Motorola Moto M Hands-on, First Impressions

Lenovo is launching in the country today the Moto M. The company’s mid-range smartphone announced back in November 2016. Now that it is finally in the Philippines, let’s take it for a quick spin by reading our hands-on below.

Although from a different lineup, the Moto M sports a familiar look and appeal found in its more prominent cousins, the Moto Z family. It’s ergonomic but the frame curves at the top and bottom which emphasize the bezels on the said locations.

On the front, we have the 5.5-inch Full HD display with thin bezels on the sides. Above it are the receiver, sensor, LED notifications light, and 8MP front camera. Protecting all of it is a scratch-resistant 2.5D curved glass. Down below is the Moto name. Capacitive buttons are absent here as the device uses on-screen navigation keys.

On the left is the hybrid SIM tray that accepts either two SIM cards or a single SIM card and a microSD card. On the right are the metallic power/lock button, and volume rocker.

Up top are the headset jack and microphone, while down below are the USB-C port, and drilled holes for the main microphone and loudspeaker.

At the back, we have the 16MP PDAF camera and dual-tone LED flash, placed and accented in such a way that kinda looks like a dual-camera setup. Also found here at the center are the round fingerprint scanner, a couple of antenna bands, and the Moto logo.

As mentioned earlier, the Moto M is ergonomic and pleasant in the hands. It’s clad in aluminum with a matte finish which repels fingerprints well. The sides at the back are tapered for a slimmer look and feel, while the sidewalls have chamfered edges to aid grip and for a more reflective effect.

We already ran some of the usual benchmark tools on the Moto M and here are the results:

• AnTuTu – 49,537
• Geekbench – 753 (Single-core), 2,495 (Multi-core), 1,553 (RenderScript)
• Vellamo – 2,738 (Multicore), 1,293 (Metal), 3,243 (Chrome)

Moto M (XT1663) specs:
5.5-inch Full HD IPS display, 401ppi
2.2GHz MediaTek Helio P15 octa-core CPU
Mali-T860MP2 GPU
4GB RAM
32GB internal storage
Expandable via microSD, up to 128GB
16MP PDAF rear camera w/ LED flash
8MP front-facing camera
4G LTE Cat6
Wi-Fi 802.11ac, dual-band
Bluetooth v4.1
GPS w/ A-GPS, Glonass
Fingerprint scanner
USB Type-C
Dolby Atmos Audio
Water repellent nano-coating
Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow
3,050mAh non-removable battery w/ 10W rapid charge support
151.4 x 75.4 x 7.9 mm
163 g
Fine Gold, Dark Gray

The Moto M in fine gold is now available (dark gray in the second week of March) for Php14,999USD 256INR 21,668EUR 243CNY 1,861 in Moto stores, select MemoXpress and Silicon Valley outlets and Lazada.com.ph. Buyers can also avail it at a monthly rate of Php2,499USD 43INR 3,610EUR 41CNY 310 and credit card purchases with 0 percent interest for six months through authorized dealers.

We’re now working on the full review so if you have questions, let us know in the comments below.