Moto G42 Review: An all-rounder that lasts all-day

Moto G42 review Summary:

Editor’s rating: 3.8/5

Motorola has been aggressively pushing new phones in the Indian markets. The company has been dolling out a mix of 4G and 5G phones across different price segments.  Just last week, Motorola launched Moto G42 in India. The smartphone promises to offer powerful performance at an affordable price. It comes with a Snapdragon chipset, triple camera setup, AMOLED display, and large battery life. All this looks enticing on paper, but does the real-world performance actually make it a smart buy? Read on to find out.

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Jump To..

• Unboxing
• Price and availability
• Design
• Display
• Performance
• Camera
• Battery
• Should you buy Moto G42?
• FAQ

Moto G42: Price & Availability In India

The Motorola G42 comes in 2 storage models-

• 4GB RAM+64GB storage
• 4GB RAM+128GB storage

It will be available in 2 colours- Atlantic Green and Metallic Rose via Flipkart and all other e-commerce portals.

Moto G42 Specs

Specs	Moto G42
Software	Android 12 with OxygenOS 12.1
Display	6.4-inch FHD+ AMOLED, 60Hz refresh rate
SoC	Qualcomm Snapdragon 680
RAM	up to 4GB
Storage	up to 128GB
Rear cameras	50MP+8MP+2MP
Front camera	16MP
Battery	5000mAh
Charging	20W Turbo Power
Size	160.61×73.47×8.26mm
Weight	174.5 grams
Connectivity	Bluetooth 5.0, WiFi 802.11, GPS, GLONASS, USB Type- C and more

Moto G42: Unboxing

The Moto G42 comes in a regular dark blue colored cardboard box. It contains-

• Moto G42 handset
• 20W power adapter
• Protective cover
• USB Type-C cable
• SIM tool
• Quick Guides

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Moto G42 Review: Design

The Moto G42 smartphone has a design that is quite similar to other Motorola smartphones. What really separates it from other Motorola phones is the colour options. The Moto G42 comes in 2 colours- Atlantic Green and Metallic Rose, both shades being different from what Motorola usually offers. I received the Metallic Green variant for review purposes and the device looked attractive from the backside. The back features a Motorola logo in the centre and Motorola branding at the bottom.

There is a rectangular camera module at the top which contains triple lenses. The smartphone is primarily made of PMMA Acrylic material with a glass-like finish. With light reflecting back, the Moto G42 looks premium in hand. The phone has a strong build quality and can be operated with one hand. My only concern with the phone’s design is its slippery back. Thankfully, its curved edges make it easy to hold.

Like most modern-day phones, this one too has a selfie camera in the front punched on the screen. The chin has slightly thicker bezels than the other sides. What I liked most about the phone is it is sleek and light in weight. With a thickness of 8.26mm and a weight of 174.5 grams, Moto G42 is one of the lightest and thinnest phones in the segment.

The right edge houses the volume rockers as well as the power button whereas the left edge has a dual SIM tray. The bottom side consists of the speaker grille, USB Type-C port, and a microphone whereas the top edge has a 3.5mm headphone jack.

The Moto G42 is IP52 rated for water resistance and the camera module has a renewed design with the metallic aluminium camera.

ALSO READ: Motorola G82 5G Review – A mid-ranger that widens your horizon

Moto G42 Review: Display

The Moto G42 sports a 6.4-inch AMOLED display which is of decent size. The smartphone comes with a DCI-P3 colour gamut which gives richer colours and deeper blacks. The visuals look sharp, crisp, and paunchy as the colours are vibrant and lifelike. Where the display lacks is brightness level and refresh rate. The Moto G42 comes with a 60Hz refresh rate which is too low for even an under 15k smartphone.

If you are used to using a phone with a 90hz or higher screen you will feel the difference. The screen has a peak brightness of 700 nits. Under direct sunlight, you will be able to read the contents on the screen. The display comes with SGS-certified low blue light emissions which do make it easy on the eyes and safer too.

Moto G42 Review: Camera

The Moto G42 features a triple camera setup at the back. It includes a 50MP main lens, an 8MP ultrawide+ depth sensor, and a 2MP macro lens. The front sees a 16MP selfie camera.

The Camera UI is simple and user-friendly. There is a circular shutter in the centre, with right and left swipes giving options like Portrait, Pro, Slow Motion, and more. The settings menu has options like AI settings, photos, videos, capture settings, etc.

