Moto G73 5G review: Can stock Android compensate for the lack of AMOLED?

Design

Motorolas have always had their own design language that set them apart from the sea of phones out there (remember the instantly recognisable Moto Gs of the last decade?). With phones turning virtually indistinguishable these days thanks to the maturing of the smartphone industry, maintaining a unique design language is understandably difficult. But as Motorola proves it in its own subtle ways, it’s not impossible.

It’s blue that turns nearly black under slightly dimmer conditions (Image: Zohaib Ahmed/Indian Express)

Let’s start with the Midnight Blue colour. It looks almost black but reveals subtle dark blue hues when you tilt the phone (or your head). This distinctive shade is virtually exclusive to Motorola – it’s rare and adds character to these phones. Another eye-catching element is the transparent camera island, which is also a Motorola signature.

Intricacies aside, the Moto G73 is easy in the hands – it’s light at 181g and reasonably slim at 8.3mm. The slightly rounded edges help with the grip and the ‘acrylic glass’ matte rear isn’t very slippery. The phone also feels surprisingly solid and I almost mistook the plastic frame for metal.

The only bit offputting about the design is the thick bottom bezel which has no place in 2023.

Display

Not by the hair on my chinny chin chin? (Image: Zohaib Ahmed/Indian Express)

The Moto G73’s display is as good as LCD panels can get with bright and punchy colours. However, it’s still no match for AMOLED panels with their deep blacks and better viewing angles. Sunlight legibility is just passable.

Performance

The MediaTek Dimensity 930 provides an alternate choice in the sub-Rs 20k segment, which has grown saturated with Snapdragon 695 devices of late. The 6nm 5G chip is slightly newer and supposedly performs just a hair faster than the SD695. It navigates the UI and apps fluidly.

Stress test is smooth sailing and benchmark scores are what you expect from a phone of this price (Image: Zohaib Ahmed/Indian Express)

Gaming performance is decent. Surprisingly, PUBG New State lets you turn the framerate all the way up to 90FPS. But get into a match and you’ll realise that it’s better to simply set it to 60FPS since 90FPS is unachievable. Call of Duty: Mobile plays at High graphics and Max framerate. There’s barely any heating and no frame drops after half an hour of gaming and I expect the phone to hold up just fine on even longer sessions.

Cameras

Like other things on Motorola My UX, the camera interface has been thoughtfully designed, with everything you’d need living on the viewfinder itself. As I strolled along the streets of Noida, the Moto G73 was my faithful companion, ready to snap anything that intrigued me. The phone produced some great images that I wasn’t shy to share on Instagram.

Crisp but slightly oversharpened (Image: Zohaib Ahmed/Indian Express)

The Moto G73 has two rear cameras, a 50MP primary and an 8MP ultrawide, which also serves as a macro and a depth camera. Daylight shots with the 50MP primary come out with decent detail (though nothing impressive) and with HDR set on auto mode, the phone handles tricky scenarios surprisingly well. Saturation can be a tad higher than what your eye sees, although most would probably dig that.

A tricky shot with the sun in the background handled well (Image: Zohaib Ahmed/Indian Express)

The ultrawide camera is actually useful even in indoor lighting (Image: Zohaib Ahmed/Indian Express)

However, I did not like the Moto’s tendency to oversharpen shots, and sadly, oversharpening was apparent in almost every photo – whether it was the rear cameras or the front, during the day or the night.

Not the best nighttime experience at this price (Image: Zohaib Ahmed/Indian Express)

Instagram-worthy as long as you don’t crop in (Image: Zohaib Ahmed/Indian Express)

Selfies come out okay for the price (Image: Zohaib Ahmed/Indian Express)

Moreover, details at nighttime take a major hit. The phone also gets hot when using the camera, eventually leading to a stuttery camera interface.

Software

The Moto G73 boots into Android 13 out of the box, layered atop with Motorola’s own skin which it calls My UX. You might expect that Android 13 is the standard for new phones, but it somehow still isn’t, so the G73 wins extra points for this one.

My UX can be summed up in a single sentence – stock Android but with a few meaningful tweaks. Motorola has brought every customisable aspect of the software under one umbrella – the ‘Personalise’ menu – and that includes wallpapers, themes, fonts, colours, icon shapes, icon layouts, and fonts. I really dig it.

My UX is an absolute joy to use (Image: Zohaib Ahmed/Indian Express)

Moto Display is also a refreshing take on AODs with several unique features, although it’s downgraded to function more like Ambient Display on the Moto G73 since it has an LCD panel.

The whiteness you see on the display is actually an animation that mimics a swirling mist (Image: Zohaib Ahmed/Indian Express)

All in all, My UX is a joy to use with fluid animations. If you’re a stock Android fan like me, you’ll love the extras Motorola has sprinkled on top. Motorola also seems to be improving its update situation. I have already received two system updates with new security patches since I got the device.

Verdict

The phone’s 5,000mAh battery lasts through the day can be topped up with the bundled 30W charger (Image: Zohaib Ahmed/Indian Express)

The Motorola Moto G73 stands out by being one of the first phones on the market with the MediaTek Dimensity 930 chipset. If software experience is important to you, then the My UX flavour will impress – you’ll be hard-pressed to find anything like it at this price point. But the cameras are average at best for the Rs 18,999 price, both front and rear. And if AMOLED displays are crucial, you may want to explore other options on the market, such as the iQOO Z7 or even the older but more premium Moto G82 5G.