Moto G85 Review: Does It Hold a Candle to the Competition?

The moto g85 was launched a few weeks ago and its main highlight was the large curved P-OLED display. Aside from that, it packs a 50 MP main camera and a 32 MP selfie camera. Additionally, it supports eSIM and is powered by a 5,000 mAh battery with 33W fast charging. 

The phone is priced at ₹17,999 for the 8/128 GB variant. But is it really worth the price? In this review, we’ll dive into the software experience, hardware, performance, gaming capabilities, and daily usage to find out exactly that. So, let’s get started.

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moto g85 Review – Design & Build

First off, let’s talk about the design of the moto g85. It features a plastic build, but the back is covered with vegan leather, which, to be clear, is just another form of plastic. Nonetheless, it feels great in the hand.

Up top, you’ll find a secondary microphone, while the bottom houses the SIM tray, primary microphone, USB Type-C 2.0 port, and speaker. Although there’s no dedicated stereo speaker, the top earpiece does double as a secondary one.

On the right side, you have the power button and volume rockers. They’re positioned a bit higher than I’d prefer—it can be a bit of a stretch to reach them comfortably. The left side is completely bare with a clean look. 

The front has a curved display with a center punch hole, and while the bezels are reasonably thin, the top and bottom are slightly thicker than the sides. The side frame has a matte finish, but it’s made of plastic. 

The phone has a nice grip and doesn’t slip out of your hand, despite being lightweight. Speaking of weight, the moto g85 tips the scale at 171 grams, which is quite good. The front is protected by Gorilla Glass 5.

For the SIM card tray, you’ve got a dual nano-SIM setup with a microSD card slot, so you can expand your storage if needed. There’s also eSIM support. However, the moto g85 ditches the headphone jack, which might be a dealbreaker for some. 

The moto g85 comes in three color variants: Olive Green, Cobalt Blue, and Urban Gray. The Cobalt Blue variant we have looks quite appealing. The front also features an optical fingerprint reader embedded in the display. It’s accurate but not the fastest. 

There’s also 2D face unlock available. Unfortunately, there’s no NFC support, but you do get Bluetooth 5.1 and dual-band Wi-Fi 5. Additionally, the moto g85 comes with an IP52 rating for some dust and splash resistance.

moto g85 Review – Display and Speakers

The moto g85 features a 6.67” P-OLED curved display with a resolution of 1080 x 2400 pixels. It boasts support for 1B colors and a 120 Hz refresh rate, making the visuals vibrant and smooth. 

Also, it comes with a peak brightness of 1,600 Nits although there is no support for HDR. This makes the 1600 Nits display just a namesake thing. Nevertheless, the display can get plenty bright outdoors. 

I’ve had no issues with brightness, whether using the device indoors or outdoors. The display can also get quite dim for comfortable nighttime use, and there’s an extra dim toggle that’s particularly useful.

By default, the refresh rate is set to Auto mode, where it switches between 120 Hz, 90 Hz, and 60 Hz, depending on the content. When scrolling, the display shifts to 120 Hz, and it switches to a different refresh rate when playing a video or watching something static. All in all, the Auto mode is done very well. 

Again, if you want, you can force the display to always run at 120 Hz or even 60 Hz to, perhaps, save some battery.

As for the audio, the moto g85 comes with stereo speakers, but there isn’t a dedicated secondary speaker. Instead, the bottom-firing speaker works alongside the earpiece to deliver stereo sound. 

The bottom speaker is noticeably louder than the earpiece, so the sound isn’t perfectly balanced. Nevertheless, the speakers are loud and crisp, and I didn’t encounter any issues with them. Plus, there’s support for Dolby Atmos as well.

moto g85 Review - Software and Haptics

The moto g85 runs on Hello UI, which is based on Android 14. This marks a departure from the MyUX software found on earlier Motorola phones. Hello UI brings changes and new features like a revamped control center and Smart Connect. 

For those unfamiliar, Smart Connect allows you to connect your phone to a display or laptop, giving you a built-in trackpad for device control, wireless connections, Miracast support, file transfers, and even the ability to use your phone on your PC/laptop. 

Smart Connect also supports clipboard sharing and notification syncing across your devices, which is a really convenient addition. You can even sync and open files on your PC and other paired devices, which is, again, very useful.

