Motorola Moto G13 review - Affordable smartphone with NFC
Possible competitors in comparison
Rating | Date | Model | Weight | Drive | Size | Resolution | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 79 % v7 (old) | 04 / 2023 | Motorola Moto G13 Helio G85, Mali-G52 MP2 | 183.5 g | 128 GB eMMC Flash | 6.50" | 1600x720 | |
| 77.3 % v7 (old) | 11 / 2022 | Samsung Galaxy A13 4G A137F Helio G80, Mali-G52 MP2 | 195 g | 64 GB eMMC Flash | 6.60" | 2408x1080 | |
| 74.4 % v7 (old) | 11 / 2022 | Xiaomi Poco C40 JR510, Mali-G52 MP1 | 204 g | 32 GB eMMC Flash | 6.71" | 1650x720 | |
| 76 % v7 (old) | 08 / 2022 | Realme Narzo 50A Prime T7225 (T612), Mali-G52 MP1 | 192.5 g | 64 GB UFS 2.2 Flash | 6.60" | 2408x1080 | |
| 79 % v7 (old) | 03 / 2023 | Motorola Moto G23 Helio G85, Mali-G52 MP2 | 184.3 g | 128 GB eMMC Flash | 6.50" | 1600x720 |
Case and features - Three color options available
Rose gold, Lavender blue, or Dark gray are the three color variants of the Moto G13, the cheapest Motorola G series model in 2023. The manufacturer wants just under 180 Euros for the phone. Considering the low price, the back is only made of plastic, but it still looks pretty with light refraction from the camera module.
However, pressure on the screen and back is quickly visible in the liquid crystal display, and the phone cannot be twisted with normal force. Edges and material transitions are ergonomically rounded, and the phone feels good in the hand.
With 128 GB eMMC flash, the phone's mass storage is quite slow but is also extensive: at the moment, most similarly priced competitors still offer 64 or even only 32 GB data storage. There is also an NFC module, which is by no means a matter of course in this price range.
The SD card reader is separate, so it can be used with two SIM cards simultaneously. The Moto G13 can convince with good transfer rates for its price range in our benchmarks with the reference microSD Angelbird V60, but it does not really utilize the possible transfer speeds of the fast memory card.
| SD Card Reader - average JPG Copy Test (av. of 3 runs) | |
| Samsung Galaxy A13 4G A137F (Angelbird V60) | |
| Average of class Smartphone (7.7 - 58.9, n=69, last 2 years) | |
| Motorola Moto G13 (Angelbird V60) | |
| Motorola Moto G23 (Angelbird V60) | |
| Realme Narzo 50A Prime (Angelbird V60) | |
| Xiaomi Poco C40 (Angelbird V60) | |
Cross Platform Disk Test (CPDT)
Communication, software and operation - Stable WLAN
Motorola's inexpensive smartphone uses WiFi 5 and offers very stable and fast transfer rates in the benchmarks together with our reference router Asus ROG Rapture AXE11000.
The Moto G13 is a 4G phone, and our German test device offers all necessary frequencies for operation in Central Europe. However, you will have to check whether you can use mobile Internet locally when you travel further since it is by no means a world phone.
The mobile reception is decent for an inexpensive phone in our random tests during the review but can't keep up with high-end phones.
Android 13 is preinstalled on the Moto G13. It is pure Android without significant changes, and the system contains only a few preinstalled third-party apps. However, the security patches from January 2023 are a bit older at the time of testing.
The Moto phone can be operated swiftly and reliably via the touchscreen. This is also due to Motorola's 90 Hz refresh rate, which enables smooth scrolling.
The fingerprint sensor is hidden on the right of the standby button and works reliably and precisely. It unlocks the Moto G13 quickly. The home screen can also be accessed via facial recognition: this also works well in the dark, where the screen's residual light is usually sufficient for recognition. However, this method is not quite as secure due to the pure software implementation.
| Networking | |
| iperf3 transmit AXE11000 | |
| Motorola Moto G13 | |
| Motorola Moto G23 | |
| Samsung Galaxy A13 4G A137F | |
| Xiaomi Poco C40 | |
| Realme Narzo 50A Prime | |
| iperf3 receive AXE11000 | |
| Motorola Moto G23 | |
| Motorola Moto G13 | |
| Samsung Galaxy A13 4G A137F | |
| Xiaomi Poco C40 | |
| Realme Narzo 50A Prime | |
Cameras - Main lens with decent pictures
The 50-megapixel camera at the back comes from Samsung and is used in many inexpensive smartphones. Motorola complements it with a 2-megapixel telephoto lens and a depth sensor.