Coming to camera quality, the 50MP main sensor gives beautiful images in daylight. The shades of blues, greens, and reds all look bright and vibrant. The images are full of details and have a certain depth to them. The clicks are clear and the edges also see no distortion of any kind.

Coming to indoor settings, the images in artificial lights are also decent. The colours look bright, the brightness looks sharp and the detailing is not lost. Even if the lighting is a little poor, the images are clear and never look faded or distorted.

There is a night mode as well and it gives good images with as much clarity as possible. The shadows look sharp while the moonlit sky was also clear with correct shades of black and grey.

The 8MP ultrawide camera delivers underwhelming results. The FOV it can cover is decent but the edges lack detailing. The colours are not that accurate whether the images are taken in indoor or outdoor settings.

2MP macro lens clicks closeup shots that don’t have any clarity or detail. There is no autofocus and the subject is not highlighted from its surroundings. It would have been better if Motorola had kept a dual-camera setup.

The 16MP selfie camera works well. The selfies reflect human subjects highlighted ones from their background and are detailed as well. The color tones are close to real/natural and the focus is kept on the people in the frame, not on any other objects.

Moto G42 Review: Performance

The Moto G42 smartphone is powered by Snapdragon 680 chipset. Combined with 4GB RAM and Adreno 610 GPU, the device is fast and efficient. The apps run smoothly and load quickly. Multitasking is easy as the various apps running in the background rarely ever crash or lag. Tasks like clicking photos, watching videos, browsing, and calling are all seamless even if all these apps are running simultaneously in the background.

Gaming is where a slight hitch occurs as the processor does slow down the game a little bit when it is run in HD graphics and high frame rates. Otherwise, games like BGMI: Mobile also runs smoothly. There is 64GB of space for storage which is adequate to store important audio, videos, documents, and pictures. The results of various benchmark tests are-

The thermal performance is poor as the device did heat up quite a bit when it was charging or when a benchmark test was being run on it. Thermal performance could have been better.

Talking about the software part, the device runs Android 12 with an enhanced stock android experience. The UI is mostly clean with no adware and very little bloatware. There are options for customizations and personalization. The company has promised an update to Android 13 and 3 years of security updates as well.

Moto experiences like swipe fingerprints for notifications, lift to check phone, prevent ringing and more make the experience different from other smartphones while the security options include a side-mounted fingerprint reader and face unlock.

Connectivity options include a Type-C port, WiFi 802.11, Bluetooth 5.0, 4G LTE, and more. The call quality is decent as the voice of the microphone and earpiece both work fine. There are stereo speakers with Dolby Atmos which are just about average and could have been improved while the device does come with support for Google Assistant and sensors like proximity sensor, gyroscope, ambient light sensor, and more.

Moto G42 Review: Battery

The Moto G42 packs a 5000mAh battery which is huge and lasts an entire day if your usage is moderate. My usage included social media browsing, reading books, watching videos, listening to music, browsing google for articles, calling, texting, and using a little bit of camera. With this kind of usage, the battery easily lasted for an entire day. On days when I used the phone for long gaming sessions, the battery had to be charged once before the day ended.

Moreover, it comes with a 20W Turbo Power adapter inside the box. The 20W fast charger charged the device from 0 to 100% in about 2 hours and 10 minutes. Although the charging time might feel long, since charging has to be done mostly once, it should not be much of a bother.

Moto G42 Review Verdict: Should you buy it?

The Moto G42 is a fairly decent device for its under 15k price point. The smartphone comes with Snapdragon 680 chipset, AMOLED display, Android 12 OS, and a triple camera setup at the back. It has a functional design and builds. Apart from that day to day performance is also better than most Sub 15K phones.

Having said that, there are downsides as well because the device has a 60Hz refresh rate, poor thermal performance, and is slippery in hand. All in all Moto G42 will work for you if you are looking for an affordable device for day-to-day needs, but if you are an avid gamer then you might skip buying this one.

Moto G42 FAQs

Q: Does Moto G42 support 5G?

A: No. it does not.

Q: Does Moto G42 come with fast charging?

A: Yes, it comes with 18W fast charging.

Q: Is NFC available in Moto G42?

Ans: Yes, it has NFC.

Q: What colors do the Motorola G42 come in?

A: Blue and Rose Gold.