but nothing that is explicitly specified. Motorola is sticking with a rear-mounted fingerprint scanner that works well. Both phones are also claimed to be water-repellent.

The Motorola trump card

Motorola is pairing all those “noteworthy” specs with what is without a doubt one of the best implementation of stock Android 11. The problem with going stock is, you can’t make everybody happy. Vanilla Android, the kind that Nokia, even Micromax now offer leaves a lot of users wanting for more customisation chops. That is where the argument for third-party skins like MIUI and Realme UI comes in – but then, not everybody may be looking for the added complexity.

Both phones run Android 11. (Photo credit: Saurabh Singh/Financial Express)

Motorola’s take on software is a lot more balanced. It is easy on the senses and yet, it offers enough legroom for thoughtful customisation. While it is possible to tweak the look and feel of the phone(s) from the settings, Motorola has built a dedicated app that puts everything together in one place. This is your one stop shop for styles, wallpapers and layout as well as Moto Actions, Moto Display, and Moto Gametime. All this works well and provides a nice, cohesive experience. In addition, the Moto G60 and Moto G40 Fusion also come with what Motorola call Business Grade Security with multiple layers of protection. Hopefully, it will follow all this up with timely updates.

Undercutting Xiaomi, Realme

Motorola isn’t just going neck and neck in terms of specs, it is also undercutting Xiaomi and Realme in pricing. The Moto G40 Fusion is priced at Rs 13,999 for 4GB/64GB and Rs 15,999 for 6GB/128GB. The Moto G60 is priced at Rs 17,999 for 6GB/128GB. ICICI bank card users will be eligible for Rs 1,500 discount on Moto G60 and Rs 1,000 on Moto G40 Fusion.

Moto G40 Fusion is priced at Rs 13,999 for 4GB/64GB. (Photo credit: Saurabh Singh/Financial Express)

The effective prices then become:

• Moto G40 Fusion: 4GB/64GB: Rs 12,999, 6GB/128GB: Rs 14,999
• Moto G60: 6GB/128GB: Rs 16,499

Both Moto G60 and Moto G40 Fusion are very likeable phones and Motorola has also priced them well in India. More importantly, they have competitive specs while at the same time, their unadulterated software (minus any duplicate apps, bloatware) gives them an edge over competition. Watch this space for out full review of the Moto G60 and Moto G40 Fusion in the days to come.

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