Motorola ThinkPhone – for thinking people (smartphone review)
The Motorola ThinkPhone is its first collaboration with parent Lenovo to produce a business-oriented phone that can live up to the ThinkPad legacy – toughness, reliability, great performance and value.
Well, Motorola has nailed it with the Motorola ThinkPhone. MIL-STD-810H/IP68 construction, Aramid Kevlar back, and aircraft aluminium frame over:
- 6.6” 2400 x 1080, 144Hz HDR10 P-OLED.
- Qualcomm SD8+ Gen 1 flagship processor.
- 8/256GB.
- Wi-Fi 6E/BT 5.3/NFC/Dual GPS.
- Excellent 50+13+2 rear camera and 32MP selfie.
- 5000mAH battery with 68W charger inbox and 15W Qi wireless.
- Dolby Atmos decode stereo speakers.
- UBS-C 3.1 Gen 1 with alt DP for ‘Ready For’ and wireless/cabled USB-C to HDMI monitor or TV.
- Lenovo security, including ThinkShield for Mobile and Moto KeySafe.
- 2+3+3 year Warranty/OS upgrades/security patches.
Motorola quickly points out that some Edge phones have 200MP cameras or faster charging. Not to mention its amazing Razr flip phone. This is the phone that Lenovo will sell to business clients, along with a ThinkPad. But it is the phone you should seriously consider as the best, most fully featured phone for less than $1000.
Australian Review: Motorola ThinkPhone, 8/256, 5G, dual sim, Model XT2309-2
Website | Product Page |
Price | $999 |
Colours | Carbon Black |
From | Lenovo Online, JB Hi-Fi and other approved retailers * |
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 |
Deep-Dive review format
It is now in two parts – a summary (the first part) 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.
* 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 R-NZ C-tick mark. There is also an R-NZ C-Tick on the box. They use unique Australian 5G sub-6Ghz and 5G low-band frequencies, requiring local activation first. Read Don’t buy a grey market phone (guide).
First Impression – Exceed
It won me with the Aramid Kevlar back and subtle Motorola ThinkPhone branding. It looks tough (will it withstand a bullet? Someone will be insane enough to try) yet elegant enough. As I delved into the specs, I was blown away by IP68, MIL-STD-180H, Gorilla Glass Victus and way more goodies than I felt possible at the price. Moto nailed the balance between ‘must have’ and ‘nice to have but never use it’.
In deference IBM/Lenovo ThinkPad, there is a programable, ribbed, one-or-two-press, RED button (just like the ThinkPad) on the left side case. A single click can launch any app, play/pause music, and open the voice or screen recorder. A double click launches ‘Ready For’ or other actions. Clever.
Motorola’s ‘Ready For’ App also allows it to be used as a webcam, transfer data to a PC via drag and drop, and other features.
Screen – 6.6” 10-bit, very bright, 144Hz pOLED – Exceed
This is a glorious 2400 x 1080, 402ppi, HDR10+, pOLED screen – 10-bit/1.07 billion colours, 100% sRGB and full DCI-P3 colour gamut, and up to 144Hz refresh/360Hz touch in game mode.
This is a bright screen, 500nits typical, and up to 1200 peak (for HDR10+); it is great in direct sunlight.
And it is a billion times more colourful, whereas many flagships (looking at you, Samsung) only have 8-bit, 16 million colours.
Processor – Qualcomm SD8+ Gen 1 – Exceed
It is the fastest 2022 Android flagship processor, perfect for games and heavy use. It is also one of the hotter ones when pushed. Interestingly Moto has tuned this processor to deliver far higher speeds than the Edge 30 Ultra/Razr 2022 – Geekbench single multi-core scores of 1775/4636 versus 1320/4381.
Moto has kept throttling down to a respectable 17%, and the CPU temperature under 50°. It has reduced the overall GIPS (gigabillion instructions per second) by about 10% (compared to other SD8+/Gen 1 GIPS), so it is pretty stable and even with throttling.
It has 8GB RAM and 256GB (214GB free) of UFS 3.1 storage achieving very fast sequential read/write of 2060/693MBps – most other phones are flat out getting 1000MBps read times.
