The Motorola Edge 40 Neo straddles the line between the type of fantastic cheap phone that Moto is known for, and a more esteemed breed of mid-range mobile. And while it manages to be a respectable jack of all trades, it’s a master of none.
The handset is ostensibly a more affordable spin on the Motorola Edge 40, released in the early months of 2023, but with some compromises and corners cut in order to save you a bit of money. The three main distinctions are that the chipset is weaker, it has no wireless charging and the body is made from less premium materials.
Offering a ‘budget’ version of a flagship is standard practice in mobile-making, but the Neo offers very few weaker areas than its more premium compadre – in fact, it’s actually a more powerful phone in a few areas, with a bigger battery and more RAM. If you gave me the phones and didn’t tell me which was which, I wouldn’t be able to identify which of them cost over £100 more.
Many of the Edge 40’s impressive features are here in force. The charging is very quick for a Moto phone, with 68W powering getting your phone full in 30 minutes or less. Moto’s spin on stock Android continues to offer loads of customization options and handy shortcuts. The phone has a good-looking display, a range of attractive Pantone-designed color options and more storage than you’ll find in many other mobiles of this price.
(Image credit: Future)
Unfortunately, though the Moto Edge 40 Neo is an attractive alternative to its premium sibling, it doesn’t quite justify its higher price compared to members of the Moto G range of affordable Android handsets. We tested the Neo alongside the Moto G84 which costs less and is more impressive for what it offers, with similar specs, improved gaming capabilities and many features in common with the Neo.
One issue with the Edge 40 Neo is the curved-edge display. This is a feature that used to be commonplace in premium phones, and even some mid-rangers that were positioning themselves as neo-premiums. A display like this lets the phone sit more comfortably in the hand, and lends it a more refined feel, though it’s very easy to accidentally touch the edge and trigger some unintended function. That was the case with the Neo, and it made gaming an absolute pain.
Motorola’s continued Achilles’ Heel returns too in the form of the Edge 40 Neo’s cameras. The 50MP main and 13MP ultra-wide combo looks fine on paper, but the pictures are unremarkable and a little dull. This handset isn’t for the impassioned mobile photographer.
Overall the feature set here is solid, especially considering the low cost of the handset, but a few stumbling blocks stand in the way. Issues with the curved-edge display mean that gaming is more of a pain than it’s worth, making the powerful specs and good-looking screen redundant for gamers. And people who like the software and display will find contemporary Moto G handsets equal in function yet cheaper in price.
Motorola Edge 40 Neo review: price and availability
Released in September 2023
Costs £299.99 (roughly $375, AU$575)
Not for sale in US or Australia
(Image credit: Future)
The newest member of Motorola’s Edge family was announced in mid-September, alongside the Moto G84 and Moto G53. It went on sale shortly afterward in the UK – we don’t have any information on releases elsewhere, but judging by precedent, it could show up in the US down the line under a different name.
The phone costs just £299 (roughly $375, AU$575) which is surprisingly cheap for an Edge phone, given that some of the brand’s budget Moto G handsets have sold for more.
For comparison, the main Edge 40 costs £529 (roughly $690 / AU$1,015) while the Edge 30 Neo went for £349 (about $400, AU$500), so this is one of the cheapest Edge mobiles Moto has released.
Value score: 3.5 / 5
Motorola Edge 40 Neo review: specs
Is the Moto Edge 40 Neo a budget phone, or a mid-ranger? Let's look at its specs...
Motorola Edge 40 Neo review: design
Four Pantone-designed color options
Curved-edge display makes phone feel premium
USB-C port but no 3.5mm headphone jack
(Image credit: Future)
The Moto Edge 40 Neo looks surprisingly premium given its price tag. Between the curved-edge display, vibrant color options and svelte body, this could be confused from a distance for a Samsung or Xiaomi blower.
The Neo is one of several recent Moto phones that have had their color options designed by Pantone, and so three of the four you can pick between look distinct and unique. It’s the Caneel Bay model that you can see in pictures but there’s also Peach Fuzz, Soothing Sea (light green) and Black Beauty. This latter is the only one that looks rather basic — it’s just black.
Moto has also continued to use a design feature that used to be commonplace in premium mobiles, but is now sadly rare: the curved-edge display. This rounded screen makes the phone sit nice and comfortably in the hand, and it’s another element of the mobile that seems pinched from a much pricier model. While the angle isn’t as dramatic as the ‘Waterfall’ display used on the original Edge series, that just means it’s less slippery.
Unfortunately, some of the negative traits of premium mobiles are here too; there’s no 3.5mm headphone jack, for example, despite Moto continuing to feature this in most of its handsets. The only port, then, is the USB-C adaptor.
On the right edge of the phone is the volume rocker and power button, both in fairly easy-to-reach positions. The handset is lightweight at just 170g and measures 159.6 x 72 x 7.9mm.
It’s a well-protected handset with an IP68 rating. That means it’s nice and snug from dust particles and submersion in water.
Design score: 3.5 / 5
Motorola Edge 40 Neo review: display
Large 6.5-inch screen
Resolution of FHD+ (1080 x 2400)
High max brightness and snappy refresh rate
(Image credit: Future)
The phone’s screen is 6.55 inches across — fairly standard for a smartphone in this day and age. As mentioned in the design section it’s a curved-edge display, which makes it look a little larger, though this feature has a big drawback (head to the ‘Performance and audio’ section to learn more).
There’s nothing surprising in the resolution department: FHD+, or 2400 x 1080 pixels as the vast majority of smartphones are. This is all you really need, though, as popular games and streaming services output at this resolution or lower.
The phone has a nice snappy refresh rate of 144Hz, so motion looks lovely and smooth, and a fairly high max brightness of 1,300 nits too. As budget phone displays go this ticks all the boxes and puts a second tick in a few of them too, so you won’t be disappointed by it.
Display score: 4 / 5
Motorola Edge 40 Neo review: software
Uses Google's stock Android
Only two confirmed years of updates
Lots of navigation and customization features
(Image credit: Future)
The Motorola Edge 40 Neo comes running Android 13, the newest form of Google’s operating system as of its release. Moto tends to be reticent on future update plans though, so its promise for only two years of updates seems a little shallow compared to the longer update spans many other Android phones get. However, not everyone cares about getting the newest version of Android for years to come, and your phone will still work for many more years whether or not you get these updates.
The Neo uses near-stock Android, which means it’s as Google designed it, with no visual or functional overlay like many other Android brands use. Stock Android is generally regarded as having a pretty clean-looking interface with easy navigation.
Motorola has been slowly pulling stock Android in its own direction, though, by bringing more and more of its own features to the phones. These are all welcome additions. A long-running one is Moto Actions, little gestures you can do for shortcuts, including a double-karate-chop action to turn on a torch, or two rotating shakes to turn on the camera. They can take some getting used to, but they’re fantastic time-saving tools once you’ve got the knack.
In Moto’s recent phones it’s also been offering an expansive suite of customization options, more so than most rival mobiles. You can change font, color scheme, app icon shape, display edge light, and a lot more; if you love tinkering settings to your heart’s content, the Edge 40 Neo is going to let you do just that.
Software score: 4 / 5
Motorola Edge 40 Neo review: cameras
50MP main and 8MP ultra-wide cameras
Some extra features like Spot Color
32MP front-facing camera for selfies
(Image credit: Future)
You don't buy a Moto phone expecting Samsung- or iPhone-level photography chops, and there's no change in the Moto Edge 40 Neo.
The phone has two rear cameras, headed up by a 50MP f/1.8 snapper, which is joined by a 13MP f/2.2 120-degree ultra-wide. A fairly standard duo, all things considered.
The main camera is fit for purpose, but it won't wow. I took snaps that would be perfectly suitable for dropping onto Instagram or WhatsApp, but nothing that was fantastic enough that I was enthused to hunt down amazing scenes when I wasn't trying to test the cameras.
My main issue is that the snaps look a little grainy, even when well-lit, as you can see in the below cookies picture, which was taken with help from a professional photography light. The phone's processing sometimes added an odd color tint too, which you can see in both the pineapple and houseplant snaps.
Switch over to the ultra-wide camera, and you're getting pictures that are fairly low-res, and also a little duller than those taken on the main camera.
Selfies are... fine, that's the most descriptive word for these pictures. Portrait mode bokeh was fairly light-touch but sometimes gentle is better. Quality was lost in darker areas.
Moto has added a few extra camera modes beyond the standards, the main of which is a Samsung-esque Spot Color that lets you pick one color from the frame and remove all the others. It's a fun extra mode that not many phones offer, even though it wasn't always flawless in execution (it confused skin tone and wood colors on several occasions). It works both for photography and for videography.
You can record video in 1080p at 60fps or 4K at 30fps, and can drop the frame rate down to 240fps in slow-mo mode.
Camera score: 3 / 5
Motorola Edge 40 Neo camera samples
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Some home-made jammy dodgers taken on the Moto's main camera. (Image credit: Future)
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A houseplant taken on 1x camera mode, with an odd green tint (Image credit: Future)
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A selfie taken in standard mode. (Image credit: Future)
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A selfie taken in portrait mode (Image credit: Future)
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A picture of a pineapple taken on the main camera. (Image credit: Future)
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A picture of the Moto G84, another Pantone-colored Moto phone. Head over to that review to see a snap of the Neo taken on it. (Image credit: Future)
Motorola Edge 40 Neo review: performance and audio
Powerful Dimensity 7030 chipset plus 12GB RAM
Curved-edge display brings gaming problems
Bluetooth 5.4, tinny speakers and no headphone jack
On paper, the Moto is a budget gaming champ. It has the mid-range yet relatively powerful Dimensity 7030 chipset running under the hood, paired with an impressive 12GB RAM.
Those lend themselves to power, and a Geekbench 6 multi-core score of 2,513 shows that this certainly is a powerful phone compared to same-price contemporaries.
Unfortunately, the phone’s curvy screen makes gaming a frustrating experience. When I played Call of Duty: Mobile, I’d repeatedly accidentally tap the top edge of the display, bringing up the mini-map if it was on one edge or looking wildly around if it were the other. This same experience occurred on other titles too, depending on the buttons that their UI house right at the top.
There’s evidently little accidental-touch recognition here, despite this being a feature that Moto Edge phones have previously boasted. It’s a curious omission or flaw but it means the handset just isn’t great for gaming fans.
It’s a shame too, because the specs are fantastic for a phone of this price. A 144Hz display and 12GB RAM feels wasted in a phone like this.
As stated, there’s no 3.5mm headphone jack on the Moto Edge 40 Neo, so for music you’ll have to rely on connecting to the phone with Bluetooth 5.4 or using the stereo speakers. If you’re going for the latter, be warned that they’re a little tinny, especially if you crank up the volume louder. Fine for bangs and explosions for games, not so much for enjoying your favorite symphony on Spotify.
Performance score: 3 / 5
Motorola Edge 40 Neo review: battery life
Chunky 5,000mAh battery
Phone easily works into second day
Lovely fast 68W charging for half-hour power
(Image credit: Future)
As with the vast majority of its phones, Moto has put a 5,000mAh battery in the Edge 40 Neo, which is the largest-capacity power back you’ll find in the vast majority of smartphones.
In testing, the phone had no issues in lasting a full day of use, and often lasted until mid-way through a second day before it needed to be plugged in. Frugal phone users might even see the mobile last a whole second day.
So what’s that charging like? Well, Moto fans might do a double take here, but it’s 68W; given that Motorola generally sticks to slow charging for its phones, that’s a surprisingly snappy speed that we’re happy to see.
You can power the phone to full from empty in just over half an hour; Motorola’s selling the phone on its ability to charge to 50% in under 15 minutes, which our testing concurred with. Just don’t expect wireless charging, on the Neo or any phone at this price!
Battery score: 4 / 5
Should you buy the Motorola Edge 40 Neo?
Buy it if...
You like funky phones
Coming in four Pantone-designed color options, the Edge 40 Neo is one for you if you're bored of the typical 'black or blue' options you get for most Android phones.
You're a curved-edge display fan
Curved-edge displays have their fans and their detractors, and if you're in the latter camp you have few options. The Edge 40 Neo is a definite consideration for you.
You like customizing your software Colorful phone options, colorful phone interface: Moto's phones are rife with ways to customize the look of your handset's interface.
Don't buy it if...
You're a mobile gamer
The curved-edge display's accidental touch issues nearly had me pulling my hair out when I was testing the Neo on online games. This is not one for mobile gamers!
You’re a phone photographer
Motorola's phones rarely have anything in the way of photography chops, and that's definitely the case here too. Fit for purpose, but won't wow.
You care about software updates If you care about how long your smartphone will see new features for, you might find the Edge a little limited compared to some other brands' phones.
Motorola Edge 40 Neo review: also consider
Considering other mobiles beyond the Moto Edge 40 Neo? Here are some others you could look into:
Moto Edge 40 You're getting a more powerful chipset here as well as a slightly smaller phone made with more premium materials, but it costs more and is pretty much the same (or weaker) in all other departments.
Poco X5 For the same price as the Edge 40 Neo, gaming fans can get this powerful Android phone with a big, bold display. Don't expect as many features as on Moto's phones but its gaming chops far exceed the Neo's.
How I tested the Motorola Edge 40 Neo
(Image credit: Future)
Review test period = 2 week
Testing included = Everyday usage, including web browsing, social media, photography, video calling, gaming, streaming video, music playback
I tested the Motorola Edge 40 Neo alongside the G84 and G53, which were announced and released alongside it. I used the Caneel Bay color variant of this mobile, and I've never been to Caneel Bay itself so I can't attest to the color's accuracy.
Since the Edge 40 Neo was not the first of the three phones I tested, it enjoyed an extended testing period, as for two weeks I set it up to let the battery settle, and for the occasional gaming or photography session. The 'true' testing time was two weeks, and I used the mobile as my own handset for this time.
I've been testing smartphones for TechRadar for almost five years now. In fact, after joining the team in early 2019, my first-ever review was a Motorola handset. I left TechRadar in late 2022 but continue to contribute freelance reviews of mobiles as well as speakers, running gadgets, headphones and more. That is to say, I have a long track record of testing devices like the Motorola Edge 40 Neo.
Stepping into the realm of cross-training shoes, the Inov-8 F-Lite G 300 is a standout choice for those with wider feet. This shoe blends durability and stability in a package that can be applied to a range of fitness environments.
The shoe boasts a lovely, striking design. It’s made with durable graphene, yet remains surprisingly light at only 300g – a balance of strength and lightness which is a rare find in cross-training shoes. The F-Lite G 300 offers a range of color selections, including a stylish black-and-white cow print, appealing to those who value aesthetics alongside performance.
Performance-wise, the F-Lite G 300 impresses. Its cushioning and flexibility are apt for diverse workouts, from weightlifting to cross-training. However, it's not without its quirks that prevent it from being given an elusive five stars: the laces don’t tighten as much as I’d like, and the black tab bled color on my ankle during initial uses. Comfort is generally good but not always consistent during testing.
Ideal for individuals with a wider foot, the shoe supports a transition between running and lifting seamlessly. Yet, it’s worth mentioning that it might not be the perfect fit for everyone, particularly those with narrow feet or people who prefer a completely flat-bottomed shoe.
Overall, the Inov-8 F-Lite G 300 stands as a robust option in the world of cross-training shoes, especially for those prioritising durability and a wider fit. Its unique blend of materials and thoughtful design make it a worthy consideration for your next athletic shoe purchase.
