Motorola Moto E6 Plus Review: battery as a trick to compete in the entry range

During the past summer, rumors were going on about a possible Motorola input range model with the Helio P22 processor, and as IFA approached, the leaks intensified to such an extent that both the design and the majority were unveiled of characteristics of the successor of the Moto E5 Plus.


The fair held in Berlin was the stage chosen by the company to finally present the Moto E6 Plus, thus confirming all the features discussed so far. Among them, we find the aforementioned MediaTek processor, a 6.1-inch HD + screen and a double rear camera aligned vertically to the left. It has just gone on sale.

Attractive design with lights and shadows

With this phone, Motorola has continued the evolution in design that had already been experiencing the Moto E series and has reduced both the thickness and weight compared to the previous model. Of course, the bright plastic rear mirror finish is maintained, but it has opted for the drop-shaped notch instead of the upper frame and a vertically aligned rear camera instead of being housed in a circular module.

All this gives the Moto E6 Plus a certain premium look that, at least on the outside, differentiates it a bit from the input range. Although the oleophobic treatment is not very effective and the appearance of scratches is inevitable, it is attractive to the eye and feels light and ergonomic in the hand.

But if we talk about the design, we cannot overlook a differentiating aspect of the Moto E6 Plus: it is a removable rear. At this point, it is difficult for us to understand the decision to include a removable battery and, above all, to dispense with the card slot (Micro SIM + Nano SIM + Micro SD) to force us to disassemble the back cover every time we want to remove or insert some, something that is difficult even making a thorough use of the nails.

If you look at the screen, in addition to the aforementioned drop-shaped notch, we have tighter side frames that allow greater use of the front; The bottom is still thick. The 6.1-inch panel with HD + resolution offers a good visualization in general terms (even outdoors), with somewhat saturated colors but not in excess, a correct brightness level, and optimal viewing angles.

Unfortunately, beyond a night light mode, we barely have customization options, and in terms of touch response, it is not as accurate as we would like.

We now turn to the sound section, where the Moto E6 Plus has a single speaker at the bottom that does not deliver too much volume and, taken to the maximum, offers metallic audio that is somewhat unpleasant. By the way, it has a jack socket, but Motorola does not include headphones in the box.

Outstanding in the battery, suspense in performance

For the processor, Motorola has opted for MediaTek instead of Qualcomm and has equipped the Moto E6 Plus with an Helio P22. Although it is also available with 4 GB of RAM, the unit we have tested is the one that includes 2 GB. All this translates into a lower than expected performance, with usual stops when scrolling, an obvious lag and several sudden closures. And forget about playing demanding games, of course.

PROCESSOR
Motorola E6 PLUS	Helio P22
REDMI 6A	Helio A22
REDMI 7A	Snapdragon 439
LG K40	Helio P22
NOKIA 3.1 PLUS	Helio P22
Motorola G6 PLAY	Snapdragon 430
RAM
Motorola E6 PLUS	2 GB
REDMI 6A	2 GB
REDMI 7A	2 GB
LG K40	2 GB
NOKIA 3.1 PLUS	3GB
Motorola G6 PLAY	3GB
ANTUTU
Motorola E6 PLUS	76,697
REDMI 6A	63,219
REDMI 7A	74,187
LG K40	75,450
NOKIA 3.1 PLUS	68,383
Motorola G6 PLAY	57.547
GEEKBENCH
Motorola E6 PLUS	830 / 3,587
REDMI 6A	801 / 2,321
REDMI 7A	839 / 2,961
LG K40	753 / 3,350
NOKIA 3.1 PLUS	833 / 3,516
Motorola G6 PLAY	632 / 2,282

As for authentication systems, it has a fingerprint reader (located on the Motorola logo) and facial recognition. The first, without being precisely fast, is quite effective, but the second has failed several times (especially in low light) and is very slow.

