Motorola e22i – a basic smartphone for a pretty basic price (Moto review)

27/01/2023
By Ray Shaw
In Reviews

The Motorola e22i is an entry-level smartphone with an RRP of $179, but we have seen it for as low as $143 from authorised retailers.

Forgive me – it is hard to get excited over an entry-level model. But my retail spies tell me that the <$200 market is what many people buy, and the Motorola e22i, 2/32GB, is selling well in this bracket. The question is whether a $179/143 phone can do what you want and last as long as needed.

Certainly, we need to compare it to the $199 Motorola g22 – 4/128GB, cheap and cheerful (smartphone review), to see what spending $56 gets you.

And we must remind ourselves that this is $179/143, and the features we expect will vary accordingly.

Australian Review: Motorola e22i, X3T2239-20, 2/32GB, Dual-Sim and Dedicated micro-SD

Website	Product Page
Price	$179
Colours	Winter White or Graphite Grey
From	JB Hi-Fi, The Good Guys, Big W, Lenovo online
Warranty	12-months ACL
Made in	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, and it purchased Motorola Mobility from Google in 2014. Most of Lenovo’s smartphone business is now under the Motorola brand, with grand plans to become a ‘top five’ smartphone maker.
More	Other CyberShack Motorola news and reviews

We use Fail (below expectations), Passable (meets low expectations), Pass (meets expectations), Pass+ (near Exceed but not class-leading) and Exceed (surpasses expectations or is the class leader) against many of the items below. You can click on most images for an enlargement.

As this is a low-cost device, we will still do all the 70+ tests but report in mini-review format.

First Impression – Glass Slab – Pass

It is a 6.5”, 720p, glass screen and PMMA back/frame with a fingerprint reader on the power button and a 3.5mm jack on top. It has a dedicated micro-SD and dual sim, which is a bonus. The overall size is 163.6 x 74.7 x 8 mm x 169g.

The dual rear camera is 16MP/2MP, and the front is 5MP.

Nothing exciting here.

Screen: 6.5”, 1600 x 720p, 20:9, 90Hz, LCD – Pass

The website claims: Enhance your entertainment with fast 90Hz refresh and smooth, fluid visuals on a 6.5” HD+ display.

It is a fingerprint magnet. It is not daylight readable at a typical/peak brightness of 250/350 nits (test 232/320) – fine in the shade. The contrast is 1500:1 (tested 1389:1), but colour accuracy has a distinct blue cast. Fortunately, it has no PWM, so it is acceptable for those sensitive to that. The 720p screen is fit for purpose and has an L3 Widevine rating for HD SDR streaming content.

Processor: MediaTek Helio G37, 2GB, 32GB eMMC 5.1 – Barely passable

It is the same 12nm Processor and 680MHz IMG GE8230 GPU as the Motorola G22.

We don’t have to run tests (but we did) because this is a very slow processor, exacerbated by 2GB RAM, slow eMMC 5.1 storage, and 32-bit Android Go. Screen lag is there every time you select an App, and it quickly chokes if you leave multiple Apps open. OS updates take up to an hour instead of 15-20 minutes.

Its performance is about 10% more than the Helio G25 and 15% less than a Qualcomm SD429.

Geekbench 5 single/multi-core scores are 156/570. Interestingly the Moto G22 with the same processor has 171/960, so you can see the effect that 32-bit Android and 2GB of RAM have.

2GB of RAM means it runs in 32-bit Android Go Mode (usually 64-bit full Android), which means not all Apps will run.

32GB eMMC 5.1 (18GB Free). CPDT sequential read/write scores are 217/124MBps – very slow. It will mount a MicroSD card to 1TB at 85/26MBps. An external USB-C S1TB SD hung the phone, but it seems OK with up to 256GB Flash Drives.

Throttling is minimal, but you will note the low GIPS (power).

Summary: It is a two-cylinder – no turbo.

Comms – Wi-Fi 5 AC, BT 5.0 – Pass

Wi-Fi 5 AC has a theoretical maximum of 433Mbps. Our tests show a maximum of 433Mbps with reasonable signal strengths out to 10m.

As it is not a Qualcomm SoC, it does not have its aptX sound codecs, which means you are limited to SBC and AAC with 200+ms latency – too high for gamers.

It does not have NFC.

GPS performance is slow and accurate to 10+ metres, but the phone takes far too long to recalculate routes, so do not rely on it for turn-by-turn navigation at speed.

Phone – for capital city and suburbs only – Passable

As seems typical of MediaTek Helio SoCs, it could only find the nearest tower, at 500fW to 2pW. Pass for capital city users.

It has lost the Motorola dual ring tones, which were so handy for dual-sim users.

Battery: 4020mAh and 10W charging – Barely passable

First, we must chastise Motorola for no charger inbox. Sure it is a 5V/2A/10W charger that everyone should have lying around, but this market expects one.

It takes 7 hours and 24 minutes to charge – using a higher-wattage charger does not speed this up. It has a 7% charge after 30 minutes.