Inov-8 F-Lite G 300: Specifications
Inov-8 F-Lite G 300: Price and availability
(Image credit: Future / Lee Bell)
Around $150 in the US
£145 in the UK
AU$159 in Australia
The Inov-8 F-Lite G 300 is competitively priced, catering to a global audience with varied regional pricing. In the United States, the cross-training shoes are available for approximately $150. For fitness enthusiasts in the UK, they can be purchased for £145, while in Australia, the price is set at around AU$159.
This is about the going rate for a good pair of fitness shoes, especially those that support a wide range of athletic pursuits, from gym workouts to outdoor activities, like these do. However, it’s not outstanding enough value to recommend on price alone.
Value score: 3.5/5
Inov-8 F-Lite G 300: Design
(Image credit: Future / Lee Bell)
Robust graphene construction
Lightweight, weighing only 300g
Wide range of color options
When it comes to cross-training shoes, design isn't just about good looks; it's about crafting a shoe that meets the demands of varied workouts. The Inov-8 F-Lite G 300 makes a good first impression thanks to a blend of functionality and style.
One of the first things you'll notice about this shoe once it's on your foot is its durable graphene construction. Graphene is renowned for its strength, but don't let this toughness fool you – these shoes are surprisingly lightweight at just 300 grams. This delicate balance of durability and weight is quite the design feat, in my opinion, catering to the needs of cross-trainers who need both resilience and agility from their kicks.
Available in a variety of color combinations, the F-Lite G 300 can match just about any gym outfit. For those who prefer understated elegance, the black/white variant is the color I reviewed and proved to be a solid choice. If you're more about making a statement, then the black-and-white cow print could be your go-to.
As for the fit, these shoes are specially designed for those with wider feet, providing ample room without compromising on support. The knit upper of the shoe adds to the comfort factor, ensuring breathability during intense workouts. However, it's worth noting that the laces might not tighten to everyone's liking since their design tightens to the cage of the shoe, not your foot. Something to keep in mind for those who prefer a snugger fit.
Design score: 4/5
Inov-8 F-Lite G 300: Performance
(Image credit: Future / Lee Bell)
Versatile performance across multiple activities
Stable base for weightlifting
Mixed bag comfort-wise
After putting the Inov-8 F-Lite G 300 through its paces, it's clear these shoes are a strong contender in the cross-training category, albeit with a few caveats.
Let's start with the positives. The graphene-enhanced durability means these shoes can take a beating, whether it's from rope climbs, box jumps, or sprints. Their resilience in varied training scenarios is commendable. Also, their lightweight nature is a pleasant surprise, especially given their robust build. During quick runs, the shoes felt agile and didn't weigh me down, a vital aspect for any cross-trainer.
The grip is another plus. The graphene outsole ensures excellent traction, giving that extra bit of confidence during workouts, particularly in lifts and quick directional changes. It's one of those features you don't realise you need until you experience it.
However, the F-Lite G 300 isn't without its drawbacks. The laces don't provide the tightness some athletes prefer, which could be a dealbreaker for those who need absolute stability, especially in dynamic movements. This was a notable concern during high-intensity workouts where foot security is paramount.
Comfort-wise, they're a mixed bag. The shoes don't require a lengthy break-in period, which is a significant plus. They're comfortable out of the box, a rarity in training shoes. Yet, for narrow-footed individuals, there’s risk they could be a bit too roomy: yet another reminder that these shoes are best suited for those with wider feet.
In terms of versatility, the Inov-8 F-Lite G 300 shoes do a decent job of balancing between lifting and cardio. While they aren't the best for specialised activities like Olympic lifting or long-distance running, they perform well in a general cross-training setting. A decent buy for those who like to do a bit of everything, if you ask me.
Honor was once a brand whose name adorned the shelves of the budget mobile aisle, but with the launch of the Honor Magic 5 Pro in 2023, the former Huawei subsidiary proved itself capable of competing with the likes of Apple and Samsung in the premium hardware department.
Honor has since rocked the boat with a truly unique foldable phone (see the Honor Magic V2), while maintaining a strong presence in the mid-range category (see the Honor 90), but it’s clear that the Chinese company has its sights set firmly on the luxury electronics market.
The Honor Magic 6 Pro is the latest feature-packed flagship to emerge from Honor’s R&D labs, and it marks another leap forward for this fast-growing mobile manufacturer. In essence, the Magic 6 Pro is the Magic 5 Pro with an even more adventurous rear design, a slightly better camera system and all-new AI smarts, which seems to be the usual upgrade recipe for today’s best phones.
That camera upgrade comes by way of an almighty 180MP periscope telephoto lens, which sits alongside a 50MP wide lens and a 50MP ultra-wide lens in Honor’s ‘Star Wheel’ camera notch. The internal hardware is powered by Qualcomm’s top-of-the-line Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset.
(Image credit: Future / Axel Metz)
The Magic 6 Pro’s battery is a large 5,600mAh cell, which is necessary due to the increased processing power required by those aforementioned AI features. That said, the Magic 6 Pro still boasts endurance to match or exceed the latest handsets from Apple, Samsung and Google – it charges faster than all of them, too.
The Magic 6 Pro’s battery is 10% larger than that of its predecessor – 5,600mAh versus 5,100mAh – but the increased processing power required by those aforementioned AI features means that you won’t see much, if any, improvements in overall battery life. That said, the Magic 6 Pro still boasts endurance to match or exceed the latest handsets from Apple, Samsung and Google – it charges faster than all of them, too.
Honor’s Magic OS software still doesn’t hold a candle to Apple’s iOS software or Samsung’s One UI interface, and despite the seamless integration of Magic Portal and the future-facing potential of Magic Capsule (more on both of these features later), you don’t get any generative photo editing features with the Magic 6 Pro.
Its price isn’t exactly attractive, either – at £1,099.99, it's £150 more expensive than the Magic 5 Pro. However, accounting for the phone’s singular storage configuration (512GB with 12GB RAM), the Magic 6 Pro costs the same as the equivalent Samsung Galaxy S24 Plus model (£1,099), and it’s actually slightly cheaper than the iPhone 15 Plus (£1,199) and Google Pixel 8 Pro (£1,179) models with the same storage capacity. As with most Honor phones, the Magic 6 Pro isn’t available to buy in the US.
All told, then, the Honor Magic 6 Pro is indisputably one of the best Android phones of 2024, and the best Honor phone that the brand has released thus far. But if you’re already well-accustomed to the simplicity of rival operating systems, you should think carefully about forking out the £1,099.99 needed to buy one.
Honor Magic 6 Pro review: Price and availability
Costs £1,099.99 / €1299.90
Available in the UK and Europe, but not the US or Australia
Honor’s latest flagship was announced in China on February 25, 2024, and went on sale in the UK and Europe on March 8, 2024. In the latter two regions, the Magic 6 Pro is available in a single storage configuration – 512GB with 12GB RAM – for £1,099.99 / €1299.90.
For reference, the Honor Magic 5 Pro launched for £949.99 / €1,199 in 2023, so Honor has hiked the price of its successor by a not-insubstantial £150 in the UK, and €100 in Europe. However, as mentioned above, that £949.99 price puts the Magic 6 Pro on a par with the equivalent storage variant of the Samsung Galaxy S24 Plus – in the UK, at least – and also makes the phone slightly cheaper than equivalent variants of the iPhone 15 Plus (£1,199) and Google Pixel 8 Pro (£1,179).
At the time of writing, the Magic 6 Pro is not available to purchase in the US or Australia.
Value score: 3 / 5
Honor Magic 6 Pro review: Specs
Here's a look at the Honor Magic 6 Pro's key specs:
Honor Magic 6 Pro review: Design
(Image credit: Future / Axel Metz)
Luxury watch-inspired camera module
IP68 water and dust resistance
The Magic 6 Pro measures 162.5 x 75.8 x 8.9mm and has a 6.8-inch display, so this isn’t a handset for those who prefer smaller phones. But despite its enormous screen – which is actually a touch bigger than the iPhone 15 Pro Max – Honor’s latest flagship isn’t especially heavy. In fact, at 221g, it’s a whole 11g lighter than the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra (232g), which also has a 6.8-inch display.
From a design standpoint, the phone innovates upon the Magic 5 Pro, which introduced Honor’s ‘Star Wheel’ camera module. The design of the Magic 6 Pro’s Star Wheel is a nod to “cushion-shaped watches, jade congs, and baroque diamonds,” according to Honor, and given that the former were popularized by luxury watchmaker Panerai in the 1940s, it’s easy to see why the company has embraced this unique ‘squircle’ shape on the Magic 6 Pro
What’s more, this year’s Star Wheel module is more practical. I liked the look of the Magic 5 Pro’s rear camera module but didn’t love the way it felt in the hand (I found that my index finger rubbed against its edge). Due to its wider shape, the Magic 6 Pro’s Star Wheel is more comfortable to the touch, and even more eye-catching than its predecessor, so kudos to Honor’s design team for this small-but-important change.
There’s no titanium in sight on the Magic 6 Pro, but since this is a cheaper phone than the 512GB variants of the iPhone 15 Pro Max (£1,399) and Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra (£1,349) – two phones that do boast titanium designs – I think Honor was right to make the compromise. You still get IP68 water and dust resistance with the Magic 6 Pro, which brings Honor’s latest flagship in line with those competitors.
In the UK and Europe, the Magic 6 Pro is available in Black or Epi Green. The black features “velvet matte glass”, while the green features “ripple classic leather”, and both design touches make the Magic 6 Pro feel undeniably premium. The ripples on the Epi Green variant are pleasantly grippy, so I recommend that option.
Design score: 4 / 5
Honor Magic 6 Pro review: Display
(Image credit: Future / Axel Metz)
6.8-inch OLED display
Eye-friendly screen technology
5,000-nit peak HDR brightness
The Magic 6 Pro has a 6.8-inch OLED display with a 120Hz adaptive refresh rate. That’s the standard for the best Android phones these days (take note, Apple), but the screen on Honor’s latest flagship stands out from the crowd for two reasons.
First is how it sits on the phone itself. The Magic 6 Pro’s 6.8-inch display is curved – or rather, its edges ‘spill over’ the side of the device. Most of today’s best phones use flat-edged displays, and while I have no particular preference for one approach or the other, Honor’s decision to go with a curved display on the Magic 6 Pro will inevitably appeal to some, and deter others. It's unique, at least.
The second distinguishing feature of the Magic 6 Pro’s display is the technology behind it. As with the Magic 5 Pro (and indeed the Magic V2 and Honor 90), the Magic 6 Pro boasts Honor’s proprietary Circadian Night Display technology, which filters blue light to improve the quality of your sleep. This particular phone is also aided by an impressive 4,320Hz PWM dimming cycle rate that works to minimize strain on the eyes, so if you’re someone who regularly scrolls through social media in the small hours (and let’s face it, who isn’t these days?), the Magic 6 Pro will at least try to reduce the physical impact of that behavior.
The Magic 6 Pro boasts an almighty peak HDR brightness of 5,000 nits (in very specialized situations) though you’re likely to experience around 1,600 nits in day-to-day use (which is more than respectable).
On the durability front, the phone’s display is protected by Honor’s NanoCrystal Shield, which is supposedly 10 times stronger than regular glass. Naturally, I wasn’t able to put that claim to the test, but I can say that my Magic 6 Pro review unit regularly emerged from my key-filled pocket unscathed.
Display score: 5 / 5
Honor Magic 6 Pro review: Cameras
(Image credit: Future / Axel Metz)
50MP wide lens (f/1.4-2.0)
50MP ultra-wide lens (f/2.0)
180MP periscope telephoto lens (f/2.6)
As with most premium Android phones, the Honor Magic 6 Pro goes big on mobile photography, but this particular device has a few distinguishing tricks up its sleeve.
For starters, the Magic 6 Pro’s 50MP wide lens uses an adjustable aperture (f/1.4-2.0), a feature we haven’t seen on a smartphone for years. When taking shots in normal lightning conditions, the phone uses a standard f/2.0 aperture, but it’ll automatically switch to the wider f/1.4 aperture when shooting in low-light environments. Neat!
Also unique is the Magic 6 Pro’s astounding 180MP periscope telephoto lens (f/2.6), which is the largest sensor on a zoom lens I’ve ever seen on a smartphone. This supersized lens is only capable of 2.5x optical zoom, mind – which is a downgrade from the 3.5x-capable Magic 5 Pro – but the phone can still achieve 5x lossless zoom by cropping shots from the 180MP lens.
An unchanged 50MP ultra-wide lens (f/2.0) rounds out the Magic 6 Pro’s rear camera array, and you get an impressively large 50MP front-facing camera, too.
Let’s start with the performance of the telephoto lens, which is the headline feature of the Magic 6 Pro. On a sunny day in London, shots taken with this lens were rich in detail and exceptionally vivid. At 1x, 2.5x and 5x magnification, colors were realistic and the subject(s) kept in focus, though I’d advise against zooming any further than 10x, where things take a turn for the Dali-esque (the Magic 6 Pro will technically let you zoom digitally up to 100x, but don’t bother).
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The performance of the variable wide lens was similarly consistent. Shots taken with this lens were crisp, and the depth of field impressive, with shadows appearing particularly life-like.
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(Image credit: Future / Axel Metz)
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(Image credit: Future / Axel Metz)
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(Image credit: Future / Axel Metz)
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(Image credit: Future / Axel Metz)
My main gripe with Honor’s assistive camera software continues to be its overcompensation of certain colors – specifically lighter shades of green and blue. As with the Magic V2, the Magic 6 Pro occasionally over-eggs the appearance of the sky or the trees, while at night, artificial blue light presents a particular challenge.
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(Image credit: Future / Axel Metz)
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(Image credit: Future / Axel Metz)
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(Image credit: Future / Axel Metz)
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(Image credit: Future / Axel Metz)
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(Image credit: Future / Axel Metz)
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(Image credit: Future / Axel Metz)
This isn’t a deal-breaker, by any means, but the Magic 6 Pro doesn’t balance colors perfectly every time. I suspect this has something to do with the way the phone uses AI to identify certain environmental features and adjust the composition of the shot accordingly (see the image in below).
(Image credit: Future / Axel Metz)
I found the Magic 6 Pro’s portrait mode performance to be better than most, while the phone’s 50MP front-facing camera is also solid, if nothing groundbreaking. On the video front, you can record video in 4K at up to 60 frames per second with any of the three rear camera lenses, while the 4K-compatible selfie camera tops out at 30 fps.
All this adds up to an indisputably strong camera phone that ranks alongside best camera phones for versatility, but not necessarily consistency. There’s also no AI-powered photo editing, the likes of which you will find on the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra and Google Pixel 8 Pro.
Cameras score: 4 / 5
Honor Magic 6 Pro review: Performance and software
(Image credit: Future / Axel Metz)
Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset
12GB RAM and 512GB storage
Neat Magic Capsule and Magic Portal features
Under the hood, the Magic 6 Pro is powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset – that’s the same chipset you’ll find inside the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra, OnePlus 12 and Xiaomi 14.
Working in tandem with the Magic 6 Pro’s 12GB RAM and 512GB storage, Qualcomm’s latest chipset delivers consistently brilliant performance, regardless of the task. Web browsing, messaging, mobile gaming and high-quality video streaming are child’s play for this phone, and while we’ve come to expect as much from devices in this price range – you’d be hard-pressed to find a flagship phone in 2024 that isn’t lightning fast – you needn’t worry about the Magic 6 Pro’s heavy lifting ability.
