The Moto G13 boasts great battery life, a decent display and solid performance, but is that enough to beat the budget competition?
Motorola has been turning out some impressive low-cost phones over the last few years.
The current affordable Moto G range sports several models, with the G13 being the most affordable. So, can you really get a decent smartphone for less than £150/$180? Here’s the full Tech Advisor review.Design & Build
Lightweight
Side- fingerprint sensor
Plastic body
Obviously, at this price you don’t expect premium materials throughout, and that’s certainly the case with the Moto G13. It’s a plastic body, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing.
One advantage is that it’s a light phone, weighing in at 183.5g (6.49oz). Not quite the lightest, but in a world of Android phones that regularly tip 200g, it’s a pleasant surprise to have a device that won’t have your hands fatiguing after using it for a short time.
The dimensions are reasonably compact at 162.7 x 74.66 x 8.19mm (6.41 x 2.94 x 0.32 inches), making it a genuinely nice phone to hold in your hands and slide into your pocket without feeling like you’re weighed down.
Motorola supplies a free TPU silicon case, and applying adds lots of extra grip, even if it does look a bit cheap. Though even without the case, it doesn’t feel too slippery.
You also get a charger and cable in the box, unlike some more expensive offerings out there.
Looking around the device, you’ll find a USB-C charging port, 3.5mm headphone jack, single speaker grille and microphone, plus volume controls, a power button that doubles as a fingerprint sensor (and works very well), plus the dual (Nano) SIM card slot. It’s all tidy and well put-together, making it easy to think of this as a more expensive unit than the price suggests.
Motorola does claim that the G13 has a ‘water-repellent’ design, but it doesn’t come with an IP rating, so I’d suggest keeping it away from any significant amount of water if you can.Screen & Speakers
6.5-inch IPS LCD panel
720p resolution, 90Hz refresh rate
Stereo speakers and 3.5mm headphone port
While the Moto G13 feels quite compact, it still manages to fit in a 6.5-inch IPS display. True, it’s only running at 720p which is a bit low these days, but Apple has been serving up its iPhone SE for years now with the same spec and that doesn’t seem to have held it back.
The panel on the G13 looks good, with acceptable brightness levels (maxes out around 400 nits), decent colours (albeit a little muted) and very good off-angle viewing.
The 90Hz refresh rate is a bonus on such a cheap phone, though the processor doesn’t seem to make the most of this, as scrolling does feel sluggish and juddery. Overall, the display on the Moto G13 is great for the price.
The sound on the Moto comes from a dedicated speaker on the bottom edge, which combines with the earpiece above the display for a stereo setup.
The audio produced is fine, provided you don’t boost things too loud. The G13 can definitely kick out some volume, but there’s distortion at the higher end which detracts from the quality. It’s fine for YouTube videos and social media, but if you want to stream any movies or music, you’ll probably want to connect headphones via Bluetooth or the 3.5mm jack.Specs & Performance
MediaTek Helio G85 chipset
4GB RAM
Performance is a bit patchy
Moto couldn’t quite stretch to a Snapdragon chipset for a phone this inexpensive, but the MediaTek Helio G85 is an acceptable alternative.
