Motorola Moto G6 Plus Review

Motorola's G series smartphones have always represented great value. They've punched above their price-tag in terms of bang-for-buck, but they've often been a little rough around the edges. Now in their sixth iteration, they look great too.

The Moto G6 Plus headlines Motorola's G6 range of devices. While there's faster hardware under the hood, the biggest changes this year are all aesthetic. The Moto G6 Plus might only cost $499, but its cut from the same cloth as far pricier smartphones. You get an extra-tall 18:9 display, reasonably slim bezels, and a trendy glass back in a dark navy blue.

It's easily Motorola's sleekest phone to date.

What a time to be alive

We're living in a glorious age where affordable phones no longer look and feel cheap; phone manufacturers have wasted no time in bringing high-end design trends to budget price points, and features are making the jump faster than ever. Glass backs were the big flagship design trend from last year, and one year later, we're seeing them on sub-$500 devices.

Of course, the difference in price can still mean a difference in build quality. Fortunately, it doesn't feel like Motorola cheaped out with the Moto G6 Plus. It doesn't have the same reassuring heft as a Galaxy S9 or a Huawei P20 Pro, but it doesn't feel too light either. You will however find curved glass on the back, which is a nice unexpected flourish. At present, most affordable phones with glass backs simply have a flat pane as opposed to glass that bends to meet the chamfer.

As with many glass phones, the Moto G6 Plus is a little slippery, but not to the point where it will slide off a desk and raise questions about whether your phone is haunted. It picks up fingerprints quickly, but they're not super visible in most environments.

There are plenty of bells and whistles too: USB Type-C fast charging, dual SIM with a separate slot for a microSD card (other phones typically make you choose between a second SIM and expandable storage), and light splash resistance. And hey, there's still a headphone jack.

Outside of the new design, there's not really that much to say about the Moto G6 Plus. It doesn't veer from its heritage; it's a great phone at a reasonable price. You get a lovely large screen, a battery that should last at least a day and a half, 64GB of storage, and super smooth performance. For $499, what more could you want?

And there's also nothing that's genuinely bad about the Moto G6 Plus. There's nits you can pick at; the camera bump is huge and the volume rocker is a little too high, but these are far from deal breakers. Similarly, while camera isn't amazing - it's a sub-$500 phone after all - it's certainly not awful. With decent lighting, you'll get lovely shots.

The primary lens has a reasonably wide aperture of f/1.7, which means you can easily get macro photos with a nice shallow depth of field. Camera noise does however become quite noticeable as you lose light, and a slow shutter can lead to blurry night time photos. HDR isn't great either, and you'll just end up with under exposed shots or blowout when dealing with tricky lighting. While these quirks aren't ideal, the Moto G6 Plus is still one of the better performers when it comes to camera quality at the cheaper end of town.

Who is the Moto G6 Plus for?

Are you after a good outright phone that won't blow your budget? The Moto G6 Plus is it. There's a lot of good phones you can buy for around the $400 to $500 mark, and in some ways, the Moto G6 Plus is the perfect example of smartphone commodification. On paper, there's not much that really stands out about it.

But despite how similar the affordable phone market is becoming, Motorola has still managed to stay a cut above the rest. While most handsets are pretty decent these days, the Moto G6 Plus just feels a little more polished thanks to the lovely display, attention to detail in the design, one of the better affordable cameras around, and a mostly unfettered version of Android.

Moto G6 Plus camera samples

I don't want a Moto G6, what else can I buy?

Motorola Moto G6

The Moto G6 is the Moto G6 Plus' cheaper sibling, and it's a pretty similar device. You'll save a little and get a smaller phone with a slightly slower processor and half the storage. The pair do share the same camera, however. 

Nokia 6.1 (2018)

The Nokia 6.1 (2018) is another affordable phone with surprisingly smooth performance. Its design is a little dated when compared to the Moto G6 Plus, but you get the benefit of Android One, which means you're guaranteed three years of software updates. 

Huawei Nova 3i

If you're okay with spending a little more, the Huawei Nova 3i is one of the fancier affordable midrange phones around, touting a notched display and a four camera setup (two on the front, and two on the back). It will cost you $100 more, but that also doubles your out of the box storage to a hefty 128GB. It is super slippery, though. 

Alex Choros

Managing Editor + Group Telco Editor | X | Instagram | Threads | LinkedIn

Alex Choros is the Managing Editor of WhistleOut Australia and an award-winning journalist. He's been writing about consumer technology for over a decade and is an expert on the Australian telco sector, to the point where he knows far too many phone and internet plans by heart. In addition to leading the WhistleOut editorial team, Alex is responsible for ruining the office Sonos with his troubled taste in music.

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