The phone sets itself apart, for better or worse, through its software. The Magic 6 Pro runs Honor’s Magic OS 8 skin atop Android 14, which differs from the stock version of Android in several interesting – if not always successful – ways.
The first distinguishing feature is Magic Capsule, which is an unashamed copy of Apple’s Dynamic Island in both functionality and appearance.
Personally, I don’t have a problem with the similarity – both Magic Capsule and the Dynamic Island are useful tools for quickly controlling music, timers, notifications and incoming calls – but it’s hard to give kudos to Honor for adding this feature given the obvious lack of originality.
One interesting – and undeniably unique – feature of Magic Capsule is its ability to let you control parts of the Magic 6 Pro’s UI using nothing but your eyes. Or rather, this feature would be interesting if it was actually available to use. At the time of writing, Honor’s eye-tracking tech – which is currently compatible with Magic Capsule apps like Timer, Alarm and Call – is limited to the Chinese market, though the company has assured TechRadar that the feature will be added to international versions of the device in the near future.
The headline feature of the Magic 6 Pro’s AI offering is Magic Portal, which forms a key part of what Honor describes as the “world’s first intent-based UI.” What does that mean, exactly? Well, instead of acting upon request, Magic OS 8 uses Magic Portal to render services according to user intentions.
In essence, it’s a shortcut feature that lets you switch between apps and services with a single swipe. For instance, if you’re sent some location information by a friend and want to get to that location in a hurry, Magic Portal will let you drag those details – in one fell swoop – from the messages app across into a compatible ride-hailing or navigation app, saving you clicks in the process.
Magic Portal in action on the Honor Magic 6 Pro (Image credit: Future)
In my experience, Magic Portal delivered accurate results and worked pretty seamlessly. I particularly like the way text lifts off the page without creating another white box behind it. I also liked the strong haptic feedback when tapping images, and the way the page 'tilts' in order to share the screen with other apps.
One big miss with the Magic 6 Pro is its lack of generative AI tools. I’m no particular fan of artificially recomposing images, but given that the latest flagships from Samsung and Google boast a veritable smorgasbord of AI-powered editing features, it’s an omission that I suspect will become more noticeable as the quality and quantity of AI features becomes the standard by which new flagship phones are measured.
On the longevity front, Honor is committing to four years of Android updates and five years of security updates for the Magic 6 Pro. That’s less than the seven-year commitments made by Samsung and Google, but equal to OnePlus’ commitment to the OnePlus 12.
Performance score: 5 / 5
Software score: 3 / 5
Honor Magic 6 Pro review: Battery
(Image credit: Future / Axel Metz)
4,900mAh battery is a slight upgrade
45W wired charging, 15W wireless charging
The Magic 6 Pro boasts a rival-beating 5,600mAh silicon-carbon battery, which should give you around a day and a half of charge when using the phone casually. For reference, we managed to squeeze two days of charge out of the iPhone 15 Plus, but if we’re talking about the most expensive flagships exclusively, the Magic 6 Pro is the best of the current bunch in the endurance department.
Honor’s latest flagship supports up to 80W wired and 66W wireless charging, but annoyingly, you won’t get any type of charger in the box. The brand claims that a full charge takes 40 minutes, and that turned out to be pretty accurate in a test I conducted using the 100W charger that is provided with the Porsche Design version of this phone (I guess that’s what an extra £1,000 buys you these days).
After 15 minutes from a completely dead state, my Magic 6 Pro device had reached 36% charge, and 70% after 30 minutes. A full charge took 46 minutes, which is faster than every iPhone 15 model and every Samsung Galaxy S24 model we’ve tested, but a tad slower than the Xiaomi 14 and OnePlus 12R. However, if you’re using a lower-wattage charger with the Magic 6 Pro, charging speeds will be slower.
Battery score: 4 / 5
Should you buy the Honor Magic 6 Pro?
Buy it if...
You want a best-in-class display This phone's 6.8-inch curved OLED screen is big, bright and kind to your eyes. You won't find a better display anywhere elsewhere in 2024.
You're a fan of big phones If you're after a big-screened Android phone that won't weigh down your pocket, the Magic 6 Pro s is as portable as 6.8-inch phones come.
You need long-lasting battery life The Magic 6 Pro's supersized5,600mAh silicon-carbon battery offers around a day and a half of charge, which is supremely impressive given the amount of power at your disposal.
Don't buy it if...
You're already embedded into a simpler OS Honor's Magic OS is better than ever, but it's still not at the level of iOS or cleaner versions of Android. Think twice if you're not ready to jump into something new.
You want generative AI editing tools If you're someone who's excited by the prospect of recomposing images after taking them, you may be dissapointed by the Magic 6 Pro's lack of generative AI editing tools.
Honor Magic 6 Pro review: Also consider
As you'll have read by now, the Honor Magic 6 Pro is a well-designed, highly capable and thoroughly unique device, but there are, of course, alternative phones to consider.
Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra If you're keen to stick with Android and have a little extra cash to spend, the Galaxy S24 Ultra is indisputably the best Android phone money can buy right now.
Apple iPhone 15 Plus If you're not fussed about AI features and prefer Apple's more accessible iOS software, the iPhone 15 Plus is a great option. It's almost the same size as the Magic 6 Pro, just as powerful and offers even better battery life. The screen isn't anywhere near as good, mind.
How I tested the Honor Magic 6 Pro
Review test period: four weeks
Testing included: everyday use including web browsing, social media, photography, video calling, gaming, streaming video, music playback
I received – and subsequently lived for four weeks with – a review-ready version of the Honor Magic 6 Pro at MWC in March 2024, using it for productivity purposes during my working day and for social media browsing and gaming in the evenings.
I compared the experience of playing power-hungry games like EA Sports FC 24 and Asphalt 9: Legends on the Magic 6 Pro to the experience of playing the same games on the iPhone 15 Pro, which helped me to quantify just how well the device’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset stacks up against Apple's A17 Pro. I also used the phone to stream color-rich documentaries via YouTube, and also logged into Twitter and Instagram to assess the social media browsing experience.
I used Geekbench 6 for CPU testing and Geekbench ML for machine learning and AI benchmarking, while battery life was assessed based on real-world usage. I measured charge time in 15-minute intervals using 100W Honor SuperCharge charger.
If there’s one phone brand with whom you never know what you’re getting, it’s Oppo, but with its latest mid-range mobile it’s managed to make a phone that’ll (mostly) wow you, especially if you’re looking for a great device without spending too much.
The Oppo Reno 10 is the latest of Oppo’s mid-tier mobiles to launch globally, after the Oppo Reno 8 in 2022 – the brand tends to alternate between global releases and China-only ones. And for the first time in many generations, this is a Reno phone that’s really worth checking out.
At its core, the Oppo Reno 10 is a premium phone with a price tag that’s a lot lower than one would expect. It's easily one of the best cheap phones on the market, embarrassing rival handsets from the likes of Samsung, Apple and Google by just how far ahead it is. It feels better in the hand, performs faster, offers a better display, lasts longer and looks more appealing, though it does have two major weaknesses that keep it away from a higher score.
The design is a large draw of this phone. Oppo has brought the curved-edge display design back to low-cost phones, yet has managed to avoid many of the issues common to this feature, like accidental side presses.
(Image credit: Future)
The Reno 10 may not have a top-end chipset but it works wonderfully for gaming, and streaming videos is just as much of a treat thanks to its top-spec screen. Its battery lasts a long time, and it charges quickly. What’s not to like?
Well, some things aren’t to like; one of them is the camera. Oppo has aped top-end mobiles by introducing a telephoto camera for zoom photography – this is such a rarity that I wish I could be singing from the rooftops about the Reno 10’s camera prowess, but it joins an utterly underwhelming camera line-up. Photos taken on the Reno 10 are dull, grainy and lifeless.
In its software, Oppo decided to copy not premium phones, but the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. ColorOS is absolutely littered with pre-installed bloatware apps – I counted 30 on my phone when I first booted it up! At its core, the software is great, with easy navigation and handy customization features, but it’s hard to sail through without getting yourself caught on all its trash.
If you scarcely use your phone camera, and don’t mind spending a good chunk of your phone set-up time wearing out your thumbs by deleting countless random games and shopping apps, then the Oppo Reno 10 will be an absolutely fantastic pick for you. Even those two major pitfalls are easy enough to forgive when you consider the phone’s competitive low price.
But don’t say I didn’t warn you!
Oppo Reno 10 review: price and availability
Released in August 2023
Costs £399 / AU$749 (around $500)
On sale in UK and Australia, not US
(Image credit: Future)
The Oppo Reno 10 was unveiled in August 2023, and like many of the brand’s phones, it’s available in the UK and Australia but not the US.
You can pick up the phone in its sole configuration for £399 / AU$749 (around $500), which is a small but welcome discount from the Oppo Reno 8’s £419 / AU$999 – that was the last Reno mobile that launched globally, as Oppo generally reserves odd-numbered entries for Chinese markets.
At that price, the Reno sits at the cheaper end of the vaguely defined ‘mid-range’ mobile market. In the UK it undercuts some big-name rivals like the Google Pixel 7a (starts at $499 / £449 / AU$749) or the most recent iPhone SE (starts at $429 / £419 / AU$719), though as you can see its Australian price is on par with its peers.
Value score: 4 / 5
Oppo Reno 10 review: specs
A budget phone with premium specs, here's how the Oppo Reno 10 looks on paper:
Oppo Reno 10 review: design
Curved-edge display adds premium feel
A touch on the big side
Camera bump protrudes quite far
(Image credit: Future)
Oppo is one of a small number of mobile phone companies offering curved-edge smartphones at low prices – that’s right, the Reno 10 has a display that tapers at the edge. This makes it more comfortable to hold in your hand than many other rival devices, and gives it a premium sheen – plus, in the Reno, it’s not so curvy that you’re at risk of accidentally pressing the sides. Not once in my testing period did I incur the ‘accidental side press’ that can plague so many curved-edge mobiles.
If anything, your issue here is going to be hand strain, because the Reno 10 is a pretty big device. It measures 162.4 x 74.2 x 8mm, and weighs 185g, so while it’s relatively thin and lightweight for a phone of its size, people with smaller hands may struggle to use its extensive display size.
Talking of big, the Reno 10’s rear camera bump is pretty huge. It’s a large lozenge-shaped protrusion that houses all three of the lenses and a flash, and it sticks out a fair way from the phone too. You won’t be putting this mobile down flat on a surface, unless it’s in a case.
Glass houses the back and front of the phone, making this mobile feel pretty premium compared to most same-price rivals. But it’ll be a little more fragile than a plastic device, so a case is advised. In the UK, it only comes in a pretty plain gray color too, imaginatively titled Silvery Gray, so a case will give it some life too – more vibrant alternatives are available in some countries though.
The volume rocker and power button are both housed on the right edge of the mobile – I could reach both at a stretch, though to unlock the phone you need to use the in-screen fingerprint scanner that felt too low-down on the display to use naturally.
The Oppo has a USB-C port on its button edge for charging and data transfer but no 3.5mm headphone jack in sight. You’ll have to use an adaptor if you want to use wired headphones or speakers.
Design score: 4 / 5
Oppo Reno 10 review: display
Chunky 6.7-inch screen
FHD+ resolution and 120Hz refresh rate
Max brightness could be a little higher
(Image credit: Future)
The Oppo Reno 10’s size is partly because of its large display: at 6.7 inches diagonally, this is a big display, and you won’t find bigger on phones at this price.
It’s a good-looking screen, with a FHD+ resolution (1080 x 2412 pixels) making your games or videos look clear, and the 120Hz refresh rate makes motion appear smooth.
The HDR10+ certification is just a cherry on top – whether you’re binging a TV show, playing a game, checking out pictures you took or just scrolling through social media, this big and bold display is one of the best you’ll find on a phone at this price point.
If I have a gripe, it’s that the maximum brightness is a little low. At 950 nits, it’s fine for if you’re inside or out and about on an overcast day, but even in this latter circumstance I had to turn the brightness to max to see the screen easily. On a sunny day, you may find it a little hard to see.
Display score: 3.5 / 5
Oppo Reno 10 review: software
Horrendous bloatware issue
Quick to navigate and handily laid out
Lots of customization options
Three screenshots showing the user interface of the Oppo Reno 10 as soon as it was set up for the first time. Note how some of those icons are actually folders, hiding even more pre-installed apps. (Image credit: Future / Oppo)
The Oppo Reno 10 comes with the newest Android 13 software pre-loaded, with Oppo’s own ColorOS plastered over the top. This Android fork has a similar layout to stock Android, but with a distinctive design to give the software a more playful and energetic tone. Oh, and it has a few choice changes over the base Google-designed software.
I’m talking about bloatware – the Reno has loads. For those that don’t know, bloatware refers to pre-installed apps on the phone beyond the basics that you need for functionality (like a camera app, photo library, Play Store etc). Some companies choose to pack their phones with their own apps, or third-party licensed ones, and in this phone Oppo seems intent on taking that to the logical extreme.
When I first booted up the phone, it was already jam-packed with random games, shopping apps, entertainment platforms, and more – I counted over 30. Some of these are ones I’d choose to install, and it was useful not having to manually download Netflix, but the time I saved in having the streaming service pre-installed was more than made up for in all the unknown apps I had to delete.
Once you’ve worn out your thumbs deleting ‘June’s Journey’ and ‘Portal Parkour’, ColorOS is actually a pretty great operating system. Its buttons, both on the swipe-down quick settings and notifications panels, as well as on the home page, are bold and easy to understand at a scan. Navigation is easy thanks to a handily-accessible app drawer plus well-placed search options. And there’s lots of customization with bespoke widgets, plenty of built-in wallpaper options and ‘style’ options that let you change the always-on display, font, icon and fingerprint animations.
Thanks to the 120Hz display and powerful internals, navigating the phone’s software is a breeze. ColorOS is great to use for people who find stock Android a bit plain – it’s just a shame about the bloatware.
Software score: 2.5 / 5
Oppo Reno 10 review: cameras
64MP main, 32MP zoom and 8MP ultra-wide cameras
Pictures are unimpressive: lack color, detail, are blown out
32MP snapper on front which suffers from same traits
(Image credit: Future)
The Oppo Reno 10 makes a staggering leap in the area of budget camera phones: it’s the first low-cost mobile in roughly five years that comes with a telephoto lens, for optical zoom photography (usually when you zoom in on a phone camera it just zooms digitally, via cropping, which quickly loses detail).
This is a 32MP f/2.0 snapper with a lens for 2x optical zoom, and it joins the main 64MP f/1.7 and 8MP f/2.2 ultra-wide cameras to round out the trio. It’s understandable to get excited about this lens tripartite – it’s the same combo that premium mobiles from Samsung and Apple use – but it sadly doesn’t save the Oppo from camera mundanity.
There’s nothing offensively bad with photos taken on the Reno 10, but they’re noticeably lacking. The colors look washed out, darker areas lack detail, and images could look surprisingly grainy – this is all with HDR turned on. You also have to hold the phone still for longer to capture a picture than you’d think, as my camera reel was full of blurry misfires.
Talking of misfires, there’s Night mode, which somehow makes night-time pictures look a lot worse. You’ll see two pictures taken at night below; the first is using the normal camera without tweaking settings. As you can see the water is sharp, the light reflecting in it is distinct and fades out, and the contrast between the darker and brighter areas brings your attention to the center. Then there’s the night mode image which turns it into an oil pastel painting.
