Moto G73 5G: Balancing Performance and Affordability with Mixed Results

In my initial review of the Moto G73 5G, I noted that Motorola is looking to achieve two objectives simultaneously. This smartphone is positioned as a successor to the previous Moto G62 5G and as a 5G counterpart to the Moto G72, which only supports 4G. Aside from its 5G capabilities, Motorola is also concentrating on three additional aspects with the Moto G73: imaging, performance, and security, aiming to deliver all of this at a price that seems quite appealing. Does the Moto G73 5G live up to the all-rounder title? I used this device for over a week, and here are my thoughts.

Pricing of Moto G73 5G in India

The Moto G73 5G is sold exclusively in the 8GB RAM and 128GB storage variant in India. It carries a price tag of Rs. 18,999 and is offered in two colors – Midnight Blue and Lucent White.

Design of Moto G73 5G

The design of the Moto G73 5G strikes a balance between understated and contemporary, aligning more closely with the Edge 30 series than the previous G62 5G. The back panel is flat in the center, tapering off at the edges. The device frame is relatively flat, crafted from polycarbonate, while the rear is made from what Motorola calls ‘acrylic glass’. This material has dual advantages: it gives a glass-like appearance with a premium matte finish, and, being plastic, it offers better drop resistance.

The Moto G73 5G features a matte-finished polycarbonate frame

 

However, this material struggles to resist fingerprints. Despite its matte surface, the device easily attracts dust and smudges, making it appear untidy over time. Cleaning off these marks is also challenging due to the plastic nature of the back panel.

The matte textures on the frame and back make the Moto G73 5G somewhat slippery. Fortunately, Motorola provides a clear TPU case in the package, enhancing grip, though it does add some thickness to the otherwise sleek design, which measures just 8.29mm.

The phone can get quite smudged in no time

 

The front sports a hole-punch display with slender bezels on the sides but thicker borders on top and bottom, the latter being the most substantial and detracting from the otherwise sleek profile of the phone. Like the rear, the display also attracts smudges easily. The Moto G73 5G comes with a basic IP52 rating for dust and water resistance.

Specifications and software of Moto G73 5G

The Moto G73 5G boasts a 6.5-inch full-HD+ IPS LCD with an adaptive refresh rate of 120Hz and a touch sampling rate of 240Hz. Upon its launch, it was the first device in India powered by the MediaTek Dimensity 930 SoC, and nearly a month later, it remains the only phone in the Indian market using this chipset.

The device includes 8GB of RAM with 128GB of internal storage, expandable up to 1TB via a microSD card in the dual-SIM hybrid tray. In terms of connectivity, the Moto G73 5G supports up to 13 5G bands for India, along with Bluetooth 5.3, Wi-Fi ac, NFC, and the standard satellite navigation platforms. For audio, it features stereo speakers and a 3.5mm headphone jack.

A fingerprint scanner is built into the power button and it has proven to be quite dependable. The phone is powered by a 5,000mAh battery which can be charged with a provided 30W Type-C charger.

Motorola’s My UX provides good customization features

 

The Moto G73 5G operates on Motorola’s My UX software layered on Android 13. The interface has a stock-like look, but it offers numerous customization possibilities, allowing users to modify aspects such as themes, wallpapers, icons, fonts, and sound, which is a plus. It also includes typical Motorola features and gestures like Peek Display, Fast Flashlight, and Pick Up to Silence.

While all these shortcuts performed well in my tests, I observed an increase in Motorola’s preinstalled apps. The company now includes its own Moto app, Moto Hub (Swish), Moto Notifications, the new Moto Secure, Family Space apps, and a Games app (which consolidates all installed games). Alongside this, there are two preinstalled third-party apps, Netflix and Facebook. After a long period without bloatware, Motorola appears to have reverted to this trend. Notably, users can uninstall only Moto Hub, Netflix, and Facebook among the aforementioned apps.

On the upside, I did not encounter spammy notifications from these applications during my review period.

There’s a gradual increase in Motorola-branded applications

 

The new Moto Secure app centralizes the phone’s privacy and security features in one location. According to Motorola, this should provide users a clearer understanding of the device’s security status without having to navigate through various sections of the Settings application. The company plans to extend this app to older Moto devices receiving Android 13 updates. I found the ‘PIN pad scramble’ feature particularly useful, as it rearranges the numeric keypad shown during device unlocking to complicate the recognition of your PIN by onlookers.

The Secure Folder and Network Protection features are reportedly part of Lenovo’s ThinkShield security suite. While the Moto Secure app conveys a sense of security, I personally wished this functionality was integrated into the Settings apps instead.

An interesting aspect of the Family Spaces app on the Moto G73 5G is its capability to provide remote assistance to another Motorola device. Motorola claims this will be applicable to all Moto phones running Android 13, with older models receiving the feature through an update. Regrettably, I could not test this before the review deadline.

The phone’s rear consists of ‘acrylic glass’

 

The Moto Hub app serves as an all-in-one platform for weather, news, and mini games, featuring a large default widget visible on the home screen. This widget gives updates on news, weather, and offers, but it does so without explicitly requesting permissions to access mobile or Wi-Fi data, which I find concerning. This concern deepened when I noticed the app stated ‘no permissions’ while having background data enabled by default.

Motorola promises future software updates to Android 14 for the Moto G73 5G, along with up to three years of security patches. However, this commitment seems somewhat limited compared to what users would expect with the OnePlus CE 3 Lite 5G.