The main camera shows blurry details in object photography, but we like the surrounding image quite well since structures on the walls also remain well visible, and the overall sharpness is convincing.
The rather low dynamic range becomes apparent in low light and high contrasts: bright areas are outshined, while hardly any details are visible in dark sections. In the lab, the main camera shows a surprisingly sharp image of the test chart that only needs improvement in small details and contrast. With a few lux brightness, however, the camera cannot produce a reasonable image with the residual light.
There is an 8-megapixel camera on the front. It takes somewhat too dark selfies, which should not be enlarged too much because otherwise, blurry details become visible.
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 cameraLowLight
Display - Bright screen with 90 Hz
The Moto G13's display has a resolution of 1600 x 720 pixels, while some other smartphones in the price range, like the Galaxy A13 or the realme Narzo 50A Prime, can also boast Full HD resolution. However, Motorola compensates with a 90 Hz refresh rate, which makes operation smoother and scrolling looks nicer.
The screen of the Moto G13 is also very bright: we measured an average of 553 cd/m², which is the best value among the comparison devices. Thus, you can go outside on brighter days and still recognize the screen content to some extent. There is also a Widevine certification so you can watch content in HD.
There is only a very slight bluish cast in the grayscale, the black level is quite low, so dark areas on the screen also come out well, and we did not notice any PWM either.
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Brightness Distribution: 93 %
Center on Battery: 555 cd/m²
Contrast: 1914:1 (Black: 0.29 cd/m²)
ΔE Color 5.17 | 0.5-29.43 Ø4.86
ΔE Greyscale 4.5 | 0.09-98 Ø5.1
91.2% sRGB (Calman 2D)
Gamma: 2.131
| Motorola Moto G13 IPS, 1600x720, 6.5" | Samsung Galaxy A13 4G A137F PLS, 2408x1080, 6.6" | Xiaomi Poco C40 IPS, 1650x720, 6.7" | Realme Narzo 50A Prime IPS, 2408x1080, 6.6" | Motorola Moto G23 IPS, 1600x720, 6.5" | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Response Times | 11% | 18% | 49% | 16% | |
| Response Time Grey 50% / Grey 80% * | 48.5 ? | 39 ? 20% | 40 ? 18% | 30 ? 38% | 46 ? 5% |
| Response Time Black / White * | 33.8 ? | 33 ? 2% | 28 ? 17% | 14 ? 59% | 25 ? 26% |
| PWM Frequency | |||||
| Screen | -5% | -16% | -3% | -14% | |
| Brightness middle | 555 | 492 -11% | 468 -16% | 540 -3% | 522 -6% |
| Brightness | 553 | 453 -18% | 450 -19% | 523 -5% | 502 -9% |
| Brightness Distribution | 93 | 87 -6% | 92 -1% | 93 0% | 91 -2% |
| Black Level * | 0.29 | 0.37 -28% | 0.4 -38% | 0.39 -34% | 0.47 -62% |
| Contrast | 1914 | 1330 -31% | 1170 -39% | 1385 -28% | 1111 -42% |
| Colorchecker dE 2000 * | 5.17 | 4.34 16% | 4.53 12% | 4.39 15% | 4.63 10% |
| Colorchecker dE 2000 max. * | 10.61 | 5.94 44% | 8.96 16% | 6.65 37% | 8.59 19% |
| Greyscale dE 2000 * | 4.5 | 4.7 -4% | 6.5 -44% | 4.7 -4% | 5.2 -16% |
| Gamma | 2.131 103% | 2.398 92% | 2.191 100% | 2.261 97% | 2.296 96% |
| CCT | 7380 88% | 7668 85% | 8122 80% | 7597 86% | 7832 83% |
| Total Average (Program / Settings) | 3% /
-2% | 1% /
-9% | 23% /
8% | 1% /
-8% |
* ... smaller is better
Display Response Times
| ↔ Response Time Black to White | ||
|---|---|---|
| 33.8 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined | ↗ 15.4 ms rise |  |
| ↘ 18.4 ms fall | ||
| The screen shows slow response rates in our tests and will be unsatisfactory for gamers. In comparison, all tested devices range from 0.1 (minimum) to 240 (maximum) ms. » 90 % of all devices are better. This means that the measured response time is worse than the average of all tested devices (20.7 ms). | ||
| ↔ Response Time 50% Grey to 80% Grey | ||
| 48.5 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined | ↗ 27.1 ms rise |  |
| ↘ 21.4 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. » 83 % of all devices are better. This means that the measured response time is worse than the average of all tested devices (32.3 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 8437 (minimum: 5 - maximum: 343500) Hz was measured. | |||
Performance, emissions and battery life - Moto G13 lasts long
The MediaTek Helio G85 was originally developed for the upper mid-range, but it is now apparently so cheap that Motorola can also install it in budget phones. The SoC actually delivers good performance rates for its price range, and the phone is considerably faster than, for example, the Galaxy A13. Navigation through the menus is fairly smooth in everyday use, but you have to reckon with stutters in more demanding apps.