But the real advantage of this phone (and most Motorola Edge 30 models) is the USB-C 3.1 Gen 1 5Gbps port. It allows you to record up to 4K video directly to an external SSD (mountable) at 1280/180MBps – very fast. The port also supports USB-C to HDMI (or DP) monitors (more in the ‘Ready For’ section).
Comms – Wi-Fi 6E, BT 5.3, NFC, Dual GPS – Exceed
Wi-Fi 6E requires a 6E router – read Netgear Orbi RBKE963 Quad-band Wi-Fi 6E AX 11000 mesh. This has an additional 6GHz band that is faster and almost uncontested. The maximum speed on this band (2×2 HE 160Mhz) is 2401Mbps.
However, it did not achieve this, getting from 1441-1921Mbps. We suspect it needs a firmware update for Australian Wi-Fi 6E channels (different from most countries). By comparison, the Edge 30 Ultra and Razr 2022 get 2401Mbps. Interestingly if you turn the 6GHz band off and use Wi-Fi 6, it achieves the maximum 1200Mbps speed on the 5GHz band.
- BT 5.3 supports Google Fast Pair and multi-point devices.
- Dual-band GPS was accurate to within 3 metres.
- NFC is excellent; the OS allows fingerprint ID to authorise a payment.
Ready for – Exceed
Special mention must be made of the complete audio/video/data/charge USB-C 3.1 Gen 1 5Gbps port. That means alt DP 1.4 for USB-C to HDMI (or DP) cable for a 4K TV, full Ready For Moto/Android Desktop and screen mirroring. As a power user, I want this! Most smartphones, even flagships, have USB-C 2.0 480Mbps ports. It also supports ‘Ready For’ over Wi-Fi.
LTE and 5G – Good for city/suburbs, regional cities, and rural use – Pass+
It has eight antennas with excellent picowatt signal strength and finds the four nearest Telco towers. It should be great anywhere there is a 4G/5G signal. It also has 2/3G world bands for international use.
Most importantly, it has VoLTE, Wi-Fi calling, dual SIMs (no eSIM) and dual ringtones, which many flagships do not.
Battery – 5000W and 68W 53-minute charge – Exceed
The battery will last two days of typical use, and heavy users will get somewhere up to a day. But that is not an issue with a 68W charger filling from 0-100% in 53 minutes. It also has 15W Qi Wireless charge, and when using a compatible Belkin Boost Up charger, it will fill in 2.5 hours. If you get stuck and can only access 5V/2A/10W chargers, it takes about 4 hours. The following tests are on Adaptive screen mode.
- Video loop (1080, 50% volume/brightness) 24+ hours
- PC Mark Battery test (typical use) 16 hours and 25 minutes
- Accubattery 18 hours
- GFX Bench T-Rex (games) 7.66 hours
- Drain full load: 4 hours and 30 minutes
- 68W charge: 53 minutes
- 15W Qi charge: 1.5 hours
- 10W charge: 4 hours
Unlike Samsung, Motorola includes the charger inbox.
Sound – Dolby Atmos downmix to two speakers – Pass
It is stereo 2.0 with a top earpiece with a distinct volume bias to the bottom down-firing speaker. Overall it is pretty ‘listenable’ and has USB-C buds as well.
- Maximum volume: 82dB (good)
- BT: 5.3 with SBC, AAC, Qualcomm aptX codecs (HD, Adaptive, TWS) and LDHC.
- Hands-free: Two mics offer decent noise reduction, and speaker volume levels are quite good and clear.
- Excellent left-right separation, although a noticeable bias to the bottom speaker
- DA content widens the sound stage past the phone but does not add 3D Spatial height. The DA EQ has Automatic and pre-sets, including a fully customisable one.
- It is primarily Bright Vocal (bass recessed, mid/treble boosted) with a bit of high-bass, but the unexplained dip at 500Hz and the somewhat choppy frequency response could use work. It is firmware fixable.
Build – Solid as brick – Exceed
It is not a small phone at 158.76 x 74.38 x 8.26mm x 189g, but it’s a good 30-40g lighter than most similar screen-size flagships. It has a solid aircraft aluminium frame, Gorilla Glass Victus and an Aramid Kevlar back. Add to that MIL-STD-810H (it will withstand a fall from 1.3m and much more). With IP68 and it is a winner.
Add Motorola’s 2-year warranty (which is ahead of Samsung by one year), and this is a keeper that will withstand heavy use.
