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MagyarMotorola Moto G23 smartphone review - Plenty of memory for the mid-range
Possible competitors in comparison
Rating | Date | Model | Weight | Drive | Size | Resolution | Best Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 79 % | 03/2023 | Motorola Moto G23 Helio G85, Mali-G52 MP2 | 184.3 g | 128 GB eMMC Flash | 6.50" | 1600x720 | |
| 75.1 % | 05/2022 | Motorola Moto G22 Helio G37, PowerVR GE8320 | 185 g | 64 GB eMMC Flash | 6.50" | 1600x720 | |
| 79.1 % | 03/2023 | Motorola Moto G53 SD 480+, Adreno 619 | 183 g | 128 GB UFS 2.1 Flash | 6.50" | 1600x720 | |
| 78.9 % | 11/2022 | Xiaomi Poco M5 Helio G99, Mali-G57 MP2 | 201 g | 128 GB UFS 2.2 Flash | 6.58" | 2408x1080 | |
| 77.9 % | 10/2022 | Samsung Galaxy A13 5G Dimensity 700, Mali-G57 MP2 | 195 g | 64 GB eMMC Flash | 6.50" | 1600x720 |
Case and features - Matt glossy plastic
Motorola Moto G23 is not exactly cheap at a manufacturer's price of 230 Euros, but it also comes with a lush storage configuration of 8 GB RAM and 128 GB mass storage. Hardly any comparable phone can keep up.
The Moto phone is available in dark gray, white, or blue, and the chassis seems stable: pressure on the back does not reach the display, but it does when you press directly on the screen. The phone can hardly be twisted. The Moto G23 has a good build quality, and material transitions are not noticeable. The back is matte but does not resist fingerprints very well. The camera module protrudes from the case. At only 184 grams, the Moto phone is relatively light for its price range and feels good in the hand.
NFC is part of the Moto G23's equipment, so you can also use mobile payment services. There is also a microSD reader that is separate from the two SIM slots. The reader is on par with our reference microSD Angelbird V60, but it cannot provide outstanding read and write rates.
| SD Card Reader - average JPG Copy Test (av. of 3 runs) | |
| Average of class Smartphone (10.9 - 77, n=99, last 2 years) | |
| Motorola Moto G53 (Angelbird V60) | |
| Xiaomi Poco M5 (Angelbird V60) | |
| Motorola Moto G22 (Angelbird V60) | |
| Motorola Moto G23 (Angelbird V60) | |
| Samsung Galaxy A13 5G (Angelbird V60) | |
Cross Platform Disk Test (CPDT)
Communication, software and operation - Unclear update situation
The phone supports WiFi 5 and can deliver stable transfer rates in our test with the reference router Asus ROG Rapture AXE11000. These are between 320 and 380 MBit/s and are thus on the typical level for phones with WiFi 5. The signal strength of the WLAN network is also good in our sample tests.
The Moto G23 is a 4G smartphone that provides enough frequencies for the European market and also for traveling abroad. However, it is not a world phone, so you should check if a smartphone can be used on the local network before further trips. The 4G signal is significantly weaker than in high-end phones in our samples during the test. At the same time, there were no complete disconnections during the tests.
Android 13 is used as the operating system, and, as usual for Motorola, quite a few apps and no third-party programs are preinstalled. The security patches are from January 2023 and are thus a bit older at the time of the test. Widevine certification is available so you can enjoy streaming content in HD.
The 90 Hz screen can be used smoothly and precisely, and you can also scroll through the pages quickly in the browser. Very complex apps and multitasking can cause stutters from time to time. A fingerprint sensor is hidden in the standby button on the casing's right. It unlocks the smartphone almost without delay and usually provides a reliable recognition rate.
The smartphone can also be unlocked biometrically with the face. Recognition works quite well in the dark with the screen's light, but it is not as secure since it is software-based.
| Networking | |
| iperf3 transmit AXE11000 | |
| Motorola Moto G22 | |
| Xiaomi Poco M5 | |
| Motorola Moto G23 | |
| Samsung Galaxy A13 5G | |
| Motorola Moto G53 | |
| iperf3 receive AXE11000 | |
| Xiaomi Poco M5 | |
| Motorola Moto G23 | |
| Motorola Moto G53 | |
| Samsung Galaxy A13 5G | |
| Motorola Moto G22 | |
Cameras - Many lenses
It is great that the Moto G23 has a real triple camera at the back: the main camera with 50 megapixels from Samsung, an ultra-wide-angle lens, and a macro camera. However, there is no hybrid zoom, so you can only switch between the lenses manually.
