The "1-Minute" Review
Verdict
The Motorola Defy won’t win any awards or top benchmark charts, but if you work in construction or another heavy-duty field or you’re looking for a phone to explore the outdoors with this phone would be an option that provides adequate enough performance with heaps of durability.What's good
- Good design
- Rugged
- Lanyard works well
- Two-year warranty
What's bad
- Quality doesn’t match the value
- No protective flap over charge port
- Older version of Android
The Motorola Defy claims to do just that--providing a rugged smartphone experience without feeling like a brick (or performing like one). We know it’s tough, but is it worth using?
Design
The design on this phone aims to be virtually ordinary despite its rugged features. While reviewers felt that the plastic matte backplate wasn’t quite as posh as other phones, nothing about it said it wasn’t just your average smartphone.
Reviewers submerged the phone in a glass of water and dropped it from standing height into a puddle, and it continued to work without issue.
The only design concern centered around the lack of flap or cover for the charge port for protection. If you’re using the phone around water, be sure the port is good and dry before charging and watch out for grit and sand.
Display
Gorilla Glass protects the 6.5-inch, 720p display in case of drops and dings. The graphics are not great. However, this is a smartphone designed for utility, not necessarily gaming and social media. So it will do for reading text, checking maps, or even watching the occasional video, but it will never blow you away.
Performance
Performance reviews are tricky and depend on what you’re looking for in a phone. This isn’t a phone with high-end specs. When it comes to swiping the screen up or down, for example, reviewers noticed the occasional slight stuttering and lag. It’s not going to run the latest games at full tilt either.
But it has more than enough power for communication essentials like phone calls, emails, and social media. And it will do some of the fun stuff too. The phone will just never do it as well as higher-end phones.
Software & Storage
The phone ships with Android 10 installed and a promise of three years of updates. This means it should see Android 11 eventually. While the Motorola Defy initially comes with 64GB of space, there is an open expansion slot for microSD storage if you’d like to use it.
Cameras
The camera’s primary lens is 48 megapixels, which is average these days at best. Around the front, you’ll find an 8-megapixel selfie camera with just enough detail to support video chats. Overall, reviewers agree that the phone won’t win any photography awards. Still, if you’re looking for a camera that slips in your pocket and can handle the elements with ease, it’s an excellent option.
Battery Life
Reviewers didn’t mention anything good or bad about battery life. However, being a 5000mAh battery with a lower-end chipset and lower-resolution display, the phone should have zero trouble lasting a full day and likely hits more than a day on a single charge with light-to-moderate usage.
Audio
The Motorola Defy has a single down-facing speaker with decent enough volume and also includes a headphone jack at the top.
Specs at a Glance
- Plastic chassis
- 3.7-inch capacitive display
- Qualcomm SM6115 Snapdragon 662 processor
- 4GB of RAM
- Android 10 with guaranteed updates to 11
- 64GB of storage with an option for expansion
- 48 Megapixel camera and 8 Megapixel selfie lens
- 5000mAh battery
- Lanyard for portability and hands-free use.
Bottom Line
The Motorola Defy won’t win any awards or top benchmark charts, but that doesn’t mean the phone doesn’t have a place.
If you work in construction or another heavy-duty field or you’re looking for a phone to explore the outdoors with this phone would be an asset. It’s also affordable enough for casual phone users who are tired of replacing dropped phones.
Tech Radar states, “The Defy is not your everyday rugged smartphone. Motorola and Bullit have teamed up to deliver a mobile that should appeal to a wide audience beyond the traditional consumer market. Just make sure that you are aware of its limitations.”
CNet says, “There's plenty to like about the Moto Defy: it offers a good smartphone experience with Android and protects itself from the bumps, knocks and splashes of everyday life with its rugged casing. What's really won us over is the extra attention paid to the phone's multimedia, both in capturing and in playback.”
What the Critics Are Saying...
- Florian Schmitt, NotebookcheckWhen it comes to outdoor smartphones, it is necessary to lower one's expectations a bit: If you compare the devices with normal smartphones in the same price range, you immediately notice a striking difference in terms of performance and features. However, smartphones like the Motorola Defy also off...
- Aleksandar Anastasov, PhoneArenaThe Defy is somewhat in its own category. It combines a good user experience with the durability of rugged phones for a price that might sound too much at first glance but is a bang for your buck if you’re on the lookout for such a device.
- GSMArenaThe Motorola Defy (2021) is a decent looking and nicely tough phone with just above entry-level performance and lower mid-range price. And while you can find better performers in the niche you would still be paying a class above for it, pushing the overall spending significantly higher.
- Jon Mundy, Tech AdvisorThe Motorola Defy lives up to its classic branding with an extremely tough yet surprisingly easy to live with handset that doesn’t cost the earth, but with inevitable compromises.
- Nathan Spendelow, Expert ReviewsThe Motorola Defy is no ordinary handset. It’s hardy and rugged, it can take one heck of a beating and, if that’s the sort of phone you’re looking for, then there’s no better place to spend your money. It has decent battery life, too, and looks that set it apart from most rivals. Whether you decide...
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Common Questions
Motorola backs up the Defy (2021) with a 2 Years parts & labour warranty.
If your Defy (2021) has problems and is still within its warranty period, you could contact Motorola support or the retailer you purchased the phone from. You'll find Motorola's contact information here. If your phone is off warranty and needs repair for a physical problem such as a broken screen or bad battery, you should visit an authorized service centre or a local phone repair shop. You can also connect with others in The Informr Community Forum to find and share answers to questions.
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