Motorola g82 5G – exceptional value/features (smartphone review)

The Motorola g82 is its top-of-the-g-series 5G phone, yet it costs a measly $499 (on special at JB Hi-Fi for $399). It offers unrivalled value with a Qualcomm SD695 5G SoC, a 10-bit, 1.07 billion colours, and a 120Hz AMOLED screen. It even has a rear 50(OIS)+8+2MP tri-camera and 16MP selfie.

Add a microSD expansion slot, 3.5mm jack, Wi-Fi 5 AC, BT 5.1, NFC, stereo speakers, 5000mAh battery, 33W fast charger, and it is a complete package.

I have been thoroughly impressed with this latest round of new 2022 Moto models. From the excellent not quite flagship Edge 30 and 30 Pro, the rock-solid g-series and value e-series.

The Motorola 2022 phones currently include

• e32 64GB (was $229 now $183)*
• g22 128GB (was $299 now $239)
• g50 128GB 5G (was $299 now $250)*
• g51 128GB 5G (normally $349 now $279 on special)*
• G62 (was $399 now $319)
• Edge20 Fusion 128GB 5G (was $449 now $359)*
• G82 (This review was $499, now $399)
• Edge20 128GB 5G 128GB ($479)*
• Edge30   128GB 5G (normally $699 now $559l)
• Edge20 Pro 256GB 5G (was $899 now $719)*
• Edge30 Pro 128GB 5G (was $999 now $799)

* These are 2021 runout models, and new models are coming soon. In any case, there are some real bargains there.

Motorola g82 5G 6/128GB, Dual hybrid sim, Model XT2225-1

Website	Product Page
Price:	$449 but on special at JB for $399
Colours	Meteorite Grey or White Lily
From:	Special prices from JB Hi-Fi (*)
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

Deep-Dive review format

A five-minute overview precedes a 300+ line database-driven spec, including over 70 tests to support our 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 ‘+’ rating to show it is good but does not quite make it to Exceed.

* Better buy genuine, or 5G won’t work

This is exclusive to JB Hi-Fi, so to buy elsewhere means it is grey market.

Look for the RCM C-Tick on the box end, and under Settings, About phone, Regulatory Labels. The only memory/storage option for Australia is 6/128GB.

We strongly warn you to buy a genuine model with Australian firmware if you want to use 5G. Read Don’t buy a grey market phone to ensure you get the Australian model.

Motorola g82 first impression – Exceed

Yes, it is another glass slab, but it is a rather nice one with a nicely patterned PMMA (acrylic glass) back. It looks premium, and it fits nicely in hand.

Screen 6.5” 2400 x 1080, 1.07b colours, 120Hz AMOLED – Exceed

A 6.6” 2400 x 1800, 1.07 billion colour, 120Hz AMOLED at $399. The gods must be crazy. But it is a luscious bright, colourful screen that you tend to find only on phones twice the price.

You can read it outside in daylight; you have colour and temperature adjustments and a choice of Auto, 60 or 120Hz screen refresh. On Auto mode, it steps from 48/60/90/120Hz depending on content. It has L1 Widevine for SDR video streaming, although it supports HDR10 levels. Like most AMOLED, it has a peek display (always on display) and an attentive mode that keeps the display on when you view it.

We don’t measure lower-cost screens for nits, contrast, or colour gamut, and Motorola does not publish figures either. It is bright (around 400 nits), has infinite contrast, and looks like it supports the DCI-P3 wide colour gamut for 1.07 billion colours.

In short, it is a great screen and wipes the floor over the Samsung S22/+ AMOLED screens.

Processor – Qualcomm SD695 5G – Pass+

Qualcomm makes (using an analogy) 4-cylinder (4-series), 6-cylinder (6-series), 6-cylinder turbo (7-series) and V8s (8-series) systems on a chip.

This has heaps of power for Joe and Jane Average with no log and smooth screen scrolling even under load. It is fine for casual gameplay too. To put it in perspective, it has impressive Geekbench single/multi-core scores of 670/1929, whereas the Flagship SD8 Gen1 has 1190/3542. Similarly, the GPU (graphics) OpenCL and VULKAN scores are 1398/1299 versus 6173/7546 – serious gamers will appreciate the latter but will be paying twice as much.

What I like is that it has a microSD (Hybrid dual sim slot) to 1TB, and its sequential read/write speed is 85/25MBps which is quite fast. It can also mount an external portable SSD, but the USB-C 2.0 interface limits speed to about 32/24MBps.

Throttling – Exceed (in the best way)

It has 190,419 GIPS (billion instructions per second) versus the SD8 Gen1 at 312,596. But where this shines is no throttling under 100% load over 15 minutes. The SD8 drops to 223,818 or 23% throttling.

