Motorola Moto E32 review - Modern memory in an entry-level phone
Possible competitors in comparison
Rating | Date | Model | Weight | Drive | Size | Resolution | Price |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
76.4 % v7 (old) | 09 / 2022 | Motorola Moto E32 T7200 (T606), Mali-G57 MP1 | 184 g | 64 GB UFS 2.0 Flash | 6.50" | 1600x720 | |
77.1 % v7 (old) | 11 / 2021 | Motorola Moto E40 Tangula T700, Mali-G52 MP2 | 198 g | 64 GB eMMC Flash | 6.50" | 1600x720 | |
74.8 % v7 (old) | 07 / 2022 | Realme Narzo 50i Prime T7225 (T612), Mali-G52 MP1 | 182 g | 32 GB UFS 2.2 Flash | 6.50" | 1600x720 | |
76.6 % v7 (old) | 07 / 2022 | Xiaomi Redmi 10C SD 680, Adreno 610 | 190 g | 64 GB UFS 2.2 Flash | 6.71" | 1650x720 |
Case and equipment - Angular plastic design with IP protection
Motorola is also well represented below 200 Euros with the inexpensive E-series phones. The Moto E32 costs 149 Euros this year with 4 GB RAM and 64 GB mass storage. Thus, the smartphone's storage configuration is on par with other phones in the price range.
The casing is made of plastic and comes with a back that is plain in a dark or a lighter shade of gray. Both refract the light around the camera module. The design is clearly less round than in the Moto E40 and the Moto E32 feels quite good in the hand without a protective cover, but material transitions and one or the other edge are noticeable. Motorola grants the inexpensive phone an IP52 certification, which certifies protection against splashing water and quite good dust resistance.
The phone is relatively light for its size at 184 grams. Two SIM slots are installed in the smartphone, and there is also a notification LED on the front.
The microSD reader is separate, so you do not have to give up a SIM slot for it. It achieves transfer rates on a good level in the test with our reference microSD Angelbird V60 but also shows individual drops. In the copy test, smartphones like the Redmi 10C that offer almost double the speed.
SD Card Reader - average JPG Copy Test (av. of 3 runs) | |
Xiaomi Redmi 10C (Angelbird V60) | |
Average of class Smartphone (7.7 - 77, n=79, last 2 years) | |
Realme Narzo 50i Prime (Angelbird V60) | |
Motorola Moto E32 (Angelbird V60) | |
Motorola Moto E40 (Angelbird V60) |
Cross Platform Disk Test (CPDT)
Communication, software and operation - WiFi 4 only and no NFC
The Moto E32 is a 4G smartphone and offers all important LTE bands for Central Europe. However, you should not expect much more, so it is not the preferred choice for international use. The signal strength also proved to be rather mediocre again and again in our random tests during the review.
The fact that the Moto E32 only has WiFi 4 is okay for its price range, but the Redmi 10C shows that WiFi 5 with significantly higher transfer rates can be offered here as well. When we checked the Wi-Fi speeds with our reference router Asus ROG AXE11000, our review sample is quite fickle in terms of transfer rates. Overall, however, it is similarly fast to comparable phones, apart from the Redmi.
The phone comes with fairly up-to-date Bluetooth 5.0, but no NFC, so mobile payment services cannot be used.
Motorola installs a rather pure Android 11 on the phone. Our Moto E32 had the security patches from July 2022 at the time of testing, so an update should be available soon. Based on the experience with earlier Moto E-Phones, an update to Android 12 should follow, but it is uncertain when. It is nice that Motorola does not pre-install any advertising apps.
The phone's touchscreen is easy to use, even in the corners. The phone hides the fingerprint sensor in the slightly raised standby button on the side. It reacts promptly and reliably to once-recognized fingers and allows unlocking the phone or accessing sensitive areas of apps. Unlocking via face recognition is also possible and works reliably, but only in good ambient light. Furthermore, this method is not as secure due to the software solution.
Networking | |
iperf3 transmit AX12 | |
Motorola Moto E40 | |
iperf3 receive AX12 | |
Motorola Moto E40 | |
iperf3 transmit AXE11000 | |
Xiaomi Redmi 10C | |
Realme Narzo 50i Prime | |
Motorola Moto E32 | |
iperf3 receive AXE11000 | |
Xiaomi Redmi 10C | |
Motorola Moto E32 | |
Realme Narzo 50i Prime |
Cameras - No pixel binning
Compared to the Moto E40 with its 48-megapixel pixel-binning camera, the simple 16-megapixel sensor in the Moto E32 could be seen as a step backward. And indeed, the nominal light sensitivity of the main camera is also lower in the Moto E32. Nevertheless, our test device takes quite well brightened low-light photos for its price range, but they look quite coarse on closer inspection. Even in normal daylight, you should not enlarge the photos provided by the Hynix camera sensor too much. Exposure and dynamics please us quite well, but the colors look a bit washed out.