OS – Android 13 – Pass+
It will get Android 14, 15 and 16, three years of monthly Security patches and a further year of bi-monthly patches. This is unbeatable and means you can plan to have this phone for 3-5 years without issue.
It has almost pure Android with a very light My UX 3.0 user experience that is more about adding value via Moto actions and the camera app. No Motorola account is required. It adds:
- 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: Games, Media controls, Dolby Atmos
Having used Samsung’s OneUI and Motorola’s My UX, I appreciate the cleaner My UX and its less intrusiveness.
Android Enterprise certified and ThinkShield for Mobile – Not Tested
ThinkShield for Mobile is more for enterprise use. Here is the link that will explain it but take note of Moto Threat Defence (malware protection) and Moto Safe (prevents data loss and unauthorised access). I like the secure folder and Moto KeySafe that stores pins, passwords, and cryptographic keys, in a tamper-resistant safe.
Consumers can use some of the features.
Interoperability with Windows ThinkPad (well, any Windows device) – not tested
It has a Think 2 Think capability that syncs the smartphone to a PC.
- Instant Connect: Phone and PC seamlessly discover when nearby and connect over Wi-Fi.
- Unified Clipboard: Seamlessly transfer copied text or recent photos, scanned documents and videos between devices by pasting into any app on the destination device.
- Unified Notifications: Phone notifications instantly appear on the Windows Action Centre. Clicking a notification auto-launches the corresponding phone app on the PC’s screen.
- File Drop: Easily drag and drop files between Motorola ThinkPhone and PC.
- App Streaming: Open any Android application directly on a PC.
- Advanced Webcam: Take advantage of the powerful Motorola ThinkPhone cameras and AI capabilities, seamlessly using it as your webcam for all your video calls.
- Instant Hotspot: Connect to the internet through one click, directly from the PC, to leverage the Motorola ThinkPhone’s 5G connectivity.
Motorola ThinkPhone Camera
Every other aspect of the Motorola ThinkPhone is close to 10/10, but the camera is ordinary, decent, and enough for your needs. Perhaps we have been spoilt with 200MP snappers and AI that shows you an image it thinks you want to see.
Note that it was a windy, overcast day, and these photos would show a bit more dynamic range under better light.
Comments
- 1X Day Primary sensor: the colours are accurate. Good details in the background, shadows, and highlights.
- 4X Day Primary sensor: Good colour and details – particularly good background with little noise.
- 8X Day: Primary sensor: Pushing its limits with a noisy background – still pretty good.
- Ultra-wide: 13MP sensor: Slightly muted colour and details. You can tell it is a different sensor from the primary.
- Macro 13MP sensor: excellent details and colours and not as critical about 4cm focus distance.
- Indoor office light: Slightly muted colours and good details.
- Bokeh Depth: Better colour (AI processing), good detail and excellent bokeh background. This uses the 2MP sensor for depth.
- Dark <40 lumens: The standard mode (not night mode) is quite decent, picking up details from the screen.
- Night mode: Brightens the scene but blows out details – needs work.
- Selfie: The 32MP (bins to 8MP) has natural skin tones, good detail and a range of filters to enhance any image.
- Video (we are not video experts):
- Primary sensor: You can shoot at 4K@30fps with OIS (1080p 60/30fps with OIS and EIS), and the day/office light results are very good.
- Ultrawide sensor: You can shoot 4K@30fps with no OIS and 1080p@60/30fps with EIS.
- Selfie: 4K@30fps with EIS.
- Overall, video is good but lacks dynamic range, especially in low light.
CyberShack’s view – Motorola Thinkphone is unique and special
Motorola ThinkPhone has a lot to live up to – and it does! It is marketed as a business phone, but consumers should look at it too, as it offers so much for comparatively little.
Its main competition is the Moto Edge 30 Ultra which uses the same processor, 12GB of RAM, and a 200MP main camera. It does not have IP68 or MIL-STD-810H.
It is an unusual time as 2022 models are on runout pricing. In my opinion, it has superior specs/value to
- Google Pixel 7 128/256GB $799/929
- Google Pixel 7 Pro 128GB $1299
- Any of the Samsung S22/22+
- Any of the new Samsung Galaxy S23/+ from $1349
- OPPO Find X5 $1199, although this is a damned good phone
Rating Explanation
- Features: 95 – it has the right balance of features and price and lacks nothing compared to phones costing 20-50% more.
