Motorola g06 4G: Value for  an entry-level 4G phone (review)

The Motorola g06 4G offers value at $129, especially as its predecessor, g05, was $179 at its launch. But remember this is the lowest price you can go and still get a decent 4G phone.

Now, even as this is a mini-review, we have tested over 70 aspects of the phone and gathered 300+ datapoints. In our opinion, Motorola’s ‘cokie-cutter’ approach to its G-series enables it to give fabulous value.

Here are the highligths and you can check the datapoints if you need more information.

• Screen: Decent, readable screen ✅
• Processor: Lags a little, but fit for but fit for purose ✅
• RAM/Storage: 4/64GB plus virtual RAM expansion and 1TB dedicated micro-SD expansion ✅
• Comms: Wi-Fi 5 half-duplex 433Mbps, single GPS, NFC and BT 5 ✅
• 4G: Good signal strength for city and suburbs ✅
• Battery: 5200Mah for at least a full day’s battery life and reasonable recharge times ✅
• Quality and longevity: IP64, vegan leather, Gorilla Glass 3 – even at these prices, you need it to last a few years ✅
• Android 15 and reasonable security upgrades ✅
• 50MP camera is adequate ✅

It gets our buy recommendation for the lowest cost device we have ever recommended.

Motorola g06 4G Phone Specs

Brand	Motorola
Model	Motorola g06  4G
Model Number	XT2535-6
RAM/Storage Base	4/64
Price base	129
Price 2
Price 3
Price 4
Warranty months	2-years
Teir	Entry-level
Website	Product Page
Manual
From	JB Hi-Fi, Good Guys, Amazon (Motorola Store only – not the marketplace) and Vodafone.
Country of Origin	China
Company	Owned by Lenovo (Est 1984) – a multinational technology company with its primary operational headquarters in Beijing and Morrisville, North Carolina. It is the world’s largest PC maker. It purchased Motorola Mobility from Google in 2014. Most of Lenovo’s smartphone business is now under the Motorola brand, and it has grand plans to become a ‘top five’ smartphone maker.
Test date	Dec 2025/Jan 2026
Ambient temp	22-30°
Release	December 2025
Other models not for Australia (Don’t buy)	Only buy a certified Australian phone from approved retailers. Avoid marketplaces.

Screen
Size
Type	6.88″
Flat, Curve, 2D, 3D	IPS LCD
Resolution	Flat with centre o-hole
PPI	1440 x 720
Ratio	395
Screen to Body %	20.5:9
Colours bits	89.07
Refresh Hz, adaptive	8-bit 16.7m colours
Response 120Hz	Up to 120Hz
Nits typical, test	N/A
Nits max, test	Claim: Typical450 nits (Test 419)
Contrast	Claim: 600 nits (Test 512)
sRGB	Not disclosed (Test 1200:1)
DCI-P3	Not disclosed (Test 95% of 16.7m colours)
Rec.2020 or other	Not disclosed (Test 62% of 16.7m colours)
Delta E (<4 is excellent)	Above 4
HDR Level	SDR
SDR Upscale	No
Blue Light control	No
PWM if known	No
Daylight readable	Adequate
Always on Display	No
Edge display	No
Accessibility	No
DRM	Usual Android features
Gaming	Not for gaming
Screen protection	Gorilla Glass 3
Comment	Cool white cast – best to use Natural setting. Fit for purpose

Processor
Type	MediaTek Helio G81 Extreme (circa 2020)
nm	12nm
Cores	2 x 2.0 GHz + 6 x 1.7GHz
GPU	ARM Mali-G52 MC2 820MHz
Modem	4G MediaTek Maximum DL/UL 150/50Mbps
AI	AI – not relevant – GFLOPS: 7.68 GINOPS: 7.23
Antutu	17,366
Geekbench 6 Single-core	402
Geekbench 6 multi-core	1343
Like	Benchmarks and Specs
GPU Test
OpenCL	945
Vulcan	896
RAM, type	4GB LPDDR4X (plus virtual RAM boost to 12GB using storage)
Storage, free, type	64GB eMMC (34GB free reflects 8GB dedicated to RAM boost)
micro-SD	Up to 1TB – dedicated slot
CPDT internal seq. Read MBps sustained	268.19
CPDT internal seq. write MBps sustained	152.73
CPDT microSD read, write MBps	75/25
CPDT external (mountable?)	Can be used for app and media storage
Comment	It is slow and laggy when under any load, often hanging for a second or more.  It is the quintessential lowest-cost phone.
Throttle test
Max GIPS	149358
Average GIPS	133824
Minimum GIPS	115005
% Throttle	21%
CPU Temp	50
Comment	Thermal management is within tolerance for this type of device.

