Motorola’s Hello UI 1.0 Review: Features, Pros, Cons

Hello UI is Motorola’s latest software and a significant shift from the previous MyUX experience. We’ve been seeing MyUX on Motorola phones for years. While it was mostly stock Android, Hello UI marks a major departure, introducing a completely redesigned interface and a host of new features that make the UI richer and smoother. 

Currently, Hello UI is available on select smartphones like the Motorola Edge 50 and Edge 50 Ultra and even some budget models like the Moto G85. Since it’s still based on Android 14, this review will cover Hello UI as it exists on that platform. We’ll dive deep into every aspect, so buckle up as we get started.

Note: This review is based on my four weeks of experience with Hello UI on the Moto G85.

Hello UI 1.0 Review: Setup, Ads, & Bloatware

The setup process in Hello UI closely mirrors that of stock Android. You’ll encounter some recommendations during the setup—if you’re on the Privacy & Security screen, you’ll see options like usage data toggle, product improvement, and more. All of these are enabled by default.

Further, you’ll also find some bloatware apps like Adobe Scan, LinkedIn, Fitbit, and various Google apps that have been pre-installed. Additionally, there’s a prompt to subscribe to emails. You’ll get app recommendations once you’re done with that, which isn’t ideal.

I’m using the Moto G85 and haven’t encountered any ads beyond those recommendations. The bloatware is not as excessive as in some other UIs. 

There’s a suite of Moto apps, including Family Space, Games, Moto, and Unplugged, but these could be essential and are more like system apps than bloatware. There’s no app store apart from the Google Play Store.

Hello UI 1.0 Review: Lock Screen Customization

Hello UI has some good lock screen customization options. You can start customizing by tapping and holding the lock screen or navigating to Settings > Personalize > Lock Screen. 

You can select between three clock styles and three different font styles from there.

Additionally, you can add a variety of widgets to your lock screen, such as temperature, humidity, alarm, and Do Not Disturb. 

There are three styles to choose from for notifications: List, Chip, and Bubble. 

You also have the option to customize the shortcut icons located at the bottom left and right corners of the lock screen. Options include the camera, Do Not Disturb, Torch, Mute, Video Camera, and even third-party apps.

Hello UI 1.0 Review: Animations 

The animations on Hello UI mimic those on stock Android, with smooth icon zooming in and out. However, there’s no wallpaper zoom or blur effect, which is a miss.

Hello UI 1.0 Review: Font 

For fonts, you have a few options:

• The Android Roboto font.
• The default Hello UI font (which looks nice but isn’t named).
• The older MyUX fonts are Slab and Square.

Hello UI 1.0 Review: Control Center & Notifications 

The Control Center offers the stock Android version and the new Hello UI version. The Hello UI version separates the control center and the notification area.

There are three non-customizable toggles to the left, with the Volume and Brightness sliders (the latter includes an Auto Brightness toggle) to the right. The Media Player is narrow but includes the Media Output button. 

Hello UI 1.0 Review: AI Features 

Hello UI comes with the following AI features:

• Magic Canvas: Generates images from text prompts.
• Adaptive Stabilization: Improves video stability.
• Magic Eraser & Photo Unblur: These are your Google Photos features as you know them.
• AI Focus Tracking: Keeps moving subjects sharp.

Note: Not all AI features are available on all Motorola smartphones.

Hello UI 1.0 Review: Home Screen & Icons

Motorola’s Hello UI provides several home screen customization options. First, tap and hold on an app to access app info and view notifications, just like stock Android.

You can customize the icon shape in the settings with five different options. You can also set your preferred home screen style and manage home menus, including hiding app labels or making the labels larger.

As a bonus, Hello UI even has some themes (six, to be specific) for the UI, which is a nice touch.

Hello UI 1.0 Review: Keyboard 

Hello UI uses Gboard as the default keyboard, which is a plus, especially compared to other brands like Xiaomi that use keyboards filled with ads, like the Emoji Keyboard.

Hello UI 1.0 Review: Widgets 

Hello UI offers only a few widget options. You can tap and hold on any app to access its widgets. However, there aren’t that many Moto widgets available. 

While the Moto widgets look decent, the weather widgets from the 1Weather app look quite bad. This is a third-party weather app that Motorola pre-installs on Hello UI. Unfortunately, there’s no option to uninstall this app.

Nonetheless, you still have access to all the standard Android widgets, and there’s a search function for widgets, too. The widget spacing is nicely done, but I encountered issues with resizing widgets, requiring a restart to fix it.

Hello UI 1.0 Review: Media Player 

Motorola’s Hello UI integrates the Android media player on the lock screen and control center. 

If you opt for the new control center, you’ll get a redesigned media player. While the design is decent, this one feels cramped and too narrow for my liking.

If you stick with the old one, it defaults to the stock Android media player. You can play, pause, skip through media, change the media output, and switch between different apps playing media. 

Hello UI 1.0 Review: Battery Features 

Hello UI includes Optimized Charging, Overcharge Protection (limit to 80%), Adaptive Battery Management, and a Battery Saver Mode with scheduling options.