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The River Thames at night captured on the Oppo Reno 10's standard photo mode. (Image credit: Future)
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The River Thames at night captured on the Oppo Reno 10's Night photo mode. (Image credit: Future)
To give Oppo props for anything, it’s that there’s parity between lenses: you can zoom in to 2x and all the same issues from the main camera are present. Still, it’s nice to have this option for versatile photography. That’s not so true for the ultrawide lens which, with its 8MP sensor, loses too much information to be worth using.
The front of the phone wields a 32MP f/2.4 wide camera, and photos on this bore better fruit than on its rear siblings, but only slightly. Snaps are sharp and, in Portrait mode the digital bokeh is accurate to the body. However, brighter backgrounds in selfies were often blown out, and again colors weren’t rich enough. You’ll see two selfies in the camera gallery below – the shirt I’m wearing is meant to be forest green.
The Oppo Reno 10 records video at 4K/30fps or 1080p/60fps, and it also packs all the standard phone camera options: slow-mo (1080p/480fps or 720p/960fps), panoramic photography, time lapse and Pro mode. It also has an Extra HD mode so you can take pictures at 64MP instead of its default pixel-binned option.
Camera score: 2.5 / 5
Oppo Reno 10 camera samples
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A standard picture taken on the Oppo Reno 10, kicking off the camera samples with an acceptable one. (Image credit: Future)
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Here's another 1x picture, taken to contrast the next two. (Image credit: Future)
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An ultra-wide shot of the same scene. (Image credit: Future)
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A 2x zoom shot of the same scene. (Image credit: Future)
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A close-up image. The phone focuses quickly on close-up subjects. (Image credit: Future)
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A selfie. Note the shirt color, as mentioned earlier, and also the subject's positioning. (Image credit: Future)
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A Portrait selfie. Notice how some of the fringe has been blurred, though overall it's not catastrophic. (Image credit: Future)
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No, the sun's not setting in the background - this snap was taken at midday, and it misses all the vibrancy of the actual scene. (Image credit: Future)
Oppo Reno 10 review: performance and audio
Handy Dimensity 7050 chipset plus 8GB RAM
Handles games and other tasks well
Bluetooth 5.3, adequate speakers but no headphone jack
The Oppo Reno 10 performs just about as well as you could hope a low-cost smartphone to – unless you spend more time playing mobile games than you do outdoors, you’ll find this phone absolutely fit for purpose.
The phone packs a mid-range Dimensity 7050 chipset, paired with 8GB RAM and 256GB storage. You can boost the RAM by an extra 8GB by using a RAM boost feature that temporarily converts your storage into extra mobile power, which will give you some extra oomph until you fill up your phone’s data.
In the Geekbench 6 benchmark test, the phone returned a middling multi-core score of 2,360, but in actual use, it worked perfectly well. In popular games like Call of Duty: Mobile and PUBG Mobile, the device performed admirably, never overheating, lagging or stuttering. If you’re a mobile gamer, you won’t feel let down here.
Oppo has a games mode that lets you boost processing power, monitor your phone’s vital signs and block notifications, but even without enabling this, the device felt great to play games on.
As previously stated there’s no 3.5mm headphone jack. Instead for audio, you can use the handset’s Bluetooth 5.3 connection for phones or speakers, or rely on its in-built speakers. These latter are nothing to write home about but they’re fit for purpose for games, calls, voice notes or other tasks like that.
Performance score: 3.5 / 5
Oppo Reno 10 review: battery life
Big 5,000mAh battery
Up to two days of use
67W charging is lovely and fast
(Image credit: Future)
Like the vast majority of budget phones, the Oppo Reno 10 packs a 5,000mAh battery, which is about as big as you’ll get on a mainstream phone.
This is more than enough power to last the device through the day under normal use, and even heavy game-playing sessions won’t jeopardise its lasting power (well, to an extent). If you’re frugal, you’ll be able to see the phone through two days of use before a charge is required, but most people won’t last that long.
Thankfully, powering up the phone is swift, thanks to one of the fastest charging speeds you’ll see in a budget phone. That’s 67W, and your phone will power from empty to full in just over half an hour with it. An additional promise Oppo is throwing your way is that the phone should keep its battery capacity high for longer, which is often an issue with fast-charging phones; according to the company, the capacity will still be above 80% of its maximum after 1,600 charges and discharges, or about four years of use.
Battery score: 4 / 5
Should you buy the Oppo Reno 10?
Buy it if...
You wish you weren't on a budget
We all have a certain limit we'd spend on a phone, but if you wish yours was a lot higher, the Reno will let you pretend that it is.
You like streaming games and movies
Between its good-looking screen, powerful chipset, plentiful storage and big battery, the Reno 10 is great for streaming TV, movies, games and music.
You like easy software ColorOS has a smart layout, easily-understood buttons and handy navigation tricks... once you've got rid of all the bloatware.
Don't buy it if...
You're a mobile photography fan We've gone into lots of detail as to the Oppo Reno 10's camera issues. While the telephoto lens may be a big draw, it's not worth it!
You're not adept with user interface tweaks Due to its bloatware, we'd only recommend the Reno 10 to people who are comfortable enough with phone software to quickly delete a huge number of apps.
You have smaller hands Due to its size, you might have trouble operating the Oppo Reno 10 if you have smaller hands, as it'll be a stretch to reach the volume rocker or upper half of the display.
Oppo Reno 10 review: also consider
Considering other mobiles beyond the Oppo Reno 10? Here are some others you could look into, that all cost the same as, or a tiny amount more than, the Reno.
Google Pixel 7a Google's pint-sized Pixel 7a has the clean stock Android software and a focus on camera chops, so it's basically the opposite of the Reno 10. In the UK it's a bit pricier though.
Samsung Galaxy A54 Samsung has made a handy low-cost jack-of-all-trades device with the Galaxy A54. It falls a little short in the performance department but makes up for it with fun color options.
How I tested the Oppo Reno 10
Review test period = 2 week
Testing included = Everyday usage, including web browsing, social media, photography, video calling, gaming, streaming video, music playback
The testing period for the Oppo Reno 10 was roughly two weeks, which doesn't time before the fortnight for setting up the device and getting it through a few battery cycles, and time spent using the phone while writing the review.
To test the phone, I used it as a normal owner would: I took it on walks to test the camera, watched TV shows using it, played games at home on it. I also put it through some limited benchmark and timing tests, though kept these to a minimum as they don't usually reflect actual use.
I've been writing about phones at TechRadar for over five years now, after joining in early 2019, and have used Oppo's Reno phones since the first-gen Reno 10x Zoom up until the present day, including the last Reno phone to release in the UK, the Reno 8. I've also used phones from every other mainstream company, which helps with comparisons and with understanding all the phones out there right now.
The Xiaomi 14 is unquestionably in the running to be one of this year's top compact flagships, even if it is a little larger than the iPhone 15 and Samsung Galaxy S24. The phone boasts Qualcomm's best and brightest Snapdrgon 8 Gen 3 chip, a camera system that's been developed in collaboration with Leica, and a sizable battery with impressively fast 90W charging.
Xiaomi was actually first to market with an 8 Gen 3-powered phone, with the Xiaomi 14 series first debuting in China back in October 2023. As of February 2024, the company confirmed that both the Xiaomi 14 and Xiaomi 14 Ultra would be going global (the Xiaomi 14 Pro isn't getting an international release, but that's not as much of a loss as you might think), with the phones touching down in late February and mid-March, respectively.
There's more than a passing resemblance between this phone and the Xiaomi 13 – both phones have a prominent square main camera bump, and they have near-identical dimensions, with the new phone's fractional weight increase a result of the larger rear camera system and bigger battery. Xiaomi's fit and finish is up there, but the mirror-polish straight-sided design is decidedly more iPhone 14, than iPhone 15, which won't be to everyone's taste.
The 6.36-inch display has received a gamut of nice upgrades – there's a resolution bump between generations, while the move to an LTPO panel facilitates a true 1Hz to 120Hz variable refresh rate for greater power efficiency. It's a significantly brighter panel too, also trumping the figures promised by Apple and Samsung's latest.
This marks the fifth generation of flagship phones (if you include the company's mid-year 'S' refreshes) on which Xiaomi has collaborated with optical specialists Leica. For the most part, the user experience offered up by the camera remains much the same as last year's– including the ability to shoot in Leica Vivid or Classic color profiles, but the underlying hardware has been upgraded significantly, with a larger 50MP main sensor sporting a wider aperture, and backed up by two additional 50MP sensors (an ultra-wide and a 3.2x telephoto), which collectively deliver better light, detail, dynamic range, and color reproduction than previously.
(Image credit: Future | Alex Walker-Todd)
Even without flicking the 'high performance mode' toggle on, the Xiaomi 14 benchmarks among the top tier of the current Android pile, which translates to excellent real-world performance, whether multi-tasking or gaming. For all the raw grunt and software optimization the 14 clearly serves up though, the refreshed HyperOS user experience still falls foul of the same convolutions found in the previous MIUI; quirks that newcomers to the brand, and even some veteran Xiaomi users, would likely scratch their heads at when trying to perform certain actions or find particular features.
With this being 2024, there are also a raft of AI features that debut on the Xiaomi 14 series – from AI-generated portraits to semantic search in the gallery app – however, at the time of writing these features remain in beta, with access to them requiring approval from the Xiaomi Community admins, meaning most users won't be able to enjoy these new features and enhancements out of the box until later in the year.
Battery life is a highlight: for all that the Xiaomi 14 delivers, the increased capacity year-on-year also means the phone offer impressive longevity, surpassing the likes of the Samsung Galaxy S24 in terms of screen-on time, and leaving mainstream rivals in the dust when it comes to a full recharge, which takes a matter of minutes, rather than hours.
It's true that Xiaomi's new flagship starts at a higher asking price than both Apple's and Samsung's comparable models, the iPhone 15 and the Galaxy S24, but it also comes with twice the storage, meaning in like-for-like comparisons (using UK pricing for the 256GB model in each case), it's actually the best-value compact flagship of the bunch. One caveat is that despite having been given an 'international' launch, the Xiaomi 14 – like all of the company's phones – remains unavailable in the US and Australia, with third-party retailers or import being the only real way to get ahold of Xiaomi handsets in those countries.
Xiaomi 14 review: Price and availability
Priced from £849 / €999
Released October 2023 – China only, February 25, 2024 – internationally
Limited to no availability in US and Australia
Every time Qualcomm announces a new flagship mobile chipset, I'm always curious to see which phone maker will be first to market with a phone toting said cutting-edge silicon. In the case of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, it was Xiaomi, with the Xiaomi 14 and 14 Pro first debuting in China back in October 2023. However – as with previous generations of Xiaomi flagship – international audiences would have to wait.
It wasn't until a dedicated event in Barcelona in February 2024, ahead of MWC 2024 that we'd have a clear picture of the 14 series' international rollout. This event also served as a release announcement, with the phone being made available on February 25 across various markets, including the UK and Europe.
The Xiaomi 14 Pro didn't make it beyond China, but the gap between the 14 and 14 Pro in terms of specs and features is far smaller than it was with the previous 13 series, making the Pro's absence from the international stage far less of an issue this generation, especially with the Xiaomi 14 Ultra also available.
Despite throwing around words like 'international' and 'global' at the phone's February announcement though, Xiaomi's presence in the US and Australia only extends to smart home and lifestyle products, with its smartphones remaining distinctly absent. This means that, outside of importing or purchasing from fringe third-party retailers, you won't readily be able to pick up the Xiaomi 14 locally, and that's before taking into account whether it supports the carrier bands for local networks.
As for pricing, while a starting price in the UK of £849 places it well above the baseline price of key rivals like the iPhone 15 ($799 / £799 / AU$1,499) and Samsung Galaxy S24 ($799 / £799 / AU$1,399), those phones both come with just half the amount of storage (128GB).
In like-for-like comparisons against the £849 (equivalent to $1,070 / AU$1,640) 256GB base Xiaomi 14, both Apple's and Samsung's 256GB rivals actually cost more, at £899 and £859 respectively.
Value score: 5 / 5
Xiaomi 14 review: Specs
Xiaomi 14 review: Design
(Image credit: Future | Alex Walker-Todd)
Color choice affects finish
Squared, polished aluminum alloy frame
IP68-certified against dust and water
Fans of the Xiaomi 13 will appreciate what the company has done with the design of its successor – or rather what it hasn't done. The overall look of the two phones is much the same, although the 14 sports a hardier build, with tougher Gorilla Glass Victus and IP68-certified dust and water resistance, but elsewhere the dimensions to weight have remained consistent (a larger main camera system and battery have added a couple of grams).
Versus those aforementioned mainstream rivals, Xiaomi's latest is a little thicker and heavier by comparison, but is still small and comfortable enough to be considered a 'compact' flagship, and while the iPhone 15 series has embraced more rounded sides this generation, the Xiaomi 14 retains the iPhone 14 Pro line's straight-sided, mirror-polished aluminum surround, for better or worse, depending on your taste (I like the look but hate the fingerprints).
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The Clous de Paris guilloché detailing around the Xiaomi 14's camera
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A close-up on the Xiaomi 14's Jade Green glass back
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The Jade Green variant featured in this review is the most head-turning colorway on the international stage, with the white model featuring a tasteful silver frame and the black option serving up textured – instead of polished – color-matched rear glass, which better repels fingerprints at the expense of a little grip. The only color that appeared in China but is missing from the global gamut of colorways is 'Snow Mountain Pink.'
Despite its similarities to the last model, Xiaomi has added interest around that new larger rear camera, with what it's dubbed a Clous de Paris (that's a hobnail pattern to you and me) to add a little interest. While it's not the only phone maker that has turned to classic analogue watch styling for design inspiration, this particular adornment is one I wouldn't every expect to find on a phone, and it serves as an aesthetic through-line with the recently-release Xiaomi Watch S3, too.
The flat 6.36-inch 'CrystalRes' C8 AMOLED fronting the Xiaomi 14 is a new panel of company's own design (manufactured by TCL), offering across-the-board upgrades over the same-sized screen on the Xiaomi 13, while also keeping it competitive against 2024 competitors.
First and foremost, it's sharper than the display on its predecessor, pushing past Full HD+ to a 1200 x 2670 resolution at the same size, upping pixel density from 414ppi to 460ppi, and making it as pin-sharp as the iPhone 15's Super Retina XDR OLED panel. It's also brighter – a lot brighter – with a peak of 3,000 nits (the Xiaomi 13 peaked at 1,900 nits) supports the Dolby Vision and HDR10+ standards. There's also a quoted full-panel high-brightness mode of 1,400 nits (up from the 13's 1,200 nits), which in real-world use ensures the screen is still comfortably visible against a bright sky. I just wish every phone adopted the reduced reflectivity of the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra's display.
Regardless, the hits don't stop, with the move to an LTPO panel greatly improving power efficiency, as the refresh rate can now scale far more dynamically, depending on what you're doing on your phone. For context, the Xiaomi 13 could only switch between 60Hz, 90Hz, and 120Hz, so its successor's ability to rove anywhere between 1Hz and 120Hz is a welcome upgrade.
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The screen serves up pleasing visuals across photos, video streaming, and gaming, and Xiaomi includes a wealth of controls for tinkering with the display experience. By default the phone is set to 'Original Color Pro', but there are additional color profile presets like 'Vivid' and 'Saturated' alongside the ability to force the display to operate in the DCI-P3 gamut or sRGB, and that's before you touch the independent sliders covering things like RGB values, hue, saturation, contrast, and gamma.
