Motorola Signature review

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Introduction

After reviewing what seemed like an endless slew of Moto G devices, the Motorola Signature almost feels like a breath of fresh air. Don't get us wrong - midrangers and budget phones have their own charm, but reviewing a proper flagship is a different experience in itself.

There is no denying that the Motorola Signature has a proper flagship set of specs.

Motorola Signature specs at a glance:

• Body: 162.1x76.4x7.0mm, 186g; Glass front (Gorilla Glass Victus 2), aluminum frame; IP68/IP69 dust-tight and water-resistant (high-pressure water jets; immersible up to 1.2m for 30 min), MIL-STD-810H compliant*.
• Display: 6.80" LTPO AMOLED, 1B colors, 165Hz, Dolby Vision, HDR10+, 6200 nits (peak), 1264x2780px resolution, 19.79:9 aspect ratio, 446ppi.
• Chipset: Qualcomm SM8845 Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 (3 nm): Octa-core (2x3.8 GHz Oryon V3 Phoenix L + 6x3.32 GHz Oryon V3 Phoenix M); Adreno 829.
• Memory: 256GB 12GB RAM, 512GB 12GB RAM, 512GB 16GB RAM, 1TB 16GB RAM; UFS 4.1.
• OS/Software: Android 16, up to 7 major Android upgrades.
• Rear camera: Wide (main): 50 MP, f/1.6, 23mm, 1/1.28", 1.22µm, multi-directional PDAF, OIS; Telephoto: 50 MP, 71mm, 1/1.95", 0.8µm, dual-pixel PDAF, OIS, 3x optical zoom; Ultra wide angle: 50 MP, f/2.0, 12mm, 122-degree, 1/2.76", 0.64µm, PDAF.
• Front camera: 50 MP, f/2.0, 21mm (wide), 1/2.93", 0.6µm, dual-pixel PDAF.
• Video capture: Rear camera: 8K@30fps (Dolby Vision), 4K@30/60fps (Dolby Vision), 4K@120fps, 1080p@30/60/120/240fps, 10-bit HDR10+, gyro-EIS; Front camera: 4K@30/60fps, 1080p@30/60/120/240fps, HDR.
• Battery: 5200mAh; 90W wired, 50% in 15 min, 50W wireless, 10W reverse wireless, 5W reverse wired.
• Connectivity: 5G; eSIM; Wi-Fi 7; BT 6.0; NFC.
• Misc: Fingerprint reader (under display, ultrasonic); stereo speakers (with Dolby Atmos); Smart Connect (Ready For) support, Ultra Wideband (UWB) support.

Starting from the build, in typical Motorola fashion, the engineering team went above and beyond what is necessary, not only snatching an IP68/IP69 certification, but also MIL-STD-810H compliance. With an aluminum frame and Gorilla Glass Victus 2 on the front, the Motorola Signature is unquestionably well-made.

Some other highlights include the 6.8-inch, 10-bit, 165Hz, incredibly bright and Dolby Vision certified display. Under the hood, a potent Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 is running the show along with 12GB or even 16GB of RAM and up to 1TB of UFS 4.1 storage. A pretty big 5,200 mAh modern Si/C battery is keeping the light on, complete with 90W wired and 50W wireless charging, as well as reverse charging.

The camera setup also stands out at least on paper. There are three 50MP cameras on the back - a wide one, a 3x telephoto and an ultrawide. There is laser autofocus on board too. The first two cameras have OIS, and the ultrawide has autofocus. You get Dolby Vision video capture at up to 8K@30fps.

The Motorola Signature does not skimp on modern connectivity, either with nice-to-haves like tri-band Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6.0 support. There is also NFC on board and a capable USB 3.1 Gen2 USB data connection, as well as DisplayPort 1.4 over USB Alt mode for video output. You even get Ultra Wideband (UWB) support.

Unboxing

The Motorola Signature ships in a nice, thick two-piece cardboard box. There doesn't seem to be any plastic in the packaging, which is an eco-friendly plus in our book. Soy ink printing, too.

It comes as no surprise that in the EU our unit shipped without a charger. The box recommends a 90W USB PD charger, and we will oblige for the charging test portion of the review. What Motorola threw in as a bonus is a nice, hard, transparent plastic case with a MagSafe-style magnet ring on the back. Also in the retail box is a USB Type-C to Type-C cable, and that's about it.

Oh, and we can't forget to mention that the whole retail box is scented, like on Edge series devices, and this scent (which allegedly is different depending on the phone's color) lingers on the phone itself for a few days.