Moto G85 Review: A Standout in Design, Falls Short on Performance

Comparos Rating:8/10

Motorola has expanded its lineup with the Moto G85, positioned under Rs 20,000, boasting features like a 3D curved pOLED 120Hz display, a 50MP OIS camera, and a premium design. But how do these features perform in reality?

Design and Display

Comprising a curved screen design akin to Motorola's more expensive Edge series, the Moto G85 is the first in its class. Comfortable to grasp, the phone's polycarbonate frame featuring vegan leather back gives a rubberized feel. Weighing 172 grams and measuring 7.5mm thick, it's quite light and slender. Though its IP52 rating leaves something to be desired in terms of water resistance, the Moto G85's design is both elegant and utilitarian available in Olive Green, Urban Grey, and Cobalt Blue.

A highlight, the 6.7-inch pOLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate and 1,600 nits peak brightness provides vivid colors and great outdoor visibility. Along with SGS eye protection, adjustable color profiles, and Widevine L1 certification for FHD streaming, the display features The 120Hz refresh rate guarantees flawless operation over the supported programs and UI.

On the Moto G85, Motorola has chosen a 3D curved display—first in its market. This design decision makes swipes and scrolling more natural, therefore enhancing the user experience in addition to the appearance. Media consumption will find the pOLED display used in the G85 a delight since it offers more vivid colors and deeper blacks than standard LCD screens. Crucially for outdoor use, the display's capacity to peak brightness of 1,600 nits guarantees that it stays viewable even under intense sunshine.

The Moto G85's narrow design and lightweight construction help to make it pleasant to handle and operate for long stretches. Though it's constructed of plastic, the phone's back features vegan leather finish that accentuates elegance and improves grip. Gorilla Glass 5 lends durability, shielding the display from small drops and scratches.

Camera

The twin back camera arrangement calls for an 8MP ultrawide lens and a 50MP main sensor with OIS. Though occasionally over-saturated, daylight photographs are bright. The ultrawide lens shows obvious color changes but has macro capability. In selfies, the 32MP front camera shines in providing finely detailed and aesthetically pleasing photographs.

Under low light, the Moto G85 performs rather well; the night mode lowers noise and improves color vibrancence. Though it doesn't much outperform rivals like the Realme P1 and CMF Phone 1, the Moto G85 holds its own.

Motorola has included artificial intelligence improvements into the camera software, therefore enhancing the whole photographic experience. To maximize picture quality, the artificial intelligence can automatically identify scenes and modify parameters. Sometimes, though, the inclination to over-saturate colors produces less natural-looking photos.

A wonderful addition at this price range, the 8MP ultrawide lens lets users record a larger field of view. This lens doubles as a macro lens, allowing good detail close-up images. But the color change between the main and ultrawide lenses can be startling, particularly if you are switching between them under identical lighting conditions.

One very remarkable aspect of the front-facing 32MP camera is its ability to create naturally occurring skin tones and reasonably detailed selfies. The camera app suits folks who like adjusting their selfies before posting them on social media by providing several beauty settings and effects.

Performance and Software

Driven by the Snapdragon 6s Gen 3 SoC with up to 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage, the Moto G85 excels for casual gaming and daily chores. It falls behind in synthetic benchmarks, though, with clearly declining graphically intense game performance.

Running Android 14-based Hello UI, the Moto G85 offers a neat software experience free of most clutter. Smart Connect and Google AI features improve use; the phone is planned to get updates until 2028, therefore guaranteeing longevity.

In actual use, the Moto G85 manages multitasking effortlessly so users may switch between programs without obvious lag. The 120Hz refresh rate improves user experience smoothness even more, hence increasing the responsiveness of interactions. The phone struggles with more demanding chores, including playing graphically intense games at high settings, though. Though not to terrible degrees, the phone often heats up during gaming sessions.

For consumers who value a neat and simple interface, Motorola's Hello UI—a near-stock Android experience—is rather beneficial. Among the program's helpful tools are Moto Actions, which let users quickly act with movements. A double chop motion can turn on the flashlight, for instance, while a rapid twist can start the camera app. These little details improve user experience generally.

Minimal bloatware on the phone is a welcome break from many other devices in this price bracket. Should not be required, the few pre-installed programs may be quickly removed. Motorola has promised to provide two main OS updates and four years of security updates, therefore ensuring that the Moto G85 stays relevant for a good length of time.

Charging and Battery

With frequent use, the 5,000mAh battery provides solid endurance—roughly a day. Though charging rates lag behind rivals, in our tests it gave 11 hours and 33 minutes of continuous usage and handled gaming effectively. The 33W rapid charging takes about one hour to completely charge the battery.

The battery life is remarkable for daily use; on one charge with moderate use, it easily runs a whole day. Not overly draining the battery are activities such browsing the web, streaming movies, and using social networking apps. The phone manages its power effectively; standby drain is low.

The Moto G85's charging speed, nevertheless, is slower than that of some of its rivals. Although the 33W quick charging is sufficient, some phones in this price range provide faster charging options. For example, the Realme P1 comes with a 45W charger that can greatly fast top off the battery.

Comparos Says

Motorola has created a phone that shines in user experience and looks. For those who give design and display quality first priority above actual performance, the Moto G85 is perfect. Its elegant form and curved screen make using it enjoyable; for those who value simplicity, the almost-stock Android experience is a bonus.

For consumers who need more strong environmental protection or those who indulge in intensive multitasking and gaming, the phone's performance restrictions and lower IP classification could therefore make it less suitable. Rivals such as the Realme P1 and CMF Phone 1 provide improved performance and extra features at either comparable or less costs.

All things considered, the Moto G85 is a well-rounded smartphone that lives up to its promise of fine design and unmatched viewing experience. For those looking for a chic and capable tablet under Rs 20,000, this is a great choice providing they are ready to trade somewhat on performance.