Let us first take a look at the image quality of the main camera: At first glance, snapshots in daylight look quite decent, but a closer look reveals the relatively low sharpness and the significant loss of details. However, we like the camera's dynamics in good lighting conditions. In low light and high contrasts, sharpness is also clearly lost, and there is hardly any brightening in the dark areas.
The wide-angle camera has a resolution of 5 megapixels and takes quite nice snapshots. However, you should not look for details as they are only represented very rudimentarily. The macro camera has an even lower resolution of just 2 megapixels. It can be used for very close detail shots, which also turn out quite decent. However, the lighting has to be very good, and the pictures should not be enlarged too much.
A selfie camera is found on the front; it has a resolution of 16 megapixels. The resulting pictures could also use more brightening, but the details are quite decent.
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 LightWide-angle
Display - Motorola does without PWM
The Moto G23 features an IPS display with a resolution of 1600 x 720 pixels. The panel can also display up to 90 frames per second, which enables smooth scrolling and a smooth picture in games or videos.
The display does without PWM, so even sensitive users should not have any problems with flickering. The screen's brightness of over 500 cd/m² is convincing on average, so you can also take the Moto G23 outdoors on brighter days.
However, the black value is slightly higher, which results in a mediocre contrast ratio. The noticeable blue cast is visible in the display, especially blue tones, and very bright grayscales are displayed in an unbalanced way.
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Brightness Distribution: 91 %
Center on Battery: 522 cd/m²
Contrast: 1111:1 (Black: 0.47 cd/m²)
ΔE Color 4.63 | 0.5-29.43 Ø5
ΔE Greyscale 5.2 | 0.57-98 Ø5.3
93.9% sRGB (Calman 2D)
Gamma: 2.296
| Motorola Moto G23 IPS, 1600x720, 6.50 | Motorola Moto G22 IPS LCD, 1600x720, 6.50 | Motorola Moto G53 IPS, 1600x720, 6.50 | Xiaomi Poco M5 IPS, 2408x1080, 6.58 | Samsung Galaxy A13 5G PLS, 1600x720, 6.50 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Response Times | -18% | -14% | 24% | -3% | |
| Response Time Grey 50% / Grey 80% * | 46 ? | 46 ? -0% | 56 ? -22% | 33 ? 28% | 41 ? 11% |
| Response Time Black / White * | 25 ? | 34 ? -36% | 26.6 ? -6% | 20 ? 20% | 29 ? -16% |
| PWM Frequency | |||||
| Screen | -11% | 23% | 32% | 1% | |
| Brightness middle | 522 | 451 -14% | 587 12% | 400 -23% | 471 -10% |
| Brightness | 502 | 431 -14% | 559 11% | 396 -21% | 437 -13% |
| Brightness Distribution | 91 | 90 -1% | 91 0% | 96 5% | 86 -5% |
| Black Level * | 0.47 | 0.5 -6% | 0.4 15% | 0.27 43% | 0.31 34% |
| Contrast | 1111 | 902 -19% | 1468 32% | 1481 33% | 1519 37% |
| Colorchecker dE 2000 * | 4.63 | 5.82 -26% | 2.6 44% | 1.26 73% | 5.43 -17% |
| Colorchecker dE 2000 max. * | 8.59 | 9.3 -8% | 5.62 35% | 2.45 71% | 10.55 -23% |
| Greyscale dE 2000 * | 5.2 | 5 4% | 3.3 37% | 1.5 71% | 5.1 2% |
| Gamma | 2.296 96% | 2.776 79% | 2.463 89% | 2.298 96% | 2.12 104% |
| CCT | 7832 83% | 7683 85% | 6288 103% | 6658 98% | 7465 87% |
| Total Average (Program / Settings) | -15% /
-12% | 5% /
16% | 28% /
30% | -1% /
0% |
* ... smaller is better
Display Response Times
| ↔ Response Time Black to White | ||
|---|---|---|
| 25 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined | ↗ 14 ms rise |  |
| ↘ 11 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. » 53 % of all devices are better. This means that the measured response time is worse than the average of all tested devices (21.5 ms). | ||
| ↔ Response Time 50% Grey to 80% Grey | ||
| 46 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined | ↗ 28 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 0.2 (minimum) to 636 (maximum) ms. » 76 % of all devices are better. This means that the measured response time is worse than the average of all tested devices (33.7 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 17903 (minimum: 5 - maximum: 3846000) Hz was measured. | |||
Performance, emissions and battery life - Endurance runner
The MediaTek Helio G85 SOC is used in many low-cost smartphones and tablets, including the Motorola Moto G23. It is sufficient for smooth everyday operation, although comparison devices such as the Xiaomi Poco M5 or the Samsung Galaxy A13 5G offer considerably more performance in this price range. This becomes noticeable upon starting more complex apps or multitasking.
