Review of the Moto G85: Same Flavor, Fresh Packaging
The Moto G85 5G was recently introduced as the newest mid-range smartphone from the Lenovo-owned tech company, equipped with a Snapdragon 6s Gen 3 chipset combined with up to 12GB of RAM, a 50-megapixel rear camera, and a 5,000mAh battery with support for 33W fast charging. This device competes with several other budget-friendly smartphones in the same price range, such as the OnePlus Nord CE 4 Lite 5G, CMF Phone 1, Infinix Note 40 5G, iQoo Z9, and the Samsung Galaxy M35 5G.
In India, the Moto G85 5G is priced at Rs. 17,999 for the 8GB+128GB RAM and storage configuration. The 12GB+256GB variant is priced at Rs. 19,999. The unit provided by Motorola for this assessment is equipped with 256GB of storage.
## Moto G85 Design: Pleasant to hold
– Dimensions – 161.91×73.06×7.59 mm
– Weight – 172g
– Colors – Cobalt Blue, Olive Green (in this review), and Urban Gray
One of the key distinctions between the Moto G85 5G and its forerunner is the curved display – it’s gratifying to see phones with these screens under the Rs. 20,000 mark in India. The back panel has a vegan leather finish and is quite easy to grasp. Apart from Motorola’s batwing logo on the back, there’s no branding on the back panel.
The Olive Green color option doesn’t personally appeal to me, and it appears darker than the images displayed on Motorola’s website. It also tends to attract dirt and marks, so opting for the Urban Grey color, which comes in a matte finish, might be a better choice. The phone’s sides are crafted from plastic, giving the impression that this is a more budget-friendly device.
At the bottom, there’s a speaker grille and a USB Type-C port – although there’s no 3.5mm audio port, unlike the Moto G84. The top edge houses a microphone along with the Dolby Atmos logo, faintly visible in the middle. Motorola ships the Moto G85 with a charging brick, a USB Type-A to USB Type-C cable, and a very slim transparent TPU cover.
## Moto G85 Software: Hey, bloatware
– Software – Hello UI
– Version – Android 14
– Latest security patch – June 1, 2024
The Moto G85 runs on Android 14, with the company’s new Hello UI interface on top. This skin replaces My UX and closely resembles Google’s version of Android, which is found on Pixel smartphones. The phone automatically installs a few games (Block Blast, Carrom Disc Pool, Doll Dress Up: Sweet Girl) after the setup process is completed, which is rather disappointing.
There’s also an app called MotoHub that bombards you with notifications – about five or six a day – for news stories and suggests apps to install via a dedicated home screen widget, though most of them are clickbait articles.
Once you disable these distractions, you’ll find that Hello UI houses some handy tools like Family Space for parental controls, Moto Unplugged for digital well-being features, and Moto Secure for Secure Folder and phishing protection. In my view, it also offers better customization options compared to ‘stock’ Android, and Smart Connect allows you to perform various tasks on other devices using your phone.
Motorola promises users two major Android updates and four years of security updates. This is standard for phones in this price range, with the exception of the Samsung Galaxy M35, which is set to receive four Android OS updates and five years of security updates.
## Moto G85 Performance: Above average
– Processor – Snapdragon 6s Gen 3
– Memory – Up to 12GB
– Storage – Up to 256GB (UFS 2.2)
While reviewing the OnePlus Nord CE 4 Lite, I noted that the 6nm Snapdragon 695 SoC on that phone was a drawback, as the chipset was three years old. The Moto G85 is powered by a Snapdragon 6s Gen 3, a modified version of the same chip with a slight improvement in CPU speed. Consequently, it falls behind other phones in the same price range, like the iQoo Z9 or the CMF Phone 1, which are fueled by 4nm MediaTek Dimensity 7200 and Dimensity 7300 chips, respectively.
I encountered no issues with the Moto G85 in day-to-day tasks, which included reading news and browsing the web on Chrome, scrolling through Instagram and X (formerly Twitter), and using WhatsApp for messaging. There was some lag while using Snapchat, but that’s common on many smartphones in this price range.
Similar to its predecessor, the Moto G85 can handle games like Asphalt 9: Legends (now called Asphalt Legends Unite) and BGMI without any complaints. It can also run Genshin Impact, though you may experience some lag when facing multiple in-game enemies, which can be problematic in crowded dungeons. The back panel remained cool even after 30 minutes of gameplay, which is commendable.
Comparing the benchmark scores of the Moto G85 with those of the OnePlus Nord CE 4 Lite, the similarities between both chipsets become more apparent. While benchmark scores are synthetic, it’s worth noting that there are more powerful phones than these two under the Rs. 20,000 mark.
