Deutsch
Español
Français
Italiano
Nederlands
Polski
Português
Русский
Türkçe
Svenska
Chinese
MagyarMotorola One Zoom Smartphone Review: the Motorola One smartphone that isn't really a One...
The Motorola One Zoom differs significantly from the previously reviewed Motorola One smartphones, such as the One Vision and the One Action. First of all, at around $450 it sells for much more than its mid-range siblings. Second, despite its moniker it is not running Android One but Android 9.0 with a sleek custom skin instead. And third, the typical 21:9 LCD display has been replaced by a 19.5:9 OLED display.
The One Zoom’s highlight is certainly its quad-camera system at the rear as well as its 25 MP front-facing camera. Sounds like the device is going to offer an amazing mid-range smartphone camera experience, right?
Rating | Date | Model | Weight | Height | Size | Resolution | Best Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 79 % | 10/2019 | Motorola One Zoom SD 675, Adreno 612 | 190 g | 8.8 mm | 6.40" | 2340x1080 | |
| 88.6 % | 08/2019 | Xiaomi Mi 9T Pro SD 855, Adreno 640 | 191 g | 8.8 mm | 6.39" | 2340x1080 | |
| 87.2 % | 07/2019 | Samsung Galaxy A80 SD 730, Adreno 618 | 220 g | 9.3 mm | 6.70" | 2400x1080 | |
| 85.1 % | 06/2019 | OnePlus 7 SD 855, Adreno 640 | 182 g | 8.2 mm | 6.41" | 2340x1080 | |
| 85.7 % | 07/2019 | LG G8s ThinQ SD 855, Adreno 640 | 181 g | 7.99 mm | 6.20" | 2248x1080 | |
| 86 % | 07/2019 | Asus ZenFone 6 ZS630KL SD 855, Adreno 640 | 190 g | 9.2 mm | 6.40" | 2340x1080 | |
| 86.1 % | 06/2019 | Samsung Galaxy A70 SD 675, Adreno 612 | 183 g | 7.9 mm | 6.70" | 2400x1080 | |
| 80.6 % | 05/2019 | Google Pixel 3a XL SD 670, Adreno 616 | 167 g | 8.2 mm | 6.00" | 2160x1080 |
Case
The satin-finished rear glass does a great job of hiding fingerprints and smudges, albeit it feels a bit slippery with dry hands. While the One Zoom lacks an IP certification it features a water-repellent nano-coating, which is supposed to protect the device from spillage and splashes according to Motorola. For the first time ever the Motorola logo at the rear doubles as notification LED. Its transparent cover that extends over the camera modules takes some getting used to, though.
Connectivity
Two connectivity features that set the One Zoom apart in this day and age are its 3.5-mm headphone jack and its built-in FM radio tuner. After first boot around 104 GB of the 128 GB of internal UFS-II storage is user-accessible, and if so desired the One Zoom can take a microSD card. Thanks to USB-OTG support the smartphone can also access USB peripherals, such as thumb drives, via an OTG dongle.
Software
Despite its name the Motorola One Zoom is not running Android One but a custom skin on top of Android 9. At the time of writing, the One Zoom’s security patches were out of date (July 2019).
Communication and GPS
The One Zoom supports Bluetooth 5.0 as well as NFC.
The built-in Wi-Fi modem supports IEEE 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac in both bands, 2.4 and 5 GHz. Wi-Fi reception was rock solid and pretty good in everyday use. When connected to our Linksys EA8500 reference router the mid-range smartphone managed above average transfer rates for its class of around 250 to 350 Mbps.
The cellular modem supports Dual SIM and speeds of up to 600 Mbps downstream (LTE Cat.12). Thanks to its support for a total of 15 different LTE bands, all relevant European and American LTE bands are supported.
The smartphone’s GPS module was very quick to obtain GPS lock at an accuracy of 4 m (13 ft) outdoors. Indoor positioning is supported as well.