Video loop 50% brightness/volume, aeroplane mode: 11 hours 12 minutes
PC Mark Modern Office Battery life: 11 hours 9 minutes
GFX Bench Manhattan and T-Rex tests – would not run
Accurbattery: 11 hours 22 minutes
100% load battery drain: 4 hours 36 minutes
Idle mA: 300-350
Full load mAL 1050-1200

Given the short video loop times (usually over 15 hours) and the long charge times, we cannot recommend this device. It uses too much energy in standby and will need daily charging.

Sound

Immerse yourself in the multidimensional sound of Dolby Atmos and stereo speakers, listening with improved bass, cleaner vocals, and more clarity.

More marketing BS. The native sound signature is Mid for clear voice. It has no low/mid/high bass, limited low/mid mid, and almost no high treble. Music quality is poor, thin and inaccurate. There is no vitality to it at all. The Dolby Atmos decoding adds nothing to the narrow sound stage.

Bluetooth is fine for headphones – decent Left/Right separation. Hand-free is poor with low speaker volume and only one mic, so there is no noise cancelling.

Build – Pass

Never mind the plastic frame or PMMA (Polymethyl Methacrylate shatter-proof glass substitute) back – it is probably more shatterproof than glass. It is well-made. The warranty is one year (same as Samsung) which we think should be longer.

It is IP52 – not very water-resistant.

Android 12 Go – Barely passable

It ships with 32-bit Android 12 Go and Motorola’s overlay My UX 3.0. You can reasonably expect two years of security patch updates.

Android is almost pure, and the MY UX adds things like a camera app and Moto gestures. See the table for all features.

But Android Go is slow and does not run 64-bit Android Apps so you are limited in what you can do.

Missing

NFC, but we don’t expect that
Performance
Sound quality

Camera – Motorola e22i

The website says, ‘Shoot like a pro with a 16MP camera system enhanced by AI.’

Sorry, that is marketing BS. This camera does not use much, if any, AI as the SoC is unable to provide the NPU/TOPS power to do it. The sensors don’t bin, so it is a case of what you see if what you get – no enhancements. It is better than social media class in good day and office light and produces acceptable 720p video.

1X Day Primary sensor – the colours are natural with a decent dynamic range. Good details in the background, shadows, and highlights.
2X Day Primary sensor – colours are natural with good dynamic range. The background is getting noisy.
4X Day: Primary sensor – pushing its limits.
Macro: Does not have a macro sensor, but the primary sensor handles this to 4cm focus
Indoor office light: Colours are a little muted, and the dog’s face/ears are light black instead of deep black.
Bokeh Depth: A 2MP sensor helps for bokeh shots. It has helped bring out the dark black ears.
Dark <40 lumens: The standard (not night mode) is quite good, with adequate details, although there is too much noise.
Night mode: Not applicable.
Selfie: The 5MP selfie has natural skin tones and details and a range of filters to enhance any image. Best in day and office light.
Video (we are not video experts): You can shoot at 1080p@30fps. It struggles, and you would be better at 720p@30fps.

2X and it has lightened the shot and the background is noisy

4X – foreground is OK but very noisy background

The primary sensor will take macro at 4cm

No Nigh mode – this is adequate but lacks detail and has too much noise.

CyberShack’s view – Motorola e22i – a basic smartphone for a pretty basic price

If this is all you can afford and you can lower your expectations, then it is fit for purpose.

But the processor crawls, photography results are variable, phone reception is capital city use only, and we had to drink a lot of coffee waiting and waiting for tests to complete that usually take a few seconds to minutes.

It is not helped by 32-bit Android Go (and 32-bit Apps), a meagre 2GB of RAM, slow 32GB eMMC (18GB free), and it hangs and freezes too often. Did I say it is snail’s pace slow?

One wonders how low you can go – see Best Android phones 2022 – $200 to $2000 (guide January 2023 update) and still get a decent functional if slow, phone. Frankly, we thought the $199 Motorola g22 – cheap and cheerful was borderline.

Rating Explanation – Motorola e22i

Any smartphone scoring over 7 is adequate.

Features: 75 – It has basic features commensurate with the price. Loses points due to no charger inbox.
Value: 80 – Better value at $143, but if paying RRP, get the G22 instead
Performance: 60 – It is an entry-level value SoC, and you get fit-for-purpose performance. It is not for gamers.
Ease of Use: 70 – My UX adds some value to stock Android
Design: 80 – All plastic is fine – looks like a more expensive smartphone

At $179, buy the Moto G22 at $199. At $143, it is good value.

CyberShack Smartphone comparison v 1.1 (E&OE)

Motorola e22i 2/32, dual sim, microSD, XT2239-20

Brand	Motorola
Model	e22i
Model Number	XT2239-20
Price Base	2/32
Price base	$179 ($143)
Price 2
Price 3
Price 4
Warranty months	12-months ACL
Tier	Entry-level
Website	https://www.motorola.com.au/smartphone-motorola-e-22-i/p
Manual
From	Motorola online, Harvey Norman, JB Hi-Fi, Big W, Good Guys, Catch
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, with grand plans to become a ‘top five’ smartphone maker.
More
Test date	18-22 January 2023
Ambient temp	20-25°
Release	Oct-22
Other models not for Australia (Don’t buy)	Version 20 (XT2239-20) is for Australia. Do not buy other versions.

