Moto G72 First impressions: a promising wagon that lacks 5G

Motorola has launched another smartphone from its “G series” in India called the Moto G72. This phone is the company’s latest major offering, priced at Rs. 20,000. Unlike most other companies that are releasing more and more 5G smartphones in this price segment, Motorola wants to offer a no-compromise 4G phone. The Moto G72 sits between the Moto G62 5G and Moto G82 5G (review) in the company’s current G-series lineup.

The Moto G72 was released in a single variant with 6 GB of RAM and 128 GB of internal storage. Rs. Rs. 18,999 may seem too high for a 4G phone in 2022. Motorola is offering a limited exchange offer up to Rs. 3000 and rupees. Instant 1000 discount on select bank cards, bringing the starting price down to Rs. 14 999.

This time, the Moto G72 retail box isn’t “green” like it was with the Motorola Edge 30 Fusion (review). In addition to the device itself, the box contains a USB Type-A to Type-C charging cable, a 33W TurboPower adapter, and a transparent case.

The Moto G72 comes with a polycarbonate back panel.

Motorola sent us a Moto G72 variant in Polar Blue. The back panel is covered with PMMA acrylic glass, which has a matte finish and hides fingerprints well. Like the more premium Moto G82 5G, the Moto G72 comes with a polycarbonate back and a plastic bezel. Although color preferences are subjective, I liked this one. However, if you’re looking for a more classic or muted color option, Meteorite Grey.

Despite the plastic body, the Moto G72 doesn’t look cheap. It also tries to differentiate itself from most other phones released in 2022 with a curved back with a slightly flat bezel. The G72 feels good in the hand. Motorola also claims that the G72 is the thinnest and lightest smartphone in its segment. It weighs about 166g and is 7.99mm thick. It also has an IP52 rating providing basic protection against water and dust.

Moto G72 has a plastic frame

The phone’s power and volume buttons are on the right, while the hybrid dual SIM tray is on the left. The USB Type-C port is sandwiched between the 3.5mm headphone jack, microphone, and main speaker grill at the bottom. The earpiece at the top of the display serves as an additional output for stereo sound.

The front of the Moto G72 features a 6.6-inch Full HD+ pOLED display with HDR10+ certification. The 10-bit screen also supports a billion colors and has a peak brightness of 1300 nits. The bezels around the display are quite thin, but the chin is comparatively thicker. The phone also features an in-display fingerprint scanner and a protective layer of Corning Gorilla Glass 3 on top of the screen.

The Moto G72’s display has minimal bezels around it.

Like the more premium Moto G82 5G, the Moto G72 features a 120Hz refresh rate display for smooth scrolling. Compatible games should also benefit from this. The Moto G72 is equipped with a MediaTek Hello G99 SoC built using a 6nm process technology. There is support for storage expansion up to 1TB via microSD card. It packs a powerful 5000mAh battery and supports 33W fast charging out of the box. The Motorola G72 also supports Bluetooth 5.1 and dual-band Wi-Fi ac.

On the back of the Moto G72 is a square-shaped module that houses a triple camera. The design of the camera module is similar to the Motorola Edge 30 Fusion. The Moto G72 features a 108-megapixel Samsung ISOCELL HM6 sensor with f/1.7 aperture.

Moto G72 camera module has a new design

There is an 8-megapixel ultra-wide-angle camera that also doubles as a depth sensor. Finally, the rear camera also includes a 2MP macro camera. Video recording on the rear main camera is limited to 1080p 60fps. For selfies, the Moto G72 comes with a 16MP front-facing camera housed inside the punch-hole cutout that can record video up to 1080p at 30fps.

Moto G72 runs on MyUX skin based on Android 12 out of the box. It offers a near stock version of Android with some extra customization options like Moto gestures, wallpapers, custom icon shapes and fonts, etc. Motorola has confirmed that the Android 13 update will be released as soon as it’s available, and it’s also been reported that phone to receive three years of security updates.

Moto G72 runs on near-stock Android 12

South of Rs. The 20,000 price segment is currently filled with many options. These include Redmi Note 11 Pro, Realme 9 Pro 5G, iQOO Z6 5G, OnePlus Nord CE 2 Lite 5G, etc. While most phones in this segment offer 5G support through higher price or compromised features, The Moto G72 forgoes 5G to offer a good all-round experience. If you are considering buying this smartphone instead of any other 5G smartphone under Rs. 20,000? Stay tuned for our full Moto G72 review coming soon to Gadgets 360.