Motorola Moto G52 Review
Motorola Manufactures a Myriad of Phone Models, with the Moto E Series Representing the Most Basic and Affordable from the Company, the Moto G Series Featuring...
Motorola’s Moto G phone family has a wide range of devices, all of which vary in price and features. Today we are talking about one of the latest additions to that family — the Moto G52, which sits just about in the middle of Motorola’s mid-range phone lineup in terms of pricing.
What’s interesting about the Moto G52 is that it comes with a mixed bag of improvements and, well, downgrades when compared to its predecessor — the Moto g51 5G.For example, the display of the G52 is slightly smaller and is not as smooth, having a lower refresh rate, but has an OLED panel that offers better contrast and deeper blacks. Additionally, Motorola has decided to remove the 5G connectivity that the Moto g51 had.
The Moto G52 from Motorola is available in select countries in Europe for a price of €249.99. Unfortunately, it is not sold officially in the US.
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Design and Display Quality
Design
The plastic used for the Moto G52's back leaves the impression of a cheap phone when holding it. The back panel also proved to be quite the fingerprint magnet even with the white version we had with us, and white is usually the color that greasy smudges are the least visible.
Speaking of colors, the Moto G52 comes in two options: Porcelain White and Charcoal Gray. Both have a shine to them, resembling more premium phones with glass back panels.
Despite feeling cheap in the hand, the Moto G52 does not look half bad if we are talking pure visuals here. At first glance, it might seem similar or almost the same as the Moto g51, but there are some slight meaningful differences like a thinner lower bezel and a more glossy-looking back panel with the logo centered.
You will find the USB-C port, headphone jack, and one of the two speakers on the bottom side of the Moto G52. On the right are the power button and volume rocker, both of which feel sturdy enough when pressed. At the top, there is the second speaker with two speaker grills to prevent blocking it.Motorola has tremendously managed to reduce the weight to 169g, which is extremely impressive considering the G52 is rocking a 5000 mAh battery.
There's an IP52 rating, which means the phone is mostly protected from dust and can handle some light rain. Durability and protection-wise, the phone does not feel very reassuring when held, though. The cheap plastic back and the overall build of the phone seems rather fragile.
Display
Moto G52 display benchmarks
The display of the Moto G52 is one of its most significant upgrades over the Moto g51, jumping from an IPS LCD panel to an AMOLED one, which offers deeper blacks, better colors, and more contrast.
However, likely to keep the price low, the new AMOLED display is capable of a 90Hz refresh rate compared to the 120Hz of the previous generation. 90Hz is still good enough, though, and most people would likely not be able to tell the difference.
Motorola Moto G52 display
The G52's brightness pleasantly surprised me. The display was completely visible under bright sunny conditions (with auto-brightness turned on) even under direct sunlight. That is not often the case with phones in this price range, so kudos to Motorola here.
The Moto G52 comes with a fingerprint sensor embedded in the power button, and there is also basic face recognition. The fingerprint sensor is slow, often taking a second or more to unlock the phone.
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Performance and Software
Performance is not one of Moto G52’s strong suits, so to say. Throughout my time with the phone, there was stuttering/lag while scrolling through the UI or browsing the web every now and then. That being said, web pages and apps seem to load quickly.
As for gaming, its Snapdragon 680 chipset is mostly manufactured with power efficiency in mind instead of performance. Despite that, I was still able to comfortably play some more graphically intensive titles like the newly released Apex Legends Mobile, albeit at lower settings.
The good news is that even during extended gaming sessions, shooting with the cameras, and watching videos, the phone barely got warm.As for its storage configurations, Motorola’s moto G52 comes in two options — 128GB with 4GB or 6GB of RAM.
Performance Benchmarks:
When it comes to software, Motorola has one of the operating systems that are closest to the original Android experience you find on Google’s Pixel phones.
The G52 comes with Android 12 straight out of the box and all the features related to that version. On top of that, Motorola has sprinkled a few extra features here and there throughout the OS, like special gestures to turn on the flashlight, camera, or enter split-screen mode. There’s also the Peek display feature, which allows you to interact with notifications and apps while the screen is off.
The bad news is that Motorola is famous for its poor software support. Like many other Motorola phones, the Moto G52 has only one guaranteed major OS update and two years of security patches. In other words, the Moto G52 will go only to Android 13 when that comes out.
In contrast, Samsung offers four major OS updates and five years of security patches. If you value long-term software support, Motorola is likely not the best option for you.
Alexander Ross has covered the video game industry for a decade, writing deep dives on game design, esports tournaments, VR developments, and gaming culture.
