The Moto G8 Plus brings together the best of the Motorola One-series and Moto G-series, says Khalid Anzar.
The Moto G8 Plus has some unique elements, such as Dolby-tuned dual stereo speakers, that other phones in its price range don't.
But to be a leading all-rounder in the sub-15k segment, the G8 must surpass the competition in performance and imaging.
Here's my take.
Design and display: 3.5/5
The phone is a neat blend of the Moto G-series and the Motorola One-series smartphones.
On the front, its waterdrop-shaped notch-front design makes it similar in appearance to its predecessor, the Moto G7 Plus.
The back, however, resembles the recently launched Motorola One Macro with a gradient, reflective design and a vertically aligned camera module on the top-left corner.
The phone's rear cover and chassis are made of polycarbonate, which makes them prone to smudges and scratches.
But it comes with a clear transparent TPU cover that adds a layer of protection to the otherwise fragile back.
The screen, though, has enough protection against everyday abuse with Panda glass.
The 6.3-inch screen (called Max Vision) has a full HD+ resolution.
Its tall 19.5:9 aspect ratio provides more space to accommodate on-screen content than conventional 16:9 aspect ratio screens, but it leaves thick black bars on both sides of the screen when used for multimedia.
Thankfully, the phone has the Widevine L1 certification required for streaming video content from over-the-top (OTT) platforms in high definition.
Its Dolby-tuned stereo speakers are louder, crisper and better than its competitors.
Camera: 4/5
The Moto G8 Plus has a triple-camera set-up on the back, featuring a 48-megapixel primary sensor, a 16MP ultra-wide sensor and a depth sensor.
The front has a 25MP selfie shooter.
The phone's primary sensor is a capable shooter that takes detailed shots with a decent dynamic range and satisfactory contrast in daylight.
In low light, the phone's night mode comes in handy, brightening a dimly lit frame and capturing details that would otherwise remain in the dark.
The ultra-wide sensor, tilted to 90 degrees, limits it to video recording, capturing an ultra-wide field of view (FoV) in the phone's portrait orientation.
The ultra-wide sensor supports electronic image stabilisation (EIS), which reduces motion shakes and allows stable video recordings -- but this is at the expense of a cropped FoV.
The phone's front camera has an auto beauty mode that enhances selfies artificially, making them look unnatural but beautiful.
It also has a portrait mode, which offers a background blur effect to selfies.
Performance: 4/5
The Moto G8 Plus is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 665 system-on-chip, mated with 4GB RAM and 64GB storage -- expandable to up to 512 GB using a microSD card.
Powered by a vanilla Android 9 Pie operating system, the phone's user interface is sleek and handles day-to-day operations without hiccups.
The 4,000 mAh battery is good for a day's regular use.
The device supports 15W fast charging, which takes around two hours to charge fully from zero.
Verdict: 4/5
At Rs 13,999, the Moto G8 Plus brings together the best of the Motorola One-series and Moto G-series smartphones, making for a unique product in the midrange segment.
Its unconventional take on imaging, all-round multimedia capabilities, smooth performance and decent on-battery life make it an eminently worthwhile option.
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