We take every device on a quick bike tour around the block in order to determine real-world GPS accuracy and performance. The differences between the Motorola One Zoom and the professional Garmin Edge 500 were marginal, and the smartphone turned out to offer a very accurate GPS experience.
Telephony and Call Quality
With VoLTE and Wi-Fi calling, two features allowing to place and receive phone calls via either 4G/LTE or Wi-Fi, respectively, the One Zoom offers support for both modern telephony technologies. Cellular reception and call quality were satisfactory overall.
Cameras
At the core of the One Zoom’s 48 MP main camera with optical image stabilization sits Samsung’s Isocell Bright GM1 sensor with 4-in-1 pixel binning and an effective resolution of 12 MP. Photos are natural and appealing, although we would have expected crisper images and a higher dynamic range given the One Zoom’s price of more than $400. Low-light performance in particular was fairly poor due to the Isocell Bright GM1 sensor’s increased noise and reduced sharpness under these conditions.
In addition to this main shooter, the camera also features a 16 MP wide-angle lens with a 117° field of view as well as an 8 MP telephoto lens with a 3x zoom. Both offered a decent quality that was almost on a par with the main 48 MP Samsung sensor.
A dedicated 5 MP sensor collects depth of field information in order to create natural background blur. Just like Samsung’s Live Focus, background blur can be retroactively adjusted and fine-tuned. The resulting bokeh effect was very nice and great to look at.
At the front we find a 25 MP camera with the same quad-pixel-technology to improve light sensitivity, resulting in an effective resolution of slightly over 6 MP. Selfies turn out crisp and rich in details, however, just like at the rear photo quality suffers very quickly and noticeably in low-light situations.
Accessories and Warranty
Included in the box is an 18-W charger, a fitting USB cable, a SIM tool, a quick-start guide, a silicone case, and last but not least a headset.
Unlike European models that come with a 24-month warranty Motorola smartphones sold in the US are limited to just 12 months.
Input Devices & Handling
Two separate biometric identification technologies are supported by the Motorola One Zoom. First and foremost, the device can be unlocked with a simple and comparatively insecure 2D face detection. This worked reliably and fast.
The other way is an optical fingerprint reader embedded into the One Zoom’s display. Unlike the FaceUnlock feature, its detection rate and overall performance were very poor. According to Motorola, the fingerprint reader’s accuracy is supposed to continuously improve via machine learning, and it is thus supposed to get both faster and more accurate over time. However, in its current implementation the in-display fingerprint reader is all but useless.
Display
The 6.4-inch OLED display runs at a native resolution of 2340x1080 pixels with a resulting pixel density of 440 PPI. One of the innate features of the organic light-emitting diode technology is the fact that the diodes almost never shine at their maximum brightness. Thus, Motorola resorts to PWM (pulse-width modulation) in order to regulate brightness. Even at maximum brightness we found PWM flickering at between 235 and 250 Hz, which is low enough to potentially cause headaches and dizziness in sensitive users.
At just 461 nits with an all-white background maximum brightness was mediocre at best, and only slightly higher at 471 nits with the enabled ambient light sensor. We also test every panel with the so-called APL 50 test with evenly distributed black and white surfaces all over the display, and the Motorola One Zoom topped out at 608 nits in this test.
