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MagyarMotorola Moto G84 5G smartphone review – Bright OLED & lots of storage for under US$350
While last year was spent by Motorola expanding its expensive Edge series, this year, the manufacturer has released a new top model of its mid-range Moto G: The Moto G84 costs about US$320 and comes with a lot of storage and a bright OLED screen. Visually, Motorola has continued to take a leaf out of Pantone's book, selecting three different tones to choose from.
However, there are a lot of high-quality competitors active in this price range: Aside from the top dogs such as Samsung and Xiaomi, competitors also include OnePlus and the resurgent Honor. This won't make it easy for the Motorola Moto G84 to set itself apart from the rest, but it has certainly made a good start. Now, let's take a closer look at the mid-range phone.
Possible competitors compared
Rating | Date | Model | Weight | Drive | Size | Resolution | Best Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 82.2 % | 11/2023 | Motorola Moto G84 SD 695 5G, Adreno 619 | 166.8 g | 256 GB UFS 2.2 Flash | 6.50" | 2400x1080 | |
| 81.4 % | 06/2023 | OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite 5G SD 695 5G, Adreno 619 | 195 g | 128 GB UFS 2.2 Flash | 6.72" | 2400x1080 | |
| 81.4 % | 05/2023 | Xiaomi Poco X5 SD 695 5G, Adreno 619 | 190 g | 128 GB UFS 2.2 Flash | 6.67" | 2400x1080 | |
| 78.5 % | 06/2023 | Honor X8a Helio G88, Mali-G52 MP2 | 179 g | 128 GB eMMC Flash | 6.70" | 2388x1080 | |
| 84.9 % | 04/2023 | Samsung Galaxy A34 5G Dimensity 1080, Mali-G68 MP4 | 199 g | 128 GB UFS 2.2 Flash | 6.60" | 2340x1080 |
Case – Lightweight, slim and with faux leather
When you open the Motorola Moto G84's box, you are met with the still relatively new Motorola scent which supposedly adds to the experience on the manufacturer's top-of-the-range models. The scent won't please everyone — but at least it is kept within the Moto G84's box (unlike with the Razr and Edge models) and in general, the scent isn't quite as strong.
The phone's design, which has slightly more pronounced polished corners, looks great. Thanks to its slim build and slightly smaller 6.5-inch screen, the Motorola phone can be held easily, even if you have smaller hands. Weighing in at about 167 grams, the Moto G84 is quite lightweight.
Color variants include Marshmallow Blue (a subtle blue that looks a bit more like a light gray), Midnight Blue (which looks rather dark gray) and Vivid Magenta (a light red, almost pink color). On the light blue and magenta phones, the back is covered with faux leather and the dark gray phone's back is smooth.
The phone isn't water or dust proof — it is only water-resistant to a certain extent.
Connectivity – Storage abundance
With 12 GB RAM and 256 GB of storage, the manufacturer has shown itself to be rather generous when it comes to the Moto G84 — most of the time, you have to make do with far less within this price range.
NFC is also on board, meaning you can read tags and use mobile payment services such as Google Pay. Users of wired headphones can also look forward to a classic audio jack: The Moto G84 features this kind of connection, meaning you won't need an adapter.
Its USB-C port is only connected via USB 2.0 internally, which means wired image output to an external screen isn't possible. Via the apps Moto Connect or Ready For, you can connect to a display using WiFi, and you can even make use of the phone's designated desktop mode.
You can either put two Nano SIMs or one microSD card and one SIM into the phone's card slot. It doesn't support eSIMs.
microSD card reader
Its microSD reader proved to be very fast in our benchmarks using the reference card Angelbird AV Pro V60 — both in the copying test and the CPDT benchmark. This is another good and fast way to store data besides its ample internal storage.
| SD Card Reader - average JPG Copy Test (av. of 3 runs) | |
| Motorola Moto G84 (Angelbird V60) | |
| Samsung Galaxy A34 5G (Angelbird AV Pro V60) | |
| Xiaomi Poco X5 (Angelbird AV Pro V60) | |
| OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite 5G (Angelbird V60) | |
Cross Platform Disk Test (CPDT)
Software – Stock Android, but with sponsored apps
Motorola uses Android 13 on its smartphone and barely changes the user interface. All the important functions are bundled together in the Moto app and safety settings are located within the Moto Secure app.