Screen

Size	6.5″
Type	TFT LCD
Flat, Curve, 2D, 3D	Flat
Resolution	1600 x 720
PPI	268
Ratio	20:9
Screen to Body %	89.03
Colours bits	8-bit 16.7m colours
Refresh Hz, adaptive	Auto or select 60 or 90Hz
Response 120Hz	N/A
Nit typical test	250 (test 232)
Nits max, test	350 (tested 320)
Contrast	Claim 1500:1 (approx. 1389:1)
sRGB	Not tested
DCI-P3	Not tested
Rec.2020 or other	No
Delta E (<4 is excellent)	N/A, but above 4
HDR Level	SDR
SDR Upscale	No
Bluelight control	Yes
PWM if known	No
Daylight readable	No
Always on Display	Yes dimmed
Edge display	No
Accessibility	Usual Android features
DRM	L3 (lowest) – 480p at best, but Netflix will not play
Gaming	Not for gaming
Screen protection	Unknown
Comment	Slight blueish cast – best to use Natural setting. Fit for purpose

Processor

Brand, Model	MediaTek Helio G37
nm	12
Cores	4 x 2.3GHz and 4 x 1.8GHz
Modem	4G Cat-4, Cat-7 DL , Cat-13 UL
AI TOPS	Estimate <4
Geekbench 5 Single-core	156
Geekbench 5 multi-core	570
Like	This is the same processor as the G22 (171/960), showing how slow 32-bit Android is.
GPU	PowerVR GE8320 680MHz
GPU Test
Open CL	Would not run
Like	N/A
Vulcan	67 (way too low for games)
RAM, type	2GB LPDDR3
Storage, free, type	32GB eMMC 5.1 (18GB free)
micro-SD	Up to 1TB
CPDT internal seq. Read MBps	217
CPDT internal seq. write MBps	124
CPDT microSD read, write MBps	85/26
CPDT external (mountable?) MBps	1TB test unit caused reboot and corrupted drive. It will read up to 256GB Flash Driver but will not complete the speed test.
Comment	We experienced several hands and needed to perform a hard reboot during tests.
Throttle test
Max GIPS	85,025
Average GIPS	81,794
Minimum GIPS	65,469
% Throttle	9%
CPU Temp	50
Comment	GIPS is a good 20% below the same processor in the G22, so we suspect it has been throttled to meet thermal management requirements.

Comms

Wi-Fi Type, model	Wi-Fi 5 AC
Test 2m -dBm, Mbps	-30/433 (below average)
Test 5m	-41/433 (average)
Test 10m	-51/433 (14m -65/167) (Average)
BT Type	5
GPS single, dual	Single
USB type	USB-C 2.0 480Mbps
ALT DP, DeX, Ready For	No
NFC	No
Ultra-wideband	No
Sensors
Accelerometer	Yes -combo with Gyro is very sensitive
Gyro	Yes
e-Compass
Barometer
Gravity
Pedometer
Ambient light	Yes
Hall sensor
Proximity	Yes
Other	Fingerprint Notification LED
Comment	Speeds as expected with Wi-Fi AC, although the tests are a little below average.

LTE and 5G

SIM	Dual sim and dedicated microSD
Active	Only one active at a time
Ring tone single, dual	Single
VoLTE	Carrier dependent
Wi-Fi calling	Carrier dependent
4G Bands	1, 3, 5, 7, 8, 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
UL, DL, ms	23/27/27ms – average
Tower 1 -dBm, fW or pW	-87 to -93/500fW-2pW
Tower 2	No
Tower 3	No
Tower 4	No
Comment	Typical of low-cost MediaTek and strictly for areas with lots of towers – city and suburbs.

Battery

mAh	4020
Charger, type, supplied	5V/2A/10W not supplied
PD, QC level	No PD, but it can use PD chargers
Qi, wattage	N, A
Reverse Qi or cable	N, A
Test (60Hz or adaptive screen)
Charge % 30mins	7%
Charge 0-100%	7 hours 24 minutes
Charge Qi, W	N/A
Charge 5V, 2A	7 hours 24 minutes
Video loop 50%, aeroplane	11 hours 12 minutes
PC Mark 3 battery	11 hours 9 minutes Accubattery 11 hours 22 minutes
GFX Bench Manhattan battery	Would not run
GFX Bench T-Rex	Would not run
Drain 100-0% full load screen on	4 hours 36 minutes
mA full load	1050-1200mA
mA Watt idle Screen on	300-350mA
Estimate loss at max refresh	N/A
Estimate typical use	The maximum it charges at is 5V/2A/10W, which took an extraordinary 7+ hours. We tried with several chargers, but the result was the same.
Comment	Given the short video loop times (usually over 15 hours) and the long charge times, we cannot recommend this device. It uses too much energy on standby and will need daily charging.