Motorola One Action Review – With Action Camera

Motorola has Power, One Vision, one Zoom (a beautiful smartphone with 4 cameras, a here a review, Just one, and now a new line of One action has appeared. Based on the names, you can evaluate what everyone specializes in. Battery power is 5000 mAh. Vision “sells” the camera for 48-megapixel photos. You may decide that Action is a secure smartphone, but it is not. A smartphone, unlike OneVision, can shoot in 4K, which shot for video and intended to replace an action camera. Perhaps the name comes from here, although I like to think that the creator created “Light, Camera, Action!” Namely, “Light, Camera, Motor!” Are influenced by the phrase ”

What, according to Motorola, should inspire the purchase of a smartphone:

• Industry’s first smartphone with a wide-angle action camera (triple camera system)
• Using the wide-angle action camera of the camera, you can shoot horizontal widescreen video, regardless of how you hold the phone.
• Thanks to the 12 MP main camera with a fast focusing and an f / 1.8 aperture, you don’t miss a single important point to maximize possible lighting
• Automatic smile recognition
• Google Lens Image Search
• 6.3-inch CinemaVision widescreen
• Large 128 GB memory

A quick-charge battery that’s enough for all-day use and a quick charger

Ultra-wide angle lenses have long been used successfully in actuators, allowing you to fit more objects into the frame. Not long ago, similar modules appeared on smartphones. Motorola decided to develop this idea by adding some good “recipes” such as stability and the ability to shoot a wider project without changing the device. However, these features of the smartphone Motorola One action are not limited. Read all the details in this review.

Pieces of equipment

In this case, Motorola tried to apply tactics more characteristic for flagships, that is, not only presented a smartphone with good characteristics for its price segment but also tried to give it a unique twist.

The smartphone comes in a box of bright purple. Included is a 10 W charger, a USB Type-C cable, a paper clip, documentation, and a silicone case. A protective film is neatly glued onto the smartphone, but they just forgot to make a hole for the front camera in it, and all the photos are blurry until you take it off.

In the box are a wire, an adapter, a paper clip and the phone itself. There is a protective film on the screen that needs to removed, otherwise, the front camera will provide soapy photos.

Specifications

• Processor: Exynos 9609 (10 nm), 8 cores (4×2.2 GHz Cortex-A73 & 4×1.6 GHz Cortex-A53), Mali-G72 MP3 graphics
• Operating System: Android 9.0 (Pie)
• Memory: 4 GB / 128 GB, combined microSD slot up to 512 GB
• Screen: 6.3 inches, LTPS IPS LCD, 1080 x 2520 pixels, 21: 9 ratio, pixel density 432 ppi, brightness 450 nits
• Battery: Li-Po 3500 mAh, 10 W charge
• Primary camera: 12 MP, f / 1.8, 26 mm (wide angle), 1.25µm, PDAF + 16 MP, f / 2.2, 14 mm (ultra wide angle), dedicated video camera (1080p) + 5 MP, depth sensor, 2160p @ 30fps video recording, 1080p @ 30 / 60fps (gyro-EIS)
• Front camera: 12 MP, 26mm (wide angle), f / 2.0, 1.25µm
• SIM Card: 2 Nano-SIM
• Network and data transfer: GSM 900/1800/1900, 3G, 4G LTE, Wi-Fi 802.11 a / b / g / n / ac, 2.4 GHz + 5.0 GHz, Bluetooth 5.0, A2DP, LE, EDR, A-GPS, GLONASS, GALILEO, BDS, NFC, USB Type-C 2.0, OTG
• Sensors: fingerprint scanner (rear), accelerometer, gyroscope, proximity sensor, compass
• Other: there is NFC, there is an FM radio, there is a 3.5 mm jack, IPX2 splash protection (vertically dripping water should not interfere with the operation of the device, and also if it is deviated from the working position by an angle of 15 degrees)
• Rupees: 17 990 rubles