There are arguably too many display control on offer as, alongside the above, you can also tweak color temperature, toggle adaptive color temperature adjustment, which adjusts the color temperature relative to ambient lighting, toggle DC dimming for more comfortable low-light viewing, choose between multiple reading modes, add texture and color temperature controls to a grayscale viewing experience, and even have AI step in to upscale videos, enhance photos in your gallery, add HDR viewing to SDR content, and add frames to certain video content for smooth playback.
Display score: 4.5 / 5
Xiaomi 14 review: Software
(Image credit: Future | Alex Walker-Todd)
First phone to debut HyperOS out of the box
Runs on top of Android 14
4 years of OS + 5 years of security updates
MIUI is out and HyperOS is in, with the Xiaomi 14 series being the first of the company's phones to debut this revitalized user experience out of the box. If you watched the phone's launch, you'd be forgiven for assuming that HyperOS is something totally new, but in real-world use you'll be hard-pressed to spot any major differences with MIUI at a glance.
Xiaomi says that HyperOS follows a new 'Alive' design philosophy, boasting real-time rendering on certain graphical elements, alongside a color palette "based on natural hues" and while it's unquestionably more consistently fluid and responsive, the general look and feel still feels decidedly MIUI.
Nevertheless, that performance uptick across load times and animations might have something to do with the fact that despite its similarities to MIUI, Xiaomi has rebuilt HyperOS almost entirely. Not only does it take up almost a third less space on-device than its predecessor, it has new underpinnings to enable greater cross-platform interconnectivity with the company's wider product ecosystem, from its wearables and tablets, to its newfound push into automotive – even its debut car, the Xiaomi SU7, comes running its own build of HyperOS.
Back to the Xiaomi 14 though, and as before the user experience is feature-packed and serves up a decidedly different form than a lot of other smartphones out there. By default, there's no apps drawer, notifications and quick settings live behind swipe-down gestures from the top left and right corners of the screen, respectively (very iOS), swiping down on your home screen summons a device-wide search, while swiping up reveals Content Center, featuring links to news and YouTube video. There's a lot going on.
The Security app on the Xiaomi 14 does a lot more than just keep your device secure. (Image credit: Future | Alex Walker-Todd)
Provided that you're willing to put in some time to learn, HyperOS serves up a lot of flexibility and practically endless personalization too, although it's easy to get lost in disparate controls and settings screens. There's also a degree of bloat out of the box, with various third-party apps – like Booking.com – which can be uninstalled but ideally wouldn't be there to begin with. As for first-party apps, plenty of those could be considered bloat too, with multiple ways to perform seemingly the same action. The App Vault, Cleaner, Game Center and Security apps, for example, all help boost memory performance. Why do users need four different ways to access this feature, Xiaomi?
There are, of course, welcome additions too, like Game Turbo, which handles notification suppression, as well as relevant device controls (over things like brightness), when gaming and even includes a voice changer. Meanwhile HyperOS' Gallery app offers Google Photos integration native, which is a rare and handy bonus.
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Of course, this wouldn't be a 2024 flagship phone without some AI functionality thrown in, and Xiaomi has promised everything from generative fill when expanding the canvas of images to AI portraits, AI-generative subtitles, semantic search in the Gallery app, and more. Notice I said Xiaomi has 'promised' this suite of AI features, as at launch they remain in beta, meaning you have to sign up to be given access to unfinished iteration of what is one of the Xiaomi 14's headline upgrades.
There's good news, though – I did sign up for the beta once I'd mostly done testing the phone, and the AI features I tried worked as advertised and seemed stable (although wait times on processing for the AI Portrait feature surpassed an hour). So far Xiaomi has, unlike Samsung, made no mention of charging for the use of any AI functionality, although that's a policy that likely won't last forever.
To round things out, HyperOS on the Xiaomi 14 runs atop Android 14, with the company promising four years of update support and five years of security update support. That's behind market leaders like Apple, Google and Samsung, but should prove more than ample for the average smartphone user in 2024, ensuring that the Xiaomi 14 will continue to gain new features and remain secure for the duration of your time with it.
Software score: 3.5 / 5
Xiaomi 14 review: Cameras
(Image credit: Future | Alex Walker-Todd)
50MP f/1.6 Xiaomi Light Fusion 900 main sensor with OIS
50MP f/2.2 ISOCELL JN1 ultra-wide with 112-degree FoV
50MP (32MP effective) f/2.0 ISOCELL JN1 3.2x telephoto with OIS
32MP f/2.0 front camera with 89.6-degree FoV
While the camera system on the Xiaomi 14 isn't without its flaws, it looks to have the edge over compact rivals like the latest iPhone and Galaxy, with an across-the-board sensor upgrade compared to the Xiaomi 13, and ongoing input from optical specialists Leica.
You'll find an impressive-looking trio of 50MP sensors on the back, fronted by the new custom Xiaomi 'Light Fusion 900' (a tuned OmniVision OVX9000 sensor, with input from both Xiaomi and Leica), along with ISOCELL JN1 sensors for the ultra-wide and telephoto, collectively offering a focal range from 14mm to 75mm (although the telephoto's effective resolution is actually cited at 32MP and appears to kick in at 2.5x, which would suggest a shorter max optical range than Xiaomi claims).
AI Portrait... one of the most ambitious and unsettling AI features I've encountered on a phone to date
Leica's involvement, meanwhile, extends to branded 'Summilux' lenses, the 'Leica Vibrant' and 'Leica Authentic' color profiles the phone can shoot in, and the 'master lens system' of digital focal presets built into portrait mode.
Beyond that, the camera UI seems simple enough at first blush, but like the rest of HyperOS is absolutely jam-packed with features. The breadth of features on offer will be welcomed by those happy to spend the time required to learn of the nuances of the user experience, but will likely prove overwhelming for those who just want to tweak basic settings.
Stills shooting is primarily managed via Photo mode, or Pro mode if you want more control, while for video recording, Video and Movie mode are both on hand. More experimental modes include Short Film, which serves as a template complete with filters in which to capture footage; Director Mode, which lets you connect multiple cameras and even monitors wirelessly to orchestrate a multi-cam recording; plus Long Exposure, Supermoon, and more.
Xiaomi 14 camera samples
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0.6x zoom (ultra-wide sensor)
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1x zoom (main sensor)
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2x zoom (main sensor)
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3.2x zoom (telephoto sensor)
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60x zoom (i.e. maximum lossy zoom range)
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0.6x zoom (ultra-wide sensor)
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1x zoom (main sensor)
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2x zoom (main sensor)
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3.2x zoom (telephoto sensor)
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60x zoom (i.e. maximum lossy zoom range)
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Zoom range comparison: Apple iPhone 15 (top), Xiaomi 14 (center), Samsung Galaxy S24 (bottom)
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Front camera
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Front camera comparison: Apple iPhone 15 (left), Xiaomi 14 (center), Samsung Galaxy S24 (right)
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AI Expanded by 150%
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Artificial lighting
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Artificial lighting
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Front camera
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Low light
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Night mode
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Low light comparison: Xiaomi 14 (left), Google Pixel 8 Pro (right)
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Night Mode comparison: Xiaomi 14 (left), Google Pixel 8 Pro (right)
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In side-by-side tests with the usual suspects (the iPhone 15 and the Samsung Galaxy S24), Xiaomi's distinct photographic look shone through. Leica Vivid (which all the Xiaomi 14 camera samples featured in this review were captured in) served up consistently brighter and and more vibrant results than rivals, with good detail captured across its entire (optical) focal range.
There's a pleasing consistency in terms of color, contrast and detail between shots captured with the ultra-wide and that new primary sensor, while telephoto shots adopt a bolder look, with stronger contrast that still equates to pleasing images, although with an unpredictability that the 14's competitors don't suffer from.
In more challenging scenarios, while the 14's macro capture offers good center-frame detail, chromatic aberrations, or color fringing, around the edge of subjects isn't always welcome, while low-light environments did result in exposure hunting from time to time. On the flip side, taking Night Mode shots results in great final images, with this phone only really falling short of category leaders like the Google Pixel 8 Pro.
The phone's stabilization is shown off to great effect in video footage (beyond the impressive capture controls mentioned earlier), while selfies also shine against similar photos from competitors, provided that you're comfortable with Xiaomi's heavier-handed beauty settings as standard – skin tones are accurately represented, but smoothing and blemish-removal algorithms are also clearly enabled by default. Interestingly, you'd assume that the 32MP front-facing sensor would pixel-bin down to 8MP final images, but the Xiaomi 14 unapologetically captures front-facing shots at the sensor's native resolution, and does so with aplomb.
AI camera features
Using AI Expansion on the Xiaomi 14(Image credit: Future | Alex Walker-Todd)
There are also all of the aforementioned (beta) AI imaging abilities that debut on the Xiaomi 14 (practically all of which are accessed from the native Gallery app after capture). AI Expansion lets you punch out of a shot by up to 200% and have the phone's on-device AI processing try to generate new background content that's consistent with the original image. Each generative fill takes around 15 seconds to complete (with tests at 150%) and the results are hit-and-miss – but the fact that they hit as often as they do is what's surprising.
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Original image...
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...enlarged by 150% using AI Expand on the Xiaomi 14
Then there's AI Portrait, which is undoubtedly one of the most ambitious – and unsettling – AI features I've encountered on a phone. Once you snap around 30 selfies (or at least shots of the same subject with their face visible) and submit them to the AI Portrait creation wizard, it'll use off-device processing to construct an AI-generated simulacrum that – with the help of a written prompt – can be placed into all manner of scenes.
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The processing time to create my (beta) AI Portrait avatar took over an hour...
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...but, once done, individual results with the completed avatar took only minutes to generate.
The developmental nature of the AI features coming (as at the time of review, they're still in beta, remember) to the Xiaomi 14 was made clear when the creation time for my AI avatar was cited at over an hour, but once I had it, prompts took around a minute to generate results, once again with varying degrees of success. The feature automatically served up prompts like 'beach resort' and 'northern islands' of its own accord but did a respectable job coming up with convincing images based on my prompt of 'in a kayak' too, as you can see above.
As for how useful this feature is, it's easy to imagine novel scenarios in which your AI Portrait could feature – hilariously implausible holiday snaps on Instagram, for example – but as with any AI-generated imagery, there remain unanswered and ungoverned ethical quandaries surrounding a technology that is evidently already in peoples' hands and will continue to improve in time.
With regards to Xiaomi's specific AI policies, the phone details which devices use solely on-device processing and which rely on the cloud, while the company's AI white paper goes into greater detail around training data-sets and the like. That said, unlike Samsung's Galaxy AI image tools, there's no obvious watermarking to help people discern which images have and haven't been created or altered by Xiaomi's AI, which is something the company should address in a future update, and on future products with AI-enhanced features.
Camera score: 4.5 / 5
Xiaomi 14 review: Performance
Genshin Impact on the Xiaomi 14 (Image credit: Future | Alex Walker-Todd)
Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 SoC
12GB of LPDDR5X RAM on all models
Impressive thermal performance for a compact phone
Although the Xiaomi 14 has the distinction of being first to market with Qualcomm's latest and greatest flagship mobile silicon in the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, its staggered release meant that by the time it made it to international audiences, rivals with that same cutting-edge chipset were already on store shelves. Even so, this remains one of the most capable phones currently on the market.
HyperOS – like MIUI before it – is pretty hands-on with performance management, with overarching power profiles that limit just how much apps and services can ask of the CPU/GPU/NPU; but even without switching 'performance mode' on, in artificial benchmarks the Xiaomi 14 holds its own against many of the other best Android phones right now – including the Samsung Galaxy S24 and Asus Zenfone 11 Ultra – while other flagships like the Pixel 8 Pro score far weaker across compute and graphical tests.
Real-world use shows that, between the processor and the optimizations HyperOS brings over MIUI, the Xiaomi 14 has more than enough clout to handle demanding everyday use, with the AI features being among the few instances where you'll still find yourself staring at a loading bar for a moment or two.
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Gaming is a dream on the Xiaomi 14 too, as not only does the phone offer a great visual experience by being on the larger side (within the compact flagship space), but the engineering team has done solid work with the thermal management in spite of the phone's relatively small proportions. Even with Genshin Impact's graphical settings at 'overclocked' (namely by forcing 60fps gameplay) the Xiaomi 14 never got more than a little warm, even after 30 minutes of continuous playtime.
There are also the added benefits of Game Turbo, which can prioritize networking latency, touch response input and, of course, boost performance at the expense of power consumption.
Performance score: 5 / 5
Xiaomi 14 review: Battery
(Image credit: Future | Alex Walker-Todd)
Larger 4,610mAh battery than predecessor
Up to 90W wired and 50W wireless charging
8.5 hours of screen-on time per charge (using Balanced power profile)
Charging speeds and battery capacity have both received a generous generational upgrade, with the standard Xiaomi 14 now matching the Xiaomi 14 Ultra's impressive 90W fast wired charging and up to 50W wireless charging. This means a pleasingly-rapid full recharge is possible in just 40 minutes, while my tests found the phone consistently passed the 50%-charge mark after just 15 minutes. That's in stark contrast to the likes of the iPhone 15, whose 20W wired charging means a full recharge takes over two hours (based on our tests).
The phone doesn't give you its quickest speeds right out the box (although it's still quick to charge); as well as the (included) 90W 'HyperCharge' power adapter, you also have to enable the 'boost charging speed' toggle in the phone's settings menu. This ensures that maximum 90W speeds are made available, with the phone charging on a logarithmic curve – i.e., the lower your Xiaomi's 14's battery percentage is to start with, the faster it'll charge, slowing as it approaches 100%. This ensures that fast charging is most effective when you realize your battery is low and you only have limited time to charge it, while still protecting battery health over the lifetime of the phone.
As for longevity, the Xiaomi 14 puts in a superb effort – especially for a compact smartphone, doling out 8.5 hours of screen-on time in testing. That equates to up to two day's use; particularly if you're willing to toy with the aforementioned power profiles: Performance, Balanced, Battery Saver and Ultra Battery Saver – which limits apps access and background processes to maximize battery life. This is among the best longevity for its size right now, only falling short of the ever-enduring iPhone 15 (which in our tests mustered over 11 hours of screen-on time), however, the Xiaomi is probably the best compact flagship, when you collectively consider battery life and charging performance.
Battery score: 5 / 5
Should you buy the Xiaomi 14?
Buy it if...
You want a compact powerhouse The Xiaomi 14 outpaces the big-name compact phones currently on the market in terms of both value and hardware prowess, so long as you're okay with the slightly shorter update support roadmap, compared to Apple and Samsung's rivals.
You like trying new things The Xiaomi 14's hardware and software offer near-endless degrees of customization and functionality. HyperOS takes a very different approach to most Android-based smartphone user experiences, but if you put in the time it demands it's an incredibly rich offering.
Battery life and fast charging are high priorities The Xiaomi 14 probably strikes the best balance of battery longevity and fast charging on the market right now, especially for a phone of its size.
Don't buy it if...
You want the stylish smartphone Sure, aesthetics are subjective, and while the Xiaomi 14 isn't bad looking, it's squared design feels dated and unexciting. That's not to say it isn't well built and durable, however.