There is no wide-angle lens, only a macro camera, and a camera to support blur effects. Videos can be recorded in 1080p and 30 fps with the main camera. The exposure compensation works quickly and reliably, the autofocus is a bit slow now and then, but mostly accurate. The general picture quality is decent, but it becomes visible that individual details are displayed too inaccurately when viewed on a large screen.
Samsung's 8-megapixel front-facing camera also takes somewhat rough pictures, where larger color areas lack nuances.
Image Comparison
Choose a scene and navigate within the first image. One click changes the position on touchscreens. One click on the zoomed-in image opens the original in a new window. The first image shows the scaled photograph of the test device.
Main cameraMain cameraLow Light

Display - 90-Hz screen as a unique selling point
The phone features an IPS screen with an enhanced 720p resolution. Similarly priced smartphones offer the same equipment.
The screen is not quite as bright as in the Moto E40 with a maximum of 375 cd/m², it is relatively dark even in a class comparison, so it is difficult to use it in sunlight. As a special feature, the screen offers a 90 Hz frame rate on request, which enables smooth scrolling and faster operation.
The black value is slightly higher than in other smartphones, resulting in only a moderate contrast ratio and somewhat pale colors. The screen's color profile can be selected and a manual white balance is also possible in several steps, so you can still adjust it.
We did not notice any PWM flickering, but the response times are slow, at least for gamers.
|
Brightness Distribution: 84 %
Center on Battery: 375 cd/m²
Contrast: 721:1 (Black: 0.52 cd/m²)
ΔE Color 4.41 | 0.5-29.43 Ø4.9
ΔE Greyscale 4.6 | 0.5-98 Ø5.2
94.3% sRGB (Calman 2D)
Gamma: 2.275
Motorola Moto E32 IPS, 1600x720, 6.5" | Motorola Moto E40 IPS, 1600x720, 6.5" | Realme Narzo 50i Prime IPS, 1600x720, 6.5" | Xiaomi Redmi 10C IPS, 1650x720, 6.7" | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Response Times | -15% | 23% | 20% | |
Response Time Grey 50% / Grey 80% * | 40 ? | 44 ? -10% | 34 ? 15% | 33 ? 17% |
Response Time Black / White * | 27 ? | 32 ? -19% | 19 ? 30% | 21 ? 22% |
PWM Frequency | ||||
Screen | 15% | -3% | 41% | |
Brightness middle | 375 | 452 21% | 365 -3% | 511 36% |
Brightness | 339 | 431 27% | 354 4% | 478 41% |
Brightness Distribution | 84 | 90 7% | 83 -1% | 84 0% |
Black Level * | 0.52 | 0.46 12% | 0.45 13% | 0.42 19% |
Contrast | 721 | 983 36% | 811 12% | 1217 69% |
Colorchecker dE 2000 * | 4.41 | 4.15 6% | 4.58 -4% | 1.51 66% |
Colorchecker dE 2000 max. * | 6.55 | 6.47 1% | 8.81 -35% | 2.53 61% |
Greyscale dE 2000 * | 4.6 | 4 13% | 5.2 -13% | 2.9 37% |
Gamma | 2.275 97% | 2.157 102% | 2.28 96% | 2.266 97% |
CCT | 7641 85% | 7557 86% | 7929 82% | 6443 101% |
Total Average (Program / Settings) | 0% /
9% | 10% /
2% | 31% /
37% |
* ... smaller is better
Display Response Times
↔ Response Time Black to White | ||
---|---|---|
27 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined | ↗ 13 ms rise | |
↘ 14 ms fall | ||
The screen shows relatively slow response rates in our tests and may be too slow for gamers. In comparison, all tested devices range from 0.1 (minimum) to 240 (maximum) ms. » 65 % of all devices are better. This means that the measured response time is worse than the average of all tested devices (20.9 ms). | ||
↔ Response Time 50% Grey to 80% Grey | ||
40 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined | ↗ 22 ms rise | |
↘ 18 ms fall | ||
The screen shows slow response rates in our tests and will be unsatisfactory for gamers. In comparison, all tested devices range from 0.165 (minimum) to 636 (maximum) ms. » 58 % of all devices are better. This means that the measured response time is worse than the average of all tested devices (32.7 ms). |
Screen Flickering / PWM (Pulse-Width Modulation)
Screen flickering / PWM not detected | |||
In comparison: 53 % of all tested devices do not use PWM to dim the display. If PWM was detected, an average of 8627 (minimum: 5 - maximum: 343500) Hz was measured. |
Performance, emissions and battery life - Charging with 18 watts would be possible...