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Appearance

• Top end: 3.5 mm jack, microphone
• Bottom end: USB Type-C connector for charging, speaker
• Right side: paired volume button, power button
• Left side: SIM card slot, one of which can be replaced with microSD
• Back : 3 cameras, flash, fingerprint scanner
• Front panel : 6.3 inches, LTPS IPS LCD, 1080 x 2520 pixels, 21: 9 ratio, pixel density 432 PPI, brightness 450 nits

In the spring, the OneVision smartphone came out. If you measure the dollar value then it was initially cheaper than action. However, his case made of glass and plastic frames. An action only has a front protective glass, and the case itself made entirely of plastic. I have only one explanation. Plastic is stronger than glass, and since the smartphone designed as an alternative to an action camera and its fall is possible. We decided to change it that way.

Modern smartphones are usually over 75 mm wide. The One Action is 71.2 mm wide. And the Motorola One is very comfortable in the hands of the action. It seems to be only a few millimetres of the difference, but the difference of the tactile is significant.

Aspect ratio is 21: 9, and the screen size is 6.3 inches, but thanks to the camera entering the screen the smartphone proved to be very compact.

Buttons and fingerprint scanners are well located.

Design

The body of the smartphone is made of glossy plastic in dark blue with a barely noticeable bitmap. The material seems to attract prints, scratches and dirt and they are very difficult to remove, due to the lack of oleophobic coating. So wearing a phone without a cover is completely contraindicated. In addition, the housing is splashproof only (IPX2). In general, these nuances are poorly consistent with the concept of action shooting.

The screen here is extremely long, with both advantages and disadvantages. The device is easier to hold in your hand than other phones with the same diagonal. But it will be more difficult to reach the top screen. Modern movies can be viewed without a frame. But videos on YouTube must be viewed with a wide frame (or top-to-bottom) to avoid mentioning old TV shows (4: 3 format). Will In action games, controlling the distance reduces the screen. But the strategy interface seems too small. The dimensions of the device are 161.5 x 71.2 x 9.2 mm and weigh 176 g.

The location of the elements on the case is classic: the lock key and the volume rocker are on the right, the combined SIM tray is on the left. Microphone, charging port (Type-C) and speaker below, second microphone and mini-jack above. At the back is a module with three lenses, protruding from the body by a millimetre, and below it is a dual-LED flash. A fingerprint scanner with a logo is installed in the centre.

The frames around the screen are small: 3 mm on the sides, 4 mm on the top and 6 mm on the bottom. The upper face transfer speaker is a little clicky. One of the features of the smartphone is its front camera embedded in the screen. Unfortunately, the diameter of the cutout (7mm) is almost double that of the lens, so it looks a bit clumsy, but this option is still better than “bang”.

Screen

The smartphone has a 6.3-inch screen, LTPS IPS LCD, a resolution of 1080 x 2520 pixels. The screen of the smartphone, of course, is noteworthy. Firstly, it is a camera inscribed on the screen. None of the leading brands has this. Everyone prefers to use a boring neckline. It’s easier and cheaper.

The smartphone has a 6.3-inch screen with a cinematic aspect ratio of 21: 9. The resolution is 2520×1080 pixels, giving a density of 432 PPI. In the settings you can adjust the colours, choose the light or dark scheme, enable the “eye protection” option. It supports automatic brightness control, at a maximum price (450 Nights), the screen doesn’t disappear in the sun. Supported up to 10 touch points simultaneously. The oleophobic coating was applied over the protective glass.

Second, the ratio 21: 9. This ratio of self-screen is not often found in the market. And up to 20 thousand in the class and beyond. Well, the ratio of the camera to the screen, the aspect ratio – these are all indications that Motorola did not pass the principle of “blinded to what it was”, that is, they were confused with the engineering point of view. Give

The density of dots is good, 432 PPI, meaning the human eye does not distinguish between individual pixels. Measured Brightness – 450 Nits. This brightness is enough to work with the screen on the road.