- Value: 95 – at $999, it’s the class leader in every respect. Frankly, the price is a bargain.
- Performance: 90 – Great performance from the 2022 Flagship processor – only slightly beaten by the 2023 SD8+ Gen 2.
- Ease of Use: 95 – Pure Android, light My UX overlay adding value and ThinkShield. It is easy to use, and the 2+3+3 years warranty/OS Upgrades/Security patches are a bonus. Add 68W 53-minute charging, and its one of the easiest phones to own and use
- Design: 90 – Business-like and extremely well mad. Durable, Gorilla Glass Victus, Aluminium frame and Aramid Kevlar fibre back makes this a keeper.
Reviewers Final Comment
A unique business-oriented phone that will appeal to consumers as well. It is the phone I would buy (under $1000).
CyberShack Smartphone comparison v 1.7 (E&OE)
Motorola ThinkPhone XT2039-2
Brand | Motorola |
Model | Motorola ThinkPhone |
Model Number | XT2039-2 |
Price Base | 8/256 |
Price base | 999 |
Warranty months | 24-months ACL |
Tier | Entry-level price for Flagship |
Website | Western Europe |
From | Lenovo online and selected retailers |
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 | CyberShack Motorola News and Reviews |
Test date | 20-29/3/2023 |
Ambient temp | 20-28° |
Release | 45015 |
Other models not for Australia (Don’t buy) | There will be variants for China and different global regions. TBA |
Screen
Size | 6.6″ |
Type | pOLED |
Flat, Curve, 2D, 3D | Flat with centre O-hole |
Resolution | 2400 x 1080 |
PPI | 402 |
Ratio | 20:9 |
Screen to Body % | 87.8 |
Colours bits | 10-bit/1.07 billion colours |
Refresh Hz, adaptive. | Auto ranges up to 120Hz or select 60/90/120/140Hz |
Response 120Hz | Max touch rate 360Hz |
Nits typical test | 500 (tested 502) |
Nits max, test | Peak Brightness 1200 (tested 1184) |
Contrast | Infinite |
sRGB | Natural – 100% (Tested 98%) |
DCI-P3 | |
Rec.2020 or other | Natural and saturated plus temperature adjustment |
Delta E (<4 is excellent) | 1.4 |
HDR Level | Capable of HDR10+ playback scaled to screen capability |
SDR Upscale | No |
Blue Light Control | Yes |
PWM if known | 175Hz – can be eliminated by the ‘prevent flickering’ option (DC dimming) |
Daylight readable | Yes |
Always on Display | Yes |
Edge display | No |
Accessibility | All Android 13 features |
DRM | L1 for FHD HDR |
Gaming | <1m GTG Up to 360Hz touch Snapdragon Elite Gaming features include: Variable Rate Shading for faster graphics performance. Qualcomm Game Quick Touch increases display responsiveness. Updatable drivers deliver the latest graphics and performance improvements in real-time. |
Screen protection | Gorilla Glass Victus |
Comment | Excellent 10-bit, 1.07 billion colour screen with far greater subtleties in colour than the 8-bit Samsung S23/+/Ultra. |
Processor
Brand, Model | Qualcomm SD8+ Gen 1 |
nm | 4 |
Cores | Octa-core (1×3.19GHz + 3 x 2.75GHz + 4 x 1.80GHz |
Modem | X65 |
AI TOPS | 27 |
Geekbench 5 Single-core | 1775 |
Geekbench 5 multi-core | 4636 |
Like | Fastest 2022 processor and well-tuned to achieve speeds well above other SDD8+ Gen 1 |
GPU | Adreno 730 |
GPU Test | |
Open CL | 4893 |
Like | Closer to Exynos 2100 |
Vulcan | 7430 |
RAM, type | 8GB LPDDR5 |
Storage, free, type | 256GB UFS 3.1 (214GB Free) |
micro-SD | No |
CPDT internal seq. Read MBps | 2060 |
CPDT internal seq. write MBps | 693 |
CPDT microSD read, write MBps | N/A |
CPDT external (mountable?) MBps | 1280/180 mountable – excellent and reflects USB-C 3.1 Gen 1 5Gbps interface |
Comment | Fast and externally mountable SSD storage means videographers can use this. |