The Unisoc Tiger T606 is a fairly simple SoC, which is used in many other entry-level phones, such as the Nokia G21 or the Samsung Galaxy A03 is used. However, it offers much less computing power than, for example, the Moto E40 or even the Redmi 10C are available. This is also noticeable in everyday use: while you can usually navigate through the menus fairly smoothly, it becomes problematic when more performance is needed. You then have to live with stutters and delays.
It is pleasing that Motorola deviates from the eMMC storage in the Moto E32 and installs UFS memory, which is much faster and shortens loading times.
The smartphone's maximum temperature of 40 °C remains within limits and could only be a problem in very high ambient temperatures.
The small mono speaker usually does a good enough job so that you can listen to music from time to time. However, you will quickly notice that it is working at its limit during more intensive passages. The sound is partly imprecise and also seems slightly overemphasized in the trebles. A 3.5-mm port and Bluetooth are suitable for audio transmission. aptX and aptX HD are supported, but the newer variants like aptX Adaptive are not.
The inexpensive Moto phone can be charged with up to 18 watts, which is considerably more than the Moto E40. However, our test device only comes with a 10-watt charger, which not only reduces the charging power but also potentially leads to more electronic waste if customers want to buy an additional 18-watt charger. This is because, with a powerful charger, the charging time drops from over 2 hours to 1:30 hours, and even short charging to get through the next few hours increases the battery level significantly more.
The full 5,000 mAh battery lasts a bit less long in our WLAN test than in the Moto E40, but still does a good job with 15:47 hours. Thus, a full charge should be enough for 2 or more days.
GFXBench | |
on screen Aztec Ruins Normal Tier Onscreen (sort by value) | |
Motorola Moto E32 | |
Motorola Moto E40 | |
Realme Narzo 50i Prime | |
Xiaomi Redmi 10C | |
Average Unisoc T7200 (T606) (5.1 - 11, n=19) | |
Average of class Smartphone (5.5 - 166, n=202, last 2 years) | |
1920x1080 Aztec Ruins Normal Tier Offscreen (sort by value) | |
Motorola Moto E32 | |
Motorola Moto E40 | |
Realme Narzo 50i Prime | |
Xiaomi Redmi 10C | |
Average Unisoc T7200 (T606) (1.9 - 5.5, n=19) | |
Average of class Smartphone (3.4 - 321, n=202, last 2 years) | |
on screen Aztec Ruins High Tier Onscreen (sort by value) | |
Motorola Moto E32 | |
Motorola Moto E40 | |
Realme Narzo 50i Prime | |
Xiaomi Redmi 10C | |
Average Unisoc T7200 (T606) (0.85 - 7.3, n=19) | |
Average of class Smartphone (0.85 - 144, n=203, last 2 years) | |
2560x1440 Aztec Ruins High Tier Offscreen (sort by value) | |
Motorola Moto E32 | |
Motorola Moto E40 | |
Realme Narzo 50i Prime | |
Xiaomi Redmi 10C | |
Average Unisoc T7200 (T606) (0.85 - 2.1, n=19) | |
Average of class Smartphone (1.2 - 129, n=202, last 2 years) |
Motorola Moto E32 | Motorola Moto E40 | Realme Narzo 50i Prime | Xiaomi Redmi 10C | Average 64 GB UFS 2.0 Flash | Average of class Smartphone | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
AndroBench 3-5 | -59% | 34% | 44% | -27% | 237% | |
Sequential Read 256KB | 664.3 | 265 -60% | 658.2 -1% | 927.7 40% | 513 ? -23% | 1931 ? 191% |
Sequential Write 256KB | 250.7 | 156.3 -38% | 445.6 78% | 510.2 104% | 175.2 ? -30% | 1549 ? 518% |
Random Read 4KB | 139.1 | 56 -60% | 161.8 16% | 120.2 -14% | 117.1 ? -16% | 279 ? 101% |
Random Write 4KB | 134.3 | 30.7 -77% | 189.8 41% | 195.2 45% | 81.1 ? -40% | 319 ? 138% |
Temperature
(+) The maximum temperature on the upper side is 38.1 °C / 101 F, compared to the average of 35.1 °C / 95 F, ranging from 21.9 to 63.7 °C for the class Smartphone.