In general, Motorola says about the screen like this: a widescreen CinemaVision screen allows you to view a video of the corresponding format, and an aspect ratio of 21: 9 provides additional features and greatly facilitates multitasking.

There aren’t a lot of movies on Netflix with a 21: 9 ratio, but after the recent sad Joker on the train, I really enjoyed watching The Dark Knight with Heath Ledger. Still, whatever you say, this is the best Joker. I used to like Jack Nicholson in this role, but Ledger’s Joker is much deeper, more lively and intimidating. By the way, it is surprising, but the mobile Internet made it possible to watch the whole movie.

Talking about the video, we can mention the sound. Motorola added Dolby Audio’s help list. So if the circumstances allow, then watch the movie without headphones.

Maybe, it’s a matter of taste, but neither in the movies nor in the games did the camera eye bother me. All sound ascites have one piece of advice: Keep it simple.

Performance and Results

According to the characteristics of One Action – “strong middle peasant.” The choice of processor is very unusual since it is used mainly by the manufacturer (Samsung). This is an Exynos 7 Octa 9609 chip with four high-performance Cortex-A73 cores (2.2 GHz) and the same amount of energy-efficient Cortex-A53 (1.6 GHz). The graphics are the Mali-G72 MP3. There is 4 GB of RAM, and 128 GB of permanent memory, expandable by microSD or a regular flash drive (OTG supported). Almost all modern games run at maximum graphics settings, and due to the lack of their own shell, the system interface works smartly and smoothly. Another nice fact is that the case almost does not heat up.

The fingerprint sensor works as expected quickly. The phone’s speaker is loud and supports Dolby Audio technology, so you can watch movies without headphones, but not in the subway. With wireless modules here is a complete set. Supported work in 4G networks, there is dual-band Wi-Fi 802.11 a / b / g / n / ac, Bluetooth 5.0 and, so beloved in Russia, the NFC module. The smartphone focuses on the terrain using all the popular geolocation systems; the search for satellites from a cold start takes about 30 s. The manufacturer left not only a mini-jack but also an FM radio.

As for the filling in Motorola One Action, everything is also not quite simple. The chipset here is Exynos 9609, 8 cores (4×2.2 GHz Cortex-A73 & 4×1.6 GHz Cortex-A53), Mali-G72 MP3 graphics.

A fairly productive solution for its price segment. the strengths of which are the presence of DSP (digital signal processor) and neural networks. DSP converts an analogue image to digital, and then neural networks analyze and enhance the image.

It does not heat under load. For an experiment, I played Call of Duty Mobile for an hour (setting high graphics and fps settings). The smartphone does not heat up, it was comfortable to play. By the way, the ratio of 21: 9 is very good. Farther apart are the controls, more horizontal view. For shooters, that’s it. Most likely, computers have 32:16 monitors, so 21: 9 is a mobile counterpart. I recommend trying to play the classic 16: 9 and then change to 21: 9. Immediately understand what it is about.

Camera

Motorola One Action Photo Module consists of three cameras. The main one is a 12-megapixel aperture of f / 1.8 and phase detection autofocus. It doesn’t take off ideally, but it’s quite worthy for the middle price segment: in good lighting, details are clearly visible, colour reproduction is not bad, and despite the deterioration of the shooting conditions, the quality is also noticeably reduced. Can automatically crop photos to 16: 9 and 21: 9 formats. The camera shoots video in resolution up to 4K and can do this with an aspect ratio of 21: 9. A 5-megapixel depth sensor, which allows you to blur or completely remove the background, helps her. Unfortunately, this “trick” does not always work perfectly, sometimes cutting off erosion/excess.

Let’s move on to sweets. The action camera has a lens of 117 degrees, aperture 2.2 and a matrix with a resolution of 16 megapixels. It uses quad-pixel technology, which means, in fact, we have a 4-megapixel camera with a larger sub-pixel size (2 μm), which in turn gives them more light. That means this picture is better. Due to low resolution, the camera cannot shoot video in 4K. And you can only take pictures of it while the video is being shot – a weird solution. There is no autofocus: everything over half a meter is clear, but the objects closest to it are blurred.

