The Moto M comes with a 5.5-inch FullHD IPS display - you can't really ask for more in its segment. The subpixel arrangement is the standard RGB with an equal number of subpixels for each primary color.
The Moto M's isn't very bright at its maximum setting - 425nits is AMOLED territory, and we all know how LCD's can typically go brighter (and should). There's no boost in Auto mode either. The more affordable Moto G4 and G4 Plus are surprisingly superior in this respect. As for contrast, the Moto G4s have a slight edge as well, but the Moto M's 1400:1 isn't too shabby either.
Display test
100% brightness
Black, cd/m2
White, cd/m2
Contrast ratio
Motorola Moto M
0.3
425
1417
Motorola Moto Z Play
0
371
∞
Motorola Moto Z Play (max auto)
0
526
∞
Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 (MediaTek)
0.42
403
953
Xiaomi Redmi Note 4
0.38
439
1158
Xiaomi Redmi Pro
0
408
∞
Lenovo Moto G4
0.32
495
1560
Motorola Moto G4 Plus
0.33
478
1448
Motorola Moto G4 Plus (max auto)
0.43
587
1365
Samsung Galaxy J7 (2016)
0
353
∞
Samsung Galaxy J7 (2016) outdoor
0
484
∞
Meizu m3 note
0.52
425
816
Meizu m3 max
0.46
449
976
Oppo F1 Plus
0
351
∞
Oppo R9s
0.032
411
12844
Sony Xperia XA Ultra
0.50
531
1071
Sunlight legibility is okay on the Moto M. It's no match for the AMOLED panel on the Moto Z Play, but at least in this respect, the M is superior to the G4 and G4 Plus. The LCD-equipped bunch of the Chinese competitors can't match the Moto M's sunlight contrast, so there's that too.
Sunlight contrast ratio
Samsung Galaxy S6 edge+ 4.615
Samsung Galaxy S7 edge 4.439
OnePlus 3 4.424
Samsung Galaxy S7 4.376
HTC One A9 4.274
Samsung Galaxy Note7 4.247
Samsung Galaxy A3 4.241
OnePlus 3T 4.232
Google Pixel XL 4.164
ZTE Axon 7 4.154
Samsung Galaxy S6 edge 4.124
Samsung Galaxy Note5 4.09
Huawei Nexus 6P 4.019
OnePlus X 3.983
Vivo Xplay5 Elite 3.983
Oppo R7s 3.964
Apple iPhone 7 3.964
Huawei P9 Plus 3.956
Samsung Galaxy A7 (2016) 3.918
Samsung Galaxy C5 3.911
Samsung Galaxy C7 3.896
Samsung Galaxy A5 3.895
Samsung Galaxy J7 outdoor 3.879
Samsung Galaxy J2 outdoor 3.873
Samsung Galaxy A8 3.859
Samsung Galaxy A9 (2016) 3.817
Motorola Moto X (2014) 3.816
Samsung Galaxy J7 (2016) outdoor mode 3.802
LG V20 Max auto 3.798
Xiaomi Redmi Pro 3.798
Sony Xperia XZ 3.795
Samsung Galaxy A5 (2016) 3.789
Apple iPhone 6s 3.783
Meizu Pro 5 3.781
Microsoft Lumia 650 3.772
Samsung Galaxy J7 (2016) 3.756
Oppo F1 Plus 3.709
Vivo X5Pro 3.706
Sony Xperia X Compact 3.694
Apple iPhone SE 3.681
Huawei Mate 9 3.68
Samsung Galaxy A7 3.679
Meizu PRO 6 3.659
BlackBerry Priv 3.645
Apple iPhone 7 Plus 3.588
Apple iPhone 6s Plus 3.53
Motorola Moto Z Play 3.526
Samsung Galaxy J3 (2016) 3.523
Samsung Galaxy J3 (2016) outdoor mode 3.523
Acer Jade Primo 3.521
Microsoft Lumia 950 3.512
Oppo R7 Plus 3.499
nubia Z11 3.466
Samsung Galaxy J7 3.422
Meizu MX5 3.416
LG V20 3.402
Oppo R9s 3.352
Oppo R7 3.32
Xiaomi Mi 5s 3.276
Samsung Galaxy J2 3.235
Sony Xperia X Performance 3.234
Xiaomi Mi Note 2 3.228
Motorola Moto X Play 3.222
Huawei P9 3.195
Lenovo Vibe Shot 3.113
Motorola Moto X Force 3.105
LG Nexus 5X 3.092
Huawei Mate S 3.073
Microsoft Lumia 640 XL 3.065
Sony Xperia X 2.989
Samsung Galaxy Note 2.97
Huawei Mate 8 2.949
Xiaomi Redmi 3S 2.913
Sony Xperia XA Ultra 2.906
LG G5 2.905
HTC One S 2.901
Xiaomi Redmi 3s Prime 2.893
Xiaomi Mi 5s Plus 2.884
Sony Xperia Z5 2.876
Microsoft Lumia 550 2.851
Motorola Moto M 2.813
Xiaomi Redmi 3 Pro 2.803
Sony Xperia Z5 compact 2.784
Meizu MX6 2.751
LG V10 2.744
Xiaomi Redmi 3 2.735
Sony Xperia M5 2.69
Xiaomi Redmi 4 Prime 2.679
Huawei P9 Lite 2.679
Vivo V3Max 2.659
Xiaomi Mi Mix 2.658
Xiaomi Mi 4i 2.641
Sony Xperia XA 2.609
Motorola Moto G4 Plus 2.582
Motorola Moto G4 Plus (max auto) 2.582
Xiaomi Mi 4c 2.574
LeEco Le Max 2 2.567
Microsoft Lumia 640 2.563
Asus Zenfone 3 ZE552KL 2.563
Lenovo K6 Note 2.544
Lenovo Moto G4 2.544
Oppo F1 2.528
Sony Xperia Z5 Premium 2.525
Huawei Honor 7 Lite / Honor 5c 2.506
Sony Xperia M4 Aqua 2.503
Oppo F1s 2.481
Motorola Moto G 2.477
Lenovo Vibe K5 Plus 2.473
Huawei G8 2.471