You like a clean easy-to-use OS experience HyperOS might be far better optimized than MIUI ever was, but many of its predecessor's worst traits persist. The Xiaomi 14 has features upon features, and layers upon layers of menus, and while the breadth of functionality makes it a powerful and versatile phone, not everyone will want to spend time learning its seemingly convoluted way of doing things.
You want AI functionality, right now! At launch Xiaomi promised a wealth of AI features destined for the Xiaomi 14 series, and while you can get your hands on some of them with a little tinkering, they're still in beta at the time of writing, and not easily accessible if you don't know how to unlock them.
Xiaomi 14 review: Also consider
The Xiaomi 14 has some clear strengths, but also some clearly-defined shortcomings. If you've got this far and think something else might be more your thing, why not consider one of these alternatives.
Apple iPhone 15 The iPhone 15 doesn't exactly need an introduction, but if you like elements of Xiaomi's HyperOS or just want a slimmer, smaller but equally-capable compact flagship, this might be your next phone.
Samsung Galaxy S24 Samsung and Google are arguably the biggest phone makers shouting about AI features right now, and the standard S24 condenses the company's suite of Galaxy AI functions into its most compact flagship form. A slim design, decent cameras and a killer display don't go amiss either.
How I tested the Xiaomi 14
(Image credit: Future | Alex Walker-Todd)
Review test period: six weeks
Testing included: everyday use including web browsing, social media, photography, video calling, gaming, streaming video, music playback
Xiaomi was able to provide me with a sample of the Xiaomi 14 just ahead of its international launch, giving me plenty of time to get to grips with the hardware, software, generational upgrades and so on. With the abundance of time available, I've throughly tested the phone while using it as my daily driver over a course of weeks, taking it to social events for camera testing, using it for navigation in my car, gaming around the house and other general smartphone use, from smart home control to social media and web browsing.
It took longer to gain access to some features – namely its promised AI functionality – which I was only able to do once I signed in with my Xiaomi account to the brand's forums and registered for beta access, which then had to be approved, but after that I felt like I was fully able to experience what the Xiaomi 14 promised.
Benchmarking apps is never the be-all-and-end-all, but the results do at least provide an empirical indication of performance that some find useful as a comparison tool. As the user has control over the power state the phone operates in, these benchmarks were carried out in both Balanced and Performance modes, although numerous scores out-paced rivals with the need for Performance mode.
Having reviewed smartphones for well over a decade, including numerous Xiaomi phones, as well as devices from the company's key competition, I felt more than comfortable reviewing this latest Xiaomi flagship, in order to balance its strengths and weaknesses against the market in which it competes.
If you’re the kind of runner who prefers to head out to the trails for hours as opposed to tackling the same stretch of pavement, the Nike Ultrafly is made for you.
The Ultrafly is designed to handle up to ultra distances including racing, grabbing elements from Nike’s best running shoes like its ZoomX foam and a carbon plate, which on paper makes it sound like a Vaporfly for the trails.
I’ve used a bunch of Nike’s trail shoes including the long distance, off-road focused Nike Wildhorse 8 and the ZoomX-packing Nike Zegama Trail. While I’ve enjoyed my time in the new Ultrafly, it’s not quite the shoe I thought it would be: it's not zippy and quick like the Vaporfly is on roads, but it is a workhorse.
Nike Ultrafly: Specifications
Nike Ultrafly: Price and availability
Priced at $250 in the US
£229.95 in the UK
AU$330 in Australia
The Nike Ultrafly launched in July 2023 in limited quantities before going on wider release in August, priced at £229.95 / $250 / AU$ 330.
That put it around the same price as Nike’s Vaporfly road running shoe and also makes it pricier than standout trail shoes like the Hoka Speedgoat 5 and the Nike Wildhorse 8, another Nike trail shoe designed for long distance running.
Value score: 3.5/5
Nike Ultrafly: Design
(Image credit: Michael Sawh)
Vaporweave upper
Vibram Megagrip outsole
Nike ZoomX foam
While the Ultrafly is built for the trails, it definitely has the look of one of Nike’s road shoes. There’s just the two colourway options, both with a mostly white upper that thankfully hasn’t become caked in mud as the trails I’ve tested them on have been mostly the dry and hard kind.
Dealing with the key specs, it’s got a 8.5mm drop: that’s 38.5mm at the heel and 30mm at the forefoot, so it’s a chunky shoe. For comparison, the ultra-focused Nike Wildhorse 8 has an 8mm drop coming in at 35.5mm at the heel and 27.5mm at the forefoot.
Nike uses an upper made from Vaporweave, which is built from a mixture of plastics and is similar to the upper material used on its road running shoes like the Zoom Fly and the first generation Vaporfly. While the upper looks pretty low volume, there’s a nice bit of stretch to it and it’s nice and roomy up front, making it ideal for going long where feet can swell and you need that extra space.
While the Ultrafly opens up at the toes, it narrows at the midfoot and at the heel to offer a good lockdown with not overly generous padding at the heel collar to offer some comfort further back. The laces are the standard kind that sit on top of a skinny tongue that offers some padding on top to make sure you don’t feel those laces if they’re tightly tied.
For the midsole, Nike is using the ZoomX foam it uses on its successful Vaporfly, Alphafly and Invincible road shoes. That midsole is wrapped in fabric to protect the foam and is designed to make it feel more stable than Nike’s road shoes. Nike also places a Carbon Flyplate between that ZoomX and fabric-wrapped midsole to help deliver smoother transitions.
In an interesting move from Nike, it included a Vibram Megagrip outsole to deliver off-road grip. Nike typically uses its own outsole technology, which I’ve had mixed experiences with. The decision to go with Vibram on the Ultrafly seems like a wise move as it’s the same outsole technology featured on other standout trail shoes including the Hoka Speedgoat 5.
Weight-wise, the Ultrafly weighed in at 282g in my UK size 8, which is lighter than something like the Nike Wildhorse 8, which weighed in at almost 320g in a UK size 8. While not super-light, it definitely didn’t feel heavy during runs and was comfortable enough to walk around in as well.
Design score: 4/5
Nike Ultrafly: Performance
(Image credit: Michael Sawh)
Smooth, stable and consistent ride
ZoomX isn’t bouncy like Nike road shoes
Outsole works well on moderate trails and roads
If you’re hoping that the Ultrafly is going to give you that feeling of running in one of Nike’s carbon racing shoes, then that’s simply not the case here. This isn’t an aggressive, speed shoe that delivers an extremely bouncy feeling. It’s different, but in a good way.
I haven’t run an ultra in it, instead focusing on getting as much time on my feet as my current state of running fitness permits, maxing out a couple of hours on a mixture of trail surfaces. I’ve also been mixing in some road time and taking in some lighter, more challenging trail terrain. The first thing you notice about the Ultrafly is that it doesn’t feel built like Nike’s other trail shoes. That’s largely down to the roominess of that toe box.
The ZoomX foam typically delivers a very bouncy ride, just like it does in the Vaporfly and Invincible, but things are slightly more tempered here. Unfortunately, it just doesn’t deliver the same lively ride. What it does instead is provide comfort and that’s really what you need over longer distances.
As a package, it’s smooth and stable. It’s certainly not one that feels equipped for all-out speed and is better suited to cruising and moving at slightly more up-tempo speeds. It’s not super light or nimble, but it’s not overly heavy either to make it a taxing shoe to have on your feet as you roll through the miles.
It’s great to see that Nike has opted to plant on a Vibram outsole, which features on some of the best trail shoes in the business and feels like a step up in general on Nike’s trail shoe outsoles. The 3.5mm lugs aren’t exceptionally deep, which makes handling some road time in them absolutely fine, and in general, the grip was good across a mixture of terrain including mud, rockier surfaces, and tackling some hills. I do feel like on more technical trails and likely muddier ones, you’re going to want something a little more aggressive in the outsole department though.
In terms of protection on the trails, there doesn’t seem to be a huge amount going on here and plays into the idea that this is one best suited to lighter and more moderate routes as opposed to the more technical kind. Yes, the upper looks great and uses material that’s designed to prevent rips, but Nike does go pretty light on the protective features here.
Overall though, it’s a shoe that I’ve enjoyed spending time in. It does feel like a bit of a cruiser of a shoe that’s comfortable enough to wear outside of runs, and prioritizes offering a consistent feel from a not-too-heavy design that makes it ideal for long distance runs. It feels like a good start for the Ultrafly line with room to tweak things and for it to evolve to be a truly standout trail shoe to justify picking it up over other trail shoes that cost less.
It’s not often you get a device like the Xiaomi Smart Band 8. It’s a very affordable fitness tracker at just $90 / £60 / AU$95, but it’s also remarkably competent thanks to great battery life and an array of sensors that some much more expensive alternatives are missing.
Not only is it one of the most complete budget fitness trackers we’ve tested, but it even defeats the Huawei Band 7 (a tracker I loved) by offering built-in GPS location tracking, too. That could make it a big worry for the likes of even the best Fitbit, and competition can only be a good thing.
I wore it on one wrist with my Apple Watch Ultra on the other (a considerably more expensive option) and was very impressed by just how accurate the Xiaomi Smart Band 8 Pro is. Xiaomi says it uses “next-generation data algorithms” for things like heart rate and oxygen saturation accuracy, and from my usage its findings were in lockstep with Apple’s own.
In fact, my only real gripe is that of the setup process. Your mileage may end up varying, but it felt like it got me off on the wrong foot with the Xiaomi Smart Band 8 Pro, although thankfully the excellent features and design fixed that nice and quickly.
There are some other omissions, too, like payments, music downloads, and third-party apps, but given the price, those are all things you’d perhaps expect.
(Image credit: Future)
Xiaomi Smart Band 8 Pro: Specifications
Xiaomi Smart Band 8 Pro: Price and release date
Available now
Priced at $99.99 in the US
£60 in the UK
AU$95 in Australia
The Xiaomi Smart Band 8 Pro originally debuted in China last August, but it’s taken some time to go international.
Thankfully, it’s available from most retailers now, and at a discounted price of $99 in the US, £60 in the UK, and AU$95 via outlets such as Amazon.
We’ve seen it as low as £50 or $80 in recent weeks, and it’s a steal for that price, which makes it considerably cheaper than its nearest competitors like the Fitbit Inspire 3.
Value score: 5/5
Xiaomi Smart Band 8 Pro: Design
(Image credit: Future)
Available in black or white with swappable straps
1.74-inch AMOLED display
Lightweight and slim
I find it difficult to get excited about fitness trackers these days because, for the most part, they all look mostly the same. That’s not to damn the Xiaomi Smart Band 8 Pro with faint praise, but more acknowledge that just by looking at it, there’s no way you’d expect it to cost as little as it does.
It has a slick, rectangular chassis, and our white unit has a shining chrome shell. It does collect some fingerprints but not as many as you may expect, and houses a 1.74-inch AMOLED display that’s small enough to sit comfortably on your wrist while also being large enough to convey plenty of information at a glance.
It’s a good balance, and it doesn’t hurt that it’s packing a 336 x 480 px resolution that’s easy to read, and it weighs just 22.5g without the strap (still heavier than the Huawei Band 7, admittedly).
There are no buttons, physical or otherwise, on the sides, so you’ll be doing everything with the touchscreen, while the straps detach easily through a subtle mechanism and click into place in a satisfying way. Our review unit comes with an off-white option, but there’s no second strap in the box; it’s a one-size-fits-all kind of deal, and as someone who usually uses larger straps, I can say it works nicely.
On the back you’ll find a charging port, and while there’s no power brick included in the box, it’s worth noting that the USB-A cable that is here isn’t the longest. Some users will prefer USB-C, as USB-A is starting to look a little dated. Still, for under $100, it's just a charging cable. You get what you get.
Design score: 4.5/5
(Image credit: Future)
Xiaomi Smart Band 8 Pro: Performance
(Image credit: Future)
Strictly a fitness tracker
Plenty of functions
Smart use of widgets
The folks at Xiaomi have built much of the user interface here with the larger display in mind, which means you can swipe between screens that pack multiple widgets into each, making use of every available pixel. It took a little bit of habit-busting to get into the swing of swiping ‘backward’ rather than Apple's ‘up’ to return to a prior menu, but once I did, I was enjoying its functionality with ease.
You can swipe up from the bottom of the screen to access a sort of “All Apps” list, but that’s about the only time the UI feels a little tricky as you try to prod the right option.
As always (because many still conflate the two), it’s worth remembering this is a fitness tracker and not a smartwatch. The Xiaomi Smart Band 8 Pro won’t pay for your shopping, download music for offline playback, or download third-party apps. It's essentially a single-purpose device, and for that purpose – fitness tracking – it’s great.
I used it to head out for a brisk walk, indoors for a treadmill run, and at the gym. As mentioned in the intro, in all these scenarios, all of its metrics tied up nicely with that of my Apple Watch, which costs around nine times the price of the Xiaomi Smart Band 8 Pro in the US.
(Image credit: Future)
Step counting is accurate, and heart rate data was consistent while awake and asleep. While some have reported inaccuracies with VO2 data, mine synced up with the Apple Watch Ultra nicely.
My favorite thing, though, is the GNSS support for GPS. It’s only a single-frequency connection, so it may struggle in big cities or when surrounded by large buildings, but it works really nicely for a casual run. If you’re a hardcore runner you’ll likely want something with more accuracy or a stronger connection, but then again, if you’re a hardcore runner you probably already own a much more expensive running watch.
When it comes to sleep tracking, things are mainly centered around the stages of sleep you’ll get. That’s fine at a basic level, but outside of that, you’re not going to get as much information as you’d perhaps get with a more fully-featured smartwatch such as the Samsung Galaxy Watch 6, or a sleep tracker like the Oura Ring Generation 3.
Battery life is great, though, with Xiaomi suggesting you can hit 14 days on a single charge. That is, admittedly, with some functionality toned down (like always-on display and some health notifications), but it’s still impressive in a device at this price point.
Without those concessions, you can still reasonably expect around four-and-a-half days, which is still pretty great – and can easily go past five with light use, a.k.a. fewer workouts.
Performance score: 4/5
Xiaomi Smart Band 8 Pro: Features
iOS and Android compatible
Don’t expect a lot of analysis on companion app
(Image credit: Future)
I’ll be honest, I feel like the Xiaomi Mi Fitness app and I got off on the wrong foot. Pairing the device with my iPhone was pretty painful; it wouldn’t scan the QR code on the screen, so I had to add it manually via the Bluetooth settings, then that didn’t work on two separate attempts, and then just as I prepared to give up, it sprung to life.
Not a great first impression, sure, and to add to that many of the basic functions of the Xiaomi Smart Band 8 Pro were switched off – including things like sleep tracking.
(Image credit: Future)
Once I switched those on, though, everything was pretty smooth. The Health tab is essentially a dashboard with all of your data for calories, steps, and exercise, as well as sleep and heart rate data, while the Workout tab actually incorporates Apple Maps so you can feasibly use it without needing to switch to Strava to log your routes.
(Image credit: Future)
There’s also a nice marketplace of watch faces you can download with ease and set on your device.
(Image credit: Future)
In fact, the only thing missing is anything close to a deeper analysis of the data collected, which you may expect would be missing at this price.
(Image credit: Future)
The closest thing is the Vitality Score, which is a little like Fitbit’s Daily Readiness Score. This takes into account the activity you’ve done in the last seven days and calculates a score for how ready you are for exercise. It’s a nice idea, but as far as I can tell it’s not pulling extra data like sleep history.
