How Samsung’s Galaxy Tab S9 can help unlock your child’s creativity

The Galaxy Tab S9 is Samsung’s most powerful and versatile tablet, and that’s not just thanks to specs and benchmarks. What makes it special is the way the S9 has been designed with creativity in mind.

With its unique blend of hardware features and a stable of pre-installed apps, the Tab S9 enables creative ideas to flow, and more importantly, it inspires them to flow.

For a creative person, the most important function of a tablet like the Tab S9 is that it provides a creative space, an ideal blend of aesthetics, materials, and user experience, that makes you excited to pick it up and get working on that big project. But it also has to provide the power that the best creativity apps demand, without restricting or limiting what you can or can’t do with those apps.

The Galaxy Tab S9 is an ideal creativity choice for users of any age, but we’re going to deep-dive into how primary school-aged kids can rely on the Tab S9 and a range of apps to turn their curiosity into creativity unleashed.

Galaxy Tab S9 hardware highlights

Creativity comes from within, and is expressed outward, whether that be onto a page, the stage, or an amusing YouTube short. On a tablet, software is the key to that expression, and the Tab S9 has a selection of curated apps that can give your child an enormous level of freedom to create… anything!

But before we get into the apps, it’s worth highlighting some of the Tab S9’s hardware features that support those apps.

Art begins with a blank page, they say, and when kids use the Tab S9 to create, the tablet itself is that blank page. Or maybe it’s a canvas? It all depends what you’re working on today!

Size, screen, S-Pen, and more

The display is of course spec’d to make watching movies and playing games smoother than ever – but the Dynamic AMOLED 2X screen is also great for visual artists. At the top of the Tab S9 range, the Tab S9 Ultra is an expansive 14.6-inch canvas, which may let creative apps avoid feeling cramped, while the 120Hz response time limits hiccups or stuttering when scrubbing video or rapidly sketching a new idea. That mix of size, brightness and colour, and response time means the Tab S9’s display is ready for any creative task you want to take on, whether it’s photography, illustration, animation, video, or something else.

The Tab S9 comes with an in-box S Pen, a stylus matched to the tablet’s touchscreen, which allows a creative child to work just as they would have on paper or canvas.

Because the Tab S9 is so easy to work on, it’s normal for a creative kid to want to spend hours on a project. The display includes Vision Booster for outdoor sketching or photography, but perhaps more importantly for concerned parents is the Eye Comfort feature, which adjusts the display to reduce blue light.

That the Tab S9 is very much a premium tablet shouldn’t be something that makes you worry about letting younger children pour their creative minds into it. The IP68 rating means the Tab S9 can handle splashes and spills, and it doesn’t need to be handled with kid gloves¹.

Oh, and as a final word on hardware: Samsung hasn’t forgotten budding young writers either. You can add a Book Cover keyboard² to your Tab S9, which lets your child type more comfortably for longer. If they really want to lean into that old-school word processor experience (it helps with some writers’ creativity) they can use DeX Mode, which turns the Tab S9 into more of a notebook PC, with a user experience to match.

Express yourself with Galaxy Tab S9 apps

The Galaxy Tab S9 range has the hardware to support a huge range of creative interests, but what completes the package and turns ideas into art, is the range of creativity-focused apps.

A great creativity app is one that gives kids the software tools and the space they need to explore the ideas they’ve already had, and then goes further, and gives them inspiration to try new things.

That means an app that’s easy to get into as a beginner, but which has a huge number of advanced functions and features that, at least at first, your child won’t even have thought of needing.

Ideally, as your child explores their creativity and does more, they’ll work out what it is they need their creativity app to do – so it’s important that the app has these advanced features ready to go.

At its heart, the Tab S9 is an Android tablet so the full gamut of Play Store apps is just a download away. The Galaxy Tab S9 series offers new and enhanced apps which lets your child explore their creativity in almost any direction.

