Motorola g62 5G – everything you need for $399 (smartphone review)

The Motorola g62 5G is everything you need for $399. Qualcomm SoC, Wi-Fi 5 AC, BT 5.1, NFC,  adequate performance, above social media standard camera and two-day battery life.

But it is very similar to the $349 Moto g51 5G exclusive to JB Hi-Fi that I nearly directed you to Motorola g51 5G – a well-priced, well-featured smartphone (review). There are minor differences in RAM, and the camera is the same as the Motorola g82 5G – exceptional value/features (smartphone review). You can’t blame Motorola for trying to fill every niche.

Spoiler Alert: Another superbly priced, fully-featured smartphone that you won’t regret buying.

Australian review Motorola g62 5G,  4/128GB, Dual hybrid sim, Model XT2171-2, Retapac firmware

Website	Product Page
Price:	$399
Colours	Midnight Grey
From*	JB Hi-Fi, Telstra, Optus, Officeworks, Woolworths, Big W
Warranty	12-months ACL
Country of Manufacture:	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

* Grey market – no Australian warranty, and 5G won’t work

We strongly advise you to buy a genuine model with Australian firmware.

It is easy to identify the Australian version – under Settings, About Phone, and Regulatory Labels, there is an Australian RCM C-tick mark. There is also an RCM C-Tick on the box. They use unique Australian 5G sub-6Ghz and 5G low-band frequencies, requiring local activation first.

Do not buy models PAU90020AE / PAU90006GB / PAU90002GB / PAUY0002IN, or those with a 6/.128GB capacity.

Note that Telco-supplied models have a single SIM and dedicated microSD. Retail models have dual hybrid SIM and microSD.

Deep-Dive review format

It is now in two parts – a summary and a separate 300+ line database-driven spec, including over 70 tests to back up the findings. It also helps us compare different phones and features.

We use Fail (below expectations), Pass (meets expectations) and Exceed (surpasses expectations or is the class leader) against many of the items below. We occasionally give a Pass(able) rating that is not as good as it should be and a Pass ‘+’ rating to show it is good but does not quite make it to Exceed.

You can click on most images for an enlargement.

First Impression – Pass

Yes, another well-made glass slab. The rear is a fingerprint/greasy finger magnet, but you will use the bumper case anyway. The fingerprint sensor is on the power button, and the three-sensor camera is on the rear. All the buttons are on the right side at the ideal height for one-handed use.

It is a mid-sized 6.5” phone at 161.83 x 73.96 x 8.59mm x 184g.

Screen – 6.5″ is just about right – Pass

It is a relatively bright and colourful 1080p FHD+ with a choice of Auto/60/120Hz. Our test software also reveals a 90Hz setting. It swaps between 60 and 120Hz, and the latter takes about a 20% toll on battery life. Leave it on 60Hz.

It is daylight readable (just – in the shade), but you cannot expect more at this price.

Screen orientation is an issue. The combo Accelerometer and Gyroscope are very sensitive, and the slightest movement sends it to landscape. I had to turn autorotation off.

Summary: Good IPS screen for the price

Processor – Qualcomm SD480+ 8nm is all you need – Pass

To put this in perspective, it is faster than a MediaTek Helio P0/G90/G70/Dimensity720 and slower than an SD730G.

It has a Gen 2 X51 modem for a maximum of 2.5Gbps download (it will never reach this).

The Adreno 619 GPU maxes out at 40fps for most games – not for gamers! Overall, it is pretty smooth.

The 128GB storage has mountable microSD expansion to 1TB. It also supports external SSD to 1TB as OTG drives (drag and drop).

It passed all tests commensurate with this price bracket. Impressively, it does not throttle under load.

Comms – it is all there – Pass+

Wi-Fi 5 AC is all you can expect, and it connects at 433Mbps. The antenna strength is quite good, out to 10m on the 5Ghz band.

BT 5.1 has Qualcomm standard codecs – SBC, AAC, aptX (most versions) and LDAC.

The dual GPS is welcome, but it easily loses satellites on cloudy days (and we are in the middle of a 100-year rain bomb). NFC supports Google Pay.