Comms
Wi-Fi Type, model	Wi-Fi 5 AC 2.4/5GHz
Test 2m -dBm, Rx/Tx Mbps	-42/433/433
Test 5m	-47/433/433
Test 10m	-54/433/390
BT Type	5
GPS single, dual	Single, GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, QZSS
USB type	USB-C 2.0 480Mbps
ALT DP, DeX, Ready For	No
NFC	Yes Requires power button fingerprint authorisation and third-party mobile app (Google Pay)
Ultra-wideband	No
Sensors
Accelerometer	Yes -combo with Gyro is very sensitive.
Gyro
e-Compass
Barometer
Gravity
Pedometer
Ambient light	Yes
Hall sensor
Proximity
Other	Fingerprint reader on the power button Sensor Hub
Comment	Wi-Fi 5 AC speeds are at maximum (good) and show decent 5GHz signal strength to 10m. You wont get 500/50Mbps NBN as its half duplex.

LTE and 5G
SIM	Dual sim and dedicated microSD
Active	Only one active at a time
Ring tone single, dual	Dual
VoLTE	Carrier dependent
Wi-Fi calling	Carrier dependent
4G Bands	1/2/3/5/7/8/18/19/20/26/28/38/40/41
Comment	All Australian 4G bands
5G sub-6Ghz	N/A
Comment	N/A
mmWave	N/A
Test Boost Mobile, Telstra
DL/UL, ms	17/8/37ms (below average)
Tower 1 -dBm, fW or pW	4G Band 3: -88/-76, 1.6-25pW – strong
Tower 2	4G Band 28: -89, 1.3pW 4G Band 3: -89 1.3 pW
Tower 3	No
Tower 4	No
Indoor	4G Band 3: 15.8fW not usable
Comment	MediaTek modems typically only find the first tower, but the fact that it found both bands 3and 28 is good. It is more sutied to city and suburbs or where you have good band 28 signal strength.

Battery
mAh	5200 – nominal Claim 1000 full recharge cycles before 80% capacity is retained.
Charger, type, supplied	Not supplied 5V/2A/10W capable
PD, QC level	PD 2.0 compatible
Test (60Hz or adaptive screen)	Adaptive
Charge 0-100%	2 hours 22 minutes at 10W
Video loop 50%, aeroplane mode	18 hours
PC Mark 3 battery	18 hours Accubattery 18 hours
Drain 100-0% full load screen on	5 hours AccurBattery 5 hours
mA Full load screen on	100% brightness: 1050-1100 50% brightness 850-900
mA Watt idle Screen on	100% brightness: 450-500 50% Brightness: 250-300
Estimate loss at max refresh	N/A
Estimate typical use	The claim is 49-hour battery life/ 2-day battery, but that is in lab conditions. We certainly see it lasting at least a day in typical use.
Comment	No charger. 10W is slow but fit for purpose and will charge from most laptop USB 3 ports.

Sound
Speakers	Stereo earpiece and down-firing bottom speaker
Tuning	No
AMP	MediaTek
Dolby Atmos decode	Yes, decodes to 2.0.
Hi-Res	No
3.5mm	Yes
BT Codecs	SBC, AAC, free aptX and aptX HDm LDAC, LHDC V3/5 16-bit 44100/48000Hz
Multipoint	Unknown – likely not
Dolby Atmos (DA)	Yes, but mainly for connected headphones.
EQ	Smart, Music, Movie, Game, Podcast, and Custom EQ and Spatial Audio
Mics	Single bottom mic
Test dB – all on EQ flat DA off
Volume max	71
Media (music)	65
Ring	72
Alarm	68
Notifications	62
Earpiece	53
Hands-free	Slightly low volume, no noise-cancelling, so keep it close to your face.
BT headphones	Average volume and channel separation

Sound quality
Deep Bass 20-40Hz	Nil
Middle Bass 40-100Hz	Nil
High Bass 100-200Hz	Starts at 100Hz and builds very slowly to 700Hz
Low Mid 200-400Hz	Slowly building
Mid 400-1000Hz	Slowly building 700Hz
High-Mid 1-2kHz	Flat
Low Treble 2-4kHz	Flat
Mid Treble 4-6kHz	Flat top 5kHz
High Treble 6-10kHz	Dip to avoid harshness.
Dog Whistle 10-20kHz	Steady decline to 14kHz then off the cliff
Sound Signature type	Mid for clear voice. The music quality is poor. wth no bass, no treble, and it lacks any vitality. We find this with all low-end MediaTek amps, which also induce distortion, frequency clipping and choppy mids.
Soundstage	As wide as the phone. DA adds no perceptible speaker height or spatial effects. DA via headphones is fine.
Comment	Good for voice but not for music