• LumaFusionⁱ is a video editing app that gives kids the ability to use simple touch gestures to cut and edit multi-track video. Once they get a handle on the app’s workflow and want to explore more advanced techniques like professionals use, those features are ready and waiting.
• Clip Studio Paintⁱⁱ is the app for the keen young visual artist, who might be focused on sketching right now but may then wish to branch out, even do traditional brush-on-canvas painting. The app supports all this, and there’s the Japanese angle too: For a certain kind of creative young person, Japanese comics and animated films are a massive inspiration.
• GoodNotesⁱⁱⁱ has a straightforward intention, which is to bring back the free-form doodling and collage-making that you can’t do in your device’s standard note-taking app. A scrapbook or journal is a vital tool for young artists of any kind, and being able to combine the sketching and doodling of pen-and-paper notebooks with the ability to save and organise them like computer files, could be a huge benefit for those sometimes scattery creative minds.

It’s worth noting that Samsung and Adobe have worked to provide versions of Adobe Creative Cloud apps that are tweaked to look their best on that big tablet display. Photoshop Lightroom and Photoshop Express have the most potential for creative young minds – whether it’s touching-up an old damaged photo for a family history project, or just messing around with photo collages like a 21^st century equivalent of doodling on the pad next to the phone, it all depends on your child’s unique creativity.

These apps are all pre-installed on your Tab S9 or can be installed from the Google Play or Galaxy store. Some of the apps are supplied as trial versions and will require a subscription to keep using. They may also include the ability to make in-app purchases, so make sure to review your privacy options before you use any of them.

Ready and equipped for the onward journey

There are thousands of creativity apps on the Google Play Store, so the apps highlighted here are just the beginning.

With your support and patience, the Tab S9 has the potential to be part of your family well into the future. After all, it can function as creative tool, companion, and even guide.

And for these formative primary school years, it’s reassuring to know that both Google and Samsung have extensive safety features baked in, so you know apps from the official app store are legitimate, and that your child’s personal details are not being exposed online.

If you let your child and the Tab S9 work together to explore what creativity means to them and how far they can go with it, don’t be surprised if you quickly feel like you’ve been left behind! The Tab S9 is powerful enough to let advanced creators strut their stuff, and what your child may come up with after even a short time with the tablet might seem impossibly advanced. But that’s only to be expected, when you use a Tab S9.

Read other Samsung articles on GadgetGuy

1 * The Galaxy Tab S9 Series is rated as IP68. Based on lab test conditions for submersion in up to 1.5 meters of freshwater for up to 30 minutes. Not advised for beach or pool use. Ensure the charging port is dry before charging. Please refer to your phone’s user manual for further care instructions and limitations.

2. Book Cover Keyboard sold separately.

ⁱ LumaFusion app requires separate purchase and download. Terms of service may vary by country and region.

ii Clip Studio Paint app comes pre-installed in select markets. Clip Studio Paint app can be downloaded from the Galaxy Store and comes with a free 6-month trial for first-time users. Once the free trial period ends, paid subscription to a monthly usage plan is required for continuous use. Terms of service may vary by country and region.

iii GoodNotes app requires separate download and comes with a 1-year free full version. Once the free full version period ends, an additional purchase is required for continuous use. The terms of service may vary by country and region.

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Sonos Move 2 review: still the best semi-portable speaker

Sonos is well known for making the best multi-room audio system available (or, at least one that mere mortals can buy). But, four years ago the company introduced its first portable speaker: the Sonos Move. The Move is a heavy speaker that is essentially a Sonos One with a big battery. It has all the flexibility of a large portable Bluetooth speaker, alongside the functionality of a Sonos speaker. Now the new Sonos Move 2 model is here.

This latest update brings with it some audio improvements, but also a $100 price bump, which is a big ask in a category as cluttered as portable speakers. That price is the same as the brilliant Sonos Era 300, which features Spatial Audio, new drivers, and other wonderful features that have not migrated to the Move 2, which is disappointing.

Sonos Move 2 review

• First impressions
• Specifications
• Performance
• Who is it for?

First impressions

My first impression is that the Move 2 looks a lot like the original Move, but now it comes in green. Where the first Move was more like a Sonos One mono speaker, this Move 2 is aiming to be closer to the Era 100, but the design language is still the same as the original.