Comms – Pass (remember this is a $399 phone)

Wi-Fi 5 AC reaches 433Mbps speeds with excellent, usable 5Gz signal strengths out to 10m.

Bluetooth 5.2 has the full suite of Qualcomm aptX codecs, making it easy to get the best from whatever ear/hear/phones or speakers you use.

4G and 5G Phone – For all city and suburban use – Pass(able)

It has all the Australian 4G and 5G bands. But signal strength is an issue. It found the first tower at reasonable signal strength; the second tower was verging un unusable, and the third tower was very sporadic. No fourth tower.

This is usual for a Motorola g-series using a Qualcomm SoC and reflects economies in antenna design. If you need better reception (particularly indoors), the Motorola Edge 30 and 30 Pro are best.

Battery – 2 days and fast charge – Exceed

It has a 5000mAh battery and a 33W charger inbox for a full charge in just over 1 hour – superb at this price. Video loop was 21.5 hours, PC Mark 3.0 Modern Office Battery life was 16.5 hours (typical office use), and Accubattery confirmed all figures. As we ran all tests in Auto screen refresh mode, the fixed 120Hz impact should be well below 20% in time reduction.

Sound – Stereo but too odd to be passable

We have had issues with all the g-series (and Edge 30 series) with odd sound signatures. We had some more time to investigate. We put this down to the CrystalTalk A1 setting that focuses on voice from 1-4kHz at the expense of all else. The problem is that it does not significantly improve the sound signature even when you turn it off.

The best way to describe the sound is overly harsh, crisp, and generally unpleasant for music but excellent for clear voice.

Let’s just say that if you want to listen to music, use BT earphones and take advantage of the vast selection of Qualcomm aptX codecs.

You can read more, including our test tracks – How to tell if you have good music (sound signature is the key – guide.

Build – Pass

It is well-built but lacks significant IP protection (IP52), and there is no front glass protection.

A plastic frame does not bother me, and PMMA (acrylic glass) is acceptable for the back. It is nice and slim, feels excellent in hand and is a keeper. It comes with the 33W charger, buds, and a bumper cover.

But the warranty is only one year, and you can find two years for similar OPPO phones.

Android – almost pure – Exceed

It ships with Android 12 and Motorola’s overlay My UX 3.0. You can reasonably expect two years of quarterly updates.

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

Missing – no deal breakers

• A better IP rating would make this a killer device
• Screen protection, even Panda or Dragon glass, would be good
• More generous OS upgrade and security upgrade policy

Motorola g82 5G camera

The 50MP Samsung S5KJN1 sensor is the flavour of the month, but Motorola has added OIS (optical image stabilisation) for more stable still and video shots.

The 8MP Ultra-wide and macro Samsung SK54H7 sensor is also quite common in lower-priced phones and does a creditable job. A 2MP depth sensor is for Bokeh only.

The front selfie is also quite common – our only issue here is its limited low-light capability.

Camera Summary

• 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 dogs’ 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, and has issues with definition around the ‘dog’s black ears.
• 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

CyberShack’s view – the Motorola g82 brings new meaning to the value segment

The Motorola g82 is the top-of-the-g-series, meaning that the Motorola Edge 30 is the next step (although there is probably an Edge 30 Lite we have not seen here). So, the comparison is not between a $499 ($399 at JB) or $699 ($599 at JB) phone but whether the extra $200 is worth it.

Both have excellent 1.07 billion colour screens (take that, Samsung!), Decent 6 and 7 series Qualcomm processors, 6/128/microSD ad 8/128GB/no microSD; the g82 has a bigger battery and 50+8+2MP versus 50+50+2MP cameras. So, if you have an extra $200 spare, the Edge 30 looks attractive and has about twice the performance.

But the Motorola g82 has a 3.5mm jack, microSD expansion and everything you need, so perhaps save that $200.

Competition

Frankly, the 1.07 billion colour AMOLED is so far class-leading that there is no real competition. But you must ask if you really care about 16M or 1.07 billion colours. After all, we have been using that for years.

We mentioned that there are some 2021 Motorola runouts, so the Edge 20 Fusion at $359 is worth a look. Vivo has a 2022 Y52 at $379. Then you jump to $499 for the 2022 Samsung Galaxy A33 ($499 no competition), 2021 A52s ($529) and 2022 Samsung A53 ($549)

No, the Motorola g82 is the clear class leader and gets our unreserved buy recommendation.

Motorola g82 details test and specs

Brand	Motorola
Model	Moto g82 5G
Model Number	XT2225-1 Software version retapac
Price Base	6, 128GB
Price base	$499 (JB Special $399)
Warranty months	12-months ACL
Tier	mid-range
Website	Product Page
From	JB Hi-Fi, The Good Guys, Officeworks, Big W White Lily Meteorite Grey
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, 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.
Test date	10-22 July 2022
Ambient temp	9-15°
Release	1, 06, 2022
Other models not for Australia (Don’t buy)	Only approved resellers – any other outlet is likely to be grey market.