Build
Size (H X W x D)	171.35 x 77.50 x 8.31 mm
Weight grams	194
Front glass	Gorilla Glass 3
Rear material	Vegan Leather
Frame	PMMA
IP rating	IP64
Colours	Pantone Tapestry Tendril Arabesque
Pen, Stylus support	No
Teardown	No
In the box
Charger	No
USB cable	2W cable
Buds	No
Bumper cover	Yes
Comment	Loses points due to no included charger

OS
Android	Android 15
Security patch date	5/10/25 (out of date)
UI	Display: Attentive Display Gestures: Fast torch, Three-finger screenshot, Flip for DND, Pick up to silence, Media Controls, Lift to unlock, Sidebar, Double-press power key, Press and hold power button
OS upgrade policy	No
Security patch policy	Two years of security patches
Bloatware	Block Blast, Booking.com, Bottle Jump 3D, Candy Crush Saga, Candy Crush Soda, Crossword Master, Facebook, Fitbit, Ganes, LinkedIn, Raid, Temu, TikTok, Thief Puzzle – the lower the cost, the more bloatware.  Uninstalling useless apps gives you 5GB or more of extra space.
Other	Moto apps – some duplicate Google apps.
Comment	There is a lot of added functionality in MY UX, which leaves the underlying Android alone.
Security
Fingerprint sensor location, type	On power button – 8/10 test
Face ID	Yes 2D

Camera
Rear Primary	Wide
MP	50MP bins to 12.5MP
Sensor	Samsung S5KJN or GalaxyCore gc50f6
Focus	PDAF
f-stop	1.8
um	.64 bins to 1.28
FOV° (stated, actual)	62.9 to 74.9
Stabilisation	No
Zoom	6.6X Digital
	Ambient light sensor
Video max	1080p@30fps
Flash	Yes
Auto-HDR	Yes
	Night Vision Mode Auto Night Vision Portrait Panorama Pro Mode Live Filter HDR Face Retouch Selfie Photo Mirror Snap in Video Recording Google Lens™ integration QR/ Barcode Scanner Google Photos Editing – Magic Eraser – Photo Unblur – Magic Editor – Portrait Blur – Portrait Light – Sky – Colour Pop – Cinematic Photos
QR code reader	Yes
Night mode	Yes
DXO Mark	N/A

It’s a single 50MP binning to 12.5MP. It does a good job for what it is.

Front
MP	8MP
Sensor	Galaxy Core gc08a8
Focus	FF
f-stop	2
um	1.12
FOV (stated, actual)	691.1 to 81.5
Stabilisation	No
Flash	Screen fill
Zoom	No
Video max	1080p@30fps
Features	Google Photos Editing: Magic Eraser Photo Unblur Magic Editor Portrait Blur Portrait Light Sky Color Pop Cinematic Photos
Comment

Reviewers’ final notes: Motorola g06 4G

While it is a good phone for the price, some compromises may make you spend more.

• The camera is more for daylight, not exceptional in low light.
• It is an HD 720p IPS LCD screen.
•  Typical micro-speakers. There is no low and mid bass, and a minimal amount of late high bass.
• There is no way any user will get 49 hours of battery life – about half that.
• 4GB RAM and 64 eMMC are limiting. RAM boost is useless for most applications.
• The processor is not fast.
• Dolby Atmos decode does not provide spatial sound via the speakers.
• The screen cannot be seen clearly in the sun – it is not daylight readable.

Ratings	70+ is a pass mark
Features	75
	It has basic features commensurate with the price. No points deducted for no charger inbox
Value	90
	It has the bare necessities at a reasonable price
Performance	70
	It is an entry-level, 5-year old, value SoC, 6and you get fit-for-purpose laggy performance. It is not for gamers.
Ease of Use	75
	My UX adds some value to stock Android.  The two-year warranty is great. No OS upgrades and 2 years of security patches are fine for the price
Design	80
	Nicely finished in vegan leather and Gorilla Glass 3. Looks more premium than the price.
Rating out of 10	78
Final comment	This is an entry-level device replacing the g05 and offers a slightly larger screen.