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One notable difference, aside from the price, is the new setup of the touch controls on the top of the device. It’s got the same recessed volume change channel that the other new Sonos speakers have, which I welcome, because it’s much easier to use than the old cluttered controls.

It’s neat that you can charge your phone with the speaker’s USB-C out now. That’s a handy extra feature, but not one worth upgrading for.

Like all Sonos products, it’s extremely easy and quick to set up. The upgrade to Bluetooth 5.0 means it’s even faster to pair over Bluetooth than the previous model. But I have been growing impatient with the bugginess of the Sonos app these past few months. I’ve found it crashing, and having the music cut in and out more frequently than it used to. The cutting in and out could be my Wi-Fi, but the crashing is concerning. However, it’s easy to use AirPlay 2 if you grow too irritated with the Sonos app, so it’s hardly a dealbreaker.

Sonos Move 2 specifications

Speaker technology	Three Class-D digital amplifiers Two angled tweeters One midwoofer Far-field microphone array
Battery	Up to 24 hours
Dimensions	242 x 160 x 126 mm 3.0 kg
Connectivity	Wi-Fi (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz) Bluetooth 5.0 USB-C
Price (RRP)	$799
Warranty	One year
Official website	Sonos Australia

One disappointing thing is that it’s still not compatible with hi-res codecs. At $799, I really am looking for something a bit more premium. The multi-room audio is great, and it’s a quality speaker, but I want more at this price.

One great thing is that the battery life has been doubled from the previous model, now hitting a handy 24 hours, which should be more than enough for most use cases.

Performance

For all my sounding down about this speaker, it’s only because my expectations for Sonos speakers are so high. The performance is still superb, as are most things about the Sonos Move 2. I just wish that they had either pushed the envelope more, or priced it more realistically.

Design

I have always loved the design language of Sonos. They are classy speakers that strike the right balance between form and function. My review unit is the Olive colour, and it’s so sophisticatedly understated. The rounded edges are beautiful, and each aspect looks deliberate yet effortless.

Image: Alice Clarke.

Image: Alice Clarke.

The handle at the back is a clever touch and comfortable to carry without sticking out too much when docked for home use.

It looks and feels like the premium product that it is.

Sound

The problem here is that there really isn’t any other product like the Move 2 for me to compare it to, and so I keep mentally trying to compare to speakers in other, more clear-cut categories. Sure, there are better purely Bluetooth speakers available for less, and Sonos sells better home-use speakers for the same price. But, with the exception of the much cheaper Roam, there is nothing like the Move 2 on the market, so it’s tough to compare.

The easiest comparison is to the original Move, which sounds cluttered and unrefined in comparison. The stereo separation on the Move 2 might not be as clean as on the Era 100, but it actually has some stereo separation, unlike the original Move. The bass also rings clearer, and there’s less mud and noise.

There is still some fuzz on my test tracks. “Anywhere With You” by Maggie Rogers lacks some of the clarity I’m used to, and the bass overwhelms a bit in the second verse.

“Simmer” by Hayley Williams is a great test track because it’s filled with delicate details. The thudding of the bass comes across well, as does her big exhale at the beginning. But I miss the little details, like the clarity of the hi-hat sticking pattern, which I get on the Era 100 and Era 300.

More electronic music seems to sound clearer, like “Everything At Your Feet” by Odesza. This sounds closer to what I would expect. The bass is still a little overwhelming, but I think this is more what the speakers were tuned for.

An even busier song, like “Goddess” by Pvris works better. The crunch of the song works with the speaker, and the full energy and emotion come across really well.

The Move 2 is for music that people want to turn up the volume and dance to, rather than sit quietly and cry to.

Using as a Bluetooth speaker

There is no getting around the fact that the Move 2 is big and heavy. Most Bluetooth speakers I review are small and can be tossed into a tote bag or backpack along with everything else you need for the day. The Move 2 needs its own bag. But that’s not necessarily a problem. I’ve seen plenty of unwieldy Bluetooth speakers over the years.