(±) The bottom heats up to a maximum of 40 °C / 104 F, compared to the average of 33.9 °C / 93 F
(+) In idle usage, the average temperature for the upper side is 25.7 °C / 78 F, compared to the device average of 32.8 °C / 91 F.
Speaker
Motorola Moto E32 audio analysis
(±) | speaker loudness is average but good (78.3 dB)
Bass 100 - 315 Hz
(-) | nearly no bass - on average 28.5% lower than median
(±) | linearity of bass is average (13.1% delta to prev. frequency)
Mids 400 - 2000 Hz
(+) | balanced mids - only 4.9% away from median
(±) | linearity of mids is average (7.1% delta to prev. frequency)
Highs 2 - 16 kHz
(+) | balanced highs - only 2.9% away from median
(+) | highs are linear (6.7% delta to prev. frequency)
Overall 100 - 16.000 Hz
(±) | linearity of overall sound is average (23.9% difference to median)
Compared to same class
» 51% of all tested devices in this class were better, 9% similar, 40% worse
» The best had a delta of 12%, average was 36%, worst was 134%
Compared to all devices tested
» 69% of all tested devices were better, 7% similar, 24% worse
» The best had a delta of 4%, average was 24%, worst was 134%
Xiaomi Redmi 10C audio analysis
(±) | speaker loudness is average but good (79.3 dB)
Bass 100 - 315 Hz
(-) | nearly no bass - on average 32% lower than median
(±) | linearity of bass is average (8.8% delta to prev. frequency)
Mids 400 - 2000 Hz
(±) | reduced mids - on average 5.1% lower than median
(+) | mids are linear (6.3% delta to prev. frequency)
Highs 2 - 16 kHz
(+) | balanced highs - only 2.4% away from median
(+) | highs are linear (5% delta to prev. frequency)
Overall 100 - 16.000 Hz
(±) | linearity of overall sound is average (23.9% difference to median)
Compared to same class
» 51% of all tested devices in this class were better, 9% similar, 40% worse
» The best had a delta of 12%, average was 36%, worst was 134%
Compared to all devices tested
» 69% of all tested devices were better, 7% similar, 24% worse
» The best had a delta of 4%, average was 24%, worst was 134%
Battery life
Battery Runtime - WiFi Websurfing | |
Average of class Smartphone (476 - 3244, n=200, last 2 years) | |
Motorola Moto E40 | |
Motorola Moto E32 | |
Realme Narzo 50i Prime | |
Xiaomi Redmi 10C |
Pros
Cons
Verdict - Decent entry-level device with a fast screen
Motorola launches a smartphone with the Moto E32 that places itself solidly in the entry-level segment and also looks contemporary with fast memory, modern design, and long battery life. However, the user has to make do with a simple camera, and in models like the Xiaomi Redmi 10C, you get much more performance.
We like the quite pure software, the dedicated microSD slot, and the fast charging option of our review sample, even though the included power adapter, unfortunately, does not use it.
Motorola's Moto E32 is a solid phone with a 90 Hz screen and fast charging technology, but it also has drawbacks with the dim screen and missing NFC.
Compared with the still available Moto E40, Motorola's Moto E32 offers some improvements, but also some regressions. Thus, it is important to know which priorities you want to set: can you use the higher charging performance of the Moto E32 with an already existing charger, and do you want to benefit from the faster memory in the Moto E32, then it is a good choice.
The Moto E40 on the other hand offers significantly more power and a slightly more ergonomic design. At amazon.de the alternative currently costs a bit more than the Moto E32 but is also available for less at cyberport.de.
The Redmi 10C is a much better buy in terms of Wi-Fi speed and system power, and you get NFC, but not a 90 Hz screen.
Price and availability
The Motorola Moto E32 is available directly from the manufacturer for just under 150 Euros at the time of the test https://www.motorola.de/smartphones-moto-e-32/p# for just under 150 Euros. Our loaner cyberport.de and amazon.de and amazon.de have the device on offer for this price.
However, the smartphone can also be found for a much lower price in some places.
Motorola Moto E32
- 08/30/2022 v7 (old)
Florian Schmitt