Hello UI 1.0 Review: Screen Recorder 

The screen recorder on Hello UI offers a number of features:

• Resolution options: 1080p, 720p
• FPS settings: Dynamic, 60 FPS, 30 FPS
• Unlimited recording time and file size
• Record touch points, adjust viewfinder size for the front camera video
• Audio sources: microphone, system sound, both, or none
• Record a single app or the entire screen
• Use the front camera while recording, with sketching and audio adjustments during recording
• Pause and resume recording anytime

It’s one of the best screen recorders available on Android. One improvement could be the done is the ability to record even after the phone is locked, so that I could record the lock screen.

Hello UI 1.0 Review: Gallery App 

I wish I could talk more about the Gallery app, but there isn’t one. Hello UI, just like MyUX, uses Google Photos as the default gallery app, which I find frustrating. 

Photos take time to load, and I have to dig through options to see my device and cloud photos separately. Since I don’t always have great internet access, Google Photos isn’t ideal. Plus, the Google Photos editor isn’t very intuitive and feature-rich.

Hello UI 1.0 Review: System Apps 

Motorola’s system apps mostly include Google apps and its own apps. It’s good for some apps, but not so great when it comes to the Gallery or Weather apps.

I know I’m iterating this again but I’m really annoyed with the weather app. It’s not Motorola’s self-developed app but a third-party one that shows ads every time you open it. Also, the widgets it offers look like they are straight from 2015.

Hello UI 1.0 Review: Status Bar 

Hello UI’s status bar is clean and simple. It uses icons from the stock Android (similar), which makes it look neat and uncluttered. 

There’s minimal customization compared to other UIs like ColorOS. You can only toggle the battery percentage to be shown or to be not.

Hello UI 1.0 Review: AOD 

Here’s the downside: Hello UI lacks a true Always-On Display (AOD). When your screen is off, you’ll get a brief AOD-like view when you single tap, but it’ll soon fade away. 

You have to tap each time to see it, and there’s no option to enable or disable this feature. Additionally, the media player on this AOD isn’t interactive like the Peek Display we had before (on MyUX).

I really hope Motorola brings back the Peek Display or provides a genuine and real Always-On Display.

Hello UI 1.0 Review: DND  

The Do Not Disturb mode in Hello UI is quite good. Unlike ColorOS or HyperOS, it can completely hide notifications and/or status bar icons without causing any interruptions. 

It’s a thoughtful feature, and I hope other UIs like ColorOS, HyperOS, and MagicOS take notes from this.

Hello UI 1.0 Review: Smart Connect  

Motorola’s Smart Connect is a very neat feature. It’s a refined version of “Ready For” seen on MyUX. It lets you seamlessly connect and interact with other devices like smartphones, tablets, and PCs. 

• You can use your phone on your PC in the regular mode or the Mobile Desktop mode (similar to DeX).
• You can stream apps from your phone to your PC.
• You can use your phone as a webcam.
• You can share files, and even automatically share your hotspot. 
• It also allows you to lock and unlock your PC using your phone. 
• You can share the clipboard including the images on the clipboard.
• You can cross-control devices using a mouse or cursor. 
• The Share Hub feature makes it easy to access and sync media files and text across your devices. 

It all works smoothly, and while taking calls directly through Smart Connect would be a nice addition, the current functionality is already impressive.

Hello UI 1.0 Review: Privacy & Security  

Motorola also has the stock Android privacy & security features. It also uses ThinkShield, which is designed to keep your personal information secure and ensure your device is safe.

Hello UI 1.0 Review: Moto Gestures  

There’s no better way to end this review than by discussing the Hello UI gestures, or, as we know it, the Moto Gestures.

• Quick Launch: Double-tap the back of your phone to trigger actions like opening the recorder, taking a screenshot, launching Smart Connect, or opening any app.
• Sidebar: Access apps directly from the sidebar. Includes tools like Recent Calls, switching to the last app, taking screenshots, screen recording, and adding contacts for quick calls.
• Quick Capture:  Twist your wrist to quickly open the camera app.
• Fast Torch: Shake or perform a karate chop motion to toggle the torch on and off.
• Three-Finger Screenshot: Capture screenshots with a three-finger swipe.
• Lift to Unlock: Unlock your phone by lifting it.
• Flip for Do Not Disturb: Activate Do Not Disturb mode by flipping your phone with the back facing up.
• Pick Up to Silence: Silences incoming calls when you pick up your phone.
• Swipe to Split: Swipe in the center of the screen left and right to enable split-screen mode.
• Media Controls: Use volume buttons for media controls (next & previous tracks) when the screen is off.

Hello UI 1.0 Review: Miscellaneous 

• There is support for multiple user accounts.
• Extra dim mode is available.
• Call recording is available but with the announcement.
• You can lock apps in the RAM/recents page.
• Floating windows are available.
• You can customize volume settings for different apps, calls, notifications, ringtones, media, and alarms.
• There’s a game mode with several features including an FPS meter.

Hello UI 1.0 Review Verdict 

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