Travel Accessories Review: moto g6 plus by Motorola

For the best part of the past decade, Motorola has earned itself the reputation as the best producer of budget smartphones and its latest release, the moto g6 plus, is an impressive step-up from the very popular moto g6.

What is it: This is a smartphone which has serious performance and functions that will enhance the travelling experience.

Why buy: At around half the price of a similar iPhone, it gives Apple’s premier product a real run for its money. 

The details: RRP AU$499 from Motorola

Road Test:

First impressions are that this a very serious piece of kit, with its larger 5.9 inch Full HD+ Max Vision display with an 18:9 aspect ratio which is big and bright and its premium glass design which is sleek and thin with a 3D contoured back for a comfortable grip.

Its big claim to fame, and one that will be a real plus for all travellers, is its dual SIM device that supports two SIM’s at the same time, meaning that you can easily switch between your local SIM and international SIM cards without having to change phones or SIMs.

It eliminates the need to try and change over the tiny SIM without dropping everything and it also means you don’t have to go and buy a cheap phone when you arrive in your overseas destination. It basically supports two networks on a single purpose phone.

We’ll do a full review of the new Smart Camera System later, but basically this is also a real plus for travellers with a range of new and advanced features that will really help improve the quality of your photos on the road. It also eliminates the need to download editing apps, as they are already built into the system. 

You can shoot away all day because of unlimited high quality storage through Google Photos which is the default gallery for all your photos and videos. All images are automatically backed up, searchable and can easily be accessed, shared and edited from any device.

The moto g6 plus has a 3200 mAh battery which promises to last all day with super fast recharging in just minutes and the front-facing camera is smart too. Unlock your phone simply by letting the camera see your face. It knows who you are thanks to face recognition software, so you don’t need to enter your password.

Gamers are going to love the Full HD+ display as playback is more immersive thanks to a wider 18:9 aspect ratio and high quality audio.

For the serious traveller, there are a couple of features which are really cool and will be a lot of help, and a lot of fun, when on the road. 

How many times have you stumbled across something amazing but wondered ‘what the hell is that?’. With Landmark Recognition, the camera knows when it spots something famous. All you do is point the lens at a landmark and the camera will recognise it. Then it’ll automatically ask if you want to learn more about it.

It’s a similar set-up with Object Recognition which helps you learn about something you see. Again, you just point the camera and press a button. The smart camera recognises the object and instantly tells you more about it.

The Text Scanner is another fantastic feature and it lets you use your phone’s camera to copy text from physical documents and paste it into messages, emails, notes and more. You can do this with menus and key information you discover as you travel.

UltimateTravelMagazine.com loves:

• The super big and bright display 
• Dual SIM slots for easy travelling
• Some really cool camera and editing features

The verdict: 

This is a mid-price phone, with premium functions and performance and it punches well above its weight, or price point to be exact. 

We have a great travel competition where you could win a moto g6 plus and a moto g6, in a prize pack with a value of $1,078.

You can read our review of the moto g6.