Huawei nova 2.467
Sony Xperia Z 2.462
Lenovo Vibe K5 2.459
Meizu m3 max 2.447
Huawei Honor 7 2.406
Sony Xperia E5 2.386
ZUK Z1 by Lenovo 2.382
Samsung Galaxy J5 (2016) 2.378
HTC 10 2.378
Meizu m1 note 2.362
Huawei nova plus 2.329
HTC One E9+ 2.305
Alcatel One Touch Hero 2.272
Apple iPhone 4S 2.269
Lenovo Vibe K4 Note 2.254
Sony Xperia C5 Ultra 2.253
Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 (MediaTek) 2.249
Sony Xperia C4 Dual 2.235
Xiaomi Mi Note 2.234
Motorola Moto G (2014) 2.233
LG Nexus 5 2.228
Huawei P8 2.196
Huawei Honor 6 2.169
Xiaomi Redmi Note 2 2.166
OnePlus Two 2.165
HTC One X 2.158
Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 2.145
LG Aka 2.145
Archos 50 Diamond 2.134
Xiaomi Redmi Note 2.119
Acer Liquid X2 2.084
Huawei P8lite 2.078
Moto G 3rd gen max manual 2.026
Xiaomi Mi Max 1.996
Sony Xperia E4g 1.972
OnePlus One 1.961
Meizu m3 note 1.923
BlackBerry Leap 1.892
Meizu m2 note 1.892
ZTE Nubia Z9 mini 1.759
Sony Xperia U 1.758
Asus Zenfone Selfie 1.68
Motorola Moto E (2nd Gen) 1.675
ZTE Nubia Z9 1.659
Jolla Jolla 1.605
Motorola Moto E 1.545
Sony Xperia M 1.473
HTC Desire C 1.3
Sony Xperia C 1.283
Meizu MX 1.221
Sony Xperia E 1.215
The phone's display isn't particularly accurate either. Certainly not to the point of being an issue, though - an average DeltaE of 5.9 is perfectly within reason, considering the Moto Z Play's 5.3 value. Then again the Moto G4 Plus posted an average DeltaE of 4.3 with a 7.4 maximum in its default mode, so again the cheaper phone scores higher.
Connectivity
The Moto M is a dual SIM phone by default (meaning there's no single SIM version), with the second SIM slot shared with the microSD card - so you can't have all three cards in at the same time. One of the SIMs gets to tap into 4G LTE networks, while the second one only gets 2G/3G connectivity. You can have both cards connected to 3G networks, too.
In the local connectivity section dual-band Wi-Fi a/b/g/n/ac is supported along with Bluetooth 4.1 LE. The Moto G4's Bluetooth is version 4.2 (should minimize interference with LTE networks), but the Moto Z Play is 4.1 as well, so there's not much of a price-Bluetooth correlation. There's GPS, but no NFC, so you can forget about Android Pay if it's even available in your country in the first place.
There is an FM radio receiver on board too, and we're sure that will please a wide demographic.
There's a USB Type-C connector for power supply and wired data transfers, and it supports USB OTG too, only be sure to have a Type-C adapter.
Motorola Moto M battery life
The Moto M is powered by a 3,050mAh battery. It may sound like a red flag for a 5.5-inch FullHD device with an Helio P10 at the helm, but the Oppo F1 Plus did a pretty good job with the same config and 200mAh less, so we kept an open mind going into the tests.
Well, it turned out a bit of skepticism would have been very much warranted. The Moto M posted average numbers in all of our tests, starting with 15 hours of 3G voice calls. The Moto Z Play can do double that, while other P10-equipped models (the above mentioned F1 Plus and the Meizu M3 Note) beat the Moto M by 'just' 6 hours in this discipline.
It's not getting any better in web browsing over Wi-Fi, where the Moto M barely passes the 7-hour mark before calling it a day. The Moto G4 Plus and the Meizu M3 Note can last well over 11 hours in this one, and even the Oppo F1 Plus manages to keep browsing for an hour more than the Moto M.
The M's battery struggles continue into video playback - not even 8 hours in our standardized test. The others we've been comparing to so far can last in the 11-12 hours ballpark.
The unimpressive individual figures inevitably lead to a lowly 55-hour overall Endurance rating.
The battery testing procedure is described in detail in case you're interested in the nitty-gritties. You can also check out our complete battery test table, where you can see how all of the smartphones we've tested will compare under your own typical use.
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