Motorola Moto G35 smartphone review – Yes, the processor is slow but it's still a fun device.
A cheap entertainer.
With the Moto G35, Motorola is bringing a smartphone to the market with a big screen, decent resolution and a modern case. It can be yours for quite a bit less than $200 and also possesses entertainment qualities, thanks to DRM certification and good stereo speakers.Florian Schmitt, 👁 Florian Schmitt (translated by Andrew Dickson) Published 🇩🇪 🇷🇺 ...
Possible competitors compared
Bewertung | Datum | Modell | Gewicht | Laufwerk | Groesse | Aufloesung | Preis ab | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 72.3 % | v8 | 10 / 2024 | Motorola Moto G35 Tangula T760, Mali-G57 MP4 | 188 g | 128 GB UFS 2.2 Flash | 6.72" | 2400x1080 | |
| 81.9 % v7 (old) | v7 (old) | 03 / 2024 | Motorola Moto G34 SD 695 5G, Adreno 619 | 179 g | 128 GB UFS 2.1 Flash | 6.50" | 1600x720 | |
| 80.1 % v7 (old) | v7 (old) | 03 / 2024 | Samsung Galaxy A15 5G Dimensity 6100+, Mali-G57 MP2 | 200 g | 128 GB UFS 2.2 Flash | 6.50" | 2340x1080 | |
| 77 % v7 (old) | v7 (old) | 05 / 2024 | HMD Pulse Pro T7200, Mali-G57 MP1 | 196 g | 128 GB UFS 2.2 Flash | 6.65" | 1612x720 | |
| 77.7 % v7 (old) | v7 (old) | 03 / 2024 | Xiaomi Redmi 13C Helio G85, Mali-G52 MP2 | 192 g | 128 GB eMMC Flash | 6.74" | 1600x720 |
Note: We have recently updated our rating system and the results of version 8 are not comparable with the results of version 7. More information is available here.
Case and features – Stable with faux leather
With its Moto G35, Motorola aims to offer a big screen for little money. What is pleasing is that the Moto G35 costs around $20 less than the predecessor. Compared to the Moto G34, the current phone has gotten a touch larger and heavier. The phone possesses relatively slim bezels around the screen, although it also has a visible chin along the bottom edge.
The smartphone comes in three colors and only plays it safe with the dark gray: Leaf Green and Guava Red turn up the color, and the manufacturer has also gone with faux leather material for the rear of the device. It feels great, and on top of this, the higher camera module is integrated into the rear. It fits nicely due to its curved shape.
The Moto G35 is very solidly built: It cannot be twisted. Additionally, on the front of the device, Gorilla Glass 3 manages to protect the screen's liquid crystals from even forceful pressure.
At around $200 for 128 GB of mass storage and 4 GB of RAM, the Moto G35 has pretty normal specs for its price class. You'll have to do without a 3.5mm jack analogue headphones, but NFC for wireless payments is on board.
The Moto smartphone can only house a single nano-SIM, but it can, however, store an eSIM profile, which makes dual-SIM possible. The microSD slot allows for memory expansion, and in our tests, the card reader demonstrated average speeds for its price category. However, it doesn't come close to taking advantage of our fast Angelbird V60 microSD card's capabilities.
| SD Card Reader - average JPG Copy Test (av. of 3 runs) | |
| Samsung Galaxy A15 5G (Angelbird V60) | |
| Motorola Moto G34 (Angelbird V60) | |
| HMD Pulse Pro (Angelbird V60) | |
| Motorola Moto G35 (Angelbird V60) | |
| Xiaomi Redmi 13C (Angelbird V60) | |
| Average of class Smartphone (7.7 - 77, n=76, last 2 years) | |
Cross Platform Disk Test (CPDT)
Communication and software – 3-year updates
With WiFi 5, the Motorola Moto G35 also brings the latest Wi-Fi technology to its price class. It doesn't manage more than 300 MBit/s, meaning if you possess a Gigabit internet connection, you can't push it to its limits with this smartphone.
