Highlights
- Moto G96 5G was launched in India with sales starting from July 16 via Flipkart and the Motorola India website.
- The price in India starts at Rs. 17,999 for the 8GB + 128GB memory variant.
- It is available in Ashleigh Blue, Dresden Blue, Cattleya Orchid, and Greener Pastures colour options.
Motorola has just unveiled the Moto G96 5G in the under-20k smartphone segment with promising flagship-level features. This is an upgrade to the Moto G85 5G and we are here to look at it closely.
The brand says it features the segment’s best 3D Curved pOLED display along with a 50MP OIS Sony LYT 700C Camera, Snapdragon 7s Gen2 Processor and a classic Moto vegan leather design. The sale starts from July 16, so you still have some time to make up your mind about the phone. In the meantime, while you wait for our full hands-on review, here’s our first impression of the phone after spending some time with it.
To start with, here’s a quick look at key features.
Moto G96 – Key Features
- 67-inch FHD+ 10-bit OLED Display, HDR10+, 144Hz refresh rate
- Snapdragon 7s Gen 2 4nm Mobile Platform with Adreno 710 GPU
- 8GB LPDDR4X RAM
- 128GB / 256GB (UFS 2.2) storage
- 50MP rear camera with Sony LYT-700C sensor with f/1.88 aperture, OIS, 8MP ultra-wide camera, macro option, f/2.2 aperture
- 32MP front camera with f/2.45 aperture
- Stereo speakers, Dolby Atmos
- In-display fingerprint sensor
- IP68 Rated Dust and Splash resistant
- 5500mAh battery with 68W fast charging
- Android 15 (3 OS + 4 Years SMR)
Moto G96 5G – Unboxing
Let’s start with a quick unboxing.
You get the phone in Moto’s signature plastic-free packaging. And it comes bearing the essentials, which include a 33W charger, USB cable, guides and a SIM tool. There is no case in the box, in case you are wondering. So, now let’s move to the design.
Moto G96 5G – Design
At first glance, Moto G96 5G looks like a phone that you have seen before. Motorola has quite clearly decided to keep things familiar even while introducing minor changes in design.
The phones come in multiple colour options, including Greener Pastures, Cattleya Orchid, Ashleigh Blue, and Dresden Blue. All the colour shades have been made in collaboration with PANTONE, a company that maintains the Colour Matching System worldwide.
We have the Greener Pastures colour variant and at first impression, it looks quite rich. The vegan leather back panel combined with the 3D Curved pOLED Display makes the phone look nothing but premium. The phone is slim at 7.93mm thickness and quite lightweight at just 178g.
Moto says it is the lightest phone in the segment with an ultra-thin design. It does feel comfortable in the hand because of the lightweight design and slim yet flat frame. This is also an advantage of Moto’s design philosophy, these phones always feel great in hand.
It has the usual ports such as the SIM tray, Microphone, USB Type-C Port and Speakers at the bottom, and a noise-cancelling microphone on the top. The power button and volume rockers are on the right-hand side of the phone.
The overall design language will remind you of some of the previous Moto phones, but we are not saying that as a point of complaint. This combination of vegan leather back with Pantone curated colours has been working for Moto and there is no reason not to like it.
Moto G96 5G – Display, Hardware, Camera and Battery
The Moto G96 packs a 6.67-inch FHD+ curved pOLED display that refreshes at 144Hz. It gets 1600 nits peak brightness, 100% DCI-P3 colour gamut, and Corning Gorilla Glass 5 protection. A neat bonus is Water Touch 2.0, which keeps the screen responsive even when wet.
It’s powered by the Snapdragon 7s Gen 2, the same chip found in the Motorola Edge 50 Fusion.
You get UFS 2.2 storage speeds and up to 256GB storage, plus support for RAM Boost, which lets you expand RAM virtually up to 24GB using the phone’s storage.
For audio and gaming, the Dolby Atmos-backed stereo speakers help deliver an immersive experience.
On the camera front, the Moto G96 features a 50MP Sony LYTIA 700C main sensor with OIS, along with an 8MP ultra-wide lens. Selfies are handled by a 32MP front camera, and yes, both front and rear cameras support 4K video recording. Thanks to Moto AI, you also get features like Magic Editor, Magic Eraser, Photo Unblur, and AI Photo Enhancement.
The phone runs Android 15 with Hello UI and Motorola promises one major OS upgrade and three years of security updates.
It comes with a 5,500mAh battery, which Motorola claims can last up to 42 hours on a mix of video calls, music, and streaming. For charging, the phone comes bundled with a 33W TurboPower charger.
Moto G96 5G – What Are The Upgrades?
When we compare the newly launched Moto G96 5G with its predecessor, we get some noteworthy upgrades, even though most of it still feels similar. Here are some of the noteworthy upgrades –
- Snapdragon 7s Gen 2 Octa core processor from Qualcomm Snapdragon 6s Gen 3.
- IP68 rated water resistant, from the previous IP52 rating
- The 144Hz refresh rate display is definitely an upgrade compared to the previous 120Hz
- 5500 mAh battery capacity, which is up from the previous 5000mAh. The charging specs remain the same at 33W (adapter provided in the box)
- Hello UI based on Android 15 – Moto software experiences| 1 Year of OS + 3 Years SMR
- AI support with Moto AI camera features
- It brings in useful features from the Edge series too including Family Space 3.0 for parental controls, Moto Secure 3.0 for locking sensitive data, ThinkShield Protection 3.0 for privacy and security, and Smart Connect for syncing with your PC.
All in all, the new Moto G96 5G looks like a strong contender in the sub-Rs 20,000 segment at first glance. However, we are extensively using the phone as our primary device and we’ll have more to share in our full review. So, in case you want a more extensive work on its performance, camera results and more, stay tuned for our comprehensive hands-on review.
FAQs
Q1. What are the display features of the Moto G96?
Answer. The Moto G96 packs a 6.67-inch FHD+ curved pOLED display that refreshes at 144Hz. It gets 1600 nits peak brightness, 100% DCI-P3 color gamut, and Corning Gorilla Glass 5 protection.
Q2. Which processor powers the Moto G96 and what are its storage capabilities?
Answer. It’s powered by the Snapdragon 7s Gen 2. You get UFS 2.2 storage speeds and up to 256GB storage, plus support for RAM Boost, which lets you expand RAM virtually up to 24GB using the phone’s storage.
Q3. What camera setup does the Moto G96 offer?
Answer. The Moto G96 features a 50MP Sony LYTIA 700C main sensor with OIS, along with an 8MP ultra-wide lens. Selfies are handled by a 32MP front camera. Both front and rear cameras support 4K video recording.
Q4. What software and security features come with the Moto G96?
Answer. The phone runs Android 15 with Hello UI, and Motorola promises one major OS upgrade and three years of security updates. It also includes Family Space 3.0, Moto Secure 3.0, ThinkShield Protection 3.0, and Smart Connect.
Q5. How long does the Moto G96 battery last and what charger is included?
Answer. It comes with a 5,500mAh battery, which Motorola claims can last up to 42 hours. The phone comes bundled with a 33W TurboPower charger.
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