Phone – dual sim, dual ringtone, and solid signal strength

It is a dual hybrid SIM with one fitting a SIM or MicroSD (the Telco version is a single SIM). Only one can be active at a time, and if you have a 5G plan, it must be in SIM 1. It has two ringtones that are excellent for home and business users.

All you need to know is that it supports all Australian 4G/LTE and 5G sub-6Ghz and its low bands.

It is a great city, suburbs, and limited regional areas with decent coverage.

Battery – 5000mAh for two days of use – Pass

The battery is 5000mAh. But it is laughable that it comes with a USB 2.0 5V/2A charger that can take up to 4 hours. Using a USB-C 100W (well, anything above 25W) reduces this to 2 hours and 33 minutes. We repeated the tests several times.

By the way, the supplied USB-A to USB-C cable is for charging only – it won’t transmit data and will not handle 15W charging – buy a new charger and 3 to 5W cable.

• PC Mark 3.0 battery test is one of the more accurate tests for heavy use, but it simply would not run.
• GFX Benchmark Manhattan stresses the device a little more, but it had the dreaded out-of-memory error, which is not an issue.
• GFX Benchmark T-Rex is a good 1080p video benchmark, giving 10.89 hours.
• Our video loop on-device storage, 50% screen and aeroplane mode was 16 hours and 38 minutes.
• 100% drain screen-on was 5 hours and 36 minutes.

It has excellent battery life. Moto should have provided a 15W faster charger for the pittance that would cost.

Sound – Stereo but more for clear voice – Pass(able)

It has an Analytical: (bass/mid recessed; treble boosted) – crisp but not pleasant for most music. It will decode Dolby Atmos and downmix it to the earpiece and down-firing bottom speaker.

The soundstage is limited to the phone width, which, as is usual for earpiece/speaker, has a definite bottom bias.

The maximum volume is 80dB. Hands-free is adequate, but the sound is a little tinny.

Build – solid – Pass

It is well-made and should withstand the knocks, especially with a clear bumper cover. However, IP52 is a joke – ‘Vertically dripping water shall have no harmful effect when the enclosure tilts at an angle of 15° from its normal position.’ Still, it should withstand light rain.

There is no disclosed screen protection.

Android 12– you will get 13

It ships with Android 12 and Motorola’s overlay My UX. You can reasonably expect Android 13 soon and two years of updates.

Android is almost pure, and the MY UX adds things like a camera app and Moto gestures.

Missing – not much

It has everything you need apart from a faster charger.

Motorola G62 5G camera – Pass

Let’s face it – it is an entry-level Samsung SK5JN1, 50MP with tiny .64um pixels binned to 12.5MP and 1.28um. Add to that the Qualcomm SD480+ has entry-level AI image processing, which is adequate.

It has an Ultra-wide 8MP Samsung SK53H7 sensor that takes decent shots and a 2MP macro sensor.

The result is generally good photos in Day or office light. It struggles with low light introducing a lot of noise, but you will not see that on a 4×6″ print.

• 1X Day Primary sensor – the colours are excellent with good dynamic range. Good details in the background/ shadows/ and highlights.
• 4X Day Primary sensor – colours are excellent with good dynamic range. The background is getting noisy.
• 8X Day: Primary sensor: Forget it
• Ultra-wide: S8MP sensor: Good colour and details/ although you can tell it is a different sensor to the primary.
• Macro: The 2MP sensor takes reasonable macro shots, but as usual, 4cm focus is critical
• Indoor office light: Colours are excellent, and the dog’s face/ears are deep black
• Bokeh Depth: The 8MP UW also does depth calculations for bokeh shots. Very good bokeh.
• Dark <40 lumens: The standard (not night mode) has adequate details, although there is some noise and the monitor screen is blown out.
• Night mode brings up the detail/ saturates the colour/ and removes a lot of noise
• Selfie: The 16MP selfie has natural skin tones and details and a range of filters to enhance any image. Best in a day and office light
• Video (we are not video experts): You can shoot at 1080p@30fps with EIS

CyberShack’s view – the Motorola g62 5G is everything you need

At $399, it gives Joe and Jane Average everything they need. It is a safe buy and yet another reason Motorola is shooting up the charts.

Let’s look at the 5G competition.