While the Hello UI brings many new features, it also comes with some drawbacks. The UI can be buggy at times—animations for opening and closing apps are there, but when playing media, for instance, the media might skip while the media player fails to update, and the volume buttons sometimes don’t respond. 

These issues seem to be software bugs that hopefully get patched in future updates. Additionally, there are ads in the pre-installed weather app, which is quite annoying, especially since it’s pre-installed. 

This app keeps sending persistent notifications which can be cleared with a simple swipe. However, on a positive note, there are no ads outside of this app, but there is a fair share of bloatware like DailyHunt and more, which you can uninstall.

In terms of features, Hello UI retains many stock Android functionalities while adding some moto-exclusive ones like the chop-chop gesture, lock screen personalization, and the three-finger screenshot. 

However, Motorola’s track record with software updates hasn’t been stellar. The company has promised two years of OS updates and three years of security updates for the moto g85, which is decent for this price.

The haptics across the UI are well-implemented, giving you a tactile and satisfying experience, far better than the typical budget phone haptics. The typing experience is also good since the haptics give you tactile feedback.

All in all, the software experience on the moto g85 is a mixed bag. It does offer some exciting new features and excellent haptics; but the number of bugs and bloatware, along with the ads in the weather app, detracts from the overall experience.

moto g85 Review – Performance

The moto g85 is powered by the Snapdragon 6s Gen 3 SoC, which is essentially a rebranded version of the Snapdragon 695. While it offers a slight improvement in CPU performance, the difference is minimal, to the point that you would never notice. 

The chipset features 2x Cortex-A78 at 2.3 GHz and 6x Cortex-A55 at 2.0 GHz, along with an Adreno 619 GPU. In terms of memory, the phone comes in two configurations: 8 GB of LPDDR4X RAM with 128 GB of UFS 2.2 storage, and 12 GB of RAM with 256 GB of storage. I tested the 12 GB RAM and 256 GB storage variant.

Synthetic Benchmarks 

On AnTuTu v10, the moto g85 scored 472,323. In the storage tests, it achieved a score of 28,606, with sequential read and write speeds of 530 MB/s and 509 MB/s, respectively, and random read and write speeds of 227 MB/s and 218 MB/s. These results were consistent across multiple test runs.

In the CPDT test, the phone recorded sequential read and write speeds of 403 MB/s and 321 MB/s, respectively, and random read and write speeds of 14.92 MB/s and 17.93 MB/s for the first 4 KB. The memory copy speed averaged 5.12 GB/s.

For the CPU performance, the Geekbench 6 benchmark gave the moto g85 a single-core score of 926 and a multi-core score of 2,050. The GPU OpenCL score came in at 1,611. 

In 3DMark’s Wild Life Extreme test, the phone achieved an overall score of 414 with an average FPS of 2.48. The Wild Life Extreme Stress test revealed a best loop score of 418 and a lowest loop score of 411, with a stability of 98.3%. During this test, the battery dropped by 5%, and the temperature rose by 2°C, from 35°C to 37°C. 

Finally, in the CPU throttling test, the moto g85’s CPU throttled to 73% of its maximum performance, with an average GIPS score of 209,977. 

Gaming 

For the real performance test, I put the moto g85 through its paces with some popular games, starting with Asphalt 9. The game ran decently, with an average FPS of 28.07 in Default mode. When switching to Performance mode, I noticed a slight drop, with an average FPS of 27.49. 

Next, I tried Genshin Impact. Now, I know this game isn’t really tailored for this phone, but hey, I gave it a shot anyway. The graphics were, well, pretty bad. 

At the Lowest settings (which is the default for this device), I managed an average FPS of 27.42. However, playing in Custom 60 FPS mode somehow resulted in a lower average FPS of 26.66, and the phone got pretty toasty, with temperatures rising up to 45.3°C.

I also ran BGMI (Battlegrounds Mobile India) at Balanced + Ultra settings, which gave me an average FPS of 38.23. When I cranked it up to HD + High settings, the average FPS dipped to 28.50, but the temperature remained relatively cool at 41.3°C.

Lastly, I played Call of Duty at the highest available settings (Very High + Very High), where I got an average FPS of 58.13. This was the most stable and smooth experience, but even then, there were some noticeable frame drops, especially during longer sessions.

