The Motorola One Macro is presented by Motorola/Lenovo as an entry-level / mid-range smartphone, ie a mobile that does the job pretty much in everything … without shining particularly in a specific sector. At a price of around 200 – 230 euros, this is what we are entitled to expect, especially since in this price zone competition from Xiaomi, Huawei or Samsung is still quite tough.
After several days of testing, our disappointment is real, and it turns out that this Motorola One does not quite fulfill the contract of the smartphone “good enough”. We did not ask him for excellence, however, only to be almost correct in everything, even if it must be recognized that he manages to excel on two points of importance. Explanations:
Out of its box all purple or rather ultra-violet (which is also quite original), the Motorola One Macro looks like a fairly conventional smartphone, but not unpleasant to the eye. Certainly, the lines of the Moto One Macro are hardly daring, but at this price, it is not asked to compete with the Galaxy S20, not to mention that this almost humble form-factor allows the Moto One Macro to hold well in hand.
The rear ultra-violet glossy (but not too slippery) is a real catch-fingerprint despite the choice of plastic instead of glass, but it is not so troublesome in use. Good point too, the presence of a Jack port on the upper border.
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The screen of the Motorola One Macro is one of the two real good points of this device. Without achieving the excellence of significantly more expensive models, the IPS 720p + (720 × 1520) panel of the Moto One Macro displays faithful colors (even if there is a slight draw towards blue) and a more than adequate brightness, including included for use in broad daylight (not too sunny, however).
Nothing transcendent of course, but on this point, the Moto One Macro “does the job”. The interface (a bit custom) of the Android “stock” (Android One) appears with clarity and sharpness largely sufficient in this price range. If the image is correct, the sound is not at the same level, either with the integrated speakers and even, a little more disappointing, with headphones: the sound rendering lacks depth and detail,
The overall performance (in computing power) is frankly very average, which is logical since the Motorola One Macro is based on the Mediatek Helio P70 and the graphics chip Mali-G72, which makes it generally unsuitable for games 3D mobiles a bit sophisticated but will undoubtedly be more than enough for casual titles … and of course also to make Android One run smoothly.
Just to get an idea, the Geekbench score of the Motorola One Macro is below 300 points (it’s low). The rest of the specs are in the good average of entry-level devices: 64 GB of storage, Dual SIM, 4 GB of RAM… but no NFC (therefore no remote payment).
Let’s move on to the angry point, a point which could indicate that this Motorola One Macro was badly “marketed” by its manufacturer. Indeed, selling a “Macro” smartphone that does not particularly shine in photos… turns out to be awkward to say the least.
However, Motorola had not skimped on the means, with a photo block with three sensors, a main 13 MPx sensor supported by a 2 MPx for the calculation of the depth of field, and a 2 MPx Macro. So let’s not go through 4 paths: the photos in this photo block are dull and far too smooth in broad daylight, almost unusable in low light conditions, up to macro mode (with the 2 MPx sensor) which is a bit disappointing… even if the competition does not do better at this price.
With its shots that are both too overexposed, dull, and not detailed enough, the Macro mode of the One Macro disappoints, even if it is possible to take good shots in (really) optimal light conditions.
As for the contribution of the autofocus to the Laser, it is not very obvious. Note that the photos taken with the front sensor are no better (in fact, it is much worse, with very pronounced smoothing).
The autonomy of the Motorola One Macro is the very good news of a device … which has few. The 4000 mAh battery capacity (+ 10W fast charge) allowed our test mobile to last 2 1/2 days on a single charge (and in really regular use over this period of time!). Strong.
Conclusion
Too approximate in the number of points (sound, photo), not really living up to its name, the Motorola One Macro is only saved by its correct screen and the autonomy of a marathon runner. For the rest, it is hard to be enthusiastic or to fully recommend this mobile which does not quite meet the desired specifications, even in the entry-level