For anyone often travelling abroad, the Moto G35 is a companion that can communicate with 4G and 5G networks in most European countries. You could have problems on intercontinental trips since the phone doesn't have a wide range of frequencies. During our testing period, we repeatedly analyzed the reception quality, and the Moto G35 demonstrated itself to be at an average level in this area. Some high-end smartphones offer significantly better signal strength in both the same location and phone network.
The software is based on Android 14. Motorola has left stock Android pretty much untouched, and its in-house functions can be found in separate apps. This means that they can be updated without the need for an operating system update. Some third-party advertizing apps are preinstalled, but these can be just as easily uninstalled.
Thanks to DRM-L1 certification, streaming content can also be played in full quality, and this looks good on the large screen. However, in some apps, such as Netflix, we had problems enabling HDR playback.
At the time of testing, the security patches are from September 2024, making them quite up-to-date. According to the manufacturer, the Moto G35 will get 3 years of security updates at a rate of every two months. In addition, there is the promise of two operating system updates. Considering the price, the update supply is OK but the Samsung Galaxy A15 comes with a significantly longer update guarantee.
| Networking | |
| Motorola Moto G35 | |
| iperf3 transmit AXE11000 | |
| iperf3 receive AXE11000 | |
| Motorola Moto G34 | |
| iperf3 transmit AXE11000 | |
| iperf3 receive AXE11000 | |
| Samsung Galaxy A15 5G | |
| iperf3 transmit AXE11000 | |
| iperf3 receive AXE11000 | |
| HMD Pulse Pro | |
| iperf3 transmit AXE11000 | |
| iperf3 receive AXE11000 | |
| Xiaomi Redmi 13C | |
| iperf3 transmit AXE11000 | |
| iperf3 receive AXE11000 | |
Sustainability and operation – A good fingerprint sensor
The provision of regular updates is also important for the longevity of a smartphone and the Moto G35 scores averagely here.
The packaging is plastic-free, the stickers are water-based and the cardboard parts mainly consist of recycled materials.
Unfortunately, the manufacturer has not made any information available regarding the smartphone's CO2 consumption during its life cycle. Motorola has a cooperation with iFixit concerning the replacement parts and repair guides. Unfortunately, really up-to-date devices cannot be found here.
The screen can display 120 frames per second and is scanned for touches at up to 240 times per second. Overall, it responds quickly to inputs although the relatively slow SoC occasionally delays the navigation, especially when demanding apps or updates are running in the background. The touchscreen is easy to use when it is wet but this automatically increases the sensitivity.
The right-hand side of the device is home to a fingerprint sensor hidden inside the standby button. After the fingerprint has been learned once, it unlocks the phone reliably with only a short waiting time. You can also use face recognition to unlock the phone, however, that happens exclusively via the front camera in 2D, making this method somewhat susceptible to manipulation.
Cameras – Even with ultra-wide angle and 4K videos
The main camera is a 50-megapixel sensor from Samsung, which only uses a quarter of the resolution for images with higher light sensitivity. We were unable to find a way of using the full resolution in Motorola's camera software.
At first glance, photos from the main camera are colorful and relatively balanced but the details are noticeably blurred. In low light, the brightening in dark areas leaves a lot to be desired. In our test lab under full studio light, fine details are lost and text on a red background lacks contrast.
Videos can be recorded in 4K at 30fps. Having said that, the autofocus is quite slow, and the exposure control also takes a moment to produce the correct result.
You shouldn't normally expect to find a wide-angle camera in the sub $200 price segment, but with the Moto G35, you do get one, and it comes with a resolution of 8 megapixels. However, a hybrid zoom between the two lenses is only possible by manual switching and Motorola's photo software doesn't automatically switch to the other lens.
Photos from the wide-angle camera are very grainy and sometimes very blurred, and the dynamic range leaves something to be desired but they are OK for snapshots.
When it comes to selfies, there is a 16-megapixel camera on the front. As long as you don't plan on magnifying the photos too much, they are decent, but they have little dynamic range in the very bright and very dark areas.
