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Motorola One Macro
Motorola One Macro
Motorola One Macro
Motorola One Macro
Motorola One Macro
Motorola One Macro
Motorola One Macro
Motorola One Macro
Motorola One Macro
...


7.2/10
Informr score
The Motorola One Macro currently has an Informr score of 7.2 out of 10. This score is based on our evaluation of 17 sources including reviews from users and the web's most trusted critics.

The "1-Minute" Review

Verdict

The screen will be the most important consideration for most users. The phone gets by well enough in all other metrics -- at least for the price. However, if you’re looking to play games or watch videos often, you’d be better served with other options.

What's good

  • Exceptional battery life
  • Good everyday performance
  • Solid phone design
  • USB Type-C
  • MicroSD support

What's bad

  • So-so camera
  • Low-resolution screen (720p)
  • Fingerprint magnet

Motorola’s One series combines the brand’s history of affordable yet capable phones with the clean software and rapid updates of Google’s Android One program. The Motorola One Macro comes with a few nifty camera tricks and is the lowest-priced Motorola One phone to date. But is it worth buying?

Design

Looking at the phone, it’s easy to see its budget-friendly roots. The chassis is plastic and reviewers were split on the two-tone rear cover. Some thought the effect was interesting while others felt it made the phone look cheap. 

However, apart from the phone being a fingerprint magnet, reviewers had no complaints about build quality or the way the phone felt in the hand. They also felt the fingerprint sensor on the rear was well-placed and accurate, making the phone easy to unlock when needed.

Display

Around front, the phone follows a similar trend. The 6.2-inch curved IPS display has minimal bezels and plenty of brightness. However, it’s running at 720-by-1520 pixels so it’s not the most detailed screen around. Reviewers frequently mentioned the resolution impacting image quality, and many felt the color was far from accurate.

There is also the camera notch at the top of the display. While it’s a teardrop and takes up less space than older notch designs, many reviewers felt the drop was bigger than required.

Trusted Reviews notes, “It isn’t that the Motorola One Macro’s display is bad. It’s clear and balanced and plenty bright enough ... But hold it next to a similarly proportioned 1080p phone ... and the difference is clear to see.”

Performance

The phone’s 2Ghz octa-core MediaTek Helios P70 processor paired with 4GB of RAM impressed reviewers for the price. However, it will not be a powerhouse processor capable of running the latest games at the highest settings or jumping between multiple apps.

Still, if you’re looking for a phone to cover the everyday tasks or don’t mind dialing back settings in games, reviews indicate it keeps things moving along smoothly enough. Memory will limit your multitasking abilities though. So be prepared to wait for apps to reload often.

Tech.co put the phone through its paces and notes, “... If you keep the workload light, it should be enough to get all your jobs done. If you’re looking for a phone for gaming, however, you should look elsewhere.”

Software

Ships with Android Pie (9.0) with minimal tweaks and two years of guaranteed updates thanks to its Android One status.

Storage

The phone includes 64GB of internal storage. While this isn’t as much as many phones these days, support for microSD cards up to 512GB makes it affordable and easy to expand your storage if needed.

Cameras

The camera setup on the Motorola One Macro is where the phone gets its name. On the rear of the phone, you’ll find a three camera setup including a 12MP lens, a 2MP depth sensor, and 2MP macro lens.

When compared to higher priced phones, the cameras cannot keep up. You must be patient when focusing. Lighting will also have a huge impact on getting good shots from the camera. The macro lens received mixed reviews as well. While many found the camera interesting and applauded the detail on objects in focus, many noted substantial noise in macro photo backgrounds.

Low-light performance was also well below average for today’s phones.

The front-facing 8MP lens is good enough for selfies and video chat, but don’t expect amazing results.

All of that said, reviews show the phone stands up well to similarly priced competitors and is capable of decent photos in the right conditions.

Tech.co summarized reviewer thoughts well, saying, “... Considering the One Macro’s low price, the images it gives are pretty good. Photos are colorful and, thanks to the depth sensor, have a good level of contrast. There are occasional instances where photos lack a bit of detail, but for this price, you’ll always have some compromises to deal with.”

Battery Life

Battery life is the starring feature of the phone. Combined with the phone’s modest specs, the 4,000mAh battery lasted many reviewers two days or more on a single charge.

