Motorola Moto E5

Motorola launched the Moto E5 and the Moto G6 in the first quarter of 2018 and just like the Moto G6, the Moto E5 is available in three variants: the basic Moto E5 (what we’re reviewing today), the Moto E5 Plus with a massive 5000mAh battery, and the Moto E5 Play – the cheapest of the lot.

The Moto E5 sports a 5.7-inch screen with a resolution of 720×1440 pixels and an 18:9 aspect ratio. It gets a Corning Gorilla Glass 3 protection to protect the screen from accidental damages and drops.

It runs on Android v8.1 (Oreo) and has the same hardware specification as the more expensive Moto E5 Plus – a quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 425 processor clocked at 1.4GHz. As for storage, it comes with 2GB RAM and 16GB internal storage. For graphical performance, it gets an Adreno 308 GPU.

The phone features a 13MP rear camera with LED flash and a 5MP selfie camera at the front. The battery capacity is 4000mAh. The phone includes sensors like Fingerprint Sensor, Ambient Light Sensor, Proximity Sensor, and Accelerometer. 

There are three colour variants for the Moto E5 – Oxford Blue, Iron Grey, and Blush Gold. In India, it costs around Rs. 7,000.

When it comes to design, the Moto E5 sports a solid and neat design. The build quality, in particular, is excellent. The phone fits very well, and the rounded corners along with the matte finish allow for a comfortable grip. The back panel is made of high-quality plastic and has a matte finish. So, there’ll be no fingerprint issues. On the rear, you see a circular camera module with a single LED flash located in the top-middle portion. The fingerprint scanner lies just under the camera module and sports the Motorola logo. The volume and the power buttons lie on the right side of the frame, whereas the SIM tray lies on the left. The top portion houses a 3.5mm headphone jack, and the bottom holds a micro USB port and a single speaker.

Coming to the front display, Moto E5 features a 5.7-inch 720p ‘MaxVision’ display. Although the top and bottom bezels are thick, the viewing space is big enough. The top bezel houses the 5MP selfie camera, a speaker, and an LED flash. At the bottom, you can see the Motorola logo, which we could have done without.

For a budget phone, the display of the Moto E5 seems to be good enough. While it is not anything stellar, it will suffice well for everyday usage. The screen has a decent colour reproduction with the texts, icons, and images appearing bright and vivid. You will notice that the text is slightly larger than usual – a boon for those with faulty vision. 

Sometimes, the colours can appear to be washed out. Also, the brightness is inconsistent – indoor viewing experience is good enough; however, on bright sunny days, viewing the display content outside is a challenge. Naturally, you’ll face difficulties while using the camera.

As we mentioned earlier, the Moto E5 packs in the same processor as the Moto E5 Plus – the Qualcomm Snapdragon 425. So when it comes to overall performance, both the phones deliver a decent, mediocre performance. Since the Snapdragon 425 isn’t the best-in-class processor out there, you cannot expect too much from the phone. Also, 2GB RAM is limiting. While the phone can handle basic and routine tasks quite well, however, you might notice a slight sluggishness while multitasking and playing graphics-intensive games like PUBG and Asphalt. It is strictly not a phone for gamers.

As is true of Motorola phones, the Moto E5 also promises a stock Android experience. Apart from a few Moto customizations and pre-installed apps, you get a pure Android experience. So, rest assured, there’ll be no bloatware issues.

Honestly, the Moto E5 isn’t a phone optimized for photography. So, if you’re expecting professional shots here, you’ll be greatly disappointed. Nevertheless, the camera specification seems decent enough for a phone priced at 7k. On the rear, there’s a 13MP camera (f/2 aperture) with phase-detect autofocus, and at the front, there’s a 5 MP camera (f/2.2 aperture). Both the front and back cameras have a single LED flash. 

In outdoor settings with favourable lighting conditions, camera performance is great. Captured shots have sufficient detail and good contrast factor. The HDR further boosts the colours and effect but never making the photos look unnatural. In low light settings, however, the captured shots show a fair share of noise and look slightly grainy. The camera of the Moto E5 seems to deliver better results than the Honor 7A both in favourable light setting and low-light conditions – it delivers cleaner, brighter, and more focused shots than the Honor 7A.

As for selfies, the front camera does a good job to cater to your social media needs. Photos captured in well-lit conditions show great colour reproduction and pack in the right amount of detail. In low-light, however, the images look washed out and out of focus, despite the LED flash. 

You can record 1080p videos at 30fps. But since there’s no image stabilization, you need to have a very steady hand while recording videos. Otherwise, the results will be shaky. Overall, the videos look bright with a balanced exposure.

The battery is where the Moto E5 emerges as a winner. A 4000mAh massive battery, the phone delivers excellent battery mileage. On a single charge, the phone can pull through an entire day easily, provided you use it for routine tasks like calling, texting, listening to music, etc. For more power-hogging tasks, like binge-watching and gaming, the battery will drop faster than usual. 

Connectivity options on the phone include – Wi-Fi 802.11, b/g/n, Mobile Hotspot, Bluetooth v4.2, micro USB port, dual-SIM, FM Radio, GPS with Glonass, and 2G/3G/4G support.

To sum up, the Moto E5 wins in most respects as a budget smartphone. The bright display, the incredible battery life, and the sturdy design are its main attractions. Also, you cannot forget that you get to enjoy the pure Android experience minus any bloatware. The only con is the mediocre performance. But that too can be excused considering the price of the phone. So, the final verdict – the Moto E5 is an excellent daily driver at a dirt cheap price!