Performance of Moto G73 5G

The Moto G73 5G’s IPS LCD represents a step back when compared to the Moto G72’s pOLED panel. The G73 achieves good colors but tends to exhibit slightly yellowish whites in ‘Natural’ color mode. The blacks are also underwhelming, which is typical for an LCD at this price range. The display performs adequately in bright outdoor conditions, making it suitable for general use, but falls short for enjoying photos and videos. While Motorola claims HDR10 playback capability, I could only confirm this in the YouTube app, as Netflix did not seem to support it.

The screen’s refresh rate is adaptive, changing between 30, 90, and 120Hz based on app usage, but users can also manually set it to 120Hz. I opted for ‘Auto’ mode for all my tests.

I was eager to assess the MediaTek Dimensity 930 SoC on the Moto G73 5G, and it delivered solid results in terms of raw power. The device scored 4,22,824 points in AnTuTu and achieved 918 and 2,260 points in Geekbench 6’s single and multi-core benchmarks, respectively. The graphical capabilities were as expected; in GFXBench, the phone recorded 69fps in the T-rex test, 32fps in Manhattan 3.1, and 18fps in the Car Chase tests. Overall, its performance aligns closely with competitors like the iQoo Z7 5G, which posted comparable benchmark results using a MediaTek Dimensity 920 SoC.

The Moto G73 5G is equipped with dual rear cameras

 

Throughout practical use, I did not face any issues with the Moto G73 5G’s My UX software. Gaming was pleasant thanks to the quality stereo speakers, although demanding games like Call of Duty: Mobile and Asphalt 9 Legends tended to run at lower graphic settings. For instance, Call of Duty: Mobile capped graphics settings at ‘High’ while Asphalt 9 Legends did not include a 60fps mode. Touch response was satisfactory for playing FPS titles.

The Moto G73 5G endured 16 hours and 6 minutes during our HD video battery loop test, which is standard for this category. With regular daily use, I managed to get through an entire day, with around 20-30 percent battery remaining. The 30W USB-PD charger replenished the battery fully within an hour and 17 minutes. While the charging speed seems acceptable, the phone does get noticeably warm during the charging process.

Camera performance of Moto G73 5G

The Moto G73 5G is equipped with dual rear-facing cameras, comprising a 50-megapixel main lens and an 8-megapixel ultra-wide lens, which can also serve as a macro camera and depth sensor for Portrait photography. For selfies, there’s a 16-megapixel front camera. The camera interface adheres to Motorola’s typical design, with all vital features accessible within the viewfinder itself. When capturing photos outside, the device tends to heat up, generating noticeable warmth on the screen rather than the back panel. Although the camera interface operates smoothly initially, lag can occur as the phone warms up.

Daylight camera samples from the Moto G73 5G. From top to bottom: primary camera, ultra-wide camera, and macro mode (click to view full size)

 

Images captured in daylight were generally good with satisfactory detail, although color saturation was somewhat excessive, and dynamic range left much to be desired. Both rear cameras tended toward overexposure, resulting in clipped highlights and shadow loss. The ultra-wide camera lacked detail and showed purple fringing around bright subjects.

Daylight selfies appeared slightly oversharpened with exaggerated colors, and the front camera often enhanced skin tones, making them appear lighter than reality even with beautification features turned off. The camera app includes an AI optimization mode that’s enabled by default, but disabling it made little difference in image quality for both front and rear cameras. Portrait mode edge detection with the selfie camera was fairly accurate.

Low light camera samples from the Moto G73 5G. Top: Auto mode, bottom: Night mode (click to view full size)

 

The issues concerning color saturation and dynamic range are exacerbated in low-light settings. Photos appeared oversaturated, and shadows turned murky. Despite having an auto-night mode like many premium devices, results were underwhelming. The dedicated Night mode improved dynamic range but still failed to deliver better details.

Macro shots were more successful, displaying good detail primarily due to the ultra-wide camera’s use for close-ups.

Video quality was merely satisfactory, with footage recorded at both 1080p 30fps and 60fps appearing overly bright and lacking detail, even with nearby objects. Autofocus posed challenges, causing jerkiness in the video, although stabilization performed reasonably well.

Autofocus issues intensified when using the ultra-wide camera, which is limited to 1080p 30fps. Additionally, I noticed frame skipping while panning at 60fps, leading to choppy footage. In low-light conditions, video captured at 30fps with the primary camera was noisy and poorly stabilized, while 60fps recordings appeared more stable but lacked texture detail, rendering distant objects flat.

Final Thought

In the case of the Moto G73 5G, Motorola has primarily prioritized performance and security. While the software experience is smooth and gaming is enjoyable, it does not significantly surpass what other devices in the same price range are already offering.

Motorola could have made more efforts to differentiate the Moto G73 5G. Its modern design lacks uniqueness. Battery life is average, and the absence of an AMOLED display is disappointing. Furthermore, camera performance falls short, and Motorola appears to be moving away from the near-stock software model that was a part of its appeal for the last decade. Consequently, recommending the Moto G73 5G is challenging, particularly when the Moto G82 5G (Review) is available at a similar price point. It offers superior camera capabilities with OIS and a larger battery, plus an AMOLED display, starting from Rs. 19,999.

While I would suggest investing a bit more on a Realme 9 Pro+ 5G (Review), the OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite 5G (Review) also presents better value.

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