Motorola has just lifted the lid on three new Android phones that each deserve your attention (Image: Motorola • Getty)
Motorola is back. The US technology firm recently announced it’s now consistently profitable for the first time since 2015. That’s no fluke. The firm has been relentlessly battling with Chinese rivals in the budget to mid-tier of smartphones and isn’t planning on giving up ground anytime soon.
The Chicago-based vendor just announced three new phones, two of which are coming later this month, while the third lands at the start of 2020.
Here’s everything you need to know…
Motorola One Macro
As the name suggests, the Motorola One Macro is geared heavily towards its camera. The device comes a trio of lenses on its rear, including a 13-megapixel primary camera, two-megapixel macro sensor, and a 2-megapixel lens dedicated to measuring depth.
As you’d expect, Motorola is placing a huge emphasis on the phone’s macro sensor. In fact, the firm told Express.co.uk the One Macro is capable of shooting shots five-times closer than any other phone on the market.
While we’re yet to put that bold claim to the test, the lens will surely offer a new perspective for photography enthusiasts to get creative with.
Design-wise, the Motorola One Macro looks and feels great.
The device boasts a 6.2-inch screen with a 720p resolution. The panel itself certainly isn’t packed with pixels, but it has a high enough density to get the job done. The screen itself comes with a noticeable chin and a teardrop-style notch at the top à la the OnePlus 6T.
Keeping the device ticking along is a MediaTek Helio P70 processor and 4GB of RAM. The phone also comes with 64GB of internal storage that can be expanded by another 512GB via its microSD card slot.
As the name suggests, the Motorola One Macro is geared heavily towards its camera (Image: Motorola)
Motorola is also boasting about the One Macro’s battery life. In fact, it’s claiming the 4,000mAh battery inside should easily carry you through an entire day and well into the next.
There are a few other features worth shouting about on the Motorola One Macro, including a fingerprint reader, notification LED and yes, a headphone jack (you remember those, right?).
Of course, there are a few things you should note before you rush out and pick up a Motorola One Macro. For starters, the phone doesn’t come with any official water resistance, so we don’t recommend making any phone calls in the rain. Secondly, it doesn’t support wireless charging.
Finally, it comes with Android 9 Pie pre-installed, not Google’s fancy new Android 10. But at a price of £179, we’re not too surprised such compromises had to be made. The phone will be available from October 28.
Moto G8 Plus
The Moto G8 Plus shares much in common with the Motorola One Macro but has a few other nifty tricks up its sleeve. The device similarly boasts a trio of cameras on its rear, this time its array is comprised of a 48-megapixel primary shooter, a 16-megapixel ultra wide-angle snapper and a depth sensor.
Not only does the G8 Plus come with more capable hardware than the One Macro, but it also totes enhanced software, too. The most notable highlight here being Night Vision, Motorola’s dedicated mode for taking photos in low-light.
Just like Google’s Night Sight, Huawei’s night mode, and OnePlus’ Nightscape, Motorola’s feature takes a number of photos at varying exposures and neatly stitches them together to produce a final image with greater amounts of detail and brightness.
The Moto G8 Plus will be available from October 28 and starts at £239 (Image: Motorola)
Turning the phone over reveals a 6.3-inch 1080p LCD display that has smaller borders than its budget brother and a tinier notch, too.
Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 665 processor is tucked under the hood of the G8 Plus and is joined by 4GB of RAM. The phone comes with 64GB of onboard storage but once again this is expandable by up to 512GB via microSD.
Moreover, it also boasts a fingerprint scanner, a headphone jack, and a huge 4,000mAh battery. Similar caveats apply to the G8 Plus. The phone comes with Android 9 Pie pre-installed, has not water resistance and can’t charge wirelessly.
The Moto G8 Plus will be available from October 28 and starts at £239.
The Moto G8 Plus has a 6.3-inch 1080p LCD display (Image: Motorola)
Moto E6 Play
Starting at a mere £89, the Moto E6 Play is targeting anyone that just wants the basics out of a smartphone. The device comes with a 5.5-inch 720p display, a 3,000mAh battery, and a single 13-megapixel camera on its rear.
Motorola certainly needs to be commended for adding a fingerprint reader to the device for increased security, this is something that’s not available in all smartphones at this price point.
Starting at a mere £89, the Moto E6 Play is targeting anyone that wants the basics out of a phone (Image: Motorola)
As you’d expect, the E6 Play isn’t rocking the latest and greatest internals, but it should be enough to get the job done. Under the bonnet, you’ll find a MediaTek MT6739, 2GB of RAM and 32GB of expandable storage.
The budget mobile also comes without wireless charging or water resistance. You also get Android 9 Pie out the box, too.
The Moto E6 Play will be available exclusively at Tesco in early January 2020.