Motorola G31 4/64GB - Mineral Grey

Product Information

The most demanding games is the only area where the handset starts to struggle, though we were able to run the fairly intense Asphalt 9 racing game without any real problems. Geekbench scores of 346 (single-core), 1283 (multi-core) and 1174 (OpenCL) confirm that the phone is down at the lower end of the performance spectrum, and you'll have to do without 5G as well – perhaps not a disaster, considering that 4G is still rather speedy. Portrait mode is available for rear and front cameras and even allows you to adjust the level of depth with a handy slider – results vary though and you’ll need good lighting to get the best out of it. It's possible to buy the Moto G31 in either 64GB or 128GB varieties, with the latter costing a modest amount more. Battery life In our Geekbench 5 tests, the Moto G31 achieved a single-core score of 345, which is pretty low but beats the likes of the ageing Xiaomi Redmi Note 7. The multi-core score was slightly better sounding at 1,311, but could still only beat the likes of the Xiaomi Redmi Note 7. Performance is about what I expected. That is to say it’s fine a lot of the time, but there are plenty of instances of the phone lagging – whether it’s loading an app, or something just simply navigating around the homescreens.

The Moto G31 uses the MediaTek Helio G85 chipset, which is fine. Just plain old fine. It's supported by 4GB of RAM so it's far from a speedy phone, but it's also not the slowest either. We had the mineral gray model to review, and it looks quite classy. It might have a plastic body, but it doesn't look that way. Instead, it looks rather smart. Display quality is too good and colour combination is too much better than other mobile in this price segment @-****🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩 We should also point out that the Moto G31, like many other Motorola handsets, comes with a basic, clear plastic case. It's pretty standard as cases go, but it's nice to have it included – it offers a decent level of protection for your new handset at no extra cost. There's also a single loudspeaker down at the bottom of the handset, which produces a level and quality of sound that's satisfactory but no more than that. Spend a little more and you’ll get a much better phone, but for those with a limited budget, the Moto G31 is a solid enough choice for basic usage.A few years ago 6.4in would be one of the biggest phones around but is very much the norm now – of course better screen-to-body ratios have helped a lot here, stopping phone chassis also getting too big. A good footrest is as important to comfort as the chair you sit in, and Secretlab’s Professional Footrest is ideal for home or office use

The 6.4-inch AMOLED panel boasting FHD+ resolution is the highlight of the Moto G31. It is interesting to note that Moto has decided to add an AMOLED panel on this phone which makes it a worthy contender on the best devices under Rs. 15,000 list. Blurriness is also the theme for low-light photos. Switch night mode on and things improve, and certainly look brighter than you might expect, but the results don't always look realistic. It’s not all bad, though. Battery life is truly astonishing, which makes us think that the MediaTek processor must be remarkably more energy-efficient. Overall, we were very impressed with the display on the Moto G31, especially considering the low price you have to pay to get hold of the phone. It's definitely one of the better screens down at the budget end of the market, and so if video watching and photo viewing are your priorities, then this might have you leaning towards this particular handset. Everything we viewed on the screen looked sharp and vibrant. Performance is similarly sluggish. The Moto G31 is powered by a MediaTek Helio G85 chipset with 4GB of RAM, and while it's not the slowest of phones out there it's still woeful if you expect too much of it.The Moto G31 has a triple-camera module with the primary sensor being a 50MP snapper coupled with an 8MP ultra-wide-angle shooter which also works as a depth sensor and a 2MP sensor for macro photography. Though on paper you’d find that Moto has slightly downgraded the camera sensors when compared to the predecessor, however, we are still evaluating the camera performance and will be in a better position to tell you more in some time. There is a vertically aligned triple rear camera setup in a dual-toned camera island and the rear-mounted fingerprint sensor is housed underneath the bat-wings logo. We noticed that the device did get slightly warm in the underbelly while playing games though it must be said that only extensive use would tell us if this was just a blip or is part of its performance. The phone impresses in terms of battery life, meanwhile. We streamed a video for an hour, with the volume set low and the display at maximum brightness, and the battery level dropped from 100 percent to just 94 percent – that suggests you'll get 16-17 hours in total, which is way above average. In general use the handset held its charge well too, and we think the 5,000mAh battery will get you up to two days of use if you're careful with it. The (wired-only) charging is disappointingly slow though, at only 10W.

MP Camera (f/2.2 Aperture, 1.12um Pixel Size), Camera Feature: Dual Capture, Spot Color, Night Vision, Cinemagraph, Portrait, Live Filter, Group Selfie, Pro Mode (W/Long Exposure), Artificial Intelligence: Low Light AI Selfie, Shot Optimization, Auto Smile Capture, Gesture Capture, Selfie Animation, Face Beauty, RAW Photo Output, HDR, Timer, Active Photos, Assistive Grid, Leveler, Watermark, Burst shot, Video Feature: Timelapse (W/Hyperlapse), Slow Motion, Video Stabilization, Video Snapshot Like the Snapdragon 662 inside the Moto G30, this is another octa-core 2GHz chip, so performance should be mostly similar on paper. Despite that, there's a certain sense of reliability to the Moto G31. It certainly won't wow you but if you're looking for a cheap and competent phone, it does the job. Notably, the G31 remains a 4G-only handset. That’s probably not a deal breaker considering the limited 5G coverage, but it does leave questions about the phone’s longevity. Motorola Moto G31 review: Price and competition

Charging is a weak point here as although an adapter is included in the box, it’s a paltry 10W meaning you’ll only get 23% charge in 30 minutes based on my testing. It is at least USB-C but that’s expected for any smartphone now. Software & Apps Predictably, the main camera is its strongest. For the most part, photos taken in daylight offer natural colors and reasonable dynamic range. At times, the HDR makes things look a little too vibrant, but it's certainly eye-catching. Other specs are reasonable across the board if you don’t need things like 5G. You get dual-band Wi-Fi 5, Bluetooth 5.0, NFC, GPS and the aforementioned fingerprint scanner. There’s also Dual-SIM if you need it but one will take up the microSD card slot. Cameras Long gone are the days when a triple rear camera array was impressive. With various cheap 2Mp sensors, it’s easy for even a budget phone to have a large number on offer. This isn’t a flashy phone, but one that largely gets the job done if you set your expectations appropriately. Design and core components are basic, but you get a really nice screen here, even if it is limited to 60Hz as well as clean software.

When weighing up the best phones or the best Android phones, price is the key factor that everything else is judged by. Sure, the iPhone 13 beats the Moto G31 in just about every area, but this Motorola model is also a fraction of the price of Apple's flagship device. But it’s better to do three cameras well than four badly, and the specs of the Moto G31’s setup are still pretty promising. The main 50MP camera features an f/1.8 aperture, and it’s supported by a 8MP wide lens with a f/2.2 sensor. The final 2MP lens is for macro photography, and while the specification sounds limited, in truth it’s not the kind of thing you’re likely to use much. The Moto G31 comes with Android 11 as standard and is fairly bloat free. The only additions here are Motorola's Moto Actions - which are often-useful gesture controls, and a few other minor tweaks, but the additions are easy enough to ignore and don't take up much space. It’s hard to keep up with Motorola phone releases, even when you follow the tech landscape daily. Gone are the days of neat G models in different variants. Still, the Moto G31 is another interestingly specced handset for not much money.The utlra-wide should come in useful but there’s a natural drop in detail. The biggest surprise is that the macro camera is actually very good a lot of time. As mentioned, these are typically slapped on to up the sensor count and the vast majority of the time are trash.