Motorola Moto E5 Review

• Overview
• Design and Build Quality
• Display
• Performance
• Software and User Interface
• Camera
• Battery Life
• Connectivity and Networking
• Additional Features
• Comparison with Other Related Phones
• Pros and Cons
• Conclusion

Overview

The Motorola Moto E5 is here to redefine what a budget phone can offer. With its affordable price tag starting at just £79, this device packs a punch when it comes to features. Sporting a 5.7-inch HD+ display, a capable 13-megapixel rear camera, and a massive 4,000mAh battery, it's clear that the Moto E5 is designed to impress. Powered by a quad-core Snapdragon processor and running on Android Oreo, it ensures smooth performance and a user-friendly experience. Whether you're a casual user or someone on a tight budget, the Moto E5 delivers exceptional value for money.

Design and Build Quality

The Motorola Moto E5 boasts a sleek and user-friendly design, making it an attractive option for budget-conscious consumers. The phone features a silver-colored plastic rear with rounded edges, giving it a simple yet elegant aesthetic. While the design may not be groundbreaking, it is sturdy and well-built, with a good fit and finish. The phone's dimensions and weight make it comfortable to hold and use with one hand, enhancing its overall ergonomics. The 5.7-inch screen, although technically larger, feels more like a 5-inch phone due to the 18:9 aspect ratio, making it compact and portable. The presence of Gorilla Glass on the front adds durability and prevents fingerprints from sticking. The back panel is smooth and offers a good grip. The plastic buttons and sides may not feel as premium as metal ones, but they are responsive and functional. Overall, the Motorola Moto E5's design and build quality are impressive for a budget phone. While it may not have the most innovative design elements, it delivers a solid and reliable construction that feels robust and sturdy in the hand.

Display

The Motorola Moto E5 features a 5.7-inch display with an 18:9 aspect ratio, providing a tall and narrow screen. The LCD technology used ensures good color accuracy and vibrancy, making images and videos look vibrant. The display has a resolution of 720 x 1440 pixels, which may not be as sharp as higher-end phones but is still sufficient for everyday use.

In terms of brightness, the Moto E5 offers decent levels, allowing for good visibility even outdoors. The touch responsiveness of the screen is smooth and accurate, ensuring a seamless user experience.

To protect the display from scratches and damage, the Moto E5 is equipped with Gorilla Glass. This adds durability to the phone and prevents fingerprints from sticking to the screen.

While the Moto E5 doesn't have the highest pixel density or refresh rate, it still delivers a satisfactory viewing experience. The phone does not support HDR or wide color gamut, which limits its ability to display high dynamic range content or vibrant colors. However, the viewing angles are decent, allowing for comfortable viewing from different orientations.

Additional features like an anti-reflective coating, notch design, or bezel-less display are not present on the Moto E5. The screen-to-body ratio is average, with noticeable bezels surrounding the display.

Overall, the Moto E5's display is suitable for its price range, offering a decent viewing experience with good color accuracy and brightness levels.

Performance

The Motorola Moto E5 offers decent performance for a budget-friendly phone. It is powered by a 1.4GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 425 processor, which provides adequate processing power for everyday tasks. While it may not be the fastest chipset on the market, it still delivers smooth performance for most applications and multitasking.

In terms of CPU benchmarks, the Moto E5 may not achieve top scores compared to more high-end devices, but it performs well enough for its price range. App loading speeds are generally quick, and the phone provides a lag-free user experience for everyday usage.

When it comes to gaming capabilities, the Moto E5 can handle casual mobile games without any issues. However, it may struggle with more graphic-intensive games that demand a higher GPU performance. The GPU benchmarks for the Moto E5 are not readily available, but based on its specifications, it is safe to say that it may not deliver exceptional gaming experience or high graphics scores.

The Moto E5's performance is further enhanced by its system optimization and thermal management, which ensure efficient use of resources and prevent overheating. This helps maintain a smooth user experience even during prolonged usage or intensive tasks.

While benchmark tests and scores for the Moto E5 are not provided, it is important to note that synthetic benchmarks may not always reflect real-world performance accurately. Therefore, it is advisable to consider the overall performance metrics and user reviews to gauge the device's capabilities.

In conclusion, the Motorola Moto E5 offers satisfactory performance for its price range. It may not excel in terms of CPU and GPU benchmarks, but it provides a smooth and lag-free experience for everyday tasks and casual gaming. If you are a heavy gamer or require more processing power, it may be worth considering higher-end devices. However, for the average user seeking a budget-friendly option, the Moto E5's performance is more than sufficient.

Software and User Interface

The Motorola Moto E5 runs on the Android 8.0.0 operating system, providing users with a familiar and user-friendly interface. The clean and intuitive interface is similar to other Moto G-series phones, making it easy for users to navigate and customize their device to suit their preferences.

One advantage of the Moto E5's software is the lack of excessive pre-installed apps or bloatware. This means that users can enjoy a more streamlined experience without unnecessary apps taking up storage space or cluttering up the home screen.

The Android 8.0.0 operating system also offers various features and improvements, such as improved battery life management and enhanced security measures. Users can benefit from these enhancements, ensuring a smoother and more efficient overall performance.

With the Moto E5's software, users can also access the Google Play Store, allowing them to download and install a wide range of apps, games, and other content to personalize and enhance their device.

Overall, the software on the Motorola Moto E5 provides a user-friendly experience with a clean interface and minimal bloatware. The Android 8.0.0 operating system offers useful features and improvements, giving users a smooth and efficient performance. Whether you are a tech-savvy user or a beginner, the Moto E5's software is designed to cater to your needs.

