Moto G6 (stylized by
Motorola
Motorola, Inc. () was an American Multinational corporation, multinational telecommunications company based in Schaumburg, Illinois, United States. After having lost $4.3 billion from 2007 to 2009, the company split into two independent p ...
as moto g
6) is a series of
Android smartphone
A smartphone is a portable computer device that combines mobile telephone and computing functions into one unit. They are distinguished from feature phones by their stronger hardware capabilities and extensive mobile operating systems, whic ...
s developed by
Motorola Mobility
Motorola Mobility LLC, marketed as Motorola, is an American consumer electronics manufacturer primarily producing smartphones and other mobile devices running Android OS, Android. It is a subsidiary of the Chinese multinational technology company ...
, a subsidiary of
Lenovo
Lenovo Group Limited, often shortened to Lenovo ( , ), is a Chinese Multinational corporation, multinational technology company specializing in designing, manufacturing, and marketing consumer electronics, Personal computer, personal computers, ...
. It is the sixth generation of the
Moto G
Motorola Moto is a range of Android mobile devices manufactured by Motorola Mobility, a subsidiary of Lenovo. The Moto brand is also used and marketed for certain public-safety products from Motorola Solutions and by Motorola brand licensees on ce ...
family. There are three models, the g
6, g
6 plus and g
6 play. Only the g
6 and g
6 Play are available in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
.
Release
Announced as successors to the
Moto G5
Moto G5 (stylized as moto g5) is a series of Android smartphones developed by Motorola Mobility, a subsidiary of Lenovo. It is the fifth generation of the Moto G family. Announced as successors to the Moto G4, they were first released in March ...
, the phones were scheduled to be released on the May 9, 2018 in several markets including Europe, South America, North America and parts of Asia; however, Motorola missed its release date for North America and India.
North America
The G6 was made available in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
by May 23, 2018 from
Boost Mobile, and on the following day through
Verizon Wireless
Verizon is an American wireless network operator that previously operated as a separate division of Verizon Communications under the name Verizon Wireless. In a 2019 reorganization, Verizon moved the wireless products and services into the divi ...
. It was later made available on
Amazon
Amazon most often refers to:
* Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek mythology
* Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin
* Amazon River, in South America
* Amazon (company), an American multinational technology c ...
for a discounted price. On June 5, the G6 was made available for purchase in Motorola's United States website.
The G6 Plus was not released in the United States, likely due to its similarities to the already available
Moto X4
, released = September 1, 2017
, available = United Kingdom, France, Germany, India September 22, 2017 Australia September 27, 2017 India November 14, 2017
, discontinued =
, unitssold =
, unitsshipped =
, predecessor = Moto ...
.
South America
The G6 series was released in
Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
on April 19, 2018.
India
The G6 and G6 Play were released in India on June 4, 2018. The G6 Plus was released on September 10, 2018.
Software
The G6 series was released with
Android 8 "Oreo". An update to
Android 9 "Pie" for the G6 Plus was rolled out to various countries in January 2019. In February 2019, the update was rolled out for the G6 Play and G6 in Brazil, and was expected to be released worldwide at a later date.
The Pie update reached Australia on February 4 for the G6 Plus, March 20 for the G6,
and the G6 Play a week later.
In March 2019 there were articles
claiming that the G6 series would receive an official Android 10 update. Later articles, however, claimed to quote a new Motorola policy wherein G-series phones would only receive 1 major Android version upgrade, i.e., the G6 would receive the upgrade from 8.0 (Oreo) to 9.0 (Pie) but not any other upgrade.
G6
The Android Pie update was rolled out on February 6, 2019, to the United States, then reached Brazil on February 15.
Australian devices received the update on March 20,
and users in India received the update on March 21.
G6 Play
The Android Pie update reached G6 Play users in Brazil on February 16, 2019, then rolled out in India two days later. It reached United Kingdom users on April 1, 2019.
G6 Plus
The Android Pie update was rolled out to G6 Plus users in India on December 31, 2018. It then reached the United States on January 8, 2019.
Known issues
Videos recorded on the Moto G6 sometimes have distorted audio. The audio cuts off when using headphones and volume levels below 50%. Motorola is aware of these issues and looking for a fix.
Several users reported on Motorola's forums about degraded audio quality after the Android 9 "Pie" update.
Reception
The G6 series has been received well by reviewers for its features relative to its low to mid range price. ''
Wired
''Wired'' (stylized as ''WIRED'') is a monthly American magazine, published in print and online editions, that focuses on how emerging technologies affect culture, the economy, and politics. Owned by Condé Nast, it is headquartered in San Fra ...
'' praised the G6's "class-leading tech" and stated that the "accessible" price "highlights the impending identity crisis of expensive phones".
CNET
''CNET'' (short for "Computer Network") is an American media website that publishes reviews, news, articles, blogs, podcasts, and videos on technology and consumer electronics globally. ''CNET'' originally produced content for radio and televi ...
rated the G6 four out of five stars, calling the G6 "a sublime value" and stating "a budget phone shouldn't be this good".
In India, the price tag of 22,499
rupees
Rupee is the common name for the currencies of
India, Mauritius, Nepal, Pakistan, Seychelles, and Sri Lanka, and of former currencies of Afghanistan, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, the United Arab Emirates (as the Gulf rupee), British East Africa, B ...
for the G6 Plus drew some criticism for being the most expensive Moto G phone at the time of release, a sharp increase from the previous year's price of about 16,000 rupees for the
G5 Plus and G5s Plus.
Specifications
The specification varies slightly between countries.
References
{{Motorola phones
Android (operating system) devices
Motorola mobile phones
Mobile phones introduced in 2018
Mobile phones with multiple rear cameras
Smartphones