Moto G9 Power Review

Motorola has launched yet another budget phone in India. This new phone baptized Moto G9 Power comes in the wake of Moto G 5G (review) but is of lower order. Yep, as evident from the name, this is a mechanical sibling of Moto G9 (review), that had released a few months back. How is it different? – the clue’s in the name. (Moto G9 Power review हिंदी में पढ़िए)

Ah, anyway spilling the beans, the Moto G9 Power packs a bigger battery, a bigger display, and a bigger primary rear camera. But, if you recall, none of these specs on the original G9 were small, to begin with. So, let us see if the new upgrades are worth the slightly bigger price tag.

Speaking of which, here’s the Indian MSRP and what all you get for that —

Moto G9 Power Specs

Moto G9 Power Unboxing

And take a look at everything you get inside the box —

• Phone
• TPU Case (comes pre-applied)
• Turbo Charger
• USB-C cable
• Sim ejector tool
• Documentation papers

Out of the box, it looks like a very familiar phone. So, let’s get acquainted more. This is the Smartprix review of Moto G9 Power.

Page Jumps

• Moto G9 Power Design and Display
• Moto G9 Power Audio, Battery, and Connectivity
• Moto G9 Power Software and Performance
• Moto G9 Power Cameras

Moto G9 Power Design and Display

The signs of differences from the standard G9 appear on the front itself. This one flaunts a trendier left-cornered punch-hole cutout. The screen scales 6.8 inches. But other than these two, you would hardly notice a major difference in the visual experience on either screen. The LCD panel sticks to HD+ resolution and delivers natural color tones with agreeable viewing angles. Sharpness and brightness are average.

Only the bottom bezel gawks at you but should be handy while horizontal viewing. The curvier back also appeases the in-hand feel. I didn’t particularly dig the boxy design of the standard G9. Even changes like the placement of the Google button and the textured base makes a whole lot of experiential impact in regular usage. If you want a smoother finish by the back, slap on the supplied case.

The buttons are tactile and accessible, albeit with a slide of hand (Using towering phones is indeed a sleight of hand for tiny-handed people). Anyway, turn to the back, and there you’ve got a camera squircle and a moto logo (which doubles as a fingerprint reader). The screen takes a millisec to unlock. The face unlock is as wonky as ever. It’s a bit hesitant to work sometimes.

ALSO READ: MSI GS66 Stealth Review

Motorola addresses the device as water repellant, not water-resistant. What this means, is probably a barrier within the chassis and cavities to prevent damage due to accidental spills, splashes, or light rain from getting in. So, as the company mentions in the fine print, it is “not designed to be submerged in water, or exposed to pressurized water, or other liquids; may diminish over time.”

Moto G9 Power Audio, Battery, and Connectivity

Let’s start from where we left the design part. The handset features a solo fairly sounding speaker by the bottom and a 3.5mm headphone jack at the top. There is an option to tune and tweak audio using equalizer presets in the settings. As you can see you are getting a dual-mic system at this price and that’s good. Calls were audible for both parties.

Right in the midst of the mic and speaker lies a USB-C (2.0) port which is again a good thing to see in this range. The connector links to a 20W adapter that takes around a quarter to 3 hours to fill the gargantuan 6000mAh battery. From full to null, it would easily last two or more days before retiring. So, you may leave the power bank and burden at home before moving out with this thing.

And since the device supports carrier aggregation, you may expect relatively better 4G speeds and coverage. Rest, the repertoire also includes NFC (for contactless payments and other things), dual-band Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth 5.0. So, you’re pretty much covered on the connectivity front.

Moving on…

Moto G9 Power Software and Performance

You know what you’re getting with Moto — close to stock Android 10 with a few uninstallable bloatware (Facebook and a half a dozen Google add-ons), if you want to call it such. The usual Moto Actions to instantly open camera and torch are here. Peek display is an elegant way to indicate notifications. Gametime lets you immerse better by fending off calls and notifications, preventing interruptions even from Moto Actions, adaptive brightness, and giving quick access to your favorite messaging apps from the in-game screen.

At the heart, the phone is geared by a Snapdragon 662 chipset and 4+64GB memory configuration. This is identical to what we had inside the Moto G9. So, day to day performance and even benchmarks scores are broadly similar.

You’d feel some hiccups and inertia while cycling between multiple apps, but nothing that bothersome. High-octane games run reasonably. For instance, COD Mobile clocks 30-odd FPS and is playable up to High graphics and frame rate.

Let’s now talk about how the phone’s camera setup performs —

Moto G9 Power Cameras

G9 Power brings a 16MP sensor at the front and a 64MP triplet at the back. There is no ultrawide option. Instead what you get are a 2MP macro and a 2MP depth-sensing module. Video output is 1080p @ 30 frames per sec from the front and up to 60 fps from the rear.

Although you’d feel some lags in focussing and the time taken to save the photos in the gallery, overall the camera app features and interface is fun to use.

Here are some camera samples —

I am pretty impressed by the camera performance. In ample light, the shots come with true to life colors and sufficient details.

As for human subjects, the portraits from the rear get my heart for the way edge detection and background blur is handled. Selfies though, edge detection is a little iffy.

But it’s the other way round in the dark conditions. The dedicated night vision mode brightens the frame, and the smile on your face will be better visible. But, on the rear side, night mode hardly does any justice.

The results from Macro mode (2MP) and Spot Color (both photo and video) are cool tricks to try. You may either enjoy them once a while or forget them altogether.

ALSO READ: Sony A8H review

Moto G9 Power Review Verdict

So should you consider this over the OG G9?

There is a ₹2K price difference (at the time of writing) between the two handsets and if you can afford that, you are getting a better product here. You would definitely find the shots from the higher megapixel 64MP camera and extra juice from the 6000mAh battery useful. Also, unless you are a power user, the Snapdragon 662 plus Stock-esque Android should entertain you well.

Only, when you pit it against the competition, you’ll notice a few shortcomings. Rather than a few more inches of display and depth sensor, an FHD panel and an ultrawide lens would’ve made G9 Power an easier recommendation. In other words, it has enough to elate an everyday customer, but perhaps not for every customer.

Pros

• Close to stock Android software
• Large display for media consumption
• Ginormous battery
• Respectable main camera results

Cons

• Low-resolution display
• No ultrawide camera

Moto G9 Power Quick Review (हिंदी में)

Moto G9 Power FAQ

Q. Does Moto G9 Power support NAVIC?

A. Although, the chipset support NAVIC, the phone doesn’t.

Q. Is Moto G9 Power waterproof?

A. No it is not waterproof. But it is water repellant and should protect against accidental spills, splashes, or drizzle.

Q. Does Moto G9 Power support micro SD card expansion?

A. Yes, it supports a memory card expansion up to 512GB.

Q. What is the SAR value of Moto G9 Power?

A. Head SAR – 0.98W/Kg; Body SAR – 1.33W/Kg

Q. Does Moto G9 Power feature Gorilla Glass Protection?

A. No, although Moto G9 Power sports some sort of unspecified shield, it’s not Corning’s Gorilla Glass.

Q. Does Moto G9 Power have FM Radio?

A. Yes, Moto G9 Power does have FM Radio.

Q. Does Moto G9 Power support Dual 4G VoLTE?

A. Yes, Moto G9 Power does support Dual 4G VoLTE.

Q. Does Moto G9 Power support auto-call recording?

A. No. Moto G9 Power doesn’t come with a call recording feature.