In the software section, there are no surprises. We are facing a mobile with Android 9 Pie in-stock version and the security patch of August 2019. This is a disadvantage in terms of customization options and tools, but in return, we will enjoy a clean and pure Android experience with all the virtues of version 9, without bloatware or duplicate apps that overload the system. Of the 32 GB of storage available, we have a little more than 25 GB of free start and, also, we can use a Micro SD card of up to 512 GB to expand it.

Regarding to battery, it fulfills what it promises: it exceeds 8 hours of screen with a full charge and offers 24 hours of duration with medium use, or what is the same, navigate from time to time, use the applications of Messaging and social networks, watch the odd video, take several photos and receive some calls.

Of course, it has a micro USB port (instead of USB-C) to recharge and it takes almost 4 hours to spend 0 to 100% of energy with the 5 W charger that comes standard. To give you an idea, in our tests we have verified that you get around a 14% charge every 30 minutes.

Cameras of the input range

We go now with the photographic section, where we find an 8-megapixel front camera with f / 2.0 aperture and a rear camera with two 13 and 2-megapixel sensors. To this we must add Motorola's application, intuitive and with shortcuts to the main functions, but which in our tests has proved to be quite slow.

And how do these cameras behave at the moment of truth? If we start from the rear, it offers acceptable results in favorable lighting conditions, although dynamic range management is not all the good it should. Interestingly, in some shots, the colors are somewhat saturated, while in others, they are too flat. Autofocus is fast but usually fails over short distances.

At night, the thing changes: the focus becomes erratic, it takes longer for the camera to process the image and a lot of noise appears. That slowness in processing, we have also observed when we activate the HDR, blur the background or apply the beauty effect.

As for those last two options (the background blur and the beautifier), it is appreciated that Motorola has included dedicated shooting modes with the possibility of adjusting them to taste. Taken to the maximum, as usual, they are quite artificial, but they play a lot.

Something similar happens with the front camera: the results are optimal and show a good level of detail, although it tends to overexpose the skies, especially when we make use of the background blur. In this case, the possibility of achieving a selfie with an adjustable bokeh effect in the mobile of this category is something that is added, although it is not too precise in the contours of the subject.

Also, the front camera has a Beauty mode in which we can adjust to our liking three parameters: skin softening, brightness and pinkish tone. And we must recognize that even taking the three to the maximum, the result favors a lot, as long as the light conditions are optimal.

At night, the quality of the self-portraits falls dramatically: without flash, the noise level is exaggerated and using the screen flash, we managed to save the scene, but the lack of detail and background noise are also evident.

In short, considering that it is an input range model, we have two cameras (front and front) that behave satisfactorily during the day. At night, they can cause more than one disappointment (especially the rear) and the slowness of the image processing will get desperate many times, but it is appreciated that Motorola offers us an effective HDR and the option to play with the bokeh effect and the beautifier.

Conclusion

Once we have clear its limits as an input range phone of 155 dollars, the Moto E6 Plus is attractive and comfortable when used with one hand, offers a good display and has a battery that will give us enough joys in what battery is refers (not the loading speed). The performance is below expected, at least, in the test unit with 2 GB of RAM that we have had. In this sense, it is advisable to spend 22 dollars more and, for 177 dollars, get the model of 4 GB of RAM and 64 GB of storage.

In addition, as long as we do not use digital zoom and have patience with image processing, the front, and rear cameras behave correctly during the day (not so much at night, as we have seen) and allow us to play with the background blur, the HDR and beauty mode, something that is appreciated in this category.

However, there are some details that we have trouble understanding. In the first place, Motorola has opted for a removable battery and a micro USB connector, two aspects that, added to the fact that one of the slots is micro SIM, inevitably remind us of phones of yesteryear. If we add that the Moto E6 Plus does not have NFC and comes with a case but without headphones, we seem somewhat high that 155 dollars and we think it is complicated to compete in this price range with those lacks.

In favor

• Good screen display.
• Pure Android experience without bloatware.
• Excessive autonomy to overcome the day.

Against

Overall performance (2 GB of RAM ...).
With micro USB and without NFC.
Excessive charging time.