The latest safety patch was from August 2023, meaning that at the time of testing, it was still just about up to date. The Moto G84 is supposed to be supplied with safety updates for 3 years, so until September 2026. The phone will definitely still see Android 14 but Motorola hasn't given any information on further operating systems.
The phone comes with quite a few third-party apps pre-installed but thankfully, they can be uninstalled quite easily.
Communication and GNSS – WiFi 5 with stable rates
The Motorola Moto G84 features WiFi 5 as its fastest WLAN standard and as a result, it is in good company within this price class. Its speeds between 319 and 358 MBit/s can be held very consistently. Although it can't quite make total use of a Gigabit line and it can't connect to the 6-GHz frequency, the Motorola phone still achieves good transfer rates when compared to other phones within this price class.
The phone is also 5G enabled. It has access to a lot of frequency bands, which means you can also connect to the web on your travels. Unfortunately, the Moto G84 isn't a true world phone, as quite a few more exotic frequency bands are missing — especially when it comes to 4G.
We regularly checked its reception quality during our test and compared it with high-end phones. The Moto G84 did a good job in this aspect, only occasionally did you see a bar less on the reception display than on the more expensive smartphones.
| Networking | |
| Motorola Moto G84 | |
| iperf3 receive AXE11000 |
|
| iperf3 transmit AXE11000 |
|
| OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite 5G | |
| iperf3 receive AXE11000 |
|
| iperf3 transmit AXE11000 |
|
| Xiaomi Poco X5 | |
| iperf3 receive AXE11000 |
|
| iperf3 transmit AXE11000 |
|
| Honor X8a | |
| iperf3 receive AXE11000 |
|
| iperf3 transmit AXE11000 |
|
| Samsung Galaxy A34 5G | |
| iperf3 receive AXE11000 |
|
| iperf3 transmit AXE11000 |
|
| Average of class Smartphone | |
| iperf3 receive AXE11000 |
|
| iperf3 transmit AXE11000 |
|
The positioning module supports a variety of satellite networks, but not SBAS for even more precise locating. As a result, the phone's accuracy remains within 3 metres, which is achieved very quickly when you step outside with the phone.
To provide an even more accurate practical analysis, we took the phone with us on a bike trip. We also strapped the Garmin Venu 2 to our wrist to compare — this is a smartwatch with extremely precise location services.
Both of the recorded routes were very similar, never showed us as riding through impassable terrain and they both impressed with their high accuracies. As a result, we would recommend the Moto G84 for navigation purposes that require a high level of accuracy.
Telephone features and call quality
Motorola uses Google's standard app, which should feel familiar to users of lots of other phone manufacturers.
Call quality when you hold the phone up to your ear is good — the person on the other end of the line sounds very present and our voice is transmitted well too, regardless of how quietly or loudly we speak. The sound feels a lot more distant and lacks body when you use the built-in speaker. The hands-free microphone works well and our voice is transmitted nicely.
Cameras – Flexible, featuring class-typical quality
The phone uses the Samsung Isocell S5KGN9 as a main camera sensor. It features a 50-megapixel resolution, but it mostly takes pictures in 12.5 MP — in doing so, it combines four pixels into one, which results in higher light yield.
Even so, our test photos appeared a little dark, lacking detail and very grainy. However, in view of the smartphone's price, the pictures are pretty decent.
Video can be recorded in a maximum of 1080p and at 60 fps. This is a step forward for this price range — usually, you only have access to 30 fps. The autofocus works quite quickly and reliably but sometimes, it makes itself known through a flickering display that can also be seen in the recordings.
We like that the Moto G84 features an 8-MP wide-angle lens that can also be used as a macro camera. This results in quite a flexible camera system, especially since there is a hybrid zoom between the wide-angle and main camera, but it shows very clearly when the lens is changed. In terms of detail, the pictures from the wide-angle camera are rather mediocre, so you shouldn't enlarge them too much.
The front-facing camera has a 16-megapixel resolution and takes quite detailed selfies in bright light, however, they could do with having a bit nicer dynamics.
