Motorola Moto E15 Review: For This Price, It’s Hard to Find Better

Value When Reviewed

$90

Greatest Costs At the moment: Moto E15

$85

Motorola has lengthy held a level of dominance over the finances smartphone market. Not solely as a result of it releases new fashions so commonly that there’s all the time one thing new hitting the cabinets, however as a result of the telephones it releases are literally fairly nice.

Its new Moto E15 continues that pattern and, whereas it received’t be of any curiosity to flagship consumers because of its comparatively modest efficiency, we’d say this mannequin strikes the proper steadiness between worth and performance. It feels as if it’s greater than the sum of its components.

For underneath £70/$90, you get a great-looking telephone with a giant display, stereo audio system, and an honest 32Mp snapper. Naturally, it might do with extra energy, but it surely does pack a few days of battery life.

Right here’s what it was like to make use of.

Design & Construct

• Fingerprint reader
• SD card slot
• Delicate case included

Contemplating the worth, we’re notably impressed by the general building of the Moto E15. It doesn’t look markedly totally different to the E14, which was already a reasonably handsome finances telephone.

An enormous a part of that comes right down to texture. Fairly than the matt floor you may count on, Motorola has opted for a vegan leather-based end that provides loads of grip, whereas additionally trying nice up shut. There are Denim Blue, Misty Blue, and Contemporary Lavender choices accessible. Will it patina over time? That continues to be to be seen.

There’s a USB-C port, mic and speaker on the underside, and a headphone jack on the highest. There’s a quantity rocker and fingerprint reader constructed into the Sleep/Energy button, which is an enchancment on final yr’s mannequin.

On the left, the SIM tray additionally contains area for an SD card, which means you possibly can add to the 64GB of onboard storage.

Lloyd Coombes

We’ll come to the 6.6-inch LCD show subsequent, however the very first thing to say is that it’s so good to see cheaper telephones packing giant shows which used to price considerably extra. Positive, it’s LCD and it’s not the sharpest or brightest, however that makes the Moto E15 an awesome selection for anybody with poor eyesight who might in any other case wrestle to learn a telephone.

The bezel is uniformly skinny, and there’s a hole-punch type 8Mp front-facing digicam that’s centrally positioned. Fairly than a extra outlined digicam cutout on the again, it virtually seems as if the 32Mp rear digicam is attempting to burst via, but it surely’s solely obtained so far as the lenses.

Display screen & Audio system

• 6.5.inch panel
• 90Hz refresh fee
• 720p decision

When you have been anticipating vital upgrades from the E14 whereas its worth level is maintained, we’re sorry to say that though this panel is marginally (0.1 inches) bigger, it’s nonetheless solely nearly HD, because the decision is 720p.

Nonetheless, it retains a 90Hz refresh fee and is good and brilliant. Telephones on this worth vary are inclined to have fairly dim screens, so its brightness is a giant level within the E15’s favour.

Lloyd Coombes

One other factor telephones on this worth bracket don’t all the time have a tendency to supply is stereo sound. There’s a speaker right here within the earpiece and one on the underside subsequent to the charging port. Not solely does that imply far more well-rounded audio for almost any objective, but it surely additionally permits for Dolby Atmos assist.

Dolby Atmos permits a extra various array of equaliser choices, and the audio system get surprisingly loud, which is good.

Specs & Efficiency

• MediaTek Helio G81 Excessive
• 2GB of RAM
• 64GB inner storage

Naturally, we’re a reasonably low cost processor right here, and it is smart at this worth. Nonetheless, we’d have favored a little bit extra RAM.

2GB simply isn’t sufficient, and sadly we are able to’t suggest the Moto E15 as an influence person system. Nevertheless, the choice so as to add Digital RAM from the cupboard space is welcome if you happen to do something notably demanding.

Switching between apps, notably Google’s inventory ones, is okay, however as quickly as you throw extra demanding apps or video games into the combo, issues take a flip.

Opening Chrome can take a little bit longer than we’d like, and video games like PUBG Cell and Wild Rift might want to run basically solo in order for you any sort of respectable efficiency.

Well-liked titles like Genshin Impression merely received’t work on the telephone, both, and neither does our Geekbench 6 benchmark.

Lloyd Coombes

Storage-wise, the telephone comes with simply 64GB, which is likely to be sufficient for some customers, however at the very least you possibly can add a microSD card to extend it.

Moto E15 benchmarks

Cameras

• 8Mp entrance digicam
• 32Mp rear digicam

The 32Mp rear digicam on the E15 combines 4 pixels into one, basically developing with an 8Mp picture however one with extra element in consequence. There are solely two zoom modes (1x and 2x), and there’s loads of noise when capturing video, with the shortage of stabilisation making any film really feel a little bit Blair Witch.

It takes respectable sufficient pictures, although, and whereas the small print can get a tad fuzzy on the edges of an image and foliage can form of blur into one mass, it’s not the worst digicam we’ve seen.

Photographs taken at night time aren’t ultimate, although. There’s a jaggedness to edges and an lack of ability to separate greys from darker blacks in footage. It’s not horrible, but it surely’s removed from good.

Battery Life & Charging

• 5,200 mAh battery
• No charger in field
• 18W max charging

Sadly, there’s no charger within the field for the Moto E15, so that you’re solely getting a USB-A to USB-C cable and might want to use an present plug or different system to cost.

The Moto E15 ran for 15 hours and quarter-hour with PCMark’s battery check, which is spectacular for a telephone that prices this little.

It takes round 90 minutes to cost totally with an 18W charger and, even with out partaking the battery-saving options, it could possibly simply final the 2 days Motorola guarantees.

Lloyd Coombes

Software program & Options

• Android 14 GO
• Moto overlay
• Lower than 2 years of safety patches

There’s Android 14 GO underneath the hood of the Moto E15, which on one hand means it’s a watered-down expertise in comparison with the complete model, however on the opposite possible helps maintain efficiency shifting alongside, with 2GB of base RAM accessible.

Lloyd Coombes

There are some bloatware apps included (Fb Lite, LinkedIn, Amazon Music), however for probably the most half, Motorola’s interface isn’t too intrusive and feels largely inventory.

You received’t be getting any OS updates with the E15, although, and safety updates will cease after December 2026. Nonetheless, given the worth, we’d think about you’ll be available in the market for an E16 by then.

Value & Availability

The Moto E15 is on the market internationally. Within the UK, it launched at £69.98, but it surely’s now accessible for much less. You should buy it within the UK from Motorola for £59.98 on the time of writing, or from Amazon for £58. Within the US, you should purchase it from Amazon for $85. At these costs, it’s comprehensible that it cuts some corners however you possibly can see the way it compares to out prime suggestions in our round-up of the perfect finances telephones.

All variations include 2GB of RAM and 64GB of storage.

Must you purchase the Moto E15?

When you’re on the lookout for an inexpensive, usable telephone that’s obtained nice battery life and a giant display, it’s possible you’ll nicely have discovered it. You received’t be pushing the boundaries of cell efficiency, positive, however the Moto E15 remains to be nicely value a search for budget-conscious smartphone consumers.

Specs

• Processor: MediaTek Helio G81 Excessive
• Safety: Passcode, Fingerprint scanner
• Inner storage: 64GB
• Expandable storage: Sure
• Sensors: None
• Reminiscence (RAM): 2GB
• Battery: 5,200 mAh
• Show: 6.7-inch LCD
• Decision: 1604×720
• Rear digicam: 32Mp
• Entrance digicam: 8Mp
• Dimensions: 165.7 x 76 x 8.2 mm
• Weight: 188g
• Ports: USB-C port, headphone jack