Overall, the gaming experience on the moto g85 wasn’t exactly great, despite the FPS numbers. Frame drops were common, too. Motorola definitely needs to roll out some updates to optimize performance for a better gaming experience. 

Game Mode

On a side note, I used the Turbo Performance Mode via Motorola’s built-in Game Mode Toolkit for the best performance. Speaking of which, the Turbo Gaming Toolkit lets you take screenshots, record your screen, and even edit stuff. It also shows FPS, RAM usage, and temperatures. 

Plus, it lets you block notifications, cast your game to a bigger screen, adjust touch sensitivity, monitor Wi-Fi latency, and block calls. You can even run apps in floating window mode.

Overall 

Overall, the performance is on par with what you’d expect from a Snapdragon 695-based device. While it handles most tasks adequately, it doesn’t particularly excel in demanding scenarios, but for everyday use, it does just fine.

moto g85 Review – Cameras

The moto g85 features a dual camera setup on the rear that includes a 50 MP main sensor, an 8 MP ultra-wide lens. On the front, there’s a 32 MP shooter. Here are the detailed specifications:

• Main: 50 MP LYT600 f/1.7 1/1.95” 25 mm equivalent 
• Ultra-wide: 8 MP Samsung S5K4H7 f/2.2 1/3.2” 12.5 mm equivalent 
• Front: 32 MP Samsung S5KJD1 f/2.4 1/3.14” 25 mm equivalent 

Main

The main camera uses a 50 MP Sony LYT600 sensor with an f/1.7 aperture and a 1/1.95” sensor size. It has a 25 mm equivalent focal length and supports Optical Image Stabilization or OIS. 

This camera delivers vibrant and punchy colors, although they may not always be the most accurate. The dynamic range is average, but it can take some good backlit shots. There’s a 2x crop that can sometimes look artificial and oversharpened. 

Shadow retention and highlight management are well-handled, too. The Macro Mode on this camera provides detailed close-up shots, though colors can be overly vibrant. It’s not the best macro mode out there, but it does the job.

Low-light performance leaves a lot to be desired. Details are lacking, and the shots look a bit oversharpened. Highlight management and shadow retention are also very average. 

When it comes to portraits, the moto g85 mostly gets the skin tones right. However, the edge detection is a bit disappointing, and the processing tends to add some extra bits of unnecessary contrast and unnatural bokeh at times.  

Ultra-wide 

The ultrawide camera is an 8 MP sensor with an f/2.2 aperture and a 1/3.2” sensor size. This lens does not have OIS. It performs well in daylight, giving you sharp edges, good dynamic range, and a color science that closely matches the main camera. There is some lens flare, but it is generally a decent performer.

Front Camera

The 32 MP Samsung S5KJD1 sensor on the front camera comes with an f/2.4 aperture and a 1/3.14” sensor size. It captures detailed selfies with generally accurate skin tones. The portrait mode on this camera softens the face and brightens it slightly in indoor lighting, which, personally, I am not a fan of. 

Nonetheless, HDR performance is average, and edge detection in portrait mode can be inconsistent, sometimes leading to overly high contrast and unnatural bokeh, just like the main camera. Low-light selfies are okay but it could benefit from better noise correction and highlight control. 

Video Performance

The moto g85 records video in 1080p at either 30 or 60 fps, but the camera app doesn’t have the option to switch between these frame rates. Daylight videos have good dynamic range, but without stabilization, they can be very unstable. 

Enabling the stabilization mode helps reduce some of the shake but isn’t entirely effective. Selfie videos, on the other hand, suffer from poor HDR and lack of detail, with low light performance being particularly weak for both main and front cameras. 

Camera App

The camera app is somewhat laggy, with delays when switching between lenses or modes. The processing time is also a bit on the longer side, even in the Natural mode. 

However, it does include features such as Night Vision, Slow-motion Video, and the ability to shoot in RAW. The Macro Mode automatically activates the flash in low light, which is a useful addition. 

moto g85 Review – Battery Life and Charging

The moto g85 features a 5000 mAh battery with 33W Turbo Charging support. The charger included in the box is a Type-A adapter. Charging the battery to fully takes approximately 1 hour and 15 minutes using this 33W adapter. 

In terms of battery life, you can expect around 7 hours of screen-on time with moderate usage. For a device with this performance level, the battery life is good.

Review Verdict: Should You Buy the moto g85?