Unfortunately, while the phone supports USB Type-C fast charging the 10W charger included with the phone takes nearly half an hour to boost the charge by 25%. This means you’ll want to leave the phone plugged in overnight just to be safe.

Audio

The phone includes one feature many phones two to three times its price do not -- a 3.5mm headphone jack. It also has stereo speakers which reviews show can crank out respectable volume. However, many reviews also felt the audio was rather flat and dull.

Android Authority found the audio lacking, saying, “Audio output from the Motorola One Macro is a bit of a letdown. Headphone output lacks dynamic range and simply doesn’t sound that great. Even when I plugged in a quality pair of headphones, audio sounded muffled and lacked separation.”

_

The Takeaway

A budget phone is always about compromises. The Motorola One Macro cut corners on screen resolution and materials. If you’re a casual phone user, these choices are probably not a big deal. However, if you love to play games or watch videos on your phone, you’ll notice the difference pretty quickly.

Still, for the price, most reviewers considered the phone a good value.

Trusted Reviews notes, “Motorola’s line of One phones offers clean design, elegant software, and competent performance across the board. The Motorola One Macro offers all of these things at the lowest price of them all.”

Good Gear Guide praises the phone, saying, “The Motorola One Macro is a fast, clean and highly-usable phone with a nifty trademark feature and longer-than-average battery life. It’s no flagship but it nails the essentials - which is the most important thing.”

Expert Reviews UK was more critical, declaring, “In some areas, the Moto One Macro really shines, but with every single positive there’s a negative. It feels cheap, the battery takes forever to charge, and the display suffers from wildly inaccurate colours. It’s fun to shoot things up close, and it has a long-lasting battery, but that’s about all there is to it.”


Android
Operating system
Operating system
Android
2 GHz
Processor
Processor
2 GHz
6.2"
Screen Size
Screen Size
6.2"
13+ MP, f/2.0
Camera
Camera
13+ MP, f/2.0
4000 mAh
Battery


What the Critics Are Saying...


MobileTechTalk
MobileTechTalk

Motorola has pleasantly surprised me with what they have been able to do with a phone for such good value. Whilst it is by no means perfect, I would say this is probably the perfect first smartphone for a child or somebody slightly older as this would introduce them to the world of Android. It is fu...

- Siddu Munjal, MobileTechTalk
Pocket-lint
Pocket-lint

The Macro should be seen for what it is: a budget handset with a big battery life and fuss-free software. Buy it for the cameras and you'll be disappointed, though, which is somewhat a contradition to the name. Yes, it can do close-up shots, but we'd rather spend a little extra, shelve the macro stu...

- Mike Lowe, Pocket-lint
Good Gear Guide
Good Gear Guide

The Motorola One Macro is a fast, clean and highly-usable phone with a nifty trademark feature and longer-than-average battery life.

- Fergus Halliday, Good Gear Guide
finder.com.au
finder.com.au

The Motorola One Macro provides reasonable performance and good battery life, but it is let down by rather cheap construction. Its chief selling point, a separate macro photography lens, gives it some variety, but this too needed tweaking before it was released.

- Alex Kidman, finder.com.au
Tech.Co
Tech.Co

The One Macro isn’t a bad phone. In fact, it performed reasonably well across the board in our testing. However, it didn’t really blow us away. Sadly, the screen and processor speed left us feeling fairly underwhelmed. What’s especially disappointing is knowing that Motorola can produce better all-r...

- Tom Fogden, Tech.Co


Prices (Where to Buy)




Common Questions


We've got you covered! Download a free PDF copy of the Motorola One Macro user manual here.


Motorola backs up the One Macro with a 1 Year parts & labour warranty.


If your One Macro 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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Quick view

Screen Size
6.2"

The Motorola One Macro's screen size is 6.2 inches with 720 x 1520 pixels resolution.

Processor
2 GHz

There is a MediaTek MT6771 Helio P70 (12nm) Octa-core 2 GHz processor (CPU).

OS

The phone runs on the Android 9.0 Pie operating system (OS).

Camera
13+ MP

You can take photos or capture video with the phone's onboard 13+ MP, f/2.0 camera.

There is also a secondary front facing camera with 8+ megapixels resolution.

Storage
64 GB

Internal memory is 64 GB. An external, MicroSD (up to 512 GB) expansion slot is available for increased storage capacity.