Throttle test | |
Max GIPS | 290853 |
Average GIPS | 260022 |
Minimum GIPS | 228610 |
% Throttle | 17% drop in 15 minutes |
CPU Temp | 50° |
Comment | Most SD8+ Gen 1 run hot, and the glass slab is best suited to keeping it cooler. The drop is acceptable to gamers and power users, but we recommend not using a case with heavy loads. |
Comms
Wi-Fi Type, model | Wi-Fi 6E QCA6490 HE160 |
Test 2m -dBm, Mbps | 6GHz -31/1441-1921 (should be 2400) |
Test 5m | -48/1441 (should be 2400) |
Test 10m | -53/1253 |
BT Type | 5.3 |
GPS single, dual | Dual <3m accuracy |
USB type | USB-C 3.1 Gen 1 5Gbps Display Port 1.4 |
ALT DP, DeX, Ready For | DP 1.4 for Miracast audio, video screen mirror, Moto ReadyFor – 4K wireless and wired |
NFC | Yes |
Ultra-wideband | No |
Sensors | |
Accelerometer | Yes combo |
Gyro | Yes combo |
e-Compass | Yes |
Barometer | |
Gravity | |
Pedometer | |
Ambient light | Yes |
Hall sensor | |
Proximity | Yes |
Other | SAR Sensor and Sensor Hub |
Comment | Wi-Fi 6E (6GHz) speeds were off, and I suspect this needs AU frequency-specific modifications. Wi-Fi 6 5Ghz was rock solid at 1200Mbps to 10 metres (maximum). |
LTE and 5G
SIM | Dual Sim |
Active | Both are 5G capable and active except when one is in use. |
Ring tone single, dual | Dual ring tones – excellent |
VoLTE | Carrier dependent |
Wi-Fi calling | Carrier dependent |
4G Bands | B1/2/3/4/5/7/8/12/13/17/18/19/20/25/26/ 28/32/34/38/39/40/41/42/43/48/66 |
Comment | All Australian and most world bands |
5G sub-6Ghz | n1/2/3/5/7/8/20/28/38/40/41/66/77/78 |
Comment | All Australian 5G sub-6 and low bands |
mmWave | No |
Test Boost Mobile, Telstra | |
UL, DL, ms | 74.7/32.4/24ms |
Tower 1 -dBm, fW or pW | -84/2.5-6pW |
Tower 2 | -85/2.5-3.2pW |
Tower 3 | -90/1-2.5pW |
Tower 4 | -93/501fW to 1Pw |
Comment | It has eight antennae and gives excellent signal strength seeing four towers. Overall it should be a good city, suburbs and regional use phone. |
Battery
mAh | 5000 |
Charger, type, supplied | 68W 5V/3A/15W 9V/3A/27W 15V/3A/45W 20V/3.4A/68W and 11/6.2A/68.2W with 5W cable. |
PD, QC level | 68W capable with USB-C PD charger and 5A capable cable |
Qi, wattage | 15W |
Reverse Qi or cable | |
Test (60Hz or adaptive screen) | Adaptive mode screen |
Charge % 30mins | 0.68 |
Charge 0-100% | 53 minutes |
Charge Qi, W Using Belkin Boost Charge 15W fast wireless charge | As fast as 2.5 hours with 15W compatible charger like Belkin Boost Up. |
Charge 5V, 2A | Approx 4 hours |
Video loop 50%, aeroplane | 24+ hours |
PC Mark 3 battery | 16 hours 25 minutes |
GFX Bench Manhattan battery | Would not run (seems to be an SD8 Gen 1 issue) |
GFX Bench T-Rex | 459.6 minutes (7.66 hours) 6704 frames |
Drain 100-0% full load screen on | 4 hours 30 minutes |
mA full load | 2000-2260mA |
mA Watt idle Screen on | 280-300mA |
Estimate loss at max refresh | Probably about 20% less battery |
Estimate typical use | Motorola claims up to 36 hours. The video loop is over 24 hours, making it one of the longest-lasting batteries tested in 2022/2023. Heavy users should count on a daily top-up (at 53 minutes, who cares), but typical users will see two days. |
Comment | This is a power user’s phone with a 53-minute recharge (with the 68W adapter) and a 15W Qi charge. Hard to beat. |
Sound
Speakers | Top forward, up-firing and bottom down-firing stereo. |
Tuning | No |
AMP | Qualcomm Aqusitic sound |
Dolby Atmos decode | Dolby Atmos decode to 2.0 speakers. |
Hi-Res | N/A |
3.5mm | No |