In terms of storage, Motorola relies on slow eMMC flash, while Xiaomi, for example, already relies on UFS 2.2 in the Poco M5. This only results in comparatively slow read and write rates for our test device.
We cannot determine excessively high heating under a long load or throttling of the performance in our tests.
The Moto G23 has a dedicated speaker on the bottom edge and uses the earpiece for support, so the stereo sound is possible. The sound system could offer a bit more power, but it does not overdrive even at maximum volume and sounds a bit trebly, but not unpleasant. The sound gets even better via external audio devices: a 3.5 mm jack or Bluetooth is available for connecting them. The codec variety for Bluetooth is quite rich with SBC, AAC, aptX, aptX HD, LDAC, LHDC, and LHDC-V, so many devices are compatible.
Motorola gets very good runtimes out of the 5,000 mAh battery: we measured over 19 hours in our WLAN test, which is more than all comparison devices can bring. Thus, those looking for a real long-runner among inexpensive smartphones will get their money's worth with the Moto G23. The phone is charged with 30 watts, which is decent for the price range. A suitable charger is included in the box.
| GFXBench | |
| on screen Aztec Ruins Normal Tier Onscreen | |
| Average of class Smartphone (3.6 - 123, n=227, last 2 years) | |
| Motorola Moto G53 | |
| Samsung Galaxy A13 5G | |
| Xiaomi Poco M5 | |
| Average Mediatek Helio G85 (7.5 - 22, n=14) | |
| Motorola Moto G23 | |
| Motorola Moto G22 | |
| 1920x1080 Aztec Ruins Normal Tier Offscreen | |
| Average of class Smartphone (2.3 - 229, n=227, last 2 years) | |
| Motorola Moto G53 | |
| Samsung Galaxy A13 5G | |
| Xiaomi Poco M5 | |
| Average Mediatek Helio G85 (8 - 9.7, n=14) | |
| Motorola Moto G23 | |
| Motorola Moto G22 | |
| on screen Aztec Ruins High Tier Onscreen | |
| Average of class Smartphone (2.8 - 119, n=227, last 2 years) | |
| Motorola Moto G53 | |
| Samsung Galaxy A13 5G | |
| Xiaomi Poco M5 | |
| Average Mediatek Helio G85 (5 - 13, n=14) | |
| Motorola Moto G23 | |
| Motorola Moto G22 | |
| 2560x1440 Aztec Ruins High Tier Offscreen | |
| Average of class Smartphone (0.85 - 94, n=227, last 2 years) | |
| Motorola Moto G53 | |
| Xiaomi Poco M5 | |
| Samsung Galaxy A13 5G | |
| Average Mediatek Helio G85 (3.1 - 3.5, n=14) | |
| Motorola Moto G23 | |
| Motorola Moto G22 | |
| Motorola Moto G23 | Motorola Moto G22 | Motorola Moto G53 | Xiaomi Poco M5 | Samsung Galaxy A13 5G | Average 128 GB eMMC Flash | Average of class Smartphone | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AndroBench 3-5 | -56% | 43% | 202% | -12% | -21% | 277% | |
| Sequential Read 256KB | 282.4 | 215.45 -24% | 474.6 68% | 976.4 246% | 289.7 3% | 283 ? 0% | 1508 ? 434% |
| Sequential Write 256KB | 244.6 | 112.78 -54% | 243.87 0% | 870.7 256% | 176.7 -28% | 193 ? -21% | 1118 ? 357% |
| Random Read 4KB | 100.2 | 39.32 -61% | 166.24 66% | 247.6 147% | 86.2 -14% | 82.4 ? -18% | 247 ? 147% |
| Random Write 4KB | 100.5 | 16.34 -84% | 139.83 39% | 257.8 157% | 90.9 -10% | 54 ? -46% | 272 ? 171% |
Temperature
(+) The maximum temperature on the upper side is 38.7 °C / 102 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 39.3 °C / 103 F, compared to the average of 33.8 °C / 93 F
(+) In idle usage, the average temperature for the upper side is 23.9 °C / 75 F, compared to the device average of 32.7 °C / 91 F.