The main way I imagine people using the portability of the Move 2 is carrying it onto the deck, or into the backyard when the conversation moves outdoors in summer. Or to have by the pool at a pool party. It’s for indoor-outdoor living. But you could also easily take it camping (if you are driving to the campsite).

If you want lower-priced full portability, then the Roam is your friend. The Move 2 serves a different and equally valid purpose.

Who is the Sonos Move 2 for?

I think the Move 2 is for people who have gardens, balconies or decks, and want to be able to take their music out with them. You could take it to the beach or the park, but that’s more of a commitment. It’s also for people who want a Bluetooth speaker, but also want another speaker for their Sonos system, and don’t want to have to get two speakers.

You wouldn’t buy a Move 2 just to use in the one spot, same as you wouldn’t buy it just to be a Bluetooth speaker. The Move 2 is designed to be a part of your everyday routine. There are better options if you just want a home speaker or just want a Bluetooth speaker.

It is not a perfect speaker, and I still wish Sonos had taken the improvements a bit further at this price point. But it is good, and if it sounds like what you need and fits in your budget, I recommend it.

The post Sonos Move 2 review: still the best semi-portable speaker appeared first on GadgetGuy.

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Sony Pulse Explore earbuds review: best in-ear PS5 headphones

7.2

Buy on Amazon

Over-ear headsets have been the standard for gaming for years. They fit almost everyone, they’re comfortable for long periods of time, and there’s more room to place bigger batteries. But they’re also big, ruin your hair, and take up more storage space. No matter what you think of them, true wireless earbuds are the direction headphones have been going in for a while.

Featuring planar magnetic drivers (fancy, and usually only seen on much more expensive buds), these new Sony Pulse Explore Earbuds ($329.95) are an attractive prospect for those who can get them to fit.

Sony Pulse Explore earbuds review

• Impressions
• Specifications
• Performance
• Who is it for?

First impressions

My first reaction upon seeing the Pulse Explore earbuds was “that’s a bold design choice”. It matches up with the PS5 and the Pulse 3D wireless headset, but somehow they seem a bit more extreme when you have to shove them in your ears.

Image: Alice Clarke

Setting up was easy. Pairing with the PlayStation 5 requires plugging in a little dongle, so you can get that sweet, sweet low-latency gaming audio. Pairing with my phone just meant holding down the pairing button inside the oddly shaped case until the light flashed blue. From there, it showed up in my phone’s Bluetooth pairing list to select as an audio device.

Sony Pulse Explore earbuds specifications

Connectivity	PlayStation Link wireless connection for: PlayStation 5 consoles, PlayStation Portal remote player, PC/Mac. Dual device connectivity Bluetooth 5.0
Weight	Approx. 6.1 g (0.2 oz.) – both earbuds with medium size earbud tips
Battery	Up to 5 hours of battery life and an additional 10 hours via the included charging case.
Drivers	Planar magnetic drivers
Microphones	2 integrated with AI-enhanced noise rejection
Price (RRP)	$329.95
Warranty	One year
Official website	PlayStation Australia

Those are shockingly impressive specs for buds at this price point and for this purpose. Planar magnetic drivers are a big deal, and it’s great to see them finally filtering down to other kinds of headphones. The battery life is fine, and the two extra charges in the case are welcome.

But the box only comes with four pairs of ear tips, and that always makes me nervous. With these types of buds, if you don’t get a good seal, you won’t get the full experience. I can’t get a good seal with the included tips, which is really a shame, because they sound amazing on paper.

Performance

Design

There are a few things here that make it difficult to get these headphones to fit properly. The main thing is that the shape of the body is large and awkward. They look really cool and futuristic, but they don’t place nicely with my ears. Your mileage may vary, but Sony took a bold swing in this design, which means that it won’t fit the ear shapes it wasn’t designed for.

Image: Alice Clarke.

Not including Comply foam, or other kinds of foam ear tips, in the box also limits who these will fit.

The case for the buds is cool. Kind of like what I imagine a lipstick case would look like in 2040. It’s bulky, though, and not overly pocket-friendly.

