Motorola E series of smartphones have been catering to the sub-Rs 10,000 segments for quite some time now. The Moto E40 is the newest smartphone in this series and is the successor to the Moto E7 Plus and the Motor E7 Power in India. This new smartphone brings new hardware and features which are uncommon in this segment of the market. Has Motorola only changed its naming strategy, or does the Moto E40 pack enough goodies to be the de facto choice on a budget? I put this new smartphone to the test to find out.
Moto E40 price in India
The Moto E40 is priced at Rs. 9,499 in India for its lone 4GB RAM and 64GB storage configuration. It is available in two color choices, Carbon Gray and Pink Clay. I had the former with me for this review.
Moto E40 design
The Moto E40 is a budget smartphone, but it is well-designed. It has a big 6.5-inch display with a rather large camera hole in the top center, which some might find distracting. The bezels are thick but acceptable, considering the price of this smartphone. There’s a small notification LED in the top right corner just above the display. The Moto E40 has a plastic body but does not feel flimsy. Motorola has also curved the sides of the smartphone, and gripping it is easy.
The hole-punch camera on the Moto E40 is significant and might be distracting for some people. You’ll see all the buttons on the right of the Moto E40, which makes it look cluttered. Motorola has positioned the power button towards the middle of the frame, making it easy to reach while holding the phone. The volume and dedicated controls for Google Assistant are just above them. With four buttons nearby, finding the right one can turn into a guessing game. Motorola could have moved the Google Assistant button to the left side, which only has the SIM tray.
The Moto E40 weighs 198g, which is noticeable when using it for longer durations. The top has a 3.5mm headphone jack, while the bottom has the primary mic, loudspeaker, and USB Type-C port. The back of the phone is relatively black and has a curvy pattern. This phone has a triple camera setup in the top left corner and doesn’t protrude too much. There’s also a fingerprint scanner with Motorola’s Batwing logo on it. You get a 10W charger in the box. Motorola also bundles a transparent case with this phone.
Moto E40 specifications and software
The large 6.5-inch LCD panel has an HD+ resolution and a 90Hz refresh rate. High-refresh-rate panels aren’t widespread in the budget segment, but you can find a few other examples, such as the Infinix Hot 11S (Review). Powering the Moto E40 is the Unisoc T700 octa-core SoC. This processor is paired with 4GB of RAM, and you also get 64GB of storage and a 5000mAh battery. Motorola isn’t offering more RAM or storage variants, but you can expand storage by up to 1TB using a microSD card. The Moto E40 has an IP52 certification, meaning it should be splash-resistant. It supports dual-SIM dual-VoLTE, Bluetooth 5, Wi-Fi, and six satellite navigation systems.