Finnish outdoors brand Suunto is arguably best known for its hardy navigational devices and diving watches, often lagging behind the competition when it comes to genuinely excellent fitness smartwatches.
The fact of the matter is, the market is almost at saturation point. Garmin seemingly brings out a new watch every few months, covering every conceivable exercise niche you can think of, while rivals such as Polar and Coros with its Pace 3 and Apex Pro models, have brought some serious touchscreen-enabled contenders in recent months.
Traditional smartwatch makers like Apple and Samsung, now have models that also crossover into the outdoors/fitness space with the Apple Watch Ultra 2 and Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 Pro, offering excellent workout tracking, navigation and all of the handy smartphone control, notifications and features you will actually use every day. In fact, the Apple Watch just keeps improving as a fitness partner with every watchOS update.
(Image credit: Future)
In the interest of brevity, the Suunto Race Titanium (the premium version I tested) is the best watch it has made to date, with a crystal clear AMOLED screen, premium styling, and a whole host of fitness-tracking features that can genuinely rival those offered by Garmin et al.
However, it’s far from perfect. There are a number of areas that could easily be improved, including the achingly slow raise-to-wake, the sometimes glitchy OS, and the fact that offline mapping takes a painfully long time to download and upload to the map.
In essence, Garmin still rules the roost if you want the absolute cutting-edge of workout, recovery and training analytics, but Suunto is definitely getting close. Pair that with solid GPS tracking, an impressive battery life and an easy-to-navigate accompanying smartphone app, and you have an enticing offering at this price.
(Image credit: Future)
Suunto Race: specifications
Suunto Race: Price and availability
(Image credit: Future)
$449 in the US
£398 in the UK
AUS$720 in Australia
The Suunto Race is offered at two price points. The most affordable stainless steel version costs $449 / £398 / AUS$720, while the more expensive titanium-clad model comes in at $549 / £479 / AUS$879.
There is no difference between the hardware that powers these watches: it’s all about the finish and how opulent you want your watch to feel. In my opinion, the titanium model elevates the overall build quality, thanks to its contrasting Charcoal finish. The bezel on the stainless steel model is all black, which instantly makes it feel a bit cheaper.
Both models can be purchased directly from the Suunto website. At this price point, it's a pretty favorable comparison with its closest competitors, such as the much more expensive Garmin Forerunner 965. Great value.
Value score: 5/5
(Image credit: Future)
Suunto Race: Design and screen
(Image credit: Future)
Excellent build quality, especially on the titanium model
Only one size
Apple-style digital crown
Some horologists often scoff at the basic design of today’s fitness smartwatches, as they tend to involve a large circular display that’s clad in some kind of metal or plastic to keep everything safe. But it's a winning, practical design, and the Suunto Race isn't reinventing the wheel.
The Suunto Race Titanium comprises a considerable 49mm bezel that houses 1.43-inches of AMOLED touchscreen, running a 466 x 466 resolution. It’s not one for skinny wrists and sits rather proudly even on thicker arms. The fact Suunto doesn’t offer any other sizes is a bit of an oversight: not everyone's going to want a beast of a watch like this.
The build quality is good and the watch feels solid, with the titanium finish adding a nice pop of contrast colour that makes it stand out. There are a limited number of pre-loaded digital watch faces available that range from replicas of analogue timepieces to fully digital displays with adjustable splashes of colour.
(Image credit: Future)
Overall, they look good, but there’s not the breadth you’ll find via Garmin’s ConnectIQ app (although a lot of those are rubbish), nor are they as exciting or as interactive as what you find on an Apple Watch Series 9 or the latest Google Pixel Watch. However, that's expected of training tools rather than smartwatches.
There are some neat etched-in vents on the titanium bezel that add a bit of texture, while the included silicone strap is ventilated for added breathability and features a small popper mechanism that makes it easy to fit. It’s a great do-it-all choice that works for most activities.
Finally, robustness is built-in via a glass fiber-reinforced polyamide casing and sapphire crystal glass protecting the delicate display beneath. During testing, it held up well, shrugging off scratches and dings with ease. The whole thing is ergonomic and easy to use during training sessions too. Interaction with the Suunto Race is either via prodding and swiping the screen, or through the chronograph style, three-pusher layout of buttons on the right-hand side.
The middle of those is a ‘digital crown’ that can be used to quickly cycle through menus or zoom in and out of maps. Think of it as a kind of Apple Watch Ultra lite set-up, while long-pressing either the top or bottom buttons accesses various shortcuts to menus.
Design score: 4/5
Suunto Race: Features
(Image credit: Future)
Accurate GPS
HRV and recovery info
No NFC payments
In general, there’s a lot to like about the feature set on offer here. You can control the music playing on your phone with the watch, and receive notifications when you are getting a call. You can do more with Android devices than you can with Apple, such as send predefined replies to incoming messages from the watch.
It has a full suite of sensors, now ubiquitous on fitness devices, which ranges from wrist-based heart rate sensing to an altimeter and gyroscope so it knows exactly when you are moving.
(Image credit: Future)
There’s sleep tracking, accurate GPS thanks to compatibility with five satellite systems, and the obvious stuff, such as step tracking, all carefully built-into the relatively diminutive device on your wrist.
As soon as you throw software into the mix, you start to delve into things like Heart Rate Variability, sleep cycle detection and stress and recovery status delivered directly to the AMOLED watch face. Arguably where the cheaper Garmin Forerunner 265 and Garmin Venu 3 stand tall is with lifestyle offerings like Garmin Pay, which allows you to sync bank cards with the watch and pay from the wrist. Garmin also offers guided workouts, complete with animated exercise guides on some models.
Also where features are concerned, other watches like the Polar Vantage V3 come packing a seriously advanced set of biosensing equipment that offer an exceptionally accurate heart rate from the wrist. Right now, Suunto isn’t quite there.
Features score: 3.5/5
Suunto Race: Performance
(Image credit: Future)
Initial set-up of the watch is breezy. It’s just a case of downloading the accompanying smartphone app, punching in a few personal details and then getting on with it.
However, if you want to navigate from the wrist, you first have to download offline maps onto your phone, and then onto the watch. This process is extremely slow and boring in comparison to something like the Garmin Epix Pro, yet vital if you want to see any kind of map show up when out running, cycling, or walking. Thankfully, they look great once installed and they’re super easy to scroll around.
On the subject of exercise, there are over 95 profiles covering the full gamut of sports and workouts, with each setting up the AMOLED screen to show the most important stats for each. Of course, you can dive into settings and swap this all around so you can see what’s most important to you.
As for the specific profiles, this definitely feels like a watch predominantly geared towards running, cycling and swimming, but don't they all? The depth of data for each of these activities is impressive, with it able to automatically detect segments in a triathlon and even detect different swim strokes and log stats for each.
Similarly, where running is concerned, you get wrist-based running power, while cyclists can add Bluetooth power meters (and HRM chest straps) quickly and easily. However, you can only add one of each type of sensor, which will be annoying for ardent indoor cyclists or triathletes, who might want both HRM and power meter options.
Within the app, you can create structured workouts or link in existing services, such as Strava, Adidas Running or Training Peaks if these are your preferred methods to train.
(Image credit: Future)
Again, it feels like Garmin offers more in its ecosystem, with a number of training plans available to get you running a 5K or even a marathon, complete with guidance on training laid, rest and recovery.
Granted, Race does feature Suunto Coach, which goes into detail on things like Chronic Training Load (its metric for your overall fitness), as well as a look at the training stress balance. This uses heart rate variability (HRV) and sleep quality as factors on your overall readiness to train.
As with so many smart fitness watches, it takes time for this information to build and the Suunto Race only gets better the more you wear it. But also like a lot of its rivals, they tend to bias cardio and endurance activities, rather than strength training.
During testing, I found that strength work in the gym played havoc with the wrist-based heart rate monitoring, which was already proving not particularly accurate on a couple of test runs and cycles. With an Apple Watch Ultra 2 strapped to the other wrist and linked to a chest HRM, I found the Suunto slow to react and often a few bpm out at most points.
Similarly, the entire operating system feels slow and clunky, regularly baffled by too many quick inputs. There’s a definite lag when flicking between menu screens and dithering when raising the watch to wake. You can turn this off, but then battery life is impacted.
Thankfully, battery life is absolutely massive, with an enormous 26 days in time mode, a whopping 12 days with 24/7 tracking and smart notifications. Absolute minimum you will get is 40 hours with GPS running full tilt, but that’s a massive single workout.
In reality, we managed to eke around a week from the battery when wearing it constantly (including to bed), training three or four times per week for around an hour and occasionally using it to navigate on a weekend walk.
…and as usual, the Moto G84 is a surprisingly adept and reliable Android handset from one of the world’s most dedicated phone manufacturers, with Motorola continuing its forcible takeover of our round-up of the best cheap phones.
The latest entry in Motorola’s ever-growing G-line of low-cost mobiles, the G84 brings a few clear and concise arguments as to why it should be your next purchase, as well as a few wardrobes that it hopes you won’t be checking for skeletons.
First up, the Moto G84 is the company’s latest collaboration between Motorola and paint company Pantone, with one of its three colors designed by color experts. This is the Viva Magenta one that you can see pictured above, adorned in the shade that Pantone decided was its Color Of The Year 2023.
It's a distinctive shade (which may put some people off), and we’re big enough fans to add the vibrant and striking look to the ‘Pros’ list above. But for some reason, Moto decided to release two other color options, silver and black, which look pretty boring by comparison.
We go from one of the phone’s touted selling points to something Motorola is barely mentioning: the G84 is a powerhouse for gaming. While I’ve been disappointed by other mobiles brandishing the same Snapdragon 695 chipset used here, the Moto chews through gaming and other intensive tasks. If you’re a gamer on a budget, this is definitely a solid pick.
(Image credit: Future)
It’s at this point in the review (less than a minute into the ‘two-minute review’, so pretty early on) that I should mention the Moto G73. This mobile, released in early 2023 and still ranged by most retailers including Moto itself, has lots of specs in common with the G84.
It has a lower price and the same camera array, same rough design, same software, same battery size, same charging speed and same screen size. Admittedly it’s screen quality is worse, it doesn’t have an under-display fingerprint scanner, it’s less powerful and it doesn’t catch the eye quite like this Viva Magenta-clad beast. But if you want to save some cash and don’t mind these tweaked features, it’s a very real competitor that may sway your attention.
‘Close competition’ is nothing new for Moto phones, given how many similar-looking budget mobiles it releases each year. Neither is my other major gripe with the handset: its cameras are anything but impressive, with photos that look a little dull and unexciting.
Picking up a Motorola phone and being surprised that its cameras aren’t amazing, is like picking up a dumbbell and being surprised it’s heavy – that trait is just par for the course. The cameras aren’t terrible either, they just won’t suit passionate smartphone-centric photographers.
And overall, the Moto G84 is a terribly impressive phone, when you consider its feisty look, gaming power and low price; it’ll just fit some users better than others.
Moto G84 review: price and availability
Released in September 2023
Costs £249.99 (roughly $315, AU$475)
Not for sale in US or Australia
(Image credit: Future)
The Moto G84 was released in the UK in mid-September 2023, after coming out in India and Europe in the weeks prior. It was joined by the low-end Moto G54 and premium-leaning Moto Edge 40 Neo.
You can pick up the phone for £249.99 (roughly $315, AU$475), which lodges it firmly in the category of ‘cheap Android phone’, perfect for people on a budget who want a reliable mobile. That’s Moto’s whole schtick, after all. There’s no information on a US or Australian launch, but they seem unlikely even several months after the phone's release.
Rivals at that price include Samsung’s Galaxy A23 5G, Redmi’s Note 12 5G, OnePlus' Nord CE 3 Lite and several of Motorola’s own mobiles, like the Moto G73 5G and Edge 40 Neo, which are all at roughly the same price point. But for its price and the performance it offers, the G84 is solidly good value.
Value score: 4 / 5
Moto G84 review: specs
The Moto G84 has many traits in common with other budget phones, but it exceeds its class in a few areas too.
Moto G84 review: design
Vibrant Pantone-designed red shell
Repositioned under-display fingerprint scanner
3.5mm headphone jack and USB-C port
(Image credit: Future)
Motorola isn’t exactly in the business of revolutionizing smartphone design (well, at least for its budget mobiles, though you can say what you like about the Moto Razr). So if you’ve seen a Moto G in the last few years you’ve seen the G84.
It’s a standard Android mobile measuring 160 x 74.4 x 7.6 mm – a few years ago we could’ve called it "a little on the big side" though you could probably consider it average now. It’s surprisingly light at 166.8g, which means the phone sits a little comfier in the hand than most phones with a flat edge.
You’ve got the usual accouterments of a Moto: a USB-C port and 3.5mm headphone jack underneath, a power button and volume rocker on the right edge. But Motorola has made one big adjustment in its budget phones of late, and that’s in replacing the side-mounted fingerprint scanner with a more premium under-display one. And it’s a great change too, as unlocking the phone is much easier than in previous Motos. The scanner is a bit lower down the phone than on most others, but it’s something I got used to.
There are three different color options for the Moto G84: a silver and a black option, and also an eye-catching red version called Viva Magenta. This latter was created by paint company Pantone, and it’d make the phone very attractive if it wasn’t for the big Pantone-logo color swatch on the bottom. You can’t remove this, it’s part of the phone.
Still, if the G84 was in a line-up of 10 random other phones, it’d be the most attractive one the vast majority of the time – its red is a little richer than Apple’s Product Red and the glossy alternatives some Chinese phones offer.
In terms of protection, you’re looking at IP54: it’s partly dust proofed but not against all solids, and is splash-proof but can’t be dunked in water. That's all to be expected at this price.
Design score: 3.5 / 5
Moto G84 review: display
Big 6.5-inch screen
FHD+ resolution and 120Hz refresh
Automatic brightness issues
(Image credit: Future)
The Moto G84 has a 6.5-inch display, which is pretty average for a smartphone these days, but the Moto’s specs are anything but average.
The phone packs an FHD+ display (that’s 1080 x 2400) and a 120Hz refresh rate, which means the display updates its image 120 times per second, over the old standard of 60Hz. Lots of budget mobiles tout this spec now but certainly not all of them, and it brings a marked improvement when you’re scrolling around the menus.
Another unusual trait is the use of the DCI-P3 color gamut with over 1 billion colors – this was designed for use in movies and it makes videos look that little bit better than on another budget phone.
One other display feature worth flagging is that the punch-hole that houses the front-facing camera is very small, reducing the amount of screen space you’re losing from it.
A small issue I had with the phone was with its display and the automatic brightness features. Often, the phone would default to a screen brightness that was just too low, and I frequently had to manually adjust it to be able to make out the display.
Display score: 3.5 / 5
Moto G84 review: software
Stock Android 13 is clean
Useful Moto Actions return
Plenty of customization options
(Image credit: Future)
When you boot up the Moto G84, it’ll come running stock Android 13 – that was the current OS when the mobile launched, though Android 14 started rolling out just weeks later. The G84 is only confirmed for one software update too, so Android 14 is all you’ll definitely get, though you’ll be able to enjoy at least three years’ security updates.
Stock Android is always fairly clean, at least compared to some other Android forks, but some bloatware has snuck into the Moto. There’s TikTok, LinkedIn and three simple games – it’s nothing too offensive, and if you’ve used one of the budget phones from another brand you might have used something a lot worse, but it’s still not ideal.
