The Moto e that launched in 2014 kind of revolutionized affordable phones in India. The handset didn’t offer the best of specs but offered an unprecedented experience for the value price. Of course, a lot has changed since then and the moto e6s that debuts in an entirely different (and much more hostile) environment, plays by a very different set of rules.
One may rightly argue that the series names and their said legacies are mostly reduced to branding exercises and the strongest common link between Moto e phones across different generations is only their price range. Nevertheless, the Moto e branding evokes a sweet, wistful nostalgia and that made us quite eager to experience the new Moto e6s in person.
But taking a more pragmatic approach, is the handset competent enough to take on the likes of Realme C2 and Redmi 7A? We will try and answer such questions in the Moto e6s hands-on review that follows.
Moto e6s Price and Specifications
| Model | Moto e6s |
| Display | 6.1-inch HD+ IPS LCD (1560 x 720), Waterdrop notch |
| Processor | octa-core 2.0GHz, MediaTek Helio P22 |
| RAM | 4GB |
| Internal Storage | 64GB, Dedicated card slot (512GB) |
| Software | Android 9.0 Pie |
| Back Camera | 13MP (f/2.0) + 2MP depth sensor |
| Front Camera | 8MP (f/2.0) |
| Battery | 3000mAh, 10W charger |
| Indian Price | 7,999 INR |
Moto e6s Design and Build
The Moto e6s has a functional design and it also conforms to the modern trends. The front of the phone is predominantly screen and the selfie camera is housed within a U-shaped notch. There are dual rear cameras on the back and the Moto dimple doubles as a reliable and easily accessible capacitive fingerprint sensor.
Lenovo bundles a case in the box and even when put in case the Moto e6s is light and extremely ergonomic.
But this is, after all, an entry-grade phone and if you look in close, gaps begin to show. The removable back is kind of flimsy and attracts way too many smudges (no oleophobic coating). There is a sizeable chin below the screen and ports at the top and bottom are arbitrarily aligned.
We’d say none of these flaws is a dealbreaker at the given price. At the end of the day, the Moto e6s is comfortable to wield and looks decent enough.
Moto e6s display
The 6.1-inch IPS LCD display on the new Moto has standard HD+ resolution. Once again, the panel is sharp enough and most people should be content with the crispness of texts and images rendered on the screen. We noticed that the whites are marred by harsh blue tint and display settings don’t have an option to fix the color temperature. You can, however, use the night light at low intensity if you prefer light-on-eyes, warmer tones. The display settings also list a system-wide night mode that we find quite useful.
We will be testing the Moto e6s some more and will be back with a final verdict on the display in our full review.
Moto e6s performance and software
The Moto e6s is powered by a 12nm process based 2.0GHz octa-core MediaTek Helio P22 chipset. This is the same chipset that powers the Realme C2. It’s not a particularly snappy chip but can comfortably cruise you through regular day-to-day usage without any stuttering.
And on the Moto e6s, the Helio P22 enjoys the assistance of 4GB RAM and 64GB internal storage. This is an important consideration because most other alternatives in this price range are stuck on 3GB RAM/ 32GB storage and to have more RAM and Storage on an ultra-affordable phone is always advantageous as it assures of durability in performance over the long run.
The clean stock Android software is another positive to look forward to. Moto has sprinkled some customizations here and there, but for the most part, the interface is clean and intuitive stock Android.
The fingerprint sensor and Face Unlock work remarkably well. The phone has DRM L3 content protection certificate (eligible for SD streaming on certain apps), but I assume that it shouldn’t be of much concern to target consumers.
The handset has a modest 3000mAh battery and a basic 10W charger comes bundled in the box. Considering the power efficient chipset on board and HD+ resolution display, we are optimistic about the battery mileage.
Camera expectations
This is the first Moto e with dual cameras. There’s a 13MP sensor with f/2.0 aperture lens paired with a 2MP basic depth sensor. On the front, the Moto e6s has an 8MP sensor for selfies.
It won’t be wise to expect much in terms of photography in this budget, but the images we are clicked in proper lighting are quite good. We are not yet done with our camera testing and will have to get back to you with a final verdict in our full review.
Some Samples:
Moto e6s First Impression
The Moto e6s is an affordable phone that covers most basics. The phone is very comfortable to hold and operate, has a decent set of cameras, and the almost-pure Android software will surely lend it an edge over phones with bloated interfaces and system-levels ads which are very common in this price range. Another big attraction is the 4GB RAM and 64GB storage option at a value price.
It’s still soon to pass a verdict, but for now, the Moto e6s seems like a very competitive option. We will be back with a final verdict in our review very soon.