BT Codecs | SBC, AAC, aptX (and variants), LDAC |
Multipoint | Can connect to two devices |
Dolby Atmos (DA) | Yes – auto, movie, music, voice and games mode |
EQ | DA pre-sets and custom mode EQ |
Mics | Dual with noise cancelling |
Test dB – all on EQ flat DA off | |
Volume max | 82 |
Media (music) | 75 |
Ring | 82 |
Alarm | 80 |
Notifications | 72 |
Earpiece | 60 |
Hands-free | Decent noise reduction and volume levels were quite good and clear. |
BT headphones | Excellent left-right separation and DA makes quite a difference with DA content. |
Sound quality
Deep Bass 20-40Hz | Nil |
Middle Bass 40-100Hz | Nil |
High Bass 100-200Hz | |
Low Mid 200-400Hz | Still building to 400Hz. |
Mid 4000-1000Hz | Dip at 500Hz but flat |
High-Mid 1-2kHz | Flatish |
Low Treble 2-4kHz | Flatish |
Mid Treble 4-6kHz | Flatish |
High Treble 6-10kHz | Steep decline to 20kHz |
Dog Whistle 10-20kHz | Steep decline to 20kHz |
Sound Signature type | It is mostly Bright Vocal (bass recessed, mid/treble boosted), but the unexplained dip at 500Hz and the somewhat choppy frequency response could use work. It is firmware fixable. At first, we suspected Moto’s Crystal Talk AI was influencing the sound quality. |
Soundstage | Distinct bias to the bottom speaker. Only as wide as the phone. DA content widens the sound stage. Left and right separation is good. |
Comment | The sound signature is average, helped with a bit of high-bass. |
Build
Size (H X W x D) | 158.76 x 74.38 x 8.26mm |
Weight grams | 189g |
Front glass | GG Victus |
Rear material | Aramid Kevlar fibre is stronger than steel but is a fingerprint magnet – use the bumper case. |
Frame | Aircraft Aluminium |
IP rating | 68 – 1.5M for 30 minutes |
Colours | Carbon Black |
Pen, Stylus support | No |
In the box | |
Charger | 68W |
USB cable | USB-C to USB-C 5W capable cable |
Buds | Yes – USB-C |
Bumper cover | Yes |
Comment | It has a charger in the box (Samsung does not), buds and a bumper cover. MIL-STD-810H means very well made. |
OS
Android | 13 – Almost pure Android |
Security patch date | 44986 |
UI | My UX 3.0 Display: Peek Display, Attentive Display Gestures: Quick capture, Fast flashlight, Three-finger screenshot, Lift to unlock, Flip For DND, Pick up to silence, Swipe to split |
OS upgrade policy | Three upgrades, e.g., 16 |
Security patch policy | Monthly security patches for at least three years, then a further year of bi-monthly |
Bloatware | Pure Android – all Google Apps. You can uninstall Facebook. |
Other | Play: Gametime Audio |
Comment | My UX 3.0 adds value to pure Android. There is an assignable RED button on the left side. |
Security | |
Fingerprint sensor location, type | Under Glass optical |
Face ID | Yes 2D only |
Other | Lenovo ThinkShield is more for enterprise use. |
Motorola ThinkPhone Camera
Rear Primary | Wide |
MP | 50.3MP bins to 12.6MP |
Sensor | Omnivision OV50a |
Focus | PDAF Omni Directional |
f-stop | 1.8 |
um | 1 bins to 2 |
FOV° (stated, actual) | 73.4-86° |
Stabilisation | OIS |
Zoom | 8X digital |
Rear 2 | Ultra-wide |
MP | 13MP |
Sensor | Hynix HI336 |
Focus | AF/Fixed Macro |
f-stop | 2.2 |
um | 1.12 |
FOV (stated, actual) | 120 |
Stabilisation | No |
Zoom | No |
Rear 3 | Depth |
MP | 2MP |
Sensor | GalaxyCore GC02 |
Focus | Fixed |
f-stop | 2.4 |
um | 1.75 |
FOV (stated, actual) | N/A |
Stabilisation | No |
Zoom | No |
Video max | 4K@30fps |
Flash | Yes |
Auto-HDR | Yes |