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 flowerMain camera surroundingsMain camera low lightWide-angle lens
In very bright light in our test lab, the picture taken on the main camera almost looks a bit overexposed, and the sharpness also clearly decreases towards the edges. At 1 lux illuminance, the subject is still roughly recognizable, but the image is hardly usable when you take a more detailed look at it.
Scope of delivery and warranty – Lots included
The Motorola Moto G84 actually already comes with a silicone bumper, so you don't have to buy one separately. It also comes with a charger and a corresponding USB cable.
Motorola offers a 12-month warranty on its phones. If you want extra insurance covering broken displays and accidental damage, then you should look into getting Moto Care for 1-3 years. However, you can also find this sort of cover from lots of other providers nowadays.
Input devices & operation – A fast fingerprint sensor
Thanks to its 120-Hz screen, the Moto G84's touchscreen reacts really quickly to inputs. It remains sensitive right up to the corners.
Its fingerprint scanner is situated behind the screen, meaning it isn't visible from the outside. It recognises learned fingerprints really reliably and opens the phone quickly. The phone also supports facial recognition — this also works reliably. The phone can be unlocked the quickest when you make use of both biometric options.
Display – A great display for the price
Motorola has given this phone an OLED display with an enhanced 1080p resolution and a refresh rate of up to 120 Hz. It's really bright, especially when you consider the price of the smartphone: We measured an average of 889 cd/m² using the highest setting with the brightness sensor illuminated. Small areas (APL18) get even brighter — up to 1,230 nits.
This means that nothing stands in the way of the phone depicting HDR content, but Motorola hasn't given it an official certification. Even so, the app DRM Info shows that it supports HDR10 and HLG.
We measured some PWM flickering, so sensitive users should definitely try out the screen before purchasing the device.
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Brightness Distribution: 94 %
Center on Battery: 894 cd/m²
Contrast: ∞:1 (Black: 0 cd/m²)
ΔE Color 1.1 | 0.5-29.43 Ø5
ΔE Greyscale 3 | 0.57-98 Ø5.3
146.4% sRGB (Calman 2D)
Gamma: 2.252
| Motorola Moto G84 P-OLED, 2400x1080, 6.50 | OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite 5G IPS, 2400x1080, 6.72 | Xiaomi Poco X5 AMOLED, 2400x1080, 6.67 | Honor X8a IPS, 2388x1080, 6.70 | Samsung Galaxy A34 5G Super AMOLED, 2340x1080, 6.60 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Screen | -94% | -27% | -16% | -22% | |
| Brightness middle | 894 | 672 -25% | 674 -25% | 492 -45% | 922 3% |
| Brightness | 889 | 656 -26% | 683 -23% | 481 -46% | 930 5% |
| Brightness Distribution | 94 | 90 -4% | 98 4% | 94 0% | 98 4% |
| Black Level * | 0.39 | 0.38 | |||
| Colorchecker dE 2000 * | 1.1 | 3.88 -253% | 1.6 -45% | 1.32 -20% | 2.5 -127% |
| Colorchecker dE 2000 max. * | 2.81 | 7.89 -181% | 5.3 -89% | 3.37 -20% | 3.6 -28% |
| Greyscale dE 2000 * | 3 | 5.2 -73% | 2.5 17% | 1.9 37% | 2.7 10% |
| Gamma | 2.252 98% | 2.218 99% | 2.21 100% | 2.194 100% | 2.09 105% |
| CCT | 7122 91% | 7734 84% | 6346 102% | 6288 103% | 6661 98% |
| Contrast | 1723 | 1295 |
* ... smaller is better
Screen Flickering / PWM (Pulse-Width Modulation)
| Screen flickering / PWM detected | 90 Hz |  | |
The display backlight flickers at 90 Hz (worst case, e.g., utilizing PWM) . The frequency of 90 Hz is very low, so the flickering may cause eyestrain and headaches after extended use. In comparison: 53 % of all tested devices do not use PWM to dim the display. If PWM was detected, an average of 17900 (minimum: 5 - maximum: 3846000) Hz was measured. | |||
Measurement series with fixed zoom level and different brightness settings
In our tests using the software CalMAN, we measured a slight blue tint that is perceptible with the naked eye — apart from this, the display's color depiction using the mode "natural" is good all-in-all, meaning it should be possible to use it in a professional setting.