Check out the table below to view benchmark scores for the Moto G85 compared to other smartphones available in the same price range.
| Benchmark | Moto G85 | CMF Phone 1 | OnePlus Nord CE 4 Lite | iQoo Z9 | Realme 12 Pro |
|————————–|———-|————-|————————-|———|—————|
| Geekbench 6 Single Core | 935 | 1,037 | 904 | 1,151 | 956 |
| Geekbench 6 Multi Core | 2,102 | 2,932 | 2,015 | 2,669 | 2,369 |
| AnTuTu v10 | 450,865 | 639,355 | 448,127 | 687,545 | 570,926 |
| PCMark Work 3.0 | 11,757 | 12,398 | 9,850 | 13,319 | 13,319 |
| 3DMark Wild Life | 1,569 | 3,122 | 1,508 | 4,126 | 4,126 |
| 3DMark Wild Life Unlimited | 1,578 | 3,131 | 1,507 | 4,205 | 4,205 |
| 3DMark Sling Shot | 4,406 | 6,690 | 4,226 | 6,654 | 6,654 |
| 3DMark Sling Shot Extreme| 3,259 | 5,177 | 3,121 | 5,766 | 5,766 |
| GFXBench Car Chase | 60 | 29 | 17 | 33 | 21 |
| GFXBench Manhattan 3.1 | 50 | 50 | 30 | 60 | 39 |
| GFXBench T-Rex | 89 | 60 | 60 | 108 | 60 |
The 6.67-inch Full-HD+ (1,080×2,400 pixels) AMOLED screen on the Moto G85 is quite bright, making it easy to use the phone in bright daylight. It boasts a 144Hz refresh rate, providing a very responsive experience when scrolling through apps and websites. Motorola also claims that the 240Hz touch sampling rate is increased to 360Hz during gaming.
While the display on the Moto G85 features curved edges, accidental touches while holding the phone weren’t registered. It’s also a great screen for watching TV shows and movies on the go, thanks to the dependable battery life the phone offers (more on that later). You can choose from various screen color modes, with the Natural setting appearing more pleasing than the default Vivid option.
## Moto G85 Cameras: AI-assisted
– Main camera – 50-megapixel (OIS, EIS), up to 4K/ 60fps video
– Ultra-wide angle camera – 8-megapixel, up to 1080p/30fps video
– Selfie camera – 16-megapixel, up to 1080p/30fps video
The primary camera on the Moto G85 performs well when capturing photos during the day, utilizing post-processing to brighten images, enhance contrast, maintain exposure levels, and preserve the original colors of the subject. Images take a couple of seconds to process after being captured, but this is done in the background, allowing you to continue using the camera app to take more photos.
On the other hand, the ultra-wide angle camera on the Moto G85 produces slightly less vibrant photos than the primary camera. It tends to overexpose certain parts of images, and color accuracy isn’t on par with the superior primary camera. The photos taken with the Moto G85’s ultra-wide angle camera show minimal distortion around the edges.
Similar post-processing appears to be employed when capturing portrait images with the primary camera on the Moto G85, as the phone takes a couple of seconds to save the image. In sufficient natural light, the camera produces images with a soft bokeh effect and plenty of detail.
The Moto G85 includes a Night Vision mode for capturing better photos in low-light conditions, although it only works with the primary camera. While this means you need to step back further from larger subjects when taking photos, enabling the dedicated night mode results in brighter images with more detail in low-light settings.
For smaller subjects, the ultra-wide angle camera on the Moto G85 lets you get up close and capture sharp images using the included macro mode. When capturing photos of small objects during the day, there’s minimal noise or smoothing in these images.
Using the 32-megapixel front-facing camera, you can take detailed selfies during the day, though low-light selfies may appear slightly blurry. Interestingly, the camera app on the Moto G85 includes a Pro tab that offers manual controls for all three cameras on the smartphone, including the front camera.
The Moto G85 supports recording at 1080p/30fps with both the primary and ultra-wide angle cameras. The same video resolution and bitrate are also supported by the front camera. The camera app allows you to enable video stabilization, with the primary camera delivering the best video quality in all scenarios.
## Moto G85 Battery: Quite dependable
– Battery Capacity – 5,000mAh
– Wired Charging: 33W TurboPower
– Charger: 33W (included)
Despite its slim design, the Moto G85 packs a 5,000mAh battery capable of providing more than a day of battery life with moderate usage that includes casual gaming, messaging on WhatsApp, and browsing the web or social media apps. It offered around six hours of screen on time and about 20 hours in standby mode before needing to be recharged.
I also conducted our HD video battery loop test on the Moto G85, which lasted for 21 hours and 14 minutes until the battery was completely drained. The 33W TurboPower charging brick took 1 hour and 15 minutes to charge the battery to 100 percent.
## Moto G85 Review: Conclusion
If you’re in the market for a smartphone with a curved OLED display and reliable camera performance, the Moto G85 is worth considering. The phone also delivers dependable battery life and includes useful software features focused on family controls, digital well-being, and multitasking. The presence of bloatware and notification spam is the only downside to an otherwise decent smartphone that offers good value for money.
While other smartphones in the same price range feature more capable processors for better performance, such as the iQoo Z9, CMF Phone 1, and the Realme 12 Pro, the Moto G85 offers a more versatile camera setup compared to the iQoo and CMF devices. The Realme 12 Pro boasts a telephoto camera but comes at a slightly higher price than Motorola’s offering.
You may also want to consider the OnePlus Nord CE 4 Lite 5G, Infinix Note 40 5G, and Samsung Galaxy M35 5G, which also compete with the Moto G85 in the same price range. They offer similar performance and battery life. The Galaxy M35 is particularly noteworthy as it is set to receive four Android OS updates and a fifth year of security updates.