The Motorola Moto E40: A Solid Budget Phone With a Few Flaws
The Motorola E series has consistently delivered value-driven smartphones in the sub-Rs. 10,000 segment, and the Moto E40 is no exception. This latest offering takes over from the Moto E7 Plus and Moto E7 Power in India, boasting new hardware and features that are uncommon in its price range. But can the E40 truly be considered a standout budget performer, or is its appeal limited to its enticing price tag? We put this new smartphone through a thorough review to find out.
Moto E40 Price in India
The Moto E40 is available in India for a single configuration, with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage, priced competitively at Rs. 9,499. It comes in two color options: Carbon Gray and Pink Clay. We tested the Carbon Gray model for this review.
Moto E40 Design: A Budget-Friendly Look
Despite its budget-friendly nature, the Moto E40 boasts a surprisingly sleek design. Its 6.5-inch display is prominent, albeit with a large camera hole punch at the top center, which some might find disruptive. The bezels are thicker than modern flagships, but they remain acceptable considering the phone’s price point. There’s a small, discreet notification LED nestled in the top right corner just above the display.
The Moto E40’s plastic body doesn’t feel flimsy, and Motorola’s curved sides contribute to a comfortable grip. However, the right side of the phone feels a bit cluttered, with four buttons bunched together: the power button (centered on the frame), the volume buttons, and a dedicated Google Assistant button. While the power button is easily reachable, the proximity of the buttons can make it a bit of a guessing game to find the right one. Moving the Google Assistant button to the left side, which only houses the SIM tray, would have been more intuitive. The top edge houses a 3.5mm headphone jack, while the bottom edge features the primary microphone, loudspeaker, and USB Type-C port.
The back of the phone sports a relatively black, curved pattern. The triple camera setup is housed in the top left corner, and it doesn’t protrude significantly. A fingerprint scanner with Motorola’s Batwing logo is also conveniently placed on the back.
With a weight of 198g, the Moto E40 is noticeable in the hand during longer usage. The box includes a 10W charger and a transparent protective case, which is a nice touch at this price point.
Moto E40 Specifications and Software: A Mix of Value and Compromise
The Moto E40 boasts a 6.5-inch LCD panel with an HD+ resolution and a 90Hz refresh rate, a feature that’s not common in this budget segment. The phone is powered by the Unisoc T700 octa-core SoC paired with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage, expandable up to 1TB using a microSD card. While the E40 doesn’t offer variants with higher RAM or storage, it provides dual-SIM dual-VoLTE, Bluetooth 5, Wi-Fi, and support for six satellite navigation systems. Notably, the phone also features an IP52 certification, making it splash resistant.
The Moto E40 runs Android 11 with Motorola’s My UX customisations. The review unit we tested was running the September Android security patch. Motorola’s customizations are minimal, offering a near-stock Android experience. You’ll find pre-installed Google apps as well as Facebook, which can be uninstalled. Sadly, the Moto app is missing, but some of its features are still accessible through the Gesture section in the Settings app. The navigation layout defaults to the three-button system, but you can switch to gesture navigation. The near-stock Android experience with its lack of spammy notifications is a big plus.
Moto E40 Performance: Solid for Daily Tasks, Struggles with Heavy Workloads
The Moto E40 can handle everyday usage with ease, making it a good option for users who primarily use their phones for tasks like WhatsApp, phone calls, and some casual gaming. The high refresh rate contributes to a smooth scrolling experience. However, when it comes to demanding applications and games, the E40 starts to struggle.
The display offers decent viewing angles and adequate brightness indoors. The phone has a single, bottom-firing speaker, which, while functional, can sound shrill at higher volumes. Watching videos for extended periods can lead to the phone’s lower half getting slightly warm. The rear-mounted fingerprint scanner is fast and responsive, providing quick unlocking without issues. The phone also handles multitasking between several apps quite well.
In benchmark tests, the Moto E40 performed modestly. In Geekbench 5, it scored 351 in the single-core test and 1,333 in the multi-core test. In PCMark Work 3.0, it achieved 8,971 points. The phone skipped the GPU test in AnTuTu, but still managed a total score of 173,202 points. In GFXBench, it registered 58fps in the T-rex benchmark and 15fps in the Car Chase benchmark. The Moto E40 performed slightly better than the Realme Narzo 50A in most of these tests.
While we were able to play Battlegrounds Mobile India on the E40, it did take longer to load than usual. The game defaulted to HD graphics and High frame rate, and while playable, it did exhibit occasional stutter. During a 26-minute gaming session, we observed a 7 percent battery drain, and the top half of the phone became noticeably warm.
Moto E40 Battery Life: A Long-Lasting Performer, Slow Charging
The 5,000mAh battery on the Moto E40 delivers impressive battery life, easily extending beyond a day and a half with average usage. In our HD video loop test, the phone lasted 15 hours and 7 minutes. However, charging the phone takes a considerable amount of time due to the 10W charger, with only 21 percent of the battery replenished after 30 minutes and 41 percent after an hour. A full charge requires over two hours.
Moto E40 Cameras: Decent in Daylight, Struggles in Low Light
The Moto E40 boasts a triple rear camera system consisting of a 48-megapixel primary camera, a 2-megapixel depth sensor, and a 2-megapixel macro camera. The primary sensor has an f/1.79 aperture and pixel bins photos to produce 12-megapixel shots by default. For selfies, you get an 8-megapixel front-facing camera. Motorola’s camera app is similar to previous models, but its feature set is limited. You can take portraits and utilize a Night mode for low-light scenarios.
The Moto E40 is generally quick to focus, but occasionally requires a second try. Daylight photos are average, and we needed to manually set HDR to auto, as it’s disabled by default. Objects at a distance lack detail, and some grain is noticeable in dark areas. Close-up shots exhibit good detail, and the phone manages to effectively separate the subject from the background. However, the E40 can be slow to lock focus, and occasionally, manual tapping is needed to achieve the desired focus. Portrait shots take about a second or two to process, but face detection is fast, and you can adjust the level of blur. We found the blurring to be overly aggressive even at the medium setting; you may need to dial it down to achieve a more natural look. Macro shots are acceptable but not particularly sharp. The low resolution limits any possibility of meaningful magnification or cropping. An ultra-wide angle camera would have been more beneficial than a macro camera at this price point.
Low-light photos fell short of expectations. While the phone manages to keep noise in check, the photos appear soft, and the colors are inaccurate. Night Mode takes over 5 seconds to capture an image requiring the user to remain absolutely still. Night mode does offer slightly improved sharpness and more light in dark areas.
Selfies in daylight are decent, but those taken in low light look flat. Although selfie portraits have good edge detection, capturing an image takes about 1-2 seconds.
Video recording is capped at 1080p for both the primary and selfie cameras, and the phone lacks any form of stabilization. Daylight footage is average, and the phone controls noise adequately in low-light conditions. However, the lack of stabilization leads to shaky footage.
Verdict: A Strong Contender for Budget-Conscious Users
The Moto E40 is Motorola’s latest entry in the sub-Rs. 10,000 market, offering decent hardware and a user-friendly experience for casual users. The Unisoc T700 SoC handles everyday tasks well, but it falls short when it comes to demanding applications and games. While enthusiasts will appreciate the near-stock Android experience, the camera performance is unlikely to impress.
Overall, the Moto E40 presents a strong proposition for budget-conscious users who value stock Android and a long-lasting battery. However, those seeking alternatives might consider options like the Realme Narzo 30A or the Infinix Hot 11S, which offer a more balanced feature set at a similar price point.