Its reaction speeds are very fast, which also makes the display well-suited for gamers.
Display Response Times
| ↔ Response Time Black to White | ||
|---|---|---|
| 0.8 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined | ↗ 0.4 ms rise |  |
| ↘ 0.4 ms fall | ||
| The screen shows very fast response rates in our tests and should be very well suited for fast-paced gaming. In comparison, all tested devices range from 0.1 (minimum) to 240 (maximum) ms. » 1 % of all devices are better. This means that the measured response time is better than the average of all tested devices (21.5 ms). | ||
| ↔ Response Time 50% Grey to 80% Grey | ||
| 1 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined | ↗ 0.5 ms rise |  |
| ↘ 0.5 ms fall | ||
| The screen shows very fast response rates in our tests and should be very well suited for fast-paced gaming. In comparison, all tested devices range from 0.2 (minimum) to 636 (maximum) ms. » 1 % of all devices are better. This means that the measured response time is better than the average of all tested devices (33.7 ms). | ||
Outdoors, the phone does a good job — in direct sunlight, the screen still remains somewhat legible.
If you look at the screen from the side, you will notice a slight change in brightness, but it always remains legible.
Performance – Speedy, but not for AI
The Qualcomm Snapdragon 695 that Motorola has installed into our test device is the real star among the 2023 mid-range smartphones: You can also find it in the OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite and the Xiaomi Poco X5, for example.
In terms of performance, the Motorola Moto G84 knows how to impress for its price class — however, according to our benchmarks, AI computing is not its strength. Even so, the system generally performs quite smoothly — at times, we just noted some short loading times and dropped frames when running more demanding apps.
| UL Procyon AI Inference for Android - Overall Score NNAPI | |
| Samsung Galaxy A34 5G | |
| Average of class Smartphone (207 - 84787, n=150, last 2 years) | |
| Average Qualcomm Snapdragon 695 5G (5442 - 9348, n=15) | |
| Xiaomi Poco X5 | |
| Motorola Moto G84 | |
| OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite 5G | |
| AImark - Score v3.x | |
| Average of class Smartphone (298 - 245629, n=105, last 2 years) | |
| Samsung Galaxy A34 5G | |
| OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite 5G | |
| Average Qualcomm Snapdragon 695 5G (426 - 3080, n=7) | |
| Motorola Moto G84 | |
If you would like to render 4K or 1,440p content on this smartphone in the future, then the Motorola Moto G84 simply features too little power. Still, it completed the 1080p benchmarks relatively smoothly, apart from during very demanding tasks.
GFXBench (DX / GLBenchmark) 2.7: T-Rex Onscreen | 1920x1080 T-Rex Offscreen
GFXBench 3.0: on screen Manhattan Onscreen OGL | 1920x1080 1080p Manhattan Offscreen
GFXBench 3.1: on screen Manhattan ES 3.1 Onscreen | 1920x1080 Manhattan ES 3.1 Offscreen
GFXBench: on screen Car Chase Onscreen | 1920x1080 Car Chase Offscreen | on screen Aztec Ruins High Tier Onscreen | 2560x1440 Aztec Ruins High Tier Offscreen | on screen Aztec Ruins Normal Tier Onscreen | 1920x1080 Aztec Ruins Normal Tier Offscreen | 3840x2160 4K Aztec Ruins High Tier Offscreen
| 3DMark / Wild Life Extreme Unlimited | |
| Samsung Galaxy A34 5G | |
| OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite 5G | |
| Motorola Moto G84 | |
| Honor X8a | |
| 3DMark / Wild Life Extreme | |
| Samsung Galaxy A34 5G | |
| Motorola Moto G84 | |
| OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite 5G | |
| Honor X8a | |
| 3DMark / Wild Life Unlimited Score | |
| Samsung Galaxy A34 5G | |
| OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite 5G | |