• Nokia G50 128GB
• OPPO A96 128GB
• Samsung Galaxy A13 128GB $379
• Vivo Y52 128GB $379
• Samsung Galaxy A32 128GB $449

The OPPO A96 stands out with a faster Qualcomm SD680 SoC, 8/128GB RAM/Storage, 2-year warranty and 33W fast charge battery. It has the same 50MP and 2MP rear camera sensor but misses the 8MP Ultra-wide. It is the class leader, but Motorola has plenty to offer.

Motorola G62 5G

Brand	Motorola
Model	Motorola g62 5G
Model Number	XT2223-1 – software version retapac
Price Base	4/128
Price base	$399
Warranty months	12-months ACL (Telco’s offer 2-years for single sim model)
Tier	lower-mid-range
Website	Product page
From	JB Hi-Fi, Telstra, Optus, Officeworks, Woolworths, Big W
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.
More	CyberShack Motorola news and reviews
Test date	1-7 September
Ambient temp	10-20°
Release	Jun-22
Other models not for Australia (Don’t buy)	Must have RCM C-Tick. We are aware of USA/ China/ LATAM/India and Europe models that won’t work on 5G here.

Screen

Size	6.5″
Type	IPS LCD
Flat/ Curve/ 2D/ 3D	Flat
Resolution	2400 x 1080
PPI	405
Ratio	20:09
Screen to Body %	89.7
Colours bits	8-bit 16.7m colours
Refresh Hz/ adaptive	Auto, 60/90/120Hz. Auto seemed to say at 120Hz most of the time.
Nits typical/ test	450 (400)
Nits max/ test	550 (500)
Contrast	1500:1 (1490:1)
sRGB	Natural 90%
DCI-P3	Vivid around 50% of the 16.7m gamut
Rec.2020 or other	No
Delta E (<4 is excellent)	4.5
HDR Level	No
SDR Upscale	No
Blue light control	Yes
PWM if known	No
Daylight readable	Difficult, even on maximum brightness
Always on Display	No
Edge display	No
Accessibility	Usual Android features
DRM	L1 for HD SDR playback
Gaming	40fps at best
Screen protection	Not disclosed
Comment	Slight blueish/translucent cast – best to use Natural setting. Overall, a fit-for-purpose screen that is better than expected for this price.

Processor (Soc)

Brand/ Model	Qualcomm SD480+
nm	8
Cores	2×2.2GHz + 6×1.8GHz
Modem	x51
AI TOPS	Estimate 7 TOPS (low-end AI)
Geekbench 5 Single-core	535
Geekbench 5 multi-core	1690
Like	Qualcomm SD 730G but faster in multi-core like an SDS845
GPU	Adreno 619
GPU Test
Open CL	1054
Like	SD 730G
Vulcan	944
RAM/ type	4GB LPDDR4X
Storage/ free/ type	128GB (97GB free) UFS 2.1
micro-SD	Up to 1TB (shared hybrid slot)
CPDT internal seq. Read MBps	489
CPDT internal seq. write MBps	315
CPDT microSD read/ write MBps	86.15/33.18 and mountable as storage
CPDT external (mountable?) MBps	31.94/23.62 OTG Only
Comment	All are fit for purpose and price. It is nice to see mountable microSD to 1TB.
Throttle test
Max GIPS (power/battery)	154,870
Average GIPS	152,701
Minimum GIPS	144,648
% Throttle	Nil
CPU Temp	52°
Comment	Excellent thermal management

Comms

Wi-Fi Type/ model	Wi-Fi 5 AC WCN3990 2×2 MU-MIMO
Test 2m -dBm/ Mbps	-25/433
Test 5m	-46/433
Test 10m	-64/234 – usable
BT Type	5.1
GPS single/ dual	Dual but tends to lose satellites on cloudy days. Accuracy <10m.
USB type	USB-C 2.0 480Mbps
ALT DP/ DeX/ Ready For	No
NFC	Yes
Ultra-wide-band	No
Sensors
Accelerometer	Yes -combo with Gyro is very sensitive
Gyro	Yes
e-Compass	Yes
Barometer
Gravity
Pedometer
Ambient light	Yes
Hall sensor
Proximity	Yes
Other	SAR sensor
Comment	Speeds as expected with Wi-Fi 5 AC and quite strong to 10m