Screen

Size	6.6″
Type	AMOLED
Flat, Curve, 2D, 3D	Flat with centre o-hole
Resolution	2400x 1800
PPI	402
Ratio	20:9
Screen to Body %	87.70%
Colours bits	10-bit 1.07 billion colours
Refresh Hz, adaptive	Auto, 60 or 120Hz. Auto steps from 48, 60, 90, and 120Hz dependent on content
Response 120Hz
Nit typical test	500 approx.
Nits max, test	700 approx.
Contrast	Infinite
sRGB	100 approx.
DCI-P3	82% NTSC, which is about 60% DCI-P3 1 billion colours
Rec.2020 or other	Natural and saturated plus temperature adjustment
Delta E (<4 is excellent)	<4
HDR Level	Capable of HDR10 playback scaled to screen capability
SDR Upscale	No
Blue light control	Yes
PWM if known	250Hz quite low
Daylight readable	Yes, but it lacks enough brightness for direct sunlight
Always on Display	Yes
Edge display	No
Accessibility	All Android 12 features
DRM	L1 for HD HDR playback – No FHD HDR yet
Gaming	Up to 240Hz finger touch response and 13ms G-t-G
Screen protection	Not stated
Comment	Excellent 10-bit, 1.07 billion colour screen with greater subtleties in colour than Samsung S22, +. Adaptive stepping usually sits at 48 or 60Hz.

Processor

Brand, Model	Qualcomm SD695 5G https://www.qualcomm.com/products/application/ smartphones/snapdragon-6-series-mobile-platforms/ snapdragon-695-5g-mobile-platform
nm	6nm
Cores	2×2.2GHz + 6×1.7GHz
Modem	X51
AI TOPS	Estimate 15
Geekbench 5 Single-core	670
Geekbench 5 multi-core	1929
Like	Similar to SD855
GPU	Adreno 619
GPU Test
Open CL	1398
Like	Like SD732G
Vulcan	1299
RAM, type	6GB
Storage, free, type	128GB
micro-SD	Hybrid slot to 1TB
CPDT internal seq. Read MBps	500
CPDT internal seq. write MBps	362
CPDT microSD read, write MBps	85/25 and mountable as storage
CPDT external (mountable?) MBps	32/24 OTG
Comment	All are fit for purpose and price, and microSD is a nice bonus.

Throttle test

Max GIPS	190,419
Average GIPS	186,229
Minimum GIPS	180,898
% Throttle	Nil
CPU Temp	50°
Comment	Excellent thermal management

Comms

Wi-Fi Type, model	Wi-Fi 5 AC WCN3990 2×2 MU-MIMO
Test 2m -dBm, Mbps	-24/433
Test 5m	-44/433
Test 10m	-56/433
BT Type	5.2
GPS single, dual	Dual, Accuracy <10m
USB type	USB-C 2.0 480Mbps
Alt DP, DeX, Ready For	No
NFC	Yes
Ultra-wideband	No
Sensors
Accelerometer	Yes -combo with Gyro is overly sensitive
Gyro	Yes
e-Compass	Yes
Barometer
Gravity
Pedometer
Ambient light	Yes
Hall sensor
Proximity	Yes
Other	Fingerprint on the power button
Comment	Excellent Wi-Fi signal stability

LTE and 5G

SIM	Hybrid dual sim 1 x 5G and 1 x 4G 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, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12, 13, 17, 18, 19, 20, 26, 28, 32, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 66
Comment	All Australian 4G bands
5G sub-6Ghz	n1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 20, 28, 38, 40, 41, 66, 77, 78, 78
Comment	All Australian 5G sub-6 and low bands
mmWave	No
Test Boost Mobile, Telstra
UL, DL, ms	33/24/39ms
Tower 1 -dBm, fW or pW	-89, from 2-4pW
Tower 2	-103 from 500-1pW
Tower 3	-106 from 30-50fW
Tower 4	No
Comment	Reception is not as good as expected, only finding the first two towers (usable) and the third (unusable).

Battery

mAh	5000
Charger, type, supplied	33W 5V/3A/15W, 9V/3A/27W, 11V/3A33W, 12V/2.5A/30W Supplied USB-A to USB-C cable supports <3W.
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	40%
Charge 0-100%	1 hour 3 minutes
Charge Qi, W	N/A
Charge 5V, 2A	5 hours 38 minutes
Video loop 50%, aeroplane	21 hours 30 minutes
PC Mark 3 battery	16 hours and 35 minutes (Accubattery 18 hours)
GFX Bench Manhattan battery	Would not run
GFX Bench T-Rex	486 minutes (8.1 hours) 4583 frames
Drain 100-0% full load screen on	4 hours 26 minutes (Accubattery 4 hours 24 minutes)
Watt full load	1300-1500mA
Watt idle Screen on	291-396mA
Estimate loss at max refresh	Auto mode maximises battery life, so we expect about a 20% penalty should you fix on 120Hz
Estimate typical use	Great battery life and should have two days of typical use between charges.
Comment	Nice to see a 33W charger inbox and for a lower-cost phone to have this fast charging.