Unfortunately, only very slow eMMC flash is used for storage, which means that copying and loading takes much longer than in high-end phones.
The maximum temperature of 38.4 °C is not critical, and the performance is not affected by this, as the 3DMark stress test shows us: even after numerous runs of the benchmark, the achieved frame rate is about the same.
The Moto G13 can use the earpiece as a second speaker and thus create a stereo effect. The sound is overall good and does not overdrive but the music sounds a bit muffled. The speakers are also not really loud. There is a 3.5 mm audio port at the smartphone's upper edge, that can be used for connecting headphones or speakers. External audio devices can also be connected via Bluetooth. Numerous codecs, such as aptX HD, LDAC, or LHDC-V, are available here.
The Moto G13 lasts 18:35 hours with its 5000 mAh battery in our Wi-Fi test. That is a very good rate, which allows two working days with moderate use without problems. However, the device only charges with a maximum of 10 watts, so it can sometimes take 3 hours until the battery is full again.
| GFXBench | |
| on screen Aztec Ruins Normal Tier Onscreen | |
| Average of class Smartphone (5.5 - 166, n=202, last 2 years) | |
| Average Mediatek Helio G85 (7.5 - 22, n=17) | |
| Motorola Moto G13 | |
| Motorola Moto G23 | |
| Samsung Galaxy A13 4G A137F | |
| Xiaomi Poco C40 | |
| Realme Narzo 50A Prime | |
| 1920x1080 Aztec Ruins Normal Tier Offscreen | |
| Average of class Smartphone (3.4 - 321, n=202, last 2 years) | |
| Samsung Galaxy A13 4G A137F | |
| Average Mediatek Helio G85 (8 - 9.7, n=17) | |
| Motorola Moto G13 | |
| Motorola Moto G23 | |
| Realme Narzo 50A Prime | |
| Xiaomi Poco C40 | |
| on screen Aztec Ruins High Tier Onscreen | |
| Average of class Smartphone (0.85 - 144, n=203, last 2 years) | |
| Motorola Moto G13 | |
| Average Mediatek Helio G85 (5 - 13, n=17) | |
| Motorola Moto G23 | |
| Samsung Galaxy A13 4G A137F | |
| Xiaomi Poco C40 | |
| Realme Narzo 50A Prime | |
| 2560x1440 Aztec Ruins High Tier Offscreen | |
| Average of class Smartphone (1.2 - 129, n=202, last 2 years) | |
| Average Mediatek Helio G85 (3.1 - 3.5, n=17) | |
| Samsung Galaxy A13 4G A137F | |
| Motorola Moto G13 | |
| Motorola Moto G23 | |
| Realme Narzo 50A Prime | |
| Xiaomi Poco C40 | |
| Motorola Moto G13 | Samsung Galaxy A13 4G A137F | Xiaomi Poco C40 | Realme Narzo 50A Prime | Motorola Moto G23 | Average 128 GB eMMC Flash | Average of class Smartphone | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AndroBench 3-5 | -10% | -37% | 96% | 2% | -18% | 409% | |
| Sequential Read 256KB | 281.1 | 300.6 7% | 281.7 0% | 852.8 203% | 282.4 0% | 294 ? 5% | 2043 ? 627% |
| Sequential Write 256KB | 244.7 | 230.3 -6% | 129.8 -47% | 266 9% | 244.6 0% | 195.8 ? -20% | 1659 ? 578% |
| Random Read 4KB | 99.4 | 94.5 -5% | 29.2 -71% | 145.3 46% | 100.2 1% | 83.9 ? -16% | 285 ? 187% |
| Random Write 4KB | 94.9 | 61.5 -35% | 67.7 -29% | 212.5 124% | 100.5 6% | 56.7 ? -40% | 327 ? 245% |
Temperature
(+) The maximum temperature on the upper side is 38.4 °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 38.2 °C / 101 F, compared to the average of 33.9 °C / 93 F
(+) In idle usage, the average temperature for the upper side is 24.1 °C / 75 F, compared to the device average of 32.8 °C / 91 F.