| Motorola Moto G84 | |
| Honor X8a | |
| 3DMark / Wild Life Score | |
| Samsung Galaxy A34 5G | |
| OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite 5G | |
| Motorola Moto G84 | |
| Honor X8a | |
| 3DMark / Sling Shot Extreme (Vulkan) Unlimited Physics | |
| Samsung Galaxy A34 5G | |
| Motorola Moto G84 | |
| 3DMark / Sling Shot Extreme (Vulkan) Unlimited Graphics | |
| Samsung Galaxy A34 5G | |
| Motorola Moto G84 | |
| 3DMark / Sling Shot Extreme (Vulkan) Unlimited | |
| Samsung Galaxy A34 5G | |
| Motorola Moto G84 | |
| 3DMark / Sling Shot Extreme (ES 3.1) Unlimited Physics | |
| Samsung Galaxy A34 5G | |
| Motorola Moto G84 | |
| Xiaomi Poco X5 | |
| Honor X8a | |
| 3DMark / Sling Shot Extreme (ES 3.1) Unlimited Graphics | |
| Samsung Galaxy A34 5G | |
| Xiaomi Poco X5 | |
| Motorola Moto G84 | |
| Honor X8a | |
| 3DMark / Sling Shot Extreme (ES 3.1) Unlimited | |
| Samsung Galaxy A34 5G | |
| Motorola Moto G84 | |
| Xiaomi Poco X5 | |
| Honor X8a | |
| GFXBench (DX / GLBenchmark) 2.7 / T-Rex Onscreen | |
| Samsung Galaxy A34 5G | |
| Motorola Moto G84 | |
| Xiaomi Poco X5 | |
| OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite 5G | |
| Honor X8a | |
| GFXBench (DX / GLBenchmark) 2.7 / T-Rex Offscreen | |
| Samsung Galaxy A34 5G | |
| OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite 5G | |
| Xiaomi Poco X5 | |
| Motorola Moto G84 | |
| Honor X8a | |
| GFXBench 3.0 / Manhattan Onscreen OGL | |
| Samsung Galaxy A34 5G | |
| OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite 5G | |
| Xiaomi Poco X5 | |
| Motorola Moto G84 | |
| Honor X8a | |
| GFXBench 3.0 / 1080p Manhattan Offscreen | |
| Samsung Galaxy A34 5G | |
| OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite 5G | |
| Xiaomi Poco X5 | |
| Motorola Moto G84 | |
| Honor X8a | |
| GFXBench 3.1 / Manhattan ES 3.1 Onscreen | |
| Samsung Galaxy A34 5G | |
| OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite 5G | |
| Xiaomi Poco X5 | |
| Motorola Moto G84 | |
| Honor X8a | |
| GFXBench 3.1 / Manhattan ES 3.1 Offscreen | |
| Samsung Galaxy A34 5G | |
| OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite 5G | |
| Xiaomi Poco X5 | |
| Motorola Moto G84 | |
| Honor X8a | |
| GFXBench / Car Chase Onscreen | |
| Samsung Galaxy A34 5G | |
| Xiaomi Poco X5 | |
| OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite 5G | |
| Motorola Moto G84 | |
| Honor X8a | |
| GFXBench / Car Chase Offscreen | |
| Samsung Galaxy A34 5G | |
| Xiaomi Poco X5 | |
| OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite 5G | |
| Motorola Moto G84 | |
| Honor X8a | |
| GFXBench / Aztec Ruins High Tier Onscreen | |
| Samsung Galaxy A34 5G | |
| Xiaomi Poco X5 | |
| OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite 5G | |
| Motorola Moto G84 | |
| Honor X8a | |
| GFXBench / Aztec Ruins High Tier Offscreen | |
| Samsung Galaxy A34 5G | |
| Xiaomi Poco X5 | |
| OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite 5G | |
| Motorola Moto G84 | |
| Honor X8a | |
| GFXBench / Aztec Ruins Normal Tier Onscreen | |
| Samsung Galaxy A34 5G | |
| Xiaomi Poco X5 | |
| OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite 5G | |
| Motorola Moto G84 | |
| Honor X8a | |
| GFXBench / Aztec Ruins Normal Tier Offscreen | |
| Samsung Galaxy A34 5G | |
| Xiaomi Poco X5 | |
| OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite 5G | |
| Motorola Moto G84 | |
| Honor X8a | |
| GFXBench / 4K Aztec Ruins High Tier Offscreen | |
| Samsung Galaxy A34 5G | |
| Xiaomi Poco X5 | |
| OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite 5G | |
| Motorola Moto G84 | |
| Honor X8a | |
The Motorola Moto G84 allows you to navigate the web very smoothly — in all benchmarks, it came out on top. However, the newer browser version may also play a role here.