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 camera plantMain camera environmentMain camera low lightUltra-wide-angle camera
Screen – A bright screen with HDR support
The manufacturer has pulled off a real coup with the affordable Motorola Moto G35's screen: The support for HDR 10 is already an impressive feature since this requires more brightness than screens in this price class usually offer.
During our measurements with the spectrophotometer and the Software CalMAN, we were able to confirm this necessary brightness at up to 1,069 cd/m². This means the phone is very well-suited for outdoor use, even on bright days. In addition, HDR content appears to have high contrast.
However, there are also problems with the HDR images: On YouTube, 1080p HDR videos often experience stutter because the system performance isn't high enough. At 720p, the videos run smoother. In the Netflix app, HDR capability isn't recognized, and videos also cannot be played in HD. However, that problem isn't exclusive to the Moto G35. This an area in which Netflix appears to be very strict and untransparent.
The screen offers good color reproduction if you select the "natural" color profile. A slight reddish tint is then visible to the naked eye but, overall, the screen quality is quite accurate for such a low-priced phone.
We did not detect any PWM flickering. The screen can independently set the frame rate between 60 and 120 Hz.
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Brightness Distribution: 88 %
Center on Battery: 1069 cd/m²
Contrast: 1527:1 (Black: 0.7 cd/m²)
ΔE Color 3.32 | 0.5-29.43 Ø4.91
ΔE Greyscale 3.6 | 0.5-98 Ø5.2
94.4% sRGB (Calman 2D)
Gamma: 2.167
| Motorola Moto G35 IPS, 2400x1080, 6.7" | Motorola Moto G34 IPS, 1600x720, 6.5" | Samsung Galaxy A15 5G AMOLED, 2340x1080, 6.5" | HMD Pulse Pro IPS, 1612x720, 6.7" | Xiaomi Redmi 13C IPS, 1600x720, 6.7" | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Response Times | -45% | 95% | -1% | -20% | |
| Response Time Grey 50% / Grey 80% * | 39.2 ? | 71.3 ? -82% | 1.6 ? 96% | 35.7 ? 9% | 44.9 ? -15% |
| Response Time Black / White * | 23.6 ? | 25.5 ? -8% | 1.3 ? 94% | 26.1 ? -11% | 29.2 ? -24% |
| PWM Frequency | 90 | ||||
| Screen | -2% | 11% | -16% | -20% | |
| Brightness middle | 1069 | 523 -51% | 705 -34% | 501 -53% | 430 -60% |
| Brightness | 976 | 512 -48% | 701 -28% | 470 -52% | 424 -57% |
| Brightness Distribution | 88 | 95 8% | 96 9% | 89 1% | 92 5% |
| Black Level * | 0.7 | 0.47 33% | 0.17 76% | 0.28 60% | |
| Contrast | 1527 | 1113 -27% | 2947 93% | 1536 1% | |
| Colorchecker dE 2000 * | 3.32 | 1.89 43% | 1.88 43% | 5.21 -57% | 4.06 -22% |
| Colorchecker dE 2000 max. * | 5.48 | 4.63 16% | 4.57 17% | 8.79 -60% | 8.11 -48% |
| Greyscale dE 2000 * | 3.6 | 3.1 14% | 1.5 58% | 6.3 -75% | 5 -39% |
| Gamma | 2.167 102% | 2.262 97% | 2.116 104% | 2.297 96% | 2.35 94% |
| CCT | 6141 106% | 6471 100% | 6501 100% | 8524 76% | 7813 83% |
| Total Average (Program / Settings) | -24% /
-10% | 53% /
32% | -9% /
-13% | -20% /
-20% |
* ... smaller is better
Display Response Times
| ↔ Response Time Black to White | ||
|---|---|---|
| 23.6 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined | ↗ 11.3 ms rise |  |
| ↘ 12.3 ms fall | ||
| The screen shows good response rates in our tests, but may be too slow for competitive gamers. In comparison, all tested devices range from 0.1 (minimum) to 240 (maximum) ms. » 50 % 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 | ||
| 39.2 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined | ↗ 20 ms rise |  |
| ↘ 19.2 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. » 56 % of all devices are better. This means that the measured response time is worse than the average of all tested devices (32.8 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 8705 (minimum: 5 - maximum: 343500) Hz was measured. | |||
Performance, emissions and battery life – The Moto G35 comes with long runtimes
The Unisoc Tangula T760 offers eight processor cores clocked at up to 2 GHz. This is relatively fast for an inexpensive, mid-range smartphone, managing to outpace most of the similarly priced competitors in benchmark tests. Despite this, the predecessor was noticeably faster with its Qualcomm Snapdragon 695.