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Brightness Distribution: 95 %
Center on Battery: 461 cd/m²
Contrast: ∞:1 (Black: 0 cd/m²)
ΔE Color 5.9 | 0.5-29.43 Ø5
ΔE Greyscale 6.9 | 0.57-98 Ø5.3
Gamma: 2.12
| Motorola One Zoom OLED, 2340x1080, 6.40 | Xiaomi Mi 9T Pro AMOLED, 2340x1080, 6.39 | Samsung Galaxy A80 AMOLED, 2400x1080, 6.70 | OnePlus 7 AMOLED, 2340x1080, 6.41 | LG G8s ThinQ P-OLED, 2248x1080, 6.20 | Asus ZenFone 6 ZS630KL IPS, 2340x1080, 6.40 | Samsung Galaxy A70 Super AMOLED, 2400x1080, 6.70 | Google Pixel 3a XL OLED, 2160x1080, 6.00 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Screen | 42% | 21% | 31% | 28% | 22% | 25% | 35% | |
| Brightness middle | 461 | 594 29% | 478 4% | 603 31% | 539 17% | 569 23% | 554 20% | 409 -11% |
| Brightness | 472 | 607 29% | 486 3% | 605 28% | 556 18% | 537 14% | 552 17% | 410 -13% |
| Brightness Distribution | 95 | 91 -4% | 96 1% | 94 -1% | 88 -7% | 79 -17% | 98 3% | 96 1% |
| Black Level * | 0.31 | |||||||
| Colorchecker dE 2000 * | 5.9 | 1.51 74% | 2.97 50% | 3.5 41% | 3.78 36% | 3.5 41% | 3.3 44% | 1.3 78% |
| Colorchecker dE 2000 max. * | 10.4 | 4.27 59% | 10.18 2% | 7.7 26% | 6.95 33% | 6 42% | 9.2 12% | 2.3 78% |
| Greyscale dE 2000 * | 6.9 | 2.6 62% | 2.5 64% | 2.7 61% | 2.2 68% | 5.1 26% | 3.4 51% | 1.5 78% |
| Gamma | 2.12 104% | 2.219 99% | 2.031 108% | 2.266 97% | 2.274 97% | 2.36 93% | 2.08 106% | 2.22 99% |
| CCT | 8167 80% | 6390 102% | 6533 99% | 6775 96% | 6013 108% | 6827 95% | 6606 98% | 6621 98% |
| Contrast | 1835 |
* ... smaller is better
Screen Flickering / PWM (Pulse-Width Modulation)
| Screen flickering / PWM detected | 250 Hz | ≤ 99 % brightness setting |  |
The display backlight flickers at 250 Hz (worst case, e.g., utilizing PWM) Flickering detected at a brightness setting of 99 % and below. There should be no flickering or PWM above this brightness setting. The frequency of 250 Hz is relatively low, so sensitive users will likely notice flickering and experience eyestrain at the stated brightness setting and below. In comparison: 53 % of all tested devices do not use PWM to dim the display. If PWM was detected, an average of 17900 (minimum: 5 - maximum: 3846000) Hz was measured. | |||
The One Zoom’s display’s contrast ratio is very high due to the in theory, infinite contrast ratio of OLED displays. Using a photo spectrometer in combination with the CalMAN software we were able to determine average sRGB DeltaE deviations of 5.9 and 6.9 for colors and grayscale, respectively. Ideally, you want these to be less than three. Color temperature was also not quite perfect.
Display Response Times
| ↔ Response Time Black to White | ||
|---|---|---|
| 2.8 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined | ↗ 1.6 ms rise |  |
| ↘ 1.2 ms fall | ||
| The screen shows very fast response rates in our tests and should be very well suited for fast-paced gaming. In comparison, all tested devices range from 0.1 (minimum) to 240 (maximum) ms. » 8 % of all devices are better. This means that the measured response time is better than the average of all tested devices (21.5 ms). | ||
| ↔ Response Time 50% Grey to 80% Grey | ||
| 8.4 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined | ↗ 4 ms rise |  |
| ↘ 4.4 ms fall | ||
| The screen shows fast response rates in our tests and should be suited for gaming. In comparison, all tested devices range from 0.2 (minimum) to 636 (maximum) ms. » 17 % of all devices are better. This means that the measured response time is better than the average of all tested devices (33.7 ms). | ||
As expected of an OLED panel, viewing angles are superb. Outdoor usability is somewhat limited due to the display’s low maximum brightness.
Performance
The Qualcomm Snapdragon 675 at the core of Motorola’s One Zoom features two Cortex A76 high-performance cores and six Cortex A55 high-efficiency cores. Graphics are handled by an Adreno 612.