Gaming

Even with my sub-optimal fit, it’s clear that these headphones are good. Accurate positioning of footsteps in 3D audio is key, and these pulled it off. It was also easy to distinguish between different kinds of gunfire.

It is weird that they don’t have ANC, so the background noise of living in the city did occasionally creep in. But with a better seal that shouldn’t be as much of a problem due to passive noise cancelling.

The microphone was clear. Perhaps not as good as a boom mic on an over-ear pair at this price range, but still very good for what it is. Though, I wish there was an easy button to press to mute the mic. Sometimes you just need to say something to your spouse, or eat a particularly loud chip, and you don’t want to subject your squad to that sound.

But, if what you’re after is a minimalist gaming headset for PS5 that still sounds good, this is a good pick.

Music

I can’t tell if it’s because of the sub-optimal seal, or just because these are gaming headphones tuned for gaming, but I’m surprised by the lack of mid-tones on the Sony Pulse Explore Earbuds. On “What’s Left Inside” by Conquer Divide I can clearly hear the crash of the cymbals, the bass drum hits true, and I’m getting a lot of detail from the semi-open hi-hats, but the song also sounds like it’s missing its guts. The drums are front and centre, yet I can barely hear the guitars and the vocalist sounds washed out.

“Full Heart Fancy” by Lucky Chops actually sounds really good like this. It’s clean. Perhaps missing a good chunk of the emotion, and the snare sticking pattern sounds a bit buried, but the brass instruments are really in their element here, and I’m enjoying the brightness of the ride cymbal.

“Simmer” by Hayley Williams is more stripped back, less chaotic, and it sounds really good. I don’t think these headphones are Spatial compatible, and yet I’m getting a good 3D soundstage anyway, perhaps because of the stereo separation. I feel like I’m sitting in the middle of the drumkit while Hayley Williams makes eye contact with me.

Although that poor seal makes everything seem a bit softer, and the emotion is dulled, it’s still good, and I can imagine that with a good seal, the impact would be really impressive. This tells me that the headphones are technically excellent, and that someone with a good fit would be having a damn good time with them. I really hope Sony releases more ear tips so I can get the full experience sometime.

Who are the Sony Pulse Explore Earbuds for?

To get the most out of these earphones, you need a couple of things: a PS5 you play often (but don’t like wearing over-ear headphones), and uncomplicated ear holes with good grip. If you’ve had trouble getting true wireless headphones to fit in the past, you’re probably not going to have a good time with these. You need to have perfectly averagely shaped ears to make the most of them. But that’s also probably most people, so you might be ok.

PULSE Explore Wireless Earbuds – PlayStation 5

• Next generation gaming audio: Enjoy extraordinary lifelike sound in your favourite games. Planar magnetic drivers – Studio-inspired drivers reproduce soundscapes with ultra-low distortion, to deliver rich details and deep clear bass. PlayStation Link technology – Enjoy a lossless, lightning-fast ultra-low latency wireless connection to your PS5 console, PC, Mac and PlayStation Portal remote player. AI-enhanced noise rejection – Be heard loud and clear with microphone noise-rejection technology
• Multi-device connectivity: Go where adventure takes you, with the ability to wirelessly connect to a range of devices. Bluetooth – Go mobile, by directly connecting your earbuds to a phone or tablet. Dual-device connectivity – Listen to audio from a PlayStation Link and Bluetooth device simultaneously, to stay in play as you answer calls or enjoy music from a mobile device.

$ 329.95

Buy on Amazon

If possible, I recommend trying on the Sony Pulse Explore Earbuds before buying. That will be difficult, due to hygiene reasons and ear wax being disgusting. But if you have a friend with a pair, maybe ask if you can try them on to see if they fit.

Otherwise, at this price point, you could get a pair of INZONE PlayStation 5 headphones, which are excellent and more likely to fit you. Having the planar magnetic drivers is extremely impressive on paper, but that means nothing if they don’t fit you, same with all in-ear headphones. Your mileage will vary.

GadgetGuy occasionally uses affiliate links and may receive a small commission from purchased products.