The main feature of the camera is that the module is rotated 90 degrees, which means that horizontal video will be shot while holding the smartphone vertically, and vice versa. Surely someone will appreciate it, but it’s difficult for me personally to discern the details in such a small image. Both cameras support digital image stabilization, so you can run and shoot without worrying about shaking. The front camera is 12 megapixels with f / 2.0 and it is good: the image is detailed and clear. Unlocking the smartphone by face is supported.

Communication

In the smartphone Wi-Fi 802.11 a / b / g / n / ac, 2.4 GHz + 5.0 GHz, Bluetooth 5.0, A2DP, LE, EDR. That is, the current version of all communication protocols.

There is an NFC. You can pay in stores, you can replenish the travel card.

There are no complaints regarding the radio part. The bonus on the smartphone is FM-radio. It uses headphones as an antenna. Air can be recorded. The application has a “Record” button.

Autonomy

The phone, on average, has a 3500mAh battery, by modern standards, which guarantees half a day’s work at no charge. There is an intelligent mode of saving electricity. PC Mark simulated test eliminates 100% to 20% of a smartphone in 13 hours. The video gadget can last up to 15 hours with moderate brightness. Usually, the result is not a record, but rather decent. The full adapter battery is charged in 2 hours, which is already long enough in 2019.

Software

The smartphone runs on pure Android 9 with all its advantages and disadvantages, moreover, Motorola One is one of the first to get the latest version of the action OS. Of the additional software, there are only a few Indexes services, including Alice, however, no one prohibits using Google Assistant.

Motorola still managed to add some of its “chips”. Swipe the smartphone to turn on the flashlight, and turn the camera on. The display won’t be empty while viewing it, but if you just lift the smartphone in your hands, basic information will appear on the screen: time, date, battery charge and notification availability. The proprietary indicator control system is the best one. All of these details are simple, but at the same time make interaction with a smartphone much easier. Combined all the “chips” into a separate application moto.

Impressions, pros / cons, competitors

Motorola devices are attractive to me, because the company, unlike most manufacturers, manufactures smartphones in line with old-school heritage, so to speak. Motorola is not just sealing the device, but trying to get everyone to come up with their own positioning, add elements that will stand apart.

Many manufacturers are approaching the creation of smartphones in the middle and low-cost segments according to the basic principle: we push everything that fits in there, and let the user know that Explain how to use it there. There are no highlights, chips, and OS curves (hello, realm!), But we did push a lot of RAM. Another such quantitative option is appropriate. I’m close to Motorola’s point of view.

For 17,990 rubles, Motorola made a good device. You can play Call of Duty at maximum speed, you can watch a video for 17 hours, you can shoot good photos and videos. The operating system also has chips and little things that make interacting with the device more enjoyable.

The smartphone turned out to be very balanced, and in terms of combining the features of live jams, it couldn’t be found. When comparing individual elements, you may get errors. For example, it removes the device slightly better, but it does less. In it, iron is more powerful, but the software is rough and down.

Final Thoughts

I believe Motorola One Action can be recommended for purchase. He will not bring disappointments. But if the brand does not have a soul, then you can pay attention, for example, to the new Xiaomi Redmi Note 8 Pro. His design is more interesting. And the screen is 0.23 inches larger. But, by the way, note that with a battery of 4,500 mAh (per 1,000 mAh), the smartphone plays the video the same amount of time. In general, redmi Note 8 Pro is also a good device without disappointment.

Motorola One Action is a “strong”, well-balanced middling, with its own “twist”. Of the features it is worth noting a high-quality cinematic LTPS-screen with a camera embedded in it, pure Android with “smart chips” Moto, good photo capabilities, an NFC chip and, of course, an action camera with the ability to shoot without turning the smartphone over. I can recommend it for purchase to all fans to shoot videos on the go, and to fans of the legendary brand, of course.