Motorola Moto G51 5G review

Introduction and specs

The Motorola Moto G51 5G is supposed to be a successor to the Moto G50 5G, but since the two handsets were released less than four months apart, one could argue that the newer iteration is just a hardware refresh. Nonetheless, the G51 has more capable hardware in some aspects, and since it’s an end of 2021/beginning of 2022 phone, it’s safe to assume that this is Motorola’s main low-end, 5G-enabled solution for this year, replacing the Moto G50 5G.

The handset was announced alongside other Moto phones, and the G51 seems like a mixture of the Moto G71 5G and the Moto G200 5G as it shares some of its hardware with them. As the name implies, it’s the cheapest of the bunch, of course. The main difference is the chipset – the G51 runs on Qualcomm’s affordable 5G solution, the Snapdragon 480+.

Motorola Moto G51 5G specs at a glance:

• Body: 170.5×76.5×9.1mm, 208g; Glass front, plastic body; IP52 Water-repellent design.
• Display: 6.80″ IPS LCD, 120Hz, 1080x2400px resolution, 20:9 aspect ratio, 387ppi.
• Chipset: Qualcomm SM4350-AC Snapdragon 480+ 5G (8 nm): Octa-core (2×2.2 GHz Kryo 460 & 6×1.8 GHz Kryo 460); Adreno 619.
• Memory: 64GB 4GB RAM, 64GB 6GB RAM 128GB 4GB RAM, 128GB 6GB RAM, 128GB 8GB RAM; microSDXC (uses shared SIM slot).
• OS/Software: Android 11.
• Rear camera: Wide (main): 50 MP, f/1.8, 1/2.76″, 0.64µm, PDAF; Ultra wide angle: 8 MP, f/2.2, 118˚, 1/4.0″, 1.12µm; Macro: 2 MP, f/2.4.
• Front camera: Wide (main): 13 MP, f/2.2, 1.12µm – Global; Wide (main): 16 MP, f/2.2, 1.12µm – China only.
• Video capture: Rear camera: 1080p@30/60/240fps; Front camera: 1080p@30fps.
• Battery: 5000mAh; Fast charging 20W – India, 10W – Global.
• Misc: Fingerprint reader (side-mounted); FM radio; 3.5mm jack.

However, it uses an almost identical to the G200’s display (6.8″, IPS LCD with 1080 x 2400px resolution), it borrows the camera setup from the G71 5G (50MP+8MP+2MP), and it shares the same 5,000 mAh battery capacity. Sadly, the charging speed for the global unit is capped at just 10W. India gets considerably faster 20W charging, though.

At about €230 starting price, the Moto G51 5G has only a few direct competitors to go against, and this makes it a perfectly sensible 5G solution, which also happens to be pretty good for multimedia consumption. There are no stereo speakers, but the large, 120Hz display, the big battery and the Dolby Atmos audio support make a good case for it.

Now, let’s take a deeper dive to see if the G51 is any good at photography and if there are more powerful competitors around.

Unboxing the Motorola Moto G51 5G

The device comes in a standard box containing the usual user manuals and the appropriate 10W charger with a USB-A to USB-C cable. The Indian variant of the phone ships with a 20W charger, mind you. There’s also a transparent silicone case as a bonus.

The G51 comes with a sub-par USB cable like pther Motorola phones in the past. The cable doesn’t support data transfers, and it can only be used for charging. So unless you have a spare USB-A to USB-C cable lying around to link the phone with your PC, you will have to buy one separately.