Even larger websites are loaded very quickly in everyday use and images are usually already depicted while you are scrolling.
| Jetstream 2 - Total Score | |
| Average of class Smartphone (13.8 - 351, n=173, last 2 years) | |
| Motorola Moto G84 (Chrome 118) | |
| OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite 5G (Chrome 114) | |
| Average Qualcomm Snapdragon 695 5G (48.6 - 105.3, n=19) | |
| Samsung Galaxy A34 5G (Chrome 111.0.5563.116) | |
| Xiaomi Poco X5 (Chrome 113) | |
| Speedometer 2.0 - Result | |
| Average of class Smartphone (14.9 - 445, n=157, last 2 years) | |
| Motorola Moto G84 (Chrome 118) | |
| Samsung Galaxy A34 5G (Chrome 111.0.5563.116) | |
| OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite 5G (Chome 114) | |
| Average Qualcomm Snapdragon 695 5G (38.7 - 80.1, n=16) | |
| Xiaomi Poco X5 (chrome 113) | |
| WebXPRT 4 - Overall | |
| Motorola Moto G84 (Chrome 118) | |
| Average of class Smartphone (22 - 202, n=160, last 2 years) | |
| OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite 5G (Chrome 114) | |
| Average Qualcomm Snapdragon 695 5G (58 - 111, n=18) | |
| Samsung Galaxy A34 5G (Chrome 111.0.5563.116) | |
| Xiaomi Poco X5 (Chrome 113) | |
| WebXPRT 3 - Overall | |
| Motorola Moto G84 (Chrome 118) | |
| Average of class Smartphone (39 - 304, n=122, last 2 years) | |
| Samsung Galaxy A34 5G (Chrome 111.0.5563.116) | |
| OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite 5G (Chrome 114) | |
| Average Qualcomm Snapdragon 695 5G (75 - 156, n=12) | |
| Octane V2 - Total Score | |
| Average of class Smartphone (4633 - 89112, n=213, last 2 years) | |
| Motorola Moto G84 (Chrome 118) | |
| Samsung Galaxy A34 5G (Chrome 111.0.5563.116) | |
| OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite 5G (Chrome 114) | |
| Average Qualcomm Snapdragon 695 5G (17849 - 31647, n=21) | |
| Xiaomi Poco X5 (Chrome 113) | |
| Honor X8a (Chrome 114) | |
| Mozilla Kraken 1.1 - Total | |
| Xiaomi Poco X5 (Chrome 113) | |
| Samsung Galaxy A34 5G (Chrome 111.0.5563.116) | |
| Average Qualcomm Snapdragon 695 5G (1298 - 2501, n=18) | |
| OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite 5G (Chrome 114) | |
| Average of class Smartphone (388 - 9999, n=173, last 2 years) | |
| Motorola Moto G84 (Chrome 118) | |
* ... smaller is better
Motorola has installed UFS 2.2 flash into this mid-range phone and in terms of speed, it came out about class-average: Data transfers are completed quite quickly and the loading times are bearable.
| Motorola Moto G84 | OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite 5G | Xiaomi Poco X5 | Honor X8a | Samsung Galaxy A34 5G | Average 256 GB UFS 2.2 Flash | Average of class Smartphone | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AndroBench 3-5 | -12% | -2% | -65% | 25% | 41% | 100% | |
| Sequential Read 256KB | 506.9 | 506.1 0% | 522.64 3% | 278.1 -45% | 887.41 75% | 926 ? 83% | 1508 ? 197% |
| Sequential Write 256KB | 511.5 | 466.6 -9% | 497.38 -3% | 224.2 -56% | 494.67 -3% | 696 ? 36% | 1118 ? 119% |
| Random Read 4KB | 195.8 | 162.5 -17% | 185.09 -5% | 61.6 -69% | 216.75 11% | 225 ? 15% | 247 ? 26% |
| Random Write 4KB | 174.7 | 134.9 -23% | 168.49 -4% | 18.7 -89% | 206.14 18% | 225 ? 29% | 272 ? 56% |
Games – 40 fps is possible
Now we want to see how well the Motorola Moto G84 is suited for gamers. To do so, we installed PUBG Mobile, Diablo: Immortal, and the software from GameBench which allows us to record the fps rates.