Sound

Speakers	Top forward, up-firing, and bottom down-firing stereo.
Tuning	?
AMP	Qualcomm Aqusitic sound
Dolby Atmos decode	Dolby Atmos decode to 2.0 speakers
Hi-Res	No
3.5mm	Yes
BT Codecs	SBC, AAC, aptX (HD, Adaptive, TWS, LDAC, LDHC (V1, 2, 3)
Multipoint	Can connect to two devices
Dolby Atmos (DA)	Yes – auto, movie, music, voice, and games mode
EQ	No
Mics	Dual with noise cancelling
Test dB – all on EQ flat DA off
Volume max	80
Media (music)	72
Ring	80
Alarm	80
Notifications	72
Earpiece	55
Hands-free	Dual mics and some noise-cancelling and adequate volume.
BT headphones	Excellent left-right separation and DA make quite a difference with DA content.

Sound quality

Deep Bass 20-40Hz	Nil
Middle Bass 40-100Hz	Nil
High Bass 100-200Hz	Extremely late start and slow build
Low Mid 200-400Hz	Slow build to 400Hz then dips at 500Hz
Mid 4000-1000Hz	Still building to 1kHz
High-Mid 1-2kHz	Flat but choppy
Low Treble 2-4kHz	Flat and less choppy
Mid Treble 4-6kHz	Peaks at 5kHz and then declines
High Treble 6-10kHz	Declines
Dog Whistle 10-20kHz	Declines
Sound Signature type	One of the oddest, almost indescribable sound signatures. It has virtually no upper bass, poor low-and-mid-mid, strong high-mid (clear voice 1-4kHz) and some low-treble for some crispness. We tested with and without Dolby Atmos, and it was worse still with the latter. We suspect it is to do with Moto’s Crystal Talk AI to clean up voice between 1-4kHz, and it does that at the expense of all else.
Soundstage	Narrow and DA settings do not expand the sound stage. Left/Right separation is poor, with a distinct bias to the bottom speaker
Comment	The sound signature is poor with no low, mid, high-bass, no real mid and the only flat section is low-and-mid-treble. Fortunately, the headphones do take advantage of Dolby Atmos! But conversely, voice is crisp!

Build

Size (H x W x D)	160.89 x 7.99 x 74.46mm
Weight grams	173g
Front glass	Glass – protection level not specified
Rear material	PMMA
Frame	Plastic
IP rating	52 – light rain
Colours	Meteorite Grey White Lily
Pen, Stylus support	No
In the box
Charger	33W
USB cable	USB-C to USB-C 3W capable cable
Buds	Yes – USB-C
Bumper cover	Yes – USB-C
Comment	It has a charger in the box (Samsung does not), buds and a bumper cover. Well made.

OS

Android	12 – almost pure Android
Security patch date	1-Mar-22
UI	My UX 3.0 Personalise: Styles, Wallpapers, Layout Display: Peek Display, Attentive Display Gestures: Power Touch, Quick Capture, Fast Flashlight, Three-finger screenshot, Pick up to silence, Screenshot toolkit, Media controls Play: Gametime Audio
OS upgrade policy	No
Security patch policy	Regular security patches for at least two years
Bloatware	Pure Android – all Google Apps. You can uninstall Facebook.
Other	No
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 not tested
Other	Lenovo Think Shield security for registered businesses – not for consumers
Comment

Motorola g82 camera

Rear Primary	Wide
MP	50MP bins to 12.5
Sensor	Samsung S5KJN1
Focus	PDAF Omni Directional
f-stop	1.8
um	.64 bins to 1.28
FOV° (stated, actual)	(63)
Stabilisation	OIS
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@60fps
Flash	LED
Auto-HDR	Primary lens, sensor only
	Burst Shot, Auto Smile Capture, AR stickers (via future Play store 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

Motorola g82 Front

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 Optimization, 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, and has issues with definition around the ‘dog’s black ears. • 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 g82 ratings

Features	9
	Top-of-the-g-series with an SD695 5G processor and AMOLED screen
Value	10
	If you can get it at $399, it is the clear value and feature class leader.
Performance	9
	Decent performance but remember it is half the SD8 speeds
Ease of Use	9
	My UX adds some value to stock Android
Design	9
	It is a glass slab with no distinguishing features
Rating out of 10	9.2
Final comment	The overall class leader even at $499 RRP – even better at $399

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