Recently released in June 2020, the Moto G Fast is Motorola’s third entry in the Moto G series. It is very similar to the Moto G Power released earlier this year, but with lesser specs on paper. Compared to its sibling, the Moto G Fast seems to be found wanting in many areas. However, the low price tag of $200 makes it an appealing budget phone.
This device comes with 3GB of RAM and 32 GB of internal storage. It is only available in pearl white color.
Check out Moto G Fast – Pearl White on BestBuy.com here!
List of Specifications
| Dimension | 161.87 x 75.7 x 9.05mm (6.37 x 2.98 x 0.35 in) |
| Weight | 189.4 g (6.67 oz) |
| Display | 6.4 in IPS LCD capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors.
720 x 1560 pixels, 19.5:9 ration (~268 ppi density) |
| Storage options | 3GB RAM, 32GB Internal Storage, microSDXC card slot |
| Software | Android™ 10 |
| Rear Camera | Triple lens – 16MP, f/1.7, (wide), ½.8”, 1.12um, PDAF, 8 MP, f/2.2, (ultrawide), 1/4.0”, 1.12um, 2 MP, f/2.2 (macro), LED flash, HDR, panorama |
| Front Camera | 8 MP, f/2.0, (wide), 1.12um, HDR |
| Battery | Non Removable Li-Po 4000 mAh, 10W rapid charging, Battery life: Up to 2 days. |
| Other Features | Water repellent design Moto GametimeMoto ExperienceGoogle Lens |
Pros
- Long battery life
- Good performance for the low price tag
- Moto App & Moto Gametime mode
Cons
- Lackluster display
- Average camera
Design and Layout
The Moto G Fast is quite an attractive phone. Measuring 161.9 x 75.7 x 9.1 mm (6.37 x 2.98 x 0.36 in) and weighing 189.4g (6.67 oz), the size is on the larger side.
Similar to other Motorola phones, the 3.5mm headphone jack is located on the top of the phone. This might take a little bit of getting used to if you are not a Motorola fan. The USB-C port, as well as the single mono speaker, is located on the bottom edge of the phone.
Here, we find the first gripe with this phone. The location of the mono speaker means that it is easily covered, muffling all your audio when you are playing a game or watching a video. The speaker quality is also quite poor, a big downgrade when compared to the Moto G Power.
While this phone does not have an in-display fingerprint sensor, it does have a classic, old school one that is located on the back of the phone at Motorola’s logo. Its perfect location allows you to unlock the phone with ease whilst holding the phone in your hand. This feature is surprisingly useful and convenient. Additionally, the water repellent design removes worries of spills and splashes when you are using your phone.
As with other Motorola phones, the NFC chip for contactless Google Pay support is absent. While NFC used to be available only on high end phones, in recent times it has become very widely used and is very much needed even on budget phones.
The general design of this phone mimics those that are in the higher price range. While this phone has quite an excellent build quality for a budget phone, one can still tell that this is very much a standard budget phone. On the plus side, the plastic pearl white cover gives it some texture and helps hide fingerprint marks.
Display
The Moto G Fast has a big 6.4 inch HD LCD display that is comparable to more pricey devices. It has an 88% phone to screen ratio with good color accuracy and brightness. The screen can be seen quite well even when you are outdoors on a sunny day.
However, the resolution and display technology falls short. In order to keep the price low, Motorola has given this phone a 720p IPS LCD Panel. This results in text and icons and even YouTube videos being pixelated and a little blurry.
If you are looking for a device to watch videos or play games, the Moto G Fast’s display will be a disappointment. However, for those who are using this phone for basic text and calls, this will not be a big issue.
Battery Life
While the Moto G Fast’s Li-Po 4000 mAh battery offers up to 2 days of battery life for normal everyday use. This would include plenty of calling and texting, social media as well as emails. It is a phone that has one of the best battery lives. However, it is still unable to compete with the Moto G Power’s massive 5000 mAh battery which can last up to 3 days.
A shortcoming with regards to the battery is the phone’s charge time. Half an hour of charging only replenished 26% of this phone’s battery capacity. As the charge time of many modern phones can be up to twice as fast, it is a good thing then that you do not have to charge it regularly.
Software and Performance
The Moto G Fast runs on Android 10 and houses all its customizations on the Moto App. You will be able to customize Moto Display and Moto Actions here. Moto Actions include shortcuts such as chopping the phone to activate the flashlight or twisting it to launch the camera.
Another plus is Motorola’s Edge+ which consists of expandable customization tools. It allows you to change the phone’s accent color, phone’s fonts as well as the shape of the app icons. There is also a Moto Gametime mode where you will be able to block calls and notifications when in the middle of a game.
While Moto’s software is excellent, the only problem with it is the lack of updates. There will be only one major OS update for this phone. This means that it will receive and update to Android 11, and nothing after that.
The Moto G Fast is powered by a Snapdragon 665 with 3GB of RAM. For a phone of this caliber, it is surprisingly fast. Typical tasks can be handled quite well. You will be able to run all your favorite apps and even play quite a number of games on it.
While this is not a device that will astound you, it does offer a pretty solid performance for a phone of this price.
Camera Performance
The Moto G Fast comes with a front 8-megapixel camera and on the rear, a camera with triple lens – a 16-megapixel main sensor, an 8-megapixel ultra wide sensor, and a 2-megapixel macro sensor.
The rear facing camera produces decently detailed pictures that have bright colors when there is good light. However, pictures taken in dimmer environments are nothing to shout about.
While the other 2 lenses on the read camera adds to the phone camera’s versatility, they are not the best quality out there.
Pictures captured by the front camera are pretty standard. It works well for selfies, but don’t expect much more than that. If you are looking for a phone with a great camera, this device will not be able do that for you. However, for its price range, the camera on this phone is actually not at all bad.
Competition
One of the Moto G Fast’s biggest competitors is Motorola’s own Moto G Power. Retailing at $250, the Moto G Power was released earlier in the same year but offers so much more. The extra $50 paid will get you double internal storage, a 5000mAh battery that can last up to 3 days, and sharper full HD+ resolution. These specs make for a much better experience if you can afford to add a little more to your budget.
Another device that comes to mind is the Nokia 5.3. For the exact same price, the Nokia 5.3 is a phone that has 4GB of RAM, 64GB of internal storage, and quad rear cameras. The Nokia 5.3 also appears to be more striking in design and performs better in software updates.
Bottom Line
The Moto G Fast is a phone that is suitable for those who are really unable to spend more than $200 on their next smartphone. It has an excellent battery life that will last you for a couple of days, and for $200, it gives a solid performance.
However, this is not a phone to watch videos and play games on. Its 720p display is quite rough. In addition to this, the 3GB of RAM and 32GB of storage will soon become a problem. If you have an extra $50 to spend on your next phone, the Moto G Power will be a wiser choice. It has everything the Moto G Fast has with better hardware.
Check out the Moto G Fast on BestBuy.com to know more about this device.