Battery
4000mAh

The phone is powered by a Lithium Polymer (Li-Pol), 4000 mAh battery. Motorola's performance ratings are 2363 minutes, 957 minutes Wi-Fi surfing.

One Macro Specs

Overview
Release Date October 12, 2019
Regions Available United Kingdom
Operating System Android 9.0 Pie

Compare Android Smartphones

Processor MediaTek MT6771 Helio P70 (12nm) Octa-core 2 GHz
Internal Storage 64 GB
RAM 4
Hearing Aid Compatible Yes
TTY/TDD Yes
Noise Cancellation Yes
SAR Head: 0.54 W/kg
Body: 1.33 W/kg
Manufacturer Warranty 1 Year
Accessories Included USB Power Adapter, Manual, Data Cable
Cellular
Networks
GPRS, EDGE, HSUPA, HSPA+, LTE
Mobile / Cellular Data
4G/LTE
Push-to-talk (PTT) No
Wi-Fi Calling Unknown
Voice over LTE (VoLTE) Yes
SIM card size
Nano-SIM
Dual SIM Yes
Connectivity
USB USB Type-C
USB OTG Support Yes
GPS Type A-GPS
Infrared Yes
Bluetooth 4.2
Bluetooth Profiles A2DP, AVRCP, OPP/FTP, HFP, HSP
Bluetooth Audio Codecs No
Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n
Mobile Hotspot Yes
Memory Expansion Slot Yes
Expansion Slot Info MicroSD (up to 512 GB)
NFC No
Data Tethering Compatibility Yes
Camera
Main Camera
Resolution / Aperture
13+ Megapixels, f/2.0
Zoom
8xx digital
Flash
Yes (LED)
Additional Rear Camera Info
Auto focus, Effects, Face detection, Geotagging, Image stabilization, ISO, Multi-shot, Panorama, Self-portrait, Self-timer, Smile detection, White balance, RAW photo output, Active photos, Spot color, Best shot, Slow motion video, Timelapse video, Hyperlapse video, Electronic video stabilization, Youtube Live, Google Lens™ integration, HDR, 2nd camera feature (2MP, f/2.2, dedicated macro camera), 3nd camera feature (2MP, f/2.2, depth sensor)
Video Recording Formats
MPEG-4
Video Recording Parameters
Full HD (1920 x 1080 pixels), 30 fps
Front Camera
Resolution / Aperture
8+ Megapixels
Additional Front Camera Info
F/2.2, Auto HDR, Timer, Face beauty, Auto smile capture, Cinemagraph, Portrait mode, Group selfie, Spot color, Slow motion video, Timelapse
Video Recording Parameters
Full HD (1920 x 1080 pixels), 30 fps
Display / Screen
Type Color
Technology LCD (IPS)
Colors 16.7 million
Resolution 720 x 1520 pixels
Pixel Density 270 pixels
Size 6.2 inches
Secondary Display No
Sensors Ambient Light, Proximity, Motion / Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Digital Compass
Multi-Touch Yes
Fingerprint-Resistant Coating No
Additional Display Features Capacitive touchscreen, Water repellent design, Splash resistant
Power & Battery
Battery Type Lithium Polymer (Li-Pol)
Battery Capacity 4000 mAh
Removable Battery No
Wireless Charging No
Fast Charging Yes
Video Playback Time Up to 1043 minutes
Internet Use (Wi-Fi) Up to 957 minutes
Internet Use (Cellular) Unknown
Talk Time Up to 2363 minutes
Standby Time Unknown
Mixed Usage
Physical Characteristics
Design Type Bar
Material Plastic
Colors Space Blue
Dimensions [H x W x D] 15.76 x 7.54 x 0.9 cm (6.2 x 3 x 0.4 in)
Weight 186 grams
Water Resistant / Waterproof Yes
Rugged design No
IP Rating IP X2
Headset Jack 3.5mm
External Speakers Yes
Input / Navigation
Sleep / Wake Key Yes
Home Key No
Input / Keyboard Type Touchscreen
Navigation Type Touchscreen
External Volume Control Yes
Fingerprint Sensor Yes
More
Additional Information Other Names (AKA):
Related Links Manual (PDF)
Motorola One Macro Reviews
Where to buy Motorola One Macro
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