LTE and 5G

SIM	Telco – single SIM and microSD Retail – Dual Hybrid with microSD
Active	Only one active at a time
Ring tone single/ dual	Dual – excellent for travellers
VoLTE	Carrier dependent
Wi-Fi calling	Carrier dependent
4G Bands	1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 12, 13, 17, 18, 19, 20, 26, 28, 32, 38, 40, 41, 42, 43
Comment	All Australian 4G bands
5G sub-6Ghz	n1, 3, 5, 7, 8, 20, 28, 38, 40, 41, 77, n78
Comment	All Australian 5G sub-6 and low bands
mmWave	No
Test Boost Mobile/ Telstra
UL/ DL/ Ms	32.3/18.4/40
Tower 1 -dBm/ fW or pW	-81/2-9pW
Tower 2	-98/100-150fW
Tower 3	-99/100fW
Tower 4	-101/<100fW (verging on unusable)
Comment	Reception is as good as expected for a Qualcomm Soc.

Battery

mAh	5000
Charger/ type/ supplied	10W supplied and capable of 15W charge
PD/ QC level	PD capable – Overcharge protection may influence results
Qi/ wattage	No
Reverse Qi or cable	No
Test (60Hz or adaptive screen)
Charge % 30mins	25%
Charge 0-100%	2 hours and 33 minutes (fast charge using 100W PD or 5V/ 3A)
Charge Qi/ W	N/A
Charge 5V/ 2A	3 hours 19 minutes
Video loop 50%/ aeroplane	16 hours 38 minutes
PC Mark 3 battery	Would not run Accubattery –  5hrs screen on, 18hrs mixed-use
GFX Bench Manhattan battery	Would not run
GFX Bench T-Rex	653.4 minutes (10.89 hours) 4035 frames
Drain 100-0% full load screen on	5 hours 36 minutes
Watt full load	1100-1320mA
Watt idle Screen on	230-260mA
Estimate loss at max refresh	20%
Estimate typical use	Easily two days at 5.5 hours screen on time
Comment	Charge speed over 3 hours is too long. If you use a USB-C PD charger 2 hours and 33 minutes.

Sound

Speakers	Earpiece and stereo down-fixing speaker
Tuning	No
AMP	Qualcomm Aqusitic sound
Dolby Atmos decode	Only for headphones – it makes no difference to the speaker
Hi-Res	No
3.5mm	Yes
BT Codecs	SBC/ AAC/ LDAC and aptX/ HD/ TWS/ Adaptive
Multipoint	Yes
Dolby Atmos (DA)	Yes, but downmixes to 2.0
EQ	Not for speaker – choice of smart/ music or movie for headphones.
Mics	Dual with noise cancelling
Test dB – all on EQ flat DA off
Volume max	80
Media (music)	65
Ring	75
Alarm	77
Notifications	77
Earpiece	55, but it is very tinny
Hands-free	While it has dual mics and some noise-cancelling, the volume is just adequate.
BT headphones	Good volume and channel separation

Sound quality

Deep Bass 20-40Hz	Nil
Middle Bass 40-100Hz	Nil
High Bass 100-200Hz	Slowly builds to 200Hz
Low Mid 200-400Hz	Still building
Mid 4000-1000Hz	Still building
High-Mid 1-2kHz	Still building to 2kHz
Low Treble 2-4kHz	Flat to 6kHz
Mid Treble 4-6kHz	Drop and flatten
High Treble 6-10kHz	Flat
Dog Whistle 10-20kHz	declining to 12kHz the off the cliff
Sound Signature type	Analytical: (bass/mid recessed; treble boosted) – crisp but not pleasant for most music
Soundstage	As wide as the phone
Comment	At the price/ this is all you can expect. The speaker is purely for clear voice, and music is unpleasant. Use earphones where DA adds more effect.

Build

Size (H X W X D)	161.83 x 73.96 x 8.59mm
Weight grams	184
Front glass	Glass – protection level not specified
Rear material	Plastic
Frame	Plastic
IP rating	Water repellent IP52
Colours	Midnight grey
Pen/ Stylus support	No
In the box
Charger	10W charger
USB cable	2A USB-A to USB-C charge only – no data
Buds	Yes
Bumper cover	Yes
Comment	Nice of Moto to provide a charger – it should have been 15W.