Shooting modes: Ultra-Res Pro (w/ Long Exposure) 360° Panorama AR Stickers Live Photo/Video Filters Dual Capture Night Vision Portrait (w/ HDR) Scan Spot Colour Cut-out Artificial intelligence: Auto Smile Capture Smart Composition Shot Optimization Auto Night Vision Other features: Burst shot Timer Assistive Grid Watermark Leveller RAW photo output HDR Active photos | |
QR code reader | Barcode scanner and Google Lens |
Night mode | AI |
Motorola ThinkPhone Front
Front | Selfie |
MP | 32MP bins to 8MP |
Sensor | OmniVision OV32B40 |
Focus | Fixed |
f-stop | 2.4 |
um | .7 bins to 1.4 |
FOV (stated, actual) | 70.1-80.6° |
Stabilisation | No |
Flash | Screen fill |
Zoom | 8X Digital |
Video max | 4K@30fps |
Features | Shooting modes: Dual Capture Spot Color Timelapse (w/ Hyperlapse) Other features: Video Stabilization Face Beauty |
Comment | • 1X Day Primary sensor: the colours are accurate. Good details in the background, shadows, and highlights. • 4X Day Primary sensor: Good colour and details – particularly good background with little noise • 8X Day: Primary sensor: Pushing its limits with a noisy background – still pretty good • Ultra-wide: 13MP sensor: Slightly muted colour and details. You can tell it is a different sensor from the primary. • Macro 13MP sensor: excellent details and colours and not as critical about 4cm focus distance. • Indoor office light: Slightly muted colours and good details • Bokeh Depth: Better colour (AI processing), good detail and excellent bokeh background. This uses the 2MP sensor for depth. • Dark <40 lumens: The standard mode (not night mode) is quite decent, picking up details from the screen. • Night mode: Brightens the scene but blows out details – needs work • Selfie: The 32MP (bins to 8MP) has natural skin tones, good detail and a range of filters to enhance any image. • Video (we are not video experts): o Primary sensor: You can shoot at 4K@30fps with OIS (1080p 60/30fps with OIS and EIS), and the day/office light results are very good. o Ultrawide sensor: You can shoot 4K@30fps with no OIS and 1080p@60/30fps with EIS. o Selfie: 4K@30fps with EIS. o Overall video is good but lacks dynamic range, especially in low light. |
Ratings
Features | 9.5 |
It has the right balance of features and price and lacks nothing compared to phones costing 20-50% more. Love the 68W and QI charge, MIL-STD/IP68 build and almost pure Android. | |
Value | 9.5 |
At $999, it’s the class leader in every respect. Frankly, the price is a bargain. | |
Performance | 9 |
Excellent performance from the 2022 Flagship processor – only slightly beaten by the 2023 SD8+ Gen 2. | |
Ease of Use | 9.5 |
Pure Android, light My UX overlay adding value and ThinkShield. It is easy to use, and the 2+3+3 years warranty/OS Upgrades/Security patches are a bonus. Add 68W 53-minute charging, and its one of the easiest phones to own and use | |
Design | 9 |
Business-like and exceptionally well-made. Durable, Gorilla Glass Victus, Aluminium frame and Aramid Kevlar fibre back makes this a keeper. | |
Rating out of 10 | 9.3 |
Motorola ThinkPhone, Motorola ThinkPhone, Motorola ThinkPhone
Motorola ThinkPhone, 8/256, 5G, dual sim, Model XT2309-2
$999Pros
- Business, Stylish, MIL-STD-810H and IP68 build
- Great battery life, 68W charger inbox and 53-minute fast charge
- A decent camera – all that you need
- USB-C 3.1 Gen 1 alt DP/Ready For
- Very strong phone signal strength for the city, suburbs, regional and rural use
Cons
- The camera system is good, not great,
- It can get a tad hot under load
- Stereo speakers could use work
- Wi-Fi 6E needs work
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