With a sales recommendation of 99.99 euros, you pay almost nothing for the latest budget smartphone from Motorola. The device does have something to offer, but is this also the most sensible choice? Or is it better to pay double for another model?
Motorola Moto E6s
MSRP € 99,99OS OS Android 9
Colors Blue
Screen 6.1 inch LCD (1560 x 720)
Processor 2GHz octa-core (MediaTek Helio P22)
RAM 2GB
Storage 32GB
Battery 3000 mAh
Camera 13 and 13 megapixels (rear), 5 megapixels (front)
Connectivity 4G (LTE), Bluetooth 4.2, Wi-Fi, GPS
Format 15.5 x 7.3 x 0.85 cm
Weight 160 grams
Other rear fingerprint scanner, micro usb, nano sim
6 Score 60
- Pros
- stock android
- Great design
- Few additional apps
- Long battery life
- Negatives
- Phone is slow
- No ip certificate
- Low memory
- Camera performance
The design of the Motorola Moto E6s is quite basic. But in this case that's not a problem, because the phone looks very sleek. The plastic, matte back has a cool gradient effect and transitions from a dark to a light color. Unfortunately, the back does attract a lot of fingerprints. A problem that is magnified by the fact that the (fast) fingerprint scanner is placed there. The power button on the right has some relief, so you can find it effortlessly by touch.
The front screen is surrounded by thick bezels. The chin is completely out of date. The notch at the top doesn't interfere as you might expect and doesn't get in the way of the experience. The Motorola Moto E6s is also comfortable to hold, feels sturdy and the buttons are easily accessible. It is a simple and effective, somewhat dated design. But you can't expect everything from a phone that costs 100 euros. Efficiency has never won beauty awards.
Not the fastest
It may be clear that you do not get the fastest smartphone with the Motorola Moto E6s. Nevertheless, there is an octa-core processor, which is accompanied by 2 GB of RAM. Real multitasking is not possible for the device. If you have too many apps open, you will notice that the system becomes slow. If you use one or two apps at a time, then there is not much going on and the E6s meets the basic expectations.
Less cool is the only 32 GB of storage space. The Android operating system already uses 11 GB of this, so that there is very little left for your own apps, photos and other files. After transferring your account, you will notice that the memory is almost full. Sometimes you have to leave some apps for what they are. Otherwise, make sure you have a good cloud storage service where you can move your photos and videos right away.
Fortunately, there is a micro SD card that allows you to expand the memory up to 256 GB. That's already a big improvement. And the great thing is: you don't have to give up anything for that. Where other smartphones often offer dual SIM or one SIM card and a micro SD card, we see that the Motorola Moto E6s has room for all three. That, together with the fingerprint scanner, is something we don't often see in this price segment and makes the phone just a bit more valuable.
The 3000 mAh battery ensures that you can easily get through the day. Android is energy efficient and the device does not do strange things, making it a reliable companion. Charging is a bit slow and can take up to three hours, but that is not surprising in this segment. It is also nice to see that there is a headphone jack. Unfortunately, you have to do without a compass and gyroscope; that means that, for example, Google Maps cannot present your viewing direction.
We also miss the nfc chip. As a result, you can connect Bluetooth devices less quickly and it is also not possible to make mobile payments. The 6.1 inch screen with its resolution of 1560 by 720 has a pixel density of 282. That is quite high for a cheap device. It means that images still look reasonably sharp. The colors also come out well. The screen does suffer from ghosting (frames left behind) while scrolling.
Android 9
On the Motorola Moto E6s we find Android 9. It's always a shame to see that phones still have outdated software (Android 11 will already be released this year), but for devices as cheap as this you should not expect anything else. Fortunately, it is the stock version of Android, so you are not confronted with unnecessary additions. Google does provide a complete suite of apps, but Motorola itself only three. One of them is the Facebook app.
The software offers some gestures with which you can quickly activate functions. You check your notifications by picking up the device, pressing the power button twice to activate the camera and you can pull down the quick menu via the fingerprint scanner. It is also striking that when the dark device theme is activated, only the quick menu becomes dark gray. The rest of the interface is still white, which makes it a bit of a sham.
Navigating through Android is generally quite smooth, but you should not expect smooth movements. As mentioned, the screen suffers from ghosting. Combine that with the fact that the system sometimes stutters and you have an experience that is not always flawless. It never really gets in the way of the experience, but it is something that you have to take into account when you have this device in mind. The hardware just doesn't help and is quite meager in this case.
Camera performance
On the back we find two cameras that have 13 megapixels. There is also a depth sensor, with a maximum resolution of 2 megapixels. The camera modules can work together to take a picture and can also display great depth. Autofocus is unfortunately not very fast and takes its time, so that some photo opportunities may already be over. And although HDR is supported, the range of the color spectrum is still limited.
The camera app in itself is fine, clear and offers enough functions. There's a Google Lens integration (with which you can learn more about your environment), as well as AI scene detection. Both parts work well and are optional, so don't get in the way if they bother you. Unfortunately, photos generally come out a bit blurry, especially when capturing distant objects. Close-up shots capture much more detail.
In addition, the camera on the Motorola Moto E6s does not always seem to be able to handle light sources well. Sometimes it seems a bit overexposed while other times it is very dark. But when it's dark, you see the camera really struggle. It can sometimes take a few seconds for the photo to be taken. Nevertheless, the colors in photos and in videos often look beautiful, even if details are lost and the color range is therefore not very wide.
The front camera has 5 megapixels and performs average. Although there is an HDR function, we notice that it does not always work, unfortunately. For example, the lens does not always cope well with light sources and the flash of the screen in the dark, for the necessary selfies, does little for the result in the photo. The phone also has to do without any form of video stabilization, but we can record in 1080p. The results thus vary considerably in quality.
Buy Motorola Moto E6s, or not?
For 100 euros you can find it much worse on the smartphone market. But for 100 to 150 euros more it can also be much, much better. It is therefore difficult to recommend the smartphone. There is little working and storage memory, you have to sacrifice a lot on camera quality and the software doesn't feel very fast either. Those are all kinds of things you can expect in the segment, so that's why we can't take it too seriously. But you should know before you buy it.
Fortunately, there are also positive sides. You get access to stock Android, few extra apps that are supplied from the manufacturer and you can easily get through the day on a full battery. And if you don't do much with your phone, maybe two. The Motorola Moto E6s is for the people who take a phone out of necessity, because they have to be reachable everywhere and in the meantime want to use some apps, such as WhatsApp. Bargain hunters should look for alternatives.