| 3DMark - Wild Life Stress Test Stability | |
| Samsung Galaxy A13 5G | |
| Motorola Moto G23 | |
| Xiaomi Poco M5 | |
| Motorola Moto G53 | |
Speaker
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
» 40% of all tested devices in this class were better, 7% similar, 53% worse
» The best had a delta of 12%, average was 38%, worst was 134%
Compared to all devices tested
» 60% of all tested devices were better, 7% similar, 34% worse
» The best had a delta of 4%, average was 25%, worst was 134%
Samsung Galaxy A13 5G audio analysis
(+) | speakers can play relatively loud (82.1 dB)
Bass 100 - 315 Hz
(-) | nearly no bass - on average 23.3% lower than median
(±) | linearity of bass is average (10.9% delta to prev. frequency)
Mids 400 - 2000 Hz
(±) | higher mids - on average 6.1% higher than median
(+) | mids are linear (6.3% delta to prev. frequency)
Highs 2 - 16 kHz
(+) | balanced highs - only 4.8% away from median
(+) | highs are linear (6% delta to prev. frequency)
Overall 100 - 16.000 Hz
(±) | linearity of overall sound is average (21.1% difference to median)
Compared to same class
» 33% of all tested devices in this class were better, 8% similar, 59% worse
» The best had a delta of 12%, average was 38%, worst was 134%
Compared to all devices tested
» 53% of all tested devices were better, 7% similar, 40% worse
» The best had a delta of 4%, average was 25%, worst was 134%
Battery life
| Battery Runtime - WiFi Websurfing | |
| Motorola Moto G23 | |
| Samsung Galaxy A13 5G | |
| Motorola Moto G22 | |
| Motorola Moto G53 | |
| Xiaomi Poco M5 | |
| Average of class Smartphone (424 - 2844, n=229, last 2 years) | |
Pros
Cons
Verdict - Good equipment that wants to be paid for
Besides its long battery runtimes, Motorola's Moto G23 also offers a bright screen and a fairly flexible camera system for its price range. The wide-angle camera should be particularly mentioned here.
Although it is confidently priced at 230 Euros, it also offers a lot of RAM and storage. In terms of WLAN and LTE, the phone offers good reception and solid transfer rates. The speaker sound is solid, the smartphone does not heat up much, and you can also watch content in HD thanks to Widevine L1.
A 90 Hz screen is also available in cheaper phones, and the Moto G23 lags behind similar devices in some areas in terms of performance.
Motorola's Moto G23 is a good 4G smartphone with a lot of memory. It is currently comparatively expensive, especially because it also lags behind in terms of performance.
Nevertheless, the phone performs well overall and offers enough features for its price. If you want the latest mobile phone standard, you will be happy with the Samsung Galaxy A13 5G. The Xiaomi Poco M5 offers more performance and comes with a higher screen resolution.
Price and availability
The Motorola Moto G23 is available directly from the manufacturer for just under 230 Euros.
The smartphone is also available for this price at amazon.de.
Motorola Moto G23
-
03/29/2023 v7
Florian Schmitt
Transparency
The present review sample was made available to the author as a loan by the manufacturer or a shop for the purposes of 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.
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