Sony Pulse Explore wireless earbuds

If you have perfectly average ears, you will love the Sony Pulse Explore Earbuds.

Features

8

Value for money

7

Performance

7

Ease of use

7

Design

7

Positives

Planar magnetic drivers

Good battery life

Interesting design

Negatives

Getting a good fit is challenging

Interesting design makes comfort a challenge for unusual ears

Expensive

7.2

Buy on Amazon

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How to choose an air purifier: 3 important things to know

With hay fever and bushfire season upon us, choosing the right air purifier ensures your household will breathe easy this summer.

There was a time when if you were in need of some fresh air you could simply crack a window, but these days it’s just as likely that the air outside is the problem. Australia’s bushfire season is getting longer, with a higher frequency of dangerous fire weather days which can see residential areas blanketed in smoke even if they are far from the flames.

It’s a significant issue, considering that 2.7 million Australians are affected by asthma and around 7 million more are at elevated risk of developing health problems during extreme smoke events. Over one week during the Black Summer bushfires of January 2020, there was a 44 per cent increase in patients reporting asthma symptoms and presenting to emergency departments, according to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. 

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Filter out the nasties

Choosing the right air purifier for your home depends on exactly why you need one, the size of the room in which you’ll use it and when you’ll put it to work.

There are many different ways to monitor air quality, but the main pollutant emitted by bushfire smoke is fine particles with a diameter of 2.5 microns or less (also known as PM2.5). These are small enough that they can get deep into the lungs and even find their way into the bloodstream. Meanwhile, common larger PM10 sources include smoke, dust, pollen and mould.

Portable air purifiers fitted with high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filters can substantially improve indoor air quality during bushfires, according to CSIRO.

They come in different grades, with H13 HEPA filters trapping at least 99.95 per cent of dust, smoke, mould and other airborne particles. Grade H14 increases this to 99.995 per cent.

Air purifiers can also contain a range of other filters. Carbon or charcoal filters can trap odours and Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) such as formaldehyde, which can irritate the eyes, nose and throat, as well as cause difficulty breathing. 

Ozone filters are also good for removing odours but not effective at removing air pollution. By producing ozone, they can cause breathing irritation. Meanwhile, ionic or ionisation filters are good for removing fine particles such as dust and smoke, but ionisation of air can produce ozone.

Clear the room

Choosing the right air purifier also requires ensuring that it is large enough for the room.

The Clean Air Delivery Rate (CADR) is an industry standard for measuring the volume of air that the air purifier can clean – expressed in cubic metres per hour, or sometimes cubic feet per second. The larger the room, the higher the CADR required.

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As a rule of thumb, look for a CADR rating 12 times the floor area of the room you’re trying to purify, assuming a standard ceiling height of 2.4 metres. So in a 3 x 3 metre room, look for a CADR of at least 108 (3 x 3 metres equals 9 square metres of floor area, times 12 equals 108).

Keep it quiet

Also consider how noisy the air purifier will be and whether it will just run in the living area during the day or also in the bedroom at night.

Noise levels are measured in decibels (dB) – a whisper is around 30 decibels, while normal conversation is about 60 dB. A hairdryer cranks it up to 70 dB, while a vacuum cleaner pushes 80 dB.

Each air purifier operates at different noise levels depending on its fan level, so look for a variety of speeds, including an extra-quiet nighttime mode.

Ignore claims of “whisper quiet operation”: an air purifier’s actual noise levels should be listed in the product specifications. If it’s going to run by your bedside, look for a mode that operates at 40 dB or less.

More on air purifiers at GadgetGuy.

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Motorola Moto G84 5G review: screen time

Sporting a premium display without the premium price tag, Motorola’s Moto G84 5G is a decent phone that performs stronger in some areas than others.

While some people insist on always having the latest and greatest of everything, the truth is that most of us don’t really need an uber-expensive flagship smartphone. Thankfully, those high-end features gradually trickle down to more affordable devices, meaning these days you can get a decent smartphone without breaking the bank.

Naturally, compromises are still made in order to keep the price in check, so you need to decide what’s important to you and what you can live without.