Camera

The camera of the Motorola Moto E5 is a 13-megapixel f/2 rear camera that offers decent image quality. It performs well in daylight photography, capturing images with natural colors and sharpness. The camera also has a good dynamic range, allowing for well-balanced exposures in different lighting conditions.

In indoor photography, the Moto E5 camera is average, producing acceptable results with sufficient lighting. However, in low-light situations, the camera struggles to capture detailed images and often introduces noise. The phone lacks any dedicated night mode or advanced low-light sensitivity, which limits its performance in night photography.

The camera features of the Moto E5 include HDR (High Dynamic Range) mode, panorama mode, and a pro mode for manual adjustments. It also has AI scene recognition, which can automatically detect and optimize settings based on the subject.

Video recording on the Moto E5 is limited to 1080p resolution, with no support for 4K video. However, the camera does offer video stabilization, ensuring smoother footage. It also has slow-motion and time-lapse video modes, allowing users to capture creative videos.

Overall, the camera of the Motorola Moto E5 is decent for a budget phone, providing satisfactory image quality in well-lit environments. However, it struggles in low-light conditions and lacks some advanced features found in higher-end smartphones.

Battery Life

The Motorola Moto E5 boasts a powerful 4,000mAh battery, which is impressive for a budget phone. This high-capacity battery ensures that you can go the whole day without worrying about running out of power. With its efficient power management and optimization features, the Moto E5 offers excellent battery performance and endurance. Whether you're using the phone for browsing, gaming, or watching videos, you can expect a decent screen-on time and standby time. While the Moto E5 does not support fast charging or wireless charging options, the battery still charges relatively quickly using the included micro-USB charger. Overall, the Moto E5's battery is one of its standout features, providing reliable and long-lasting battery backup for your everyday usage.

Connectivity and Networking

The Motorola Moto E5 offers a range of connectivity options to keep you connected wherever you go. It supports 4G LTE network compatibility, ensuring fast data speeds for browsing, streaming, and downloading. The phone also has dual SIM capability, allowing you to use two different phone numbers on a single device. This can be convenient for those who want to separate work and personal calls or for travelers who need to use a local SIM card while abroad. In terms of wireless connectivity, the Moto E5 is equipped with Wi-Fi, which supports the latest standards for fast and reliable internet access. It also has Bluetooth, which allows you to connect your phone to other devices such as headphones, speakers, or smartwatches. Additionally, the Moto E5 has GPS for accurate navigation and location tracking. Unfortunately, it does not support 5G connectivity, which is the latest generation of wireless networks offering even faster speeds and lower latency. The phone uses a micro USB for charging and data transfer, rather than the newer USB-C standard. It does not support wireless charging or NFC for contactless payments. Overall, the Motorola Moto E5 offers a good range of connectivity options, but lacks some of the more advanced features found in higher-end smartphones.

Additional Features

Comparison with Other Related Phones

When comparing the Motorola Moto E5 with related gadgets in the market, it becomes clear that this budget-friendly phone offers decent features at an affordable price. Priced at £129.99, it is cheaper than the Moto G6 Play, making it an attractive option for those on a tight budget. However, it faces tough competition from other devices in its price range.

In terms of design, the Moto E5 has a fairly plain and unremarkable look, with a silver-colored plastic rear and plastic buttons and sides. It does have the signature circular camera housing and Moto logo fingerprint scanner, but overall, it lacks the premium feel of some of its competitors.

The 5.7-inch display of the Moto E5 has a resolution of 1440 x 720 pixels, which is not as sharp as the Moto G6's Full HD+ display. However, it still offers good brightness and contrast levels, making it a decent option for media consumption.

One of the standout features of the Moto E5 is its strong battery life, thanks to its 4,000mAh battery. This is a significant advantage over some of its competitors, such as the Honor 7A and the Vodafone Smart N9.

However, when it comes to performance, the Moto E5 falls short. Equipped with a quad-core processor, it is slower than devices like the Moto G6 Play, which offer better speed and performance.

In terms of value for money, the Moto E5 is a decent option for those on a tight budget. However, if budget allows, it is recommended to consider the Moto E5 Plus or the Moto G6 Play, as they offer better features and performance for a slightly higher price.

Overall, the Motorola Moto E5 faces tough competition in the budget smartphone market. While it offers some decent features, its sluggish performance and lackluster design make it a less appealing option compared to its competitors.

Pros and Cons

Motorola Moto E5: Pros and Cons

Overall, the Motorola Moto E5 offers some great features at an affordable price point. The solid battery life ensures that you can go through your day without worrying about running out of power. The user-friendly interface and clean Android experience are also commendable. However, the phone's performance may feel sluggish due to its quad-core processor, and the design may not be the most visually appealing with its plastic rear and buttons. The camera performance, especially in low light conditions, leaves much to be desired. Additionally, the display is not as sharp as other Moto G-series phones. If you are looking for a budget-friendly option and can compromise on some aspects, the Moto E5 can be a good choice. However, if you can stretch your budget a bit, the Moto G6 Play or Moto E5 Plus offer better features and performance for the price.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the Motorola Moto E5 is a budget-friendly phone that offers decent features and solid performance. With its sleek design, good screen quality, and impressive battery life, it is a great option for those on a tight budget. However, its sluggish performance and average camera capabilities may be a drawback for some users. If you are looking for a budget phone with better features and performance, it might be worth considering the Moto E5 Plus or the Moto G6 Play. Overall, the Moto E5 is a reliable and affordable option for those who prioritize battery life and user-friendly design.