| 3DMark | |
| Wild Life Extreme Stress Test | |
| Samsung Galaxy A13 4G A137F | |
| Wild Life Stress Test Stability | |
| Motorola Moto G23 | |
| Motorola Moto G13 | |
| Samsung Galaxy A13 4G A137F | |
Speaker
Motorola Moto G13 audio analysis
(±) | speaker loudness is average but good (78.9 dB)
Bass 100 - 315 Hz
(-) | nearly no bass - on average 27.6% lower than median
(±) | linearity of bass is average (10.4% delta to prev. frequency)
Mids 400 - 2000 Hz
(+) | balanced mids - only 4.5% away from median
(+) | mids are linear (4.8% delta to prev. frequency)
Highs 2 - 16 kHz
(+) | balanced highs - only 4.1% away from median
(±) | linearity of highs is average (8% delta to prev. frequency)
Overall 100 - 16.000 Hz
(±) | linearity of overall sound is average (22.1% difference to median)
Compared to same class
» 43% of all tested devices in this class were better, 7% similar, 50% worse
» The best had a delta of 12%, average was 36%, worst was 134%
Compared to all devices tested
» 62% of all tested devices were better, 6% similar, 32% worse
» The best had a delta of 4%, average was 24%, worst was 134%
Motorola Moto G23 audio analysis
(±) | speaker loudness is average but good (77.9 dB)
Bass 100 - 315 Hz
(-) | nearly no bass - on average 25.7% lower than median
(±) | linearity of bass is average (9.3% delta to prev. frequency)
Mids 400 - 2000 Hz
(±) | higher mids - on average 5.1% higher than median
(+) | mids are linear (5.2% delta to prev. frequency)
Highs 2 - 16 kHz
(+) | balanced highs - only 4.1% away from median
(±) | linearity of highs is average (8.4% delta to prev. frequency)
Overall 100 - 16.000 Hz
(±) | linearity of overall sound is average (22.3% difference to median)
Compared to same class
» 44% of all tested devices in this class were better, 7% similar, 49% worse
» The best had a delta of 12%, average was 36%, worst was 134%
Compared to all devices tested
» 63% of all tested devices were better, 6% similar, 31% worse
» The best had a delta of 4%, average was 24%, worst was 134%
Battery life
Pros
Cons
Verdict - Only a few weak points in the low-priced Moto
Motorola's Moto G13 is available for well under 200 Euros and cuts a good figure: the casing looks nice, the package even includes a cover for the phone in addition to the charger, and the smartphone comes with NFC as well as 128 GB of mass storage for the price range.
The battery runtimes are also convincing, the cameras do a decent job, and the Wi-Fi reception and transfer rates are stable. The 90 Hz display can be used smoothly and shines very brightly. In contrast to other inexpensive phones, it only has a slight blue cast.
We will probably see this level of performance more often in budget phones this year, but it's still great that the Moto G13 shows that even a cheap phone finally allows smooth navigation through menus and even somewhat more demanding tasks.
The memory is unfortunately only slow eMMC, but the phone only heats up marginally under load and hardly throttles its performance. Apart from the somewhat too pressure-sensitive casing and the uncertain update situation, we hardly find any real points of criticism.
Motorola's Moto G13 is a quite fast phone from the affordable mid-range with good features: 90 Hz display, NFC, and a lot of storage.
The realme Narzo 50A Prime with a Full HD screen is now available for much less on the Internet. Samsung Galaxy A13 is slightly cheaper than our test device but has a similarly fast MediaTek SoC.
Price and availability
The prices for Motorola's Moto G13 have dropped to approximately 160 Euros (~$160) on the Internet. The dark-gray version including the car adapter is now available for about 170 Euros (~$170) at amazon.de, and the price is similar at cyberport.de.
The light blue version is still 10 Euros more expensive at amazon.de, while cyberport.de also offers it for 170 Euros. The rose-gold Moto G13 is currently only available in Central Europe at Lenovo's online shop for 179 Euros.
Motorola Moto G13
- 04/10/2023 v7 (old)
Florian Schmitt
Transparency
The selection of devices to be reviewed is made by our editorial team. The test sample was provided to the author as a loan by the manufacturer or retailer for the purpose of this review. The lender had no influence on this review, nor did the manufacturer receive a copy of this review before publication. There was no obligation to publish this review. We never accept compensation or payment in return for our reviews. As an independent media company, Notebookcheck is not subjected to the authority of manufacturers, retailers or publishers.
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