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The G84 5G is the successor to the G82 5G, considering that the G83 5G didn’t make it to Australia. Motorola has shaved $100 off the price tag, getting it down to $399, which is much appreciated during these challenging economic times. In terms of price and performance, it’s not the budget model of the Motorola family but actually one of the mid-range handsets among a choice of around 20 Motorola smartphones available in Australia.

Moto G84 5G review

• First impressions
• Specifications
• Features
• Quality
• Who is it for?

First impressions

In terms of design, the Motorola Moto G84 5G mostly sticks to the solid design of the G82. The body is a tad thinner and lighter, which means scaling down the display size a fraction of an inch. It’s still a generous 6.5 inches and thankfully not too wide thanks to the 20:9 aspect ratio.

One key change is the switch from an AMOLED display to P-OLED, sticking with 1080×2400 resolution but delivering a higher peak brightness and the ability to display more colours. It’s the stand-out feature of the phone considering its price bracket.

That said, the screen’s colours might be a tad overdone for your liking, because they’re set to “Saturated” by default, but you can easily change this to “Natural” in Android’s Settings if preferred.

Surprisingly, the Moto G84 5G doesn’t make the most of its impressive display, lacking support for both HDR10+ high dynamic range and the premium Dolby Vision HDR favoured by the likes of Netflix.

The pOLED screen is the Moto G84 5G’s key strength, but it falls short in other areas.

Looking at the body, Motorola has stuck with its standard approach of placing the power button on the right, just above centre, with volume controls above. This puts the power button comfortably under your thumb, or pointer finger for southpaws, although the fingerprint reader has moved from the power button to be built into the lower half of the screen.

At the bottom of the handset, you’ll find the ubiquitous USB-C, a speaker and an old-school 3.5 mm headphone jack. The earpiece at the top doubles as a second speaker for stereo sound, with support for Dolby Atmos.

Flip the phone over and you’ll find one of the key sacrifices compared to the G82 5G – the triple-array rear camera has been stripped back to a dual array with the loss of the macro lens (handing that task across to the ultrawide lens).

It seems to be a common theme with Motorola’s recent batch of phones. For example, the Moto G54 5G shed the ultrawide lens found on earlier handsets while retaining the main shooter and macro lens. Realistically, many people would be better off without a macro lens rather than losing the ultrawide lens.

Like most Motorola phones, the Moto G84 5G comes with a basic transparent protective case. It offers some impact protection but doesn’t appear as robust as something like a Tech 21 case. The phone has a “water-repellent” design, although this time Motorola has gone the extra step of getting an official IP54 rating, meaning it should survive a splash but won’t be happy with an unexpected dip.

As you’d expect at this price point, the body features a plastic frame and back, rather than aluminium or glass. It comes in a choice of three colours – Marshmallow Blue, Midnight Blue and Viva Magenta, the latter courtesy of Motorola’s partnership with Pantone. Some colour options come in a vegan leather back.

Moto G84 5G specifications

Display size	6.5-inch, 20:9 ratio
Display resolution	2400×1080 pixel, 402 ppi
Display technology	pOLED 10-bit DCI-P3 colour space 120 Hz refresh rate Peak brightness: 1300 nits Touch sampling rate: 240 Hz
Bands	2G, 3G, 4G, 5G sub-6
Chipset	Qualcomm Snapdragon 695 5G
CPU	Octa-core (2×2.2 GHz Kryo 660 Gold & 6×1.7 GHz Kryo 660 Silver)
GPU	Adreno 619
Rear cameras	50 MP (f/1.88; 1.0 µm) Super PD Ultra Pixel Technology for 2.0 µm Optical image stabilisation (OIS)
	8 MP (f/2.2; 1.12 µm) 118° ultra-wide angle Macro Vision
Front camera	16 MP (f/2.45, 1.0 µm)
RAM	12GB LPDDR4X
Onboard storage	256 GB uMCP UFS 2.2
microSD slot	up to 1TB
Charging	TurboPower 30W
Battery	5000 mAh
Wi-Fi	Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac2.4 GHz + 5 GHz
Bluetooth	5.1, A2DP, LE
Operating system	Android 13
Security	On-screen fingerprint reader Face unlock ThinkShield for mobile
Ruggedness	IP54 water repellent
Dimensions	60 x 74.4 x 7.6 mm
Weight	166.8 gm
Colours	Marshmallow Blue, Midnight Blue, Viva Magenta
Price	$399 RRP
Warranty	2 years
Official website	Motorola Australia

