Before the Chinese New Year, many mobile brands released their budget Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 phones. Of course, Motorola did the same. This Motorola X40 didn’t get as much attention as a few others, but it looks no worse than the others and is cheaper. So how does the X40 perform in its price range, after watching this video you’ll find out.
Design
Our X40 is made of black frosted material, which is very smooth to the touch. Plus this quad-curved screen on the front looks square but feels like a pebble. Although it feels great in your hand, it’s still recommended to wear a case if you don’t want to drop your phone. The camera module uses curved protective glass. Because normal use of the hand can not touch, this design is just because it looks good.
Stereo dual speakers, NFC, and even IP68 are all there. Especially, this Full-functioned Type-C port not only supports USB 3.2 Gen 1 but also supports video output. This USB C port puts many more expensive phones to shame.
Display
The protective glass of this screen is quad-curved. While it sounds similar to the one on the Mi 11 Ultra, the details are actually different. The upper bezel is not extremely narrow, and the upper and lower bezel curves are smaller and almost invisible. So you can just use it as a normal curved screen. Display specs are not great or bad in the same price range. The refresh rate is relatively high, which is its only advantage. So users with high screen requirements should probably consider iQOO 11 or Redmi K60.
Benchmark & Gaming
Motorola’s performance has always been outstanding. The score also shows that it is not much different from other 8 Gen 2 phones. However, through the CPU Throttling Test, we can see that it is not as stable as the 8 Gen 2 phones we have tested before. This result also appears in the more stressful games.
Genshin Impact, for example, performed relatively stable in the first half but started to have frame rate fluctuations in the second half. Overall the game performance is actually good, after all the average frame rate is not low and the lag is very little. But compared to other 8 Gen 2 phones it doesn’t seem that impressive. Of course, light gaming is not a problem. Heavy gamers may want to consider whether they can accept such a level of gaming as the X40.
Camera
Although the camera system is similar for everyone at this price point, it does not mean that everyone is on the same level. Its main camera and ultra-wide camera are not bad, there are no shortcomings. The color style is more similar to vivo. Anyway, the main camera and ultra-wide camera are not the reason why I don’t like it.
The main difference between the X40 and other 8 Gen 2 phones is the telephoto camera. Not only is there a lack of clarity, but the excessive sharpening effect makes the photos look fake. If you shoot an object with a lot of detail, such as leaves on a tree. Then the photo will be ruined by the sharpening effect. The good news is that night mode doesn’t have this problem. Since there is no OIS, your hand must be very steady or you will easily get blurry photos.
Since the ultra-wide camera is supported by autofocus, it can be used as a macro camera. It takes better photos than the kind of 2MP standalone macro camera, even the hairs on the keyboard can be seen. But the closest focus distance is only about 4CM, want to take good macro photos or quite difficult.
The X40 front camera is a great performer. Even in backlit scenes at night, it can take detailed selfies. And it supports 4k 60fps video recording specs, which makes Xiaomi 13 and iQOO 11, which are more expensive than it, ashamed of themselves. The X40’s video recording is also very impressive, with the main camera supporting 8k 30fps, the ultra-wide camera 4k 60fps, and the telephoto 1080P 60fps. clarity and stability are good, I am very satisfied with the X40’s video recording.
Battery & Charging
125w of wired charging plus 15w of wireless charging is top of the line even now, especially wireless charging, a very common feature for many commuters. At least I use it a lot. If you need a quick full charge, just plug in the power cable and wait half an hour. 4600mAh battery doesn’t sound like much, but it’s still quite durable. Personally, I feel it’s about the same as many 5000mAh phones. This year’s 8 Gen 2 has finally helped solve the problem of lack of battery life on the phone.
For a less than $500 8 Gen 2 phone, the Motorola X40 does some things really well. Such as IP68 and wireless charging. But you also have to accept some of its drawbacks, such as the rather ordinary screen quality, weaker performance compared to other 8 Gen 2 phones, and not good enough telephoto. If you’re not in a hurry to buy a phone, check out the Redmi K60 series and the Nubia Z50 review, both of which are strong competitors to the X40.