Thanks to the efficient user interface the overall system performance was decent. However, we did encounter occasional frame drops and lags in everyday use. As can be seen in the synthetic benchmark results the Snapdragon 675 yielded the lowest score in this comparison. Combined with 4 GB of RAM the Motorola One Zoom was incapable of keeping up with its high-performance Snapdragon-powered Android competitors.
The internal UFS memory is comparatively fast, albeit not nearly as fast as the OnePlus 7's or Xiaomi Mi 9T Pro's.
| Jetstream 2 - Total Score | |
| Average of class Smartphone (13.8 - 351, n=173, last 2 years) | |
| OnePlus 7 (Chrome 74) | |
| Asus ZenFone 6 ZS630KL (Chrome 75) | |
| Xiaomi Mi 9T Pro (Chrome 75) | |
| LG G8s ThinQ (Chrome 75) | |
| Motorola One Zoom (Chrome 77) | |
| Average Qualcomm Snapdragon 675 (43.4 - 44.9, n=2) | |
| Samsung Galaxy A70 (Chrome 74.0.3729.157) | |
| Samsung Galaxy A80 (Chrome 75) | |
| Google Pixel 3a XL (Chrome 73) | |
| JetStream 1.1 - Total Score | |
| OnePlus 7 (Chrome 74) | |
| Asus ZenFone 6 ZS630KL (Chrome 75) | |
| Average of class Smartphone (last 2 years) | |
| Xiaomi Mi 9T Pro | |
| LG G8s ThinQ (Chrome 75) | |
| Motorola One Zoom (Chrome 77) | |
| Average Qualcomm Snapdragon 675 (80.8 - 80.9, n=2) | |
| Samsung Galaxy A70 (Chrome 74.0.3729.157) | |
| Samsung Galaxy A80 (Chrome 75) | |
| Google Pixel 3a XL (Chrome 73) | |
| WebXPRT 3 - Overall | |
| Average of class Smartphone (39 - 304, n=122, last 2 years) | |
| OnePlus 7 (Chrome 74) | |
| Asus ZenFone 6 ZS630KL (Chrome 75) | |
| LG G8s ThinQ (Chrome 75) | |
| Xiaomi Mi 9T Pro (Chrome 75) | |
| Samsung Galaxy A70 (Chrome 74.0.3729.157) | |
| Samsung Galaxy A80 (Chrome 75) | |
| Average Qualcomm Snapdragon 675 (70 - 82, n=2) | |
| Motorola One Zoom (Chrome 77) | |
| Google Pixel 3a XL (Chrome 73) | |
| Octane V2 - Total Score | |
| Average of class Smartphone (4633 - 89112, n=213, last 2 years) | |
| OnePlus 7 (Chrome 74) | |
| Asus ZenFone 6 ZS630KL (Chrome 75) | |
| LG G8s ThinQ (Chrome 75) | |
| Xiaomi Mi 9T Pro (Chrome 75) | |
| Samsung Galaxy A80 (Chrome 75) | |
| Samsung Galaxy A70 (Chrome 74.0.3729.157) | |
| Average Qualcomm Snapdragon 675 (15689 - 15716, n=2) | |
| Motorola One Zoom (Chrome 77) | |
| Google Pixel 3a XL (Chrome 73) | |
| Mozilla Kraken 1.1 - Total | |
| Google Pixel 3a XL (Chrome 73) | |
| Samsung Galaxy A80 (Chrome 75) | |
| Motorola One Zoom (Chrome 77) | |
| Average Qualcomm Snapdragon 675 (2807 - 2890, n=2) | |
| Samsung Galaxy A70 (Chrome 74.0.3729.157) | |
| Xiaomi Mi 9T Pro (Chrome 75) | |
| LG G8s ThinQ (Chrome 75) | |
| Asus ZenFone 6 ZS630KL (Chrome 75) | |
| OnePlus 7 (Chrome 74) | |
| Average of class Smartphone (388 - 9999, n=173, last 2 years) | |
* ... smaller is better
| Motorola One Zoom | Xiaomi Mi 9T Pro | Samsung Galaxy A80 | OnePlus 7 | LG G8s ThinQ | Asus ZenFone 6 ZS630KL | Samsung Galaxy A70 | Google Pixel 3a XL | Average 128 GB UFS 2.0 Flash | Average of class Smartphone | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AndroBench 3-5 | 22% | -28% | 55% | -7% | 27% | -16% | -29% | -2% | 197% | |
| Sequential Read 256KB | 470.5 | 809 72% | 502 7% | 1463 211% | 791 68% | 831 77% | 508 8% | 315.6 -33% | 530 ? 13% | 1508 ? 221% |
| Sequential Write 256KB | 256.6 | 196.9 -23% | 190.4 -26% | 392 53% | 182.4 -29% | 195.6 -24% | 194 -24% | 179.1 -30% | 215 ? -16% | 1118 ? 336% |
