This new smartphone comes with cutting-edge hardware and features that are unheard of in this market sector.
HIGHLIGHTS
- The Unisoc T700 SoC powers the Moto E40.
- It has a 90Hz HD+ display and an Android UI that is nearly stock.
- The large 5,000mAh battery comes with only a 10W charger.
For quite some time, Motorola’s E series of smartphones has catered to the sub-Rs 10,000 niche. In India, the Moto E40 is the latest smartphone in the series, succeeding the Moto E7 Plus and the Moto E7 Power. Is it just a case of Motorola changing its branding strategy, or does the Moto E40 come with enough features to make it the de facto affordable phone? To discover out, I put this new smartphone to the test.
Moto E40 price in India
In India, the Moto E40 costs Rs. 9,499 for its single 4GB RAM, 64GB storage version. Carbon Gray and PInk Clay are the two color options available. For this review, I had the former with me.
Design of the Moto E40
The Moto E40 is a low-cost smartphone with a stylish appearance. It boasts a large 6.5-inch display with a large camera hole in the top-right corner, which some people may find distracting. The bezels are substantial, but given the price of the phone, this is to be expected. In the top right corner, just above the display, there’s a little notification LED. Although the Moto E40’s body is made of plastic, it does not seem flimsy. The sides of the Motorola smartphone are likewise curved, making it easier to hold.
All of the buttons are visible on the right side of the Moto E40, making it appear cluttered. The power button has been placed in the middle of the frame, making it easier to access while holding the phone. Just above it are the volume controls and a dedicated Google Assistant button. With four buttons so close together, selecting the correct one might become a guessing game. The Google Assistant button might have been moved to the left side, which only includes the SIM tray. A 3.5mm headphone jack is on the top, while the primary mic, speakers, and USB Type-C port are on the bottom.
The phone’s back is mostly black and features a curved pattern. The top left corner of this phone sports a triple camera arrangement that doesn’t protrude too much. A fingerprint scanner with the Motorola Batwing branding is also included.
The Moto E40 weights 198 grams, which is apparent when used for extended periods of time. In the box, you’ll get a 10W charger. This phone also comes with a transparent case from Motorola.
Software and specifications for the Moto E40
The large 6.5-inch LCD panel boasts a 90Hz refresh rate and an HD+ resolution. Although high-refresh-rate displays aren’t prevalent in the budget class, there are a few exceptions, such as the Infinix Hot 11S. (Review). The Moto E40 is powered by the Unisoc T700 octa-core SoC. This processor comes with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage, as well as a 5000mAh battery. Motorola does not provide variations with extra RAM or storage, although a microSD card can be used to boost capacity by up to 1TB. The Moto E40 has an IP52 rating, indicating that it is splash resistant. Dual-SIM dual-VoLTE, Bluetooth 5, Wi-Fi, and six satellite navigation systems are all supported.
With Motorola’s My UX customizations, the Moto E40 runs Android 11. The September Android security patch was installed on my test unit. These tweaks are minor, so you’ll get a close-to-stock Android experience on this phone. Google apps and Facebook were preinstalled on the Moto E40, although the latter can be deleted. Although the Moto app, which allows you to handle all Moto features on other phones, is no longer available, some shortcuts can still be found in the Settings app’s Gesture area. By default, Motorola employs a three-button navigation arrangement, but you may change it to gesture navigation. Overall, I appreciate the Moto E40’s near-stock Android experience and the fact that it doesn’t have any annoying alerts.
Moto E40 performance
The Moto E40 is capable of handling everyday tasks with ease, so if you mostly use your phone for WhatsApp, phone calls, and a few casual games, this phone will not let you down. Scrolling is smooth due to the high refresh rate. By default, Motorola has set this to Auto, but you may change it to 60Hz or 90Hz manually.
The display offers good viewing angles and is bright enough for indoor use. At higher volumes, the Moto E40’s single bottom-firing speaker becomes harsh. After a while of watching films, the lower part of the body became slightly warm to the touch. Using the fingerprint scanner on the back of the phone, I was able to unlock it swiftly and easily. Multitasking between multiple apps was also simple.
In Geekbench 5’s single-core and multi-core tests, the Moto E40 scored 351 and 1,333 points, respectively. It scored 8,971 points in PCMark Work 3.0. The phone did not pass the GPU test in AnTuTu, but it still scored 173,202 points overall. In GFXBench’s T-rex and Car Chase benchmarks, it managed 58fps and 15fps, respectively. In majority of these tests, the Motorola E40 outperformed the Realme Narzo 50A by a hair.
On the Moto E40, I played Battlegrounds Mobile India, and it took longer than normal to load. It started with HD visuals and a high frame rate by default. The game was playable without any apparent stuttering at this settings. After 26 minutes of play, I noticed a 7% reduction in battery life. After gaming, the top half of the phone was warm to the touch.
With my usage, the Moto E40 had a good battery life, easily lasting more than a day and a half. In our HD video loop test, the large 5,000mAh battery lasted 15 hours and 7 minutes. While the battery life is adequate, charging takes a long time. In 30 minutes, the phone had only reached 21%, and in an hour, it had only reached 41%. To fully charge the battery, you’ll have to wait around two hours.
Moto E40 cameras
The Moto E40 comes with a triple camera system that includes a 48-megapixel primary camera, a 2-megapixel depth sensor, and a 2-megapixel macro camera. The main camera has an f/1.79 aperture and, by default, pixel bins photographs to produce 12-megapixel images. It sports an 8-megapixel front-facing camera for selfies. The camera software on this smartphone is quite similar to what we’ve seen on prior Motorola devices, but it has less functions. You can shoot portraits, and there’s also a Night option for low-light situations.
Although the Moto E40 was quick to focus, there were moments when it took a second. Daylight images were average, and HDR was turned off by default, so I had to change it to auto. Objects from a distance lacked detail, and grain could be seen in darker regions of scenes.