OS

Android	12
Security patch date	1-May-22
UI	Personalise: Styles, Wallpapers Display: Peek Display, Attentive Display Gestures: Power Touch, Quick Capture, Fast torch, Three-finger screenshot, Flip for DND, Pick up to silence, Lift to unlock, Swipe to split Play: Media controls, Gametime
OS upgrade policy	Should get Android 13
Security patch policy	Two years of security patches
Bloatware	Facebook (uninstallable)
Other	No
Comment	There is a lot of added functionality in MY UX, which leaves the underlying Android alone.
Security
Fingerprint sensor location/ type	Fingerprint sensor
Face ID	Yes
Other	Lenovo Think Shield security for registered businesses – not for consumers
Comment

Motorola g62 5G Camera

Rear Primary	Wide
MP	50MP bins to 12.5
Sensor	Samsung S5KJN1
Focus	PDAF
f-stop	1.8
um	.64 bins to 1.28
FOV° (stated/ actual)	(63)
Stabilisation	EIS only
Zoom	8X digital
Rear 2	Ultra-wide
MP	8
Sensor	Samsung SK54H7
Focus	Contrast Autofocus
f-stop	2.2
um	1.12
FOV (stated/ actual)	118
Stabilisation	no
Zoom	No
Rear 3	Macro
MP	2
Sensor	Galaxy Core GC02M1
Focus	Fixed 4cm
f-stop	2.4
um	1.75
FOV (stated/ actual)	88.8
Stabilisation	No
Zoom	No
Video max	1080p
Flash	Yes
Auto-HDR	Yes
	Burst Shot/ Auto Smile Capture/ AR stickers (via future Playstore update)/ Spot Colour/ Smart Composition/ Shot Optimization/Active Photo/ Dual Capture/ Live Filter/ Portrait Mode/ Panorama/ HDR/ Night Vision/ Pro Mode/ 50MP High Resolution Mode/ Super Resolution
QR code reader	Via Google Lens
Night mode	AI

Selfie

Front	Selfie
MP	16MP
Sensor	Omnivision 16A1
Focus	Fixed
f-stop	2.2
um	1
FOV (stated/ actual)	70.3-82.7°
Stabilisation	No
Flash	Screen fill
Zoom	8X digital
Video max	1080p@30
Features	Burst Shot/ Gesture Capture/ Auto Smile Capture/ Group Selfie/ Selfie Animation/ Spot Colour/ Shot Optimisation/Active Photo/ Dual Capture/ Live Filter/ Face Beauty/ Portrait Mode Beauty/ HDR/ Auto Night Vision
Comment	• 1X Day Primary sensor – the colours are excellent with good dynamic range. Good details in the background/ shadows/ and highlights. • 2X Day Primary sensor – colours are excellent with good dynamic range. The background is getting noisy. • 5X Day: Primary sensor – pushing the limits • 10X Day: Primary sensor: Forget it • Ultra-wide: S8MP sensor: Good colour and details/ although you can tell it is a different sensor to the primary. • Macro: The 8MP UW sensor takes reasonable macro shots, but as usual, 4cm focus is critical • Indoor office light: Colours are a little muted and the dog’s face/ears are grey instead of deep black • Bokeh Depth: A 2MP sensor helps for bokeh shots. It has helped bring out the dark black ears foreground and sharpened the background. • Dark <40 lumens: The standard (not night mode) is quite good with excellent details/ although there is some noise. • Night mode brings up the detail/ saturates the colour/ and removes a lot of noise • Selfie: The 16MP 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 with some OIS (optical image stabilisation

Motorola g62 5G Ratings

Features	9
	It is an entry-level 5G phone using the Qualcomm SDF+480+ SoC. Nothing is wrong with it, but nothing is outstanding, either.
Value	10
	5G low-mid rangers at $399.
Performance	9
	It is a value SoC, and you get fit-for-purpose performance, and it is not for gamers.
Ease of Use	9
	My UX adds some value to stock Android
Design	9
	All plastic is fine
Rating out of 10	9.20
Final comment	At $399, it is an excellent and safe buy. You can’t go wrong.

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