| Random Read 4KB | 134.5 | 142.5 6% | 117.5 -13% | 175.3 30% | 138 3% | 153.3 14% | 103.8 -23% | 92.1 -32% | 129.6 ? -4% | 247 ? 84% |
| Random Write 4KB | 110.8 | 148.5 34% | 21.6 -81% | 28.7 -74% | 29.6 -73% | 160.2 45% | 21.95 -80% | 87 -21% | 100.7 ? -9% | 272 ? 145% |
| Sequential Read 256KB SDCard | 69.4 ? | 67.5 ? -3% | 87 ? 25% | 76.2 ? 10% | 68.3 ? -2% | |||||
| Sequential Write 256KB SDCard | 51.2 ? | 46.7 ? -9% | 62.5 ? 22% | 58.8 ? 15% | 53.2 ? 4% |
Gaming
Demanding 3D games from Google’s Android Play Store, such as "PUBG Mobile" or "Asphalt 9 Legends", will run smooth with reduced details. And even then your gaming experience is going to be disrupted by occasional frame drops.
Emissions
Temperature
Surface temperatures are fairly low, and the device does not heat up noticeably during everyday use.
(+) The maximum temperature on the upper side is 35.1 °C / 95 F, compared to the average of 35 °C / 95 F, ranging from 21.9 to 56 °C for the class Smartphone.
(+) The bottom heats up to a maximum of 33.5 °C / 92 F, compared to the average of 33.8 °C / 93 F
(+) In idle usage, the average temperature for the upper side is 28.2 °C / 83 F, compared to the device average of 32.7 °C / 91 F.
Speakers
With a maximum volume of 80 dB(A) the single mono speaker is comparatively loud, its overall performance is pleasant, and its frequency response fairly linear in regards to mids and highs. On the other hand, extreme highs and lows (bass) are practically non-existent.
Motorola One Zoom audio analysis
(±) | speaker loudness is average but good (80 dB)
Bass 100 - 315 Hz
(-) | nearly no bass - on average 17.1% lower than median
(±) | linearity of bass is average (13.4% delta to prev. frequency)
Mids 400 - 2000 Hz
(±) | higher mids - on average 5.4% higher than median
(+) | mids are linear (5.6% delta to prev. frequency)
Highs 2 - 16 kHz
(±) | higher highs - on average 5.3% higher than median
(+) | highs are linear (6.3% delta to prev. frequency)
Overall 100 - 16.000 Hz
(±) | linearity of overall sound is average (19.6% difference to median)
Compared to same class
» 23% of all tested devices in this class were better, 8% similar, 69% worse
» The best had a delta of 12%, average was 38%, worst was 134%
Compared to all devices tested
» 44% of all tested devices were better, 7% similar, 49% worse
» The best had a delta of 4%, average was 25%, worst was 134%
Xiaomi Mi 9T Pro audio analysis
(+) | speakers can play relatively loud (87.9 dB)
Bass 100 - 315 Hz
(-) | nearly no bass - on average 80.4% lower than median
(+) | bass is linear (0% delta to prev. frequency)
Mids 400 - 2000 Hz
(-) | nearly no mids - on average 80.4% lower than median
(+) | mids are linear (0% delta to prev. frequency)
Highs 2 - 16 kHz
(-) | nearly no highs - on average 80.4% lower than median
(+) | highs are linear (0% delta to prev. frequency)
Overall 100 - 16.000 Hz
(-) | overall sound is not linear (115.6% difference to median)
Compared to same class
» 85% of all tested devices in this class were better, 5% similar, 10% worse
» The best had a delta of 12%, average was 38%, worst was 134%
Compared to all devices tested
» 95% of all tested devices were better, 1% similar, 3% worse
» The best had a delta of 4%, average was 25%, worst was 134%
Battery Life
Power Consumption
The One Zoom turned out to be very efficient, particularly under load where it outperformed the entire competition.