The results: You might not want to rely on getting more than 30 fps — when running PUBG, we achieved 40 fps but with very low details. Many games, such as Diablo, don't even allow you to choose a higher frame rate.
The phone is by no means a total gaming machine, but you can still play some more demanding games smoothly, as long as you keep your expectations in check.
Controlling games via the touchscreen and — depending on the game — the position sensor works very reliably.
Emissions – Barely any throttling on the Moto G84
Temperature
In our stress test, the Motorola reached temperatures up to 45.1 °C. As a result, we can say that it never reached any critical values, however, it should be noted that we took these measurements at room temperature. In the summer, these temperatures may well rise under longer periods of load.
In any case, the SoC seems to be unaffected by this and it even managed to achieve very similar results when running the same benchmark 20 times (3DMark stress test).
(±) The maximum temperature on the upper side is 44 °C / 111 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 45.1 °C / 113 F, compared to the average of 33.8 °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 32.7 °C / 91 F.
3DMark Wild Life Stress Test
| 3DMark | |
| Wild Life Stress Test Stability | |
| OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite 5G | |
| Motorola Moto G84 | |
| Samsung Galaxy A34 5G | |
| Honor X8a | |
| Wild Life Extreme Stress Test | |
| Samsung Galaxy A34 5G | |
| OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite 5G | |
| Motorola Moto G84 | |
| Honor X8a | |
Speakers
The speaker along the bottom edge of the case is supported by the earpiece, so slight stereo effects are created when the phone is held horizontally. Thanks to Dolby Atmos, virtual surround sound is also supported.
The speakers sometimes sound very treble-heavy when playing professionally mixed pop music at maximum volume: We almost felt physical pain once because the sounds boomed so unpleasantly in our ears.
When we lowered the volume just a bit, the speakers didn't sound much better, but it at least no longer felt unpleasant. You can listen to speech and music quite well at medium sound levels.
The 3.5 mm jack for external speakers and headphones as well as the possibility to connect wireless devices via Bluetooth are both features we are happy to see. We like that Motorola supports almost all current wireless audio codecs, so listening to HiRes music on external devices is no problem.
Motorola Moto G84 audio analysis
(+) | speakers can play relatively loud (82 dB)
Bass 100 - 315 Hz
(-) | nearly no bass - on average 30.2% lower than median
(±) | linearity of bass is average (8.5% delta to prev. frequency)
Mids 400 - 2000 Hz
(+) | balanced mids - only 4.2% away from median
(+) | mids are linear (6.9% delta to prev. frequency)
Highs 2 - 16 kHz
(+) | balanced highs - only 2.2% away from median
(+) | highs are linear (4.7% delta to prev. frequency)
Overall 100 - 16.000 Hz
(±) | linearity of overall sound is average (20.6% difference to median)
Compared to same class
» 29% of all tested devices in this class were better, 9% similar, 62% worse
» The best had a delta of 12%, average was 38%, worst was 134%
Compared to all devices tested
» 50% of all tested devices were better, 8% similar, 42% worse
» The best had a delta of 4%, average was 25%, worst was 134%
Samsung Galaxy A34 5G audio analysis
(+) | speakers can play relatively loud (90.4 dB)
Bass 100 - 315 Hz
(-) | nearly no bass - on average 24.3% lower than median
(+) | bass is linear (6.6% delta to prev. frequency)
Mids 400 - 2000 Hz
(±) | reduced mids - on average 7.3% lower than median
(+) | mids are linear (5% delta to prev. frequency)
Highs 2 - 16 kHz
(±) | higher highs - on average 5% higher than median
(+) | highs are linear (2.3% delta to prev. frequency)
Overall 100 - 16.000 Hz
(±) | linearity of overall sound is average (18.1% difference to median)
Compared to same class
» 11% of all tested devices in this class were better, 8% similar, 81% worse
» The best had a delta of 12%, average was 38%, worst was 134%
Compared to all devices tested
» 33% of all tested devices were better, 8% similar, 59% worse
» The best had a delta of 4%, average was 25%, worst was 134%
Battery life – Charging at up to 30 watts
Power consumption
The Moto G84 isn't totally frugal under low load, but at least its maximum consumption is held within limits. Other, similarly priced devices consume more power than our test phone in total.