Moto phones have always been great for software customization, even before Google made it an official Android feature, and there’s no difference here. You have plenty of choice in terms of font, color scheme, icon shape, animations and more – if you like diving into the settings and then tweaking the nitty-gritty of how your phone looks, you’ll love this phone.
A returning feature exclusive to Moto phones are Moto Actions, which are easy navigation tricks that I find myself using a lot. Examples include a double karate-chop motion to quickly turn on the torch and a twisting shake to open the camera app. They take a little getting used to, but once you’ve got the knack for them, they’re incredibly handy.
Software score: 4 / 5
Moto G84: cameras
50MP main and 8MP ultra-wide cameras
Some extra features like Spot Color
16MP front-facing camera for selfies
(Image credit: Future)
The camera department is an area that Motorola phones rarely excel in, and there’s no exception here. The phone uses up its ‘color’ budget on its exterior shell and there’s none left for its photos…
The main snapper is a 50MP f/1.9 unit and it’s joined by a single 8MP f/2.2 ultra-wide companion. On the front, you’re looking at a 16MP f/2.5 selfie camera. That’s not exactly a revolutionary combo for Moto, which used the exact same line-up in the Moto G73 from earlier in the year.
Pictures taken on the main camera looked fine – that nondescript word is the best way to describe them – with fair sharpness but a lack of vibrancy or color that made me miss Samsung’s or Xiaomi’s handsets.
Flip onto the ultra-wide camera and you’re getting pretty grainy pictures – it’s an 8MP sensor, what did you expect – though not straight away. No, the secondary snapper was surprisingly slow to focus when I pressed the icon in the camera app, and I often found myself waiting a few moments for it to sharpen the image.
You can also use the ultra-wide camera for macro (close-up) shots, but this suffers from the issue that all wide-angle-macro phone photos do: it’s rounded and distorted thanks to the lens type. No thanks!
There’s no zoom lens on the Moto G84, so you have to use its 8x digital zoom to get closer to a subject. But I’d really recommend you don’t, unless you want your photo to be as grainy as spot art.
Grainy is also the word to use for pictures captured on the front camera, which is a surprising twist as some Motos redeem themselves on their selfie abilities. They'll be fine for sending between phones, especially with bokeh working well in Portrait mode, but if you look at selfies on any bigger screen you'll see the pixels clearly.
When capturing video, you can shoot at 1080p, with no 4K option. There’s also a slow-mo option as well as dual capture (front and back cameras at once) and Spot Color, which lets you isolate a single color in your recording. These latter two options are also available for photography.
Camera score: 2.5 / 5
Moto G84 camera samples
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This 'standard' shot of a coffee looks a little dull in the froth and colorful plates. (Image credit: Future)
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This photo came out bizarrely yellow. (Image credit: Future)
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Here's a standard snap of a street, so you can contrast to the next pic... (Image credit: Future)
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...here's that same street in ultra-wide. (Image credit: Future)
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This festive outlook also looks a little duller than what another phone would capture. (Image credit: Future)
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If you were to zoom in close to the face, you'd see it's quite grainy (but please don't!). (Image credit: Future)
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I captured the G84's contemporary, the Edge 40 Neo, so you can see how it picks up color. (Image credit: Future)
Moto G84: performance and audio
Snapdragon 695 chip exceeds expectations
12GB RAM and 256GB storage
3.5mm headphone jack and Bluetooth 5.1
The Moto G84 packs the Snapdragon 695, and anyone who’s used a phone using this chipset knows what to expect: fine everyday performance, but a lackluster showing when used for gaming or intensive processes. That's how this exact same chip worked in the recent OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite, and gaming was a slog.
In a pleasantly surprising plot twist, the G84 bucks expectations: it runs a lot faster than you’d think. In fact, through our rigorous gaming tests, it proved itself as one of the most reliable low-budget phones for gaming.
When playing titles like Call of Duty: Mobile and PUBG Mobile, the phone could be relied on to get through a match without lags, stutters or freezes – in fact, the G84 beat many gaming phones in that it didn’t even overheat!
This may be thanks to the 12GB RAM you’re getting, a surprising amount for a phone at this price. The 256GB storage is also laudable – this is a phone that’ll last you a long time, and even if you do manage to fill the device’s onboard storage, the microSD card slot will keep you going for even longer.
If you’re into your facts and figures, a benchmark test through Geekbench 6 returned a multi-core average score of 2,037. That middling score shows that this phone is no supercomputer that’ll land a spaceship on the sun or predict the future, but for the price, I was very surprised.
Onto audio – this is par for the course for a Moto phone. There’s a 3.5mm headphone jack for wired music and Bluetooth 5.1 for wireless. The onboard stereo speaker is nothing to write home about, but it’s not so tinny that voice calls or memos are affected.
Performance score: 4 / 5
Moto G84 review: battery life
Large 5,000mAh battery
Over a day's use from a single charge
30W charging isn't particularly fast
(Image credit: Future)
If there’s one thing a Motorola phone can be relied on to have, even more than a confusing name, great customization or that distinctive sound when you first boot it up, it’s a long-lasting battery life.
No surprise, then, that the Moto G84’s 5,000mAh battery lasts a long time. You can use it to get through a day of use with no issue, and in our tests it lasted well into a second day before the charging cable needed to come out.
That charging cable gets you powering at 30W, so it’s not particularly fast, not when rival budget mobiles hit 50W, 67W or higher. You’re looking at charging times just shy of an hour, or more if you’re using the thing as you power it.
There’s no wireless charging here, but at that price, no-one should be surprised.
Battery score: 3.5 / 5
Should you buy the Moto G84?
Buy it if...
You like the color
As soon as you opened this review and saw the header image, you came to a quick conclusion on its distinctive color. If that reaction was positive, then for sure, go for it!
You’re a budget gamer
Honestly, if I didn’t already have a phone, I’d consider the G84 just for its gaming chops alone – it plays games just as well as a handset that’d cost you twice as much.
You need a reliable budget device Moto's G phones are always dependable low-cost Androids that'll last you a long time, and if you're not fussy about certain premium features, they're always great picks.
Don't buy it if...
The Moto G73 is fine for you
The G84 has many specs in common with the G73, yet costs more – if you don’t mind screen quality and a side-mounted fingerprint scanner, you’ll be happy and have more cash with the older phone!
You’re a phone photographer
If there’s one cut corner with the G84, its the lackluster camera performance. If you love taking pictures all the time with your phone, you can do better than this handset.
You care about software updates Software fanatics out there might raise an eyebrow at Moto's limited software update promise. If you want new Android versions for years to come, you might want to opt for another brand's phones.
Moto G84 review: Also consider
If you're looking for Android phones at the Moto G84's price, you've got loads of rivals to consider. Here are a few:
OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite A bigger screen, higher-res main camera and fast charging are balanced out by a higher price, weaker gaming chops and a bulkier build in this recent rival from OnePlus.
Redmi Note 12 Pro Xiaomi is a strong budget phone rival with its spec-heavy Redmi mobiles, and the 12 Pro is an example. Lots of specs in common with the G84 but more processing power.
How I tested the Moto G84
Review test period = 2 week
Testing included = Everyday usage, including web browsing, social media, photography, video calling, gaming, streaming video, music playback
As you can tell from my review and the images, I tested the Moto G84 in its Pantone-endorsed Viva Magenta colorway. It felt fitting to test this festive-looking mobile during winter, hence the Christmas baking images!
Before true testing commenced I set up the phone to let the battery use settle, then used it as a standard mobile for two weeks. This included all the tasks you'd use your mobile for: social media, photography and streaming.
I also used it for gaming a lot. In fact, it was so snappy and fast for this task, alongside its lovely display, that I was loathe to move onto the next handset I'm testing for TechRadar!
My tech review history spans five years for TechRadar, and more for other brands. I used to work as an editor and writer for the site, covering phones, tablets and wearables (as well as a wide range of other gadgets), and continue to write freelance reviews across many types of gadget.
Suri Sustainable Sonic Toothbrush: One minute review
The Suri Sustainable Sonic Toothbrush tells you a lot about what it's aiming for right there in the name. However, there are other attributes to this powerful yet relatively affordable brush, that make it stand out from the many offerings now vying for your mouth space and the title of best electric toothbrush.
Primarily this is a company that prides itself on being sustainable, meaning it uses recyclable plant-based materials for the heads and bristles. But it also is designed with a simple aluminum frame that's made to be taken apart and fixed if necessary.
The company is so confident that you'll be pleased with what it offers that there is also a 100-day money-back guarantee – which applies to both the UK and US.
The brush is a sonic model, meaning it vibrates rather than oscillates. It also, quite uniquely, offers a carry case that features a UV-C light designed to give your brush head a bacteria-killing clean. A nifty feature that helps it compete even against the tech-crammed top-tier toothbrushes like the Oral-B iO Series 10 and the Philips Sonicare DiamondClean 9000.
Plus – and this is a tiny detail but shows the depth of thinking in design here – you get a sticky back magnet to attach to your bathroom mirror or wall, so the metal toothbrush can sit up and out of the way, keeping your sides clear and clean.
Suri Sustainable Sonic Toothbrush review: Price and availability
(Image credit: Future)
Priced at $92 in the US
£75 in the UK
AU$145 in Australia
The Suri Sustainable Sonic Toothbrush might not have been around for long, having launched in 2024, but it has been placed at such an ideal price point it is going to be appealing for a long time – especially if that price drops. It is available in the US, Canada, UK and Europe. It is currently priced at $92 / £75 / AU$145.
However, that is for the brush and charger alone, and if you want the case it will cost you extra. For the brush and UV case, the pricing is $116 / £95 / AU$185. The company says the brush is made to be easily repaired, so you shouldn't need another. Plus, if you do change up, Suri will recycle it all for free.
The heads are sustainable but are still going to wear down so you'll need to factor in replacement costs. A pack of three new heads will cost you $18.45 / £14.40 / AU$28. That includes fast and free shipping as part of the charge.
Value score: 4.5 / 5
(Image credit: Future)
Suri Sustainable Sonic Toothbrush review: Specifications
Suri Sustainable Sonic Toothbrush review: Design
(Image credit: Future)
IP67 waterproof
Aluminium body
Sustainable, plant-based heads
When it comes to design, this is an area that Suri has worked on from the basics to the finished product with great attention to detail. This is because it had the goal of not only creating a great sonic toothbrush to compete with the big-name brands, but to do it all while remaining eco-conscious.
To do this, Suri used plant-based ingredients for its brush heads, from cornstarch and castor oil. These are shaped into a wave-shaped bristle pattern to take care of interdental cleaning. Plus the company will send these out with a return envelope so you can send them back for recycling.
The brush unit is made from an aluminum frame which lends it a solid and robust feel. The slender shape, thinner in depth than width, feels very comfortable in the hand and makes for a fine balance of weight, both in the hand and when standing up.
I found the included mount simple to set up, with a sticky back and magnetic front, yet it adds so much value. Stick it anywhere and your brush magnetically attaches – keeping your bathroom sides clutter-free and avoiding those black ring marks that most of the other brands leave on your bathroom sides.
The case is also worth shouting about as it not only charges the brush but also features a UV-C light to clean the head, but more on this in the features section. There is also an included puck-style charger base that plugs into a USB-style charging socket.
Suri has spent a lot of time and money refining the design of this toothbrush and it really comes across in the finish. Proof that sustainable and premium can be found in one sleek and sonic electric toothbrush-shaped package.
Design score: 5 / 5
Suri Sustainable Sonic Toothbrush review: Features
(Image credit: Future)
Impressive 40+ day battery
Fast charging
UV-C cleaning light
Competing against the already established electric toothbrush competition in the forms of Oral-B and Philips was always going to be a challenge. But one way to really bring it to them is to offer better battery life – something that everyone nowadays appreciates, as one less gadget to charge is a relief. That's why this brush's battery life, which extends to beyond 40 days of use, is a really appealing feature. And, as if that wasn't enough, it also charges to full in just four hours.
The tricks keep helping this brush punch above the price point though, as that travel case is packing a UV-C light. This is a powerful light when it comes to cleaning as it will kill 99.9% of harmful bacteria in a single minute – a great feature especially when travelling. Plus the case charges the toothbrush, is sleek in its finish, and is minimal enough to take up very little room in a wash bag.
Of course, that case is part of the higher priced package – but even having the option to leave that, if it's not for you, in favor of saving a bit of money, is a thoughtful option.
The brush head itself features that wave design for superior cleaning, while the back of the head has a rubberized pattern that can make for the now-standard tongue cleaning with just the right amount of abrasion.
The main body is super minimal with a single button to power on and jump between modes. There are only two of these: Clean or Polish. The lack of modes sounds like a negative, but unless you need a softer mode for sensitive teeth, this can be more than enough. Since this is a sonic setup, it means you can go as gentle or hard as you need, so even the lack of a sensitive setting is probably an intentional choice from Suri.
There is a timer as standard, so you can get that recommended daily two minutes morning and night. This brush also features haptic feedback with vibrations at every 30 seconds so you have that guidance to move between dental zones – all pretty standard and expected of an electric brush at this price.
Features score: 4.5 / 5
Suri Sustainable Sonic Toothbrush review: Performance
(Image credit: Future)
Super quiet operating
High-speed sonics at 33,000
Brilliant battery
One of the standout features of this toothbrush is just how quietly it runs, at a meagre 54 db. This is barely noticeable. When you compare to oscillating brushes or premium sonic options, this undercuts them quite considerably – ideal for late-night brushing when a partner, roommate or parent is within earshot.
The brushing performance is above average standard. This is thanks to a combination of that brush head with the wave-shaped bristles of varying lengths that get in between teeth, and those sonic vibrations. The brush will vibrate at 33,000 times per minute which is ideal as a way to break down plaque and clean teeth more effectively than a manual brush, although the lack of oscillation does mean it's not as comprehensive as some of the ultra-premium brushes.
Usefully, when you switch up to Polish mode, you can feel the intensity increase, which allows you to put less pressure on while the brush does more of the work for you. This is useful for those who might struggle to maintain pressure for the full two minutes, or for anyone who wants to achieve a more effective clean without as much pressure on the brushing technique itself.
That battery life is also worth another mention since it's so effective. A four-hour charge time is fantastic. You can easily pop this on in the morning and you're good to go for your evening brush – or even a lunchtime clean if you're that committed. Then having a solid 40 days of use means you don't need to think about battery life for a good month or more.
Details like including the recycling packaging, to send heads back to the company, make it a more realistic process for most people, as does designing the brush to be easily repaired. This is potentially the last brush you need to buy for a very, very long time.
Performance score: 4/5
Suri Sustainable Sonic Toothbrush: Scorecard
(Image credit: Future)
Suri Sustainable Sonic Toothbrush: Should I buy?
Buy it if...
Don't buy it if...
Also consider
How I tested
I used the Suri Sustainable Sonic Toothbrush for weeks in order to test the effectiveness of the brush itself as well as that battery performance. I also visited the dentist during this time and was complemented on my cleaning efforts - reflecting well on this brush's performance.
I used the case for travel, over-night, as well as making use of the UV-C light cleaning feature. I mounted the magnetic holder to test its usefulness and was left surprised at how helpful this small addition was.
My brushing was twice daily with that two-minute timer and haptic half-minute guidance vibrations used to get a full and fair brush.
I was also testing other brushes from Oral-B and more which allowed me to see the difference between features like extra modes, oscillations versus sonics, battery life, screes, apps and more.
