Motorola Moto G82 5G smartphone review: OLED, optical image stabilization and large battery

The Moto smartphone is relatively light and also somewhat more compact than other smartphones in this class, but still probably too big for small hands. The case is made of PMMA, a plastic also known as Plexiglas. It appears very sturdy and can hardly be twisted, but cracks under strongly applied pressure. 

Thanks to the rounded glass edges on the back, the smartphone feels good to use and looks quite modern with its relatively straight sides. But the transition between various surface materials is noticeable when handling the device. Colors come in dark gray or a creamy white, and both are decorated with a delicate dot pattern on the back. Unfortunately, our gray test device proves rather susceptible to fingerprints. 

The Moto G82 5G has an IP52 rating, which translates to protection against dust. However, in terms of protection against liquids, the smartphone is certified as only water resistant (and not waterproof), so it should not be immersed in water.

The card reader can handle micro-SD cards up to 1 TB. However, in order to use this feature, users have to give up one of the two SIM slots. 

Under testing with our Angelbird AV Pro V60 microSD reference card, speeds prove to be average.

The Moto G82 offers Wi-Fi 5 as the fastest Wi-Fi standard. Under testing with our Asus ROG AXE11000 reference router, the smartphone achieves decent transfer rates, but the OnePlus Nord CE 2 is significantly faster overall. Transfer rates are very stable both when sending and receiving.

Of course, 5G (the latest mobile standard) is installed, and 5G standalone can also be used. Many 4G frequencies are available, so the phone can be used for mobile internet access in large number of countries.

During our review, we also randomly tested the reception quality of the smartphone and compared it with various high-end phones from our database. Indeed, the Moto G82 has strong reception, even indoors.

Here, Google's phone app is used, which is tidily designed and is also used by many other manufacturers, so adjustment to the use of the Moto G82 should be unproblematic.

It is advisable to use the earpiece than the inbuilt loudspeaker when making calls: The earpiece sounds quite clear and the microphone picks up our voice quite clearly, as long as you speak fairly loudly. You should also not speak too quietly when making calls via the hands-free module and the loudspeaker, otherwise the receiver will not hear anything. Moreover, the loudspeaker also sounds very muffled and reproduces sound with audible noise at maximum volume.

In laboratory testing, the camera produces average sharpnesss and has problems with some color transitions, but the contrast is satisfactory.

Upon purchase, buyers receive a charger, a USB cable, a SIM tool and a silicone bumper.

Motorola's online accessories store is less well-stocked and mainly offers accessories for older devices. We were unable to find any accessories for the Moto G82 in its German store.

The manufacturer offers a 24-month warranty for its smartphone in Germany. This may vary from country to country, so be sure to check with your supplier before purchasing. 

Qualcomm's Adreno 619 is the graphics unit of choice for the Moto G82 5G. Our review sample is also on par with the competition here, but the OnePlus Nord CE 2 offers a little more power.

Our review device performs quite well in terms of web browsing. Websites are loaded quickly, while photos take a short moment to load every now and then.

The internal UFS storage is not the fastest for this price range, but fast enough for everyday use. Load times and speeds for data transfers are on a medium level.

Maximum temperatures during high load are at the usual level. Accordingly, the Moto G82 may become uncomfortably warm in high ambient temperatures.

In everyday use, the smartphone runs stably and without performance losses even during prolonged load, as evidenced by the 3DMark stress tests.

Although Motorola specifies that stereo speakers are installed in the Moto G82 5G, the upper speaker is actually the earpiece. This is not nearly as loud as the actual speaker, so the stereo effect is not as pronounced. In general, the sound quality is quite good, and the speakers do not sound distorted even at maximum volume. Lastly, the speakers don't sound as muffled during music as during calls.

A nice aspect is the 3.5 mm jack. Those who already have wireless headphones can use a variety of current codecs via Bluetooth, including aptX TWS+ and LHDC v3.

The power consumption behavior of the Moto G82 is rather normal for a smartphone in its price range, and the slightly larger screen doesn't seem to cause any increase in consumption either. 

The smartphone can be charged with a maximum of 30 watts, which is supplied by the included power adapter. Total charging times amount to around 1 hour. If you have less time, 10 minutes of charging will bring you a few hours of use. 

The 5,000 mAh battery of the Motorola Moto G82 packs a punch compared to other smartphones in this price range. Interestingly, the Moto G82 still remains a fairly light smartphone despite the large battery.

We recorded superb battery runtimes of 17 hours in our Wi-Fi tests. Users can thus reasonably expect two workdays of normal use. Overall, the Moto smartphone offers very good, but not record-breaking stamina.

As stated at the beginning of this review, the Motorola Moto G82 5G was only recently released, so availability still remains sporadic. Buyers are thus advised to check directly on Motorola's website via their location, a list of which can be accessed here. After clicking on your country of purchase, simply type Moto G82 5G in the search bar. We found, for example, that the smartphone is already available in the UK, India, Brazil and Malaysia (this list is not exhaustive).