| Off / Standby |   0.01 / 0.22 Watt |
| Idle |  0.69 / 1.54 / 1.57 Watt |
| Load |
4.1 / 5.79 Watt |
    
| |
| Motorola One Zoom 4000 mAh | Xiaomi Mi 9T Pro 4000 mAh | Samsung Galaxy A80 3700 mAh | OnePlus 7 3700 mAh | LG G8s ThinQ 3550 mAh | Asus ZenFone 6 ZS630KL 5000 mAh | Average Qualcomm Snapdragon 675 | Average of class Smartphone | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Power Consumption | -10% | 0% | -4% | -40% | -40% | -6% | -21% | |
| Idle Minimum * | 0.69 | 0.7 -1% | 0.6 13% | 0.6 13% | 1.2 -74% | 0.81 -17% | 0.693 ? -0% | 0.897 ? -30% |
| Idle Average * | 1.54 | 1 35% | 1.2 22% | 1.1 29% | 1.6 -4% | 2.35 -53% | 1.8 ? -17% | 1.452 ? 6% |
| Idle Maximum * | 1.57 | 1.3 17% | 1.4 11% | 2 -27% | 2 -27% | 2.37 -51% | 1.867 ? -19% | 1.629 ? -4% |
| Load Average * | 4.1 | 5.2 -27% | 5 -22% | 4 2% | 5 -22% | 5.33 -30% | 4.03 ? 2% | 5.55 ? -35% |
| Load Maximum * | 5.79 | 10 -73% | 7.1 -23% | 8 -38% | 10 -73% | 8.55 -48% | 5.63 ? 3% | 8.31 ? -44% |
* ... smaller is better
Battery Life
Thanks to its 4,000 mAh battery the One Zoom ran for 10.5 hours in our Wi-Fi test with display brightness normalized to 150 nits. Charging from near empty to full takes around 2 hours.
| Motorola One Zoom 4000 mAh | Xiaomi Mi 9T Pro 4000 mAh | Samsung Galaxy A80 3700 mAh | OnePlus 7 3700 mAh | LG G8s ThinQ 3550 mAh | Asus ZenFone 6 ZS630KL 5000 mAh | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Battery Runtime | ||||||
| WiFi v1.3 | 644 | 762 18% | 713 11% | 901 40% | 693 8% | 801 24% |
Pros
Cons
Verdict
While the One Zoom might not offer all the previously available One-series benefits, it certainly offers a lot. However, not at its current MSRP of more than $400.
Like Google’s Pixel 3a smartphone the One Zoom also suffers from Motorola’s choice of a comparatively slow mid-range SoC. In return, Google’s Pixel offers great stereo speakers, vanilla Android, and excellent cameras while the Motorola One Zoom lacks all of the above.
Motorola has once again set out to prove that they can build great mid-range smartphone, and the Motorola One Zoom would be a great choice in the $300 to $350 price range.
Motorola’s latest One-series smartphone offers a decent and nice to look at OLED panel, a pleasant design, good connectivity, and decent performance. As such it can easily keep up with the likes of a Xiaomi Mi 9T. However, the latter is available at a much lower price and even the Pro version thereof can be had for much less than Motorola’s One Zoom.
Motorola One Zoom
-
09/03/2022 v7
Marcus Herbrich
Pricecompare
