Motorola Moto G22 review: light and shadow

At the end of March, Motorola introduced the Moto G22, a new entry-level smartphone for a recommended retail price of EUR 169,99. It should particularly impress with its 50 megapixel quadruple camera, the 90 Hertz display and the huge battery capacity of 5.000 mAh.

We have now tested the Motorola Moto G22 extensively over the past few weeks and you can find out in this test report whether it was not only convincing on paper, but also in everyday use.

Haptics, design & processing

The Motorola Moto G22 is a large smartphone that can no longer be operated with one hand in many situations, which is the case with almost all smartphones in this price range. At 8,49 millimeters, it is neither particularly thick nor thin, and the weight of 185 grams is perfectly acceptable considering the size of the case and the huge 5.000 mAh battery.

The frame is made of plastic, which is almost resistant to fingerprints due to the matte coating. Similar to the current iPhones, the frame of the Moto G22 is very angular and flat, which is why the device is actually a bit sharp-edged in the hand, but for an entry-level smartphone I don't want to complain here. The back is also made of matte plastic, which feels very comfortable considering the price and doesn't let fingerprints stand out too much. In terms of colors, customers have three beautiful colors to choose from with black, white and blue, all of which are matt. I got the blue variant to test, which I'm very happy about. It is a beautiful light blue, which always shimmers slightly differently depending on the incidence of light. Together with the Motorola logo placed in the middle and the cameras, which I think are nicely arranged in the left corner, we are dealing with an elegant entry-level smartphone with the Moto G22.

If we turn the smartphone around, we see a large display that is only interrupted by a recess that accommodates the front camera. Of course, the hole could be a little smaller, but it never bothered me in everyday life. The edges around the screen are definitely not the thinnest, but what can you expect from a smartphone that costs 170 euros. Even Realme is no better here.

In terms of workmanship, the Moto G22 does a solid job. The case makes a well-made impression and the keys have a good pressure point, but they could have been a little further down.

Display - average

The elongated LC display with a 20:9 aspect ratio measures 6,5 inches diagonally and has a relatively low resolution of 1.600 x 720 pixels. On closer inspection, individual pixels can definitely be seen, which shouldn't be the case in 2022. Realme, Redmi, Poco and the in-house G31 have a visibly higher resolution of 1.080p. After all, the screen supports a smooth refresh rate of 90 Hertz, which is commendable in this price range, but is hardly noticeable due to the weak performance.

The recess could be a bit smaller, but it never bothered me during everyday use. (Picture: TechnikNews)

Colors are reproduced a little too strongly and the black and contrast values ​​could of course be better, but the white value is impressive in return. The viewing angle stability is okay and you can also get by with the brightness. It could of course be even brighter and on sunny days the readability becomes almost impossible, but for most situations and considering the price, the maximum brightness is sufficient.

Software - Material You

As software comes with Material you based on Android 12 the same software as the Google Pixel 6 for use. The biggest change compared to stock Android 11 is certainly the new notification bar. The buttons for the controls (e.g. bluetooth, internet or flashlight) are now much larger and can be colored to match the background image used, which I'm a big fan of. Furthermore, the app grid can finally be freely configured, which I have always criticized before. The settings have also been changed slightly and Google and Motorola have decorated the gesture control and the entire system with even nicer animations.

Unfortunately, there are also a few points about Material You that I think are completely illogical. If you disable dark mode, the control panel area (above the notification panel) remains black. Also, the brightness slider is way too high up so I have to constantly reach for it, and the Internet panel includes both Wi-Fi and cellular, which I find a bit awkward. As with all other smartphones, I would have liked to see two separate control fields for this.

Performance – unfortunately very weak

Under the hood is the Helio G37 from MediaTek, which is supported by 4 GB of RAM. There is 64 GB of internal storage, which can be expanded using a microSD card.

The Proprocessor or the performance is my biggest criticism of the Motorola Moto G22. Apps start and close quite slowly and even the start screen stutters and lags appear every second. The software is adorned with beautiful animations, but the ProUnfortunately, zessor does not manage to play them back fluently and correctly. Unfortunately, the performance is pretty bad, which I have to emphasize very clearly. Even with everyday and not complex things, like opening WhatsApp or surfing the Internet, users need a lot of patience. A Realm 8 and 8i expressly show that you can expect a lot more even for less than 200 euros. Shame Motorola.

Battery - phenomenal runtimes

The 5.000 mAh battery ensures phenomenal runtimes. At the end of the day, with a screen-on-time of 5 to 6 hours, I usually had about 60 left Procent battery left, which is just absolute madness. This should really get everyone through two days without a charge, and some might even go as far as three days. Kudos to Motorola.

The smartphone is fully recharged in about 10 hours with the supplied 2,5 watt power supply unit, which is rather moderate even for 170 euros.

Camera - reasonable for the price

On the back, in the left corner, there are four cameras that protrude slightly from the case. The main camera has a resolution of 50 megapixels and comes from Samsung. There is also an ultra wide-angle camera with a resolution of 8 megapixels. There are also two other sensors, each with 2 megapixels, which are responsible for macro shots and depth effects. The front camera has a resolution of 16 megapixels.

The quad camera of the Motorola Moto G22. (Picture: TechnikNews)

The main camera can be used for one or two photos in good light conditions. Colors are reproduced sufficiently realistically and the dynamic range is okay. Unfortunately, details are lost very quickly, especially in slightly weaker lighting conditions or artificial light. I wouldn't use the Moto G22 for photography indoors, and certainly not in low light, but that was to be expected for 170 euros.

Much more can be captured with the ultra wide-angle camera, which is not a matter of course in this price range. It can also be used in daylight, although some details are lost here, especially at the edges. If the lighting conditions are only slightly worse, the ultra wide-angle camera is almost useless, but that is also completely normal.

As with all other smartphones in the entry-level class, the image quality of the 2 megapixel macro camera is also very disappointing on the Moto G22. Pictures lack some details and colors are too pale. Motorola could have saved this camera.

Test photos

Let's take a look at a few test photos. As always, the following images are absolutely unprocessed, but compressed without loss in order to keep loading times and memory consumption of the website low.

Other - good fingerprint sensor, so-so speaker, and more

The Motorola Moto G22 can be unlocked via the fingerprint sensor placed on the side of the frame, which works pleasantly quickly and reliably.

A mono speaker on the bottom provides the sound. It doesn't get particularly loud, nor does it sound particularly good, but for the price you can't expect more. It is definitely sufficient for one or the other video. Realme, for example, isn't really any better when it comes to speakers either.

Last but not least, let's take a look at the vibration motor. As expected in this price range, it doesn't feel particularly high-quality in the hand, but that's to be expected for 170 euros. I find Realme to be even worse in this price range.

Conclusion

My conclusion about the Motorola Moto G22 is quite difficult for me. With the feel, the design, the phenomenal battery life, the presence of an ultra wide-angle camera and the very good fingerprint sensor, there are a few points that the G22 does really well for its price of 170 euros, but unfortunately the disadvantages outweigh the disadvantages for me: Started with the rather average display and the very weak performance, up to the long loading times. The performance in particular makes it almost impossible for me to recommend the Motorola Moto G22 properly. I would recommend all potential buyers to pay 10 to 30 euros more for the house Moto G31 to pick up, which not only scores with better performance, but also with a high-quality OLED display. Otherwise, it's also worth taking a look at the Realme 8, 8i or Redmi Note 11 to throw.

We would like to thank Motorola Germany for providing the Motorola Moto G22!

Buy Motorola Moto G22

• Buy Moto G22 on Amazon
• Buy Moto G31 on Amazon

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