This means you have to handle the Motorola Moto G35's recurring sluggishness, even when navigating through menus. More demanding tasks sometimes lead to longer waiting times before the system responds.
Nevertheless, Motorola has treated the phone to somewhat speedier storage: UFS 2.2 flash enables faster data transfer and shorter loading times than you would usually expect in this price bracket.
After a longer load period, the maximum case temperature sits at 45.4 °C, however, as much as this is noticeable, it's not problematic. Also, the SoC doesn't throttle, even after a longer period of load.
The earpiece is used as a second speaker and supports the main speaker along the bottom edge. This enables slight stereo effects and makes the sound seem more spatial. Music is reproduced quite clearly, and the maximum volume is sufficient. Voices are easy to understand, but movie sound lacks a bit of punch.
If you wish to connect speakers or headphones, you can do so via USB-C or Bluetooth. In our tests, the connection took place without a hitch. For wireless audio transmission, a solid range of codecs are available: SBC, AAC, aptX and aptX HD, LDAC, LC3, and Opus.
The Motorola Moto G35 packs a 5,000 mAh battery, which helped it achieve runtimes of 16 hours and 41 minutes in our Wi-Fi test. That is a very good figure for this price class and means you won't necessarily have to charge the phone every evening. If the Moto phone does have you reaching for the charging cable, it will charge at a maximum of 18 watts. A suitable charger is not included with the phone, by the way. With our chargers, the device required a touch over 2 hours for a full charge.
| Geekbench AI | |
| Single Precision TensorFlow NNAPI | |
| Average of class Smartphone (191 - 4619, n=35, last 2 years) | |
| Motorola Moto G35 | |
| Average UNISOC Tangula T760 () | |
| Half Precision TensorFlow NNAPI | |
| Average of class Smartphone (192 - 32432, n=35, last 2 years) | |
| Motorola Moto G35 | |
| Average UNISOC Tangula T760 () | |
| Quantized TensorFlow NNAPI | |
| Average of class Smartphone (118 - 44657, n=35, last 2 years) | |
| Motorola Moto G35 | |
| Average UNISOC Tangula T760 () | |
| Motorola Moto G35 | Motorola Moto G34 | Samsung Galaxy A15 5G | HMD Pulse Pro | Xiaomi Redmi 13C | Average 128 GB UFS 2.2 Flash | Average of class Smartphone | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AndroBench 3-5 | -40% | -38% | -14% | -69% | -34% | 40% | |
| Sequential Read 256KB | 989.3 | 524.1 -47% | 499.6 -49% | 966 -2% | 300.2 -70% | 728 ? -26% | 1867 ? 89% |
| Sequential Write 256KB | 860.3 | 495 -42% | 498.1 -42% | 824 -4% | 179.4 -79% | 527 ? -39% | 1451 ? 69% |
| Random Read 4KB | 272.1 | 192.1 -29% | 194 -29% | 205 -25% | 101.5 -63% | 191.7 ? -30% | 279 ? 3% |
| Random Write 4KB | 318.9 | 180.2 -43% | 223.5 -30% | 239 -25% | 114.8 -64% | 185.8 ? -42% | 311 ? -2% |
Temperature
(±) The maximum temperature on the upper side is 44.4 °C / 112 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 45.4 °C / 114 F, compared to the average of 33.9 °C / 93 F
(+) In idle usage, the average temperature for the upper side is 23.5 °C / 74 F, compared to the device average of 32.8 °C / 91 F.
