Moto is adding another smartphone to its budget series – the Moto G31. Compared to the Moto G30, Moto has brought in some major changes to the hardware, but has also removed some at the same time. The biggest one missing is the 90Hz refresh rate, which was one of the major selling points of the Moto G30.
But like I said, there are meaningful upgrades as well. For instance, there is now an AMOLED display with Full HD+ resolution. The Moto G31 this time around is carrying a Mediatek Helio G85 chip, as opposed to the Snapdragon 662 in the previous model. Lastly, the G31 comes with an all-new camera system with a 50MP primary camera. We will look at all of the new features in my first impressions of the new Moto G31 –
What’s inside the box
The Moto G31 comes with the same navy-colored box as I have seen with most Moto devices. Inside the box, you get the handset and a transparent soft case that is already attached to the device. The device’s screen is covered with a plastic sheet that mentions the major specifications of the device.
Aside from this, the box includes a 20W charger and a standard USB-type C cable. The Moto G30 offered a 10W charger, so the new fast charger is certainly a welcome change.
Moto G31 specifications
The Moto G31 sports a 6.4-inch OLED panel with no high-refresh rate, unfortunately. Under the hood, the device is powered by a Mediatek Helio G85 coupled with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of internal storage that can be expanded with a microSD card. The phone comes with the same 5000 mAh battery, however you can now fast charge the device using the 20W Turbo fast charger.
For photography, the device comes with a triple camera setup featuring a 50MP primary shooter, along with an 8MP ultra-wide camera and a 2MP depth macro camera.
Moto G31 Design and Build Quality
The Moto G31 offers a strong build, and is easy to hold with one hand. On the rear, you get a textured back which is perfect for getting a good grip and is free of smudges. Unlike the Moto G30’s quad-camera setup, there are only three camera shooters on the back. That said, the camera module placement is the same, so it doesn’t look much different.
Like the G30, there is a rear mounted fingerprint sensor that also carries the Motorola logo. Once again, the fingerprint area is smaller than the standard. But a capacitive sensor on the rear is always a good choice given our index finger naturally sits around the area. There is a slight wobble if the phone is kept on a flat surface, but that can be easily fixed by slapping the plastic cover.
On the top, there is a 3.5mm headphone jack. While I always appreciate keeping the headphone jack, it would have been great if there was a pair of headphones inside the box. Aside from this, there are volume buttons on the left and a Google Assistant as well. The speaker grill can be found at the bottom and the SIM ejection area on the left side. The Google Assistant button’s placement could have been better, probably on the left side since all the push buttons are cramped on one side of the phone.
Moto G31 Display and Software
This time around, there is an OLED panel that gets fairly bright. Unlike the Moto G30, the punch hole is now detached from the top bezel, which gives it a cleaner look. The display looks vibrant and produces good colors, however there is no HDR support which has now become quite the standard.
The G31 comes with the Pixel-like UI, which is one of the best things about the Motorola devices. The phone runs on the latest Android 11 and comes with all the bells and whistles you would expect from a stock Android device.
Moto G31 Price
The Moto G31 is priced similar to its predecessor – Rs 12,999 for the base variant (4GB+64GB). There is also a 6GB + 128GB variant that is priced at Rs 14,999. The phone comes in two color options – Blue and Grey. The one I have is the Meteorite Gray. The Moto G31 is available exclusively on Flipkart and on Moto’s official stores.