The Motorola phone can be charged at a maximum of 30 watts. This means it sometimes takes 2 hours until the device shows 100% again, at least when the battery was quite empty before. Our test device does not support wireless charging.
| Off / Standby |   0.1 / 0.2 Watt |
| Idle |  1 / 1.3 / 1.4 Watt |
| Load |
3.5 / 5 Watt |
    
| |
| Motorola Moto G84 5000 mAh | OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite 5G 5000 mAh | Xiaomi Poco X5 5000 mAh | Samsung Galaxy A34 5G 5000 mAh | Average Qualcomm Snapdragon 695 5G | Average of class Smartphone | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Power Consumption | -16% | -1% | -11% | -16% | -29% | |
| Idle Minimum * | 1 | 1.1 -10% | 0.96 4% | 0.69 31% | 0.886 ? 11% | 0.897 ? 10% |
| Idle Average * | 1.3 | 1.5 -15% | 1.49 -15% | 1.61 -24% | 1.76 ? -35% | 1.452 ? -12% |
| Idle Maximum * | 1.4 | 1.7 -21% | 1.53 -9% | 1.66 -19% | 1.92 ? -37% | 1.629 ? -16% |
| Load Average * | 3.5 | 4.1 -17% | 3.52 -1% | 4.01 -15% | 3.86 ? -10% | 5.55 ? -59% |
| Load Maximum * | 5 | 5.8 -16% | 4.32 14% | 6.5 -30% | 5.45 ? -9% | 8.31 ? -66% |
* ... smaller is better
Power consumption: Geekbench (150 cd/m²)
Power consumption: GFXBench (150 cd/m²)
Runtimes
The Moto G84's battery has a capacity of 5,000 mAh, making it about the same as its competitors. Our test device proved to have quite a lot of stamina, with runtimes of 15:08 hours in our WLAN test. In everyday use, you should be able to go 2 days without needing to charge the device.
If you like to play games on your phone, then you can expect to be able to do this for up to 4:37 hours if you are playing a demanding game. After this, you'll need to connect your phone to the charger again.
| Motorola Moto G84 5000 mAh | OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite 5G 5000 mAh | Xiaomi Poco X5 5000 mAh | Honor X8a 4500 mAh | Samsung Galaxy A34 5G 5000 mAh | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Battery Runtime | 3% | -14% | 2% | 35% | |
| Reader / Idle | 1997 | 2165 8% | 1482 -26% | 2975 49% | |
| H.264 | 1002 | 1029 3% | 896 -11% | 1363 36% | |
| WiFi v1.3 | 908 | 986 9% | 662 -27% | 927 2% | 1024 13% |
| Load | 277 | 254 -8% | 304 10% | 395 43% |
Pros
Cons
Verdict – The Moto G84 with lots of features for a low price
The Motorola Moto G84 offers a lot for its price: For US$320, you get a whole load of storage, a relatively flexible camera system, a bright display with good color accuracy, good runtimes, and stock Android with 3 years of safety patches.
The phone is slim and quite lightweight — plus, it looks great. In addition, it also supports the feature Ready For, a desktop interface which can be used when connected wirelessly to external devices. This makes the phone even more versatile and you can even use it as a replacement for a PC.
For audiophiles, the Motorola Moto G84 is a bit of a double-edged sword: Its speakers certainly won't make enthusiasts very happy — but on the other hand, it supports almost all current wireless audio codecs, and if needed, this even includes virtual surround sound using Dolby Atmos.
Lots is impressive, a variety of things are class-standard, there is little to criticize: For US$320, you get the Motorola Moto G84, an extensive total package featuring lots of storage.
Within this price-range, the Samsung Galaxy A34 features a similarly bright OLED display, and its WLAN is even a bit faster. If you have issues with PWM, then take a closer look at the OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite. It features a fast IPS screen.
Price and availability
The Motorola Moto G84 can currently be found at online retailers like Amazon. It has an MRSP of around US$320.
Motorola Moto G84
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10/31/2023 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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