3DMark Stress Test
Speakers
Motorola Moto G35 audio analysis
(+) | speakers can play relatively loud (84.8 dB)
Bass 100 - 315 Hz
(-) | nearly no bass - on average 25% lower than median
(±) | linearity of bass is average (9.6% delta to prev. frequency)
Mids 400 - 2000 Hz
(±) | higher mids - on average 5.2% higher than median
(+) | mids are linear (4.6% delta to prev. frequency)
Highs 2 - 16 kHz
(+) | balanced highs - only 1.8% away from median
(+) | highs are linear (2.9% delta to prev. frequency)
Overall 100 - 16.000 Hz
(±) | linearity of overall sound is average (18.7% difference to median)
Compared to same class
» 18% of all tested devices in this class were better, 9% similar, 73% worse
» The best had a delta of 12%, average was 37%, worst was 134%
Compared to all devices tested
» 39% of all tested devices were better, 8% similar, 53% worse
» The best had a delta of 4%, average was 25%, worst was 134%
Xiaomi Redmi 13C audio analysis
(±) | speaker loudness is average but good (80.8 dB)
Bass 100 - 315 Hz
(-) | nearly no bass - on average 36.8% lower than median
(±) | linearity of bass is average (9.8% delta to prev. frequency)
Mids 400 - 2000 Hz
(±) | higher mids - on average 5.7% higher than median
(±) | linearity of mids is average (8% delta to prev. frequency)
Highs 2 - 16 kHz
(+) | balanced highs - only 4.2% away from median
(+) | highs are linear (5.7% delta to prev. frequency)
Overall 100 - 16.000 Hz
(±) | linearity of overall sound is average (25.6% difference to median)
Compared to same class
» 60% of all tested devices in this class were better, 7% similar, 33% worse
» The best had a delta of 12%, average was 37%, worst was 134%
Compared to all devices tested
» 76% of all tested devices were better, 5% similar, 19% worse
» The best had a delta of 4%, average was 25%, worst was 134%
Battery life
| Battery Runtime - WiFi Websurfing | |
| Motorola Moto G35 | |
| Motorola Moto G34 | |
| Average of class Smartphone (476 - 3244, n=203, last 2 years) | |
| Samsung Galaxy A15 5G | |
| Xiaomi Redmi 13C | |
| HMD Pulse Pro | |
Pros
Cons
Verdict – An afffordable entertainment specalist with limitations
The Motorola Moto G35 offers many features you wouldn't necessarily expect to see in this price class: A premium case, for example, a very bright screen, fast storage, an ultra wide-angle camera and decent update promises of over three years.
The processor doesn't always allow for lag-free navigation through the system, and HDR presentation has problems both on Netflix and also at higher resolutions on YouTube. This is where you notice the budget price. You might have to accept a few limitations and tinker around now and again, but the Moto G35 proves itself to be a decent entertainer.
The camera can record 4K videos, as well as decent images whose details are often blurry. The battery runtimes are also sufficient to get you through a whole day of use, the speakers reproduce music and voices well, and the phone doesn't heat up that much, even after longer periods of load.
With the Motorola Moto G35, you get an HDR-capable device with a very bright screen for video and photo fun, as well as a flexible camera system, all for an inexpensive price. However, these capabilities are held back somewhat due to the slow SoC.
The preceding Moto G34 has a lower resolution screen but significantly better performance and currently enjoys big discounts. Likewise, you will get an ultra-wide-angle lens and good update promises from Samsung with the Galaxy A15.
Price and availability
At the time of testing, the Moto G35 is unavailable to purchase directly from both Amazon and Motorola.
Note: We have recently updated our rating system and the results of version 8 are not comparable with the results of version 7. More information is available here.
Motorola Moto G35
- 10/16/2024 v8
Florian Schmitt
Total Sustainability Score: 
Transparency
The selection of devices to be reviewed is made by our editorial team. The test sample was freely purchased by the author at his/her own expense. 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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