Features

The Moto G84 5G ships with Android 13 and minimal bloatware thanks to Motorola’s light-touch My UX. The handset will only get one year of OS upgrades, presumably taking it to Android 14, and three years of security updates. That seems rather stingy these days, considering that many manufacturers are offering much longer support and people expect their handsets to last longer.

Under the bonnet, the G84 5G packs a ​​Snapdragon 695 5G processor, which should deliver middling performance without punishing the battery too hard. It’s the same mid-range power plant as the Moto G82 5G, which helps keep down the price but will disappoint those who feel the need for speed.

The Snapdragon is accompanied by a rather generous 12 GB of RAM, perhaps overkill considering the mid-range processor. You’ve got 256 GB of onboard storage, along with a microSDXC expansion slot that handles up to 1 TB cards.

The Motorola Moto G84 5G comes in a choice of colours and finishes.

Like most 5G handsets in Australia, the G84 5G only supports sub-6 GHz 5G networks and not faster millimetre wave 5G. It features a dual Nano-SIM tray, rather than supporting eSIM, with one SIM slot doubling as the microSD slot. 

When it comes to the cameras, the main shooter remains 50 MP but relies on a larger sensor and changes from f/1.8 to f/1.9 aperture. You’ve still got the advantage of Optical Image Stabilisation. Alongside this, the 8 MP ultrawide retains the f/2.2 lens but manages to stretch a fraction wider, up from 118 to 120˚. At the front, the 16 MP selfie camera changes from f/2.2 to f/2.5.

Rounding things out, the generous 5000 mAh battery should easily soldier on for at least 24 hours before recharging if you don’t push it too hard.

When you do need to top up, there’s still no support for wireless charging, which is frustrating but forgivable at this price range. Thankfully, the phone retains 30W wired fast charging, and Motorola includes a 33W AC fast charger in the box.

Quality

On the test bench, the Motorola Moto G84 5G delivers GeekBench 6 results of 916 single-core, 2061 multi-core and GPU OpenCL 1410. That makes it fine for day-to-day tasks but it’s certainly not enough to impress anyone who likes to push their devices to the limit. Sticking with the old Snapdragon 695 5G isn’t doing the phone any favours in terms of performance.

For comparison, the Moto G54 5G, running a MediaTek Dimensity 7020 chip, returned slightly faster CPU Geekbench scores. It still provides a reasonably cheaper alternative to the likes of the Oppo Reno 10 and Samsung Galaxy A54 5G phones.

Meanwhile, the 50 MP main shooter sounds impressive, but we all know by now that there’s much more to picture quality than pixel count. It does benefit from a larger sensor, producing solid images in good light that aren’t over-processed, with decent skin tones. Its low-light capabilities are sometimes found wanting.

It’s worth noting the mid-range grunt of the Snapdragon 695 5G processor limits the handset to 1080p video capture, which may frustrate budding filmmakers.

Who is the Moto G84 5G for?

If you’re looking for a decent budget Android handset and care about screen quality then the Motorola Moto G84 5G is certainly a contender, although the lack of high-end HDR support is disappointing but consistent with similarly-priced phones. Alternatively, if your primary concern is raw grunt or premium photo quality then you might look elsewhere.

Motorola G84 12/256G Viva Magenta

$ 397.00

Buy on Amazon

Bumping up the grunt and/or camera quality, even if it came at the expense of screen quality, might have produced a better all-rounder. As it is, if the Moto G84 5G’s varied strengths and weaknesses don’t match your needs, there are plenty of other good options like the cheaper Moto G54 5G, or the more powerful Edge 40.

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