Moto E13 Review: Filling the Void

Smartphones keep getting more expensive every year and there’s no stopping it. With the increasing cost of components, coupled with most big brands focusing more on premium smartphones, there is a void in the entry-level segment in India. Motorola, which had a busy 2022 launching several G-series and E-series phones in India, is trying to fill that void with the launch of the Moto E13.

The Moto E13 is the company’s most affordable phone to date in India. It aims at getting the basics right while still offering a budget-friendly price. Should the Moto E13 be considered if your budget is under Rs. 10,000? Here is our review to help you decide.

Moto E13 price in India

The Moto E13 has been launched in India with 2GB of RAM and 64GB of storage, which is priced at Rs. 6,999. There is also a 4GB RAM and 64GB storage option, which is priced at Rs. 7,999. Motorola sent us the latter variant for this review. 

Moto E13 design and display

The Moto E13 follows the flat-frame design trend that most smartphones tend to sport these days. The frame, like the curved rear panel, is made of plastic. Motorola has tried giving the phone a premium look with a gradient frosted finish, which is something I really liked. I have the Aurora Green colour but if you want a more classic look, there’s Cosmic Black and Creamy White colour options as well.

The phone is also quite light in the hand at under 180g. It is not the slimmest phone out there but at 8.47mm, I would not complain. This thickness also means there’s room for a 3.5mm headphone jack at the top edge and a big battery.

On the front, the Moto E13 sports a 6.5-inch IPS LCD display with a HD+ (1600 x 720 pixels) resolution and a 60Hz refresh rate, which is fairly standard for smartphones in this price range. The screen brightness should not be a problem when using the phone indoors, however it needs to be maxed out when using it outdoors and under sunlight. Thankfully, the ambient light sensor does a fairly good job of automatically adjusting the brightness as needed.

The colours reproduced by the Moto E13’s display are obviously not as rich or vivid as you would experience on AMOLED panels, but it’s serviceable. The device also has a WideVine L3 certification for SD video playback from streaming apps such as Netflix. There is a single bottom-firing speaker, which is fairly loud. Considering that the phone is targeted at buyers who are either first-time smartphone users or former feature phone users, the E13 should be good enough for basic multimedia consumption.

The Moto E13’s chin bezel is quite thick

The Moto E13 has an IP52 rating for basic splash resistance against water and dust. There is no fingerprint scanner, which is something that can be found in alternatives like the Redmi A1+.

Moto E13 specifications and software

The Moto E13 draws power from a UniSoc T606 chipset. The 12nm SoC is paired with up to 4GB of RAM, but lacks support for 5G networks. There is a 5,000mAh battery with support for 10W charging via a USB Type-C port. The phone offers connectivity features such as Bluetooth 5.0, dual-band Wi-Fi, FM radio, 3.5mm headphone jack, and a dual-SIM tray. There is a slot for a microSD card, which can expand the internal storage up to 1TB.

There is a 3.5mm headphone jack at the top of the Moto E13

In terms of software, the Moto E13 runs on Android 13 (Go Edition) out of the box. There is the MyUx skin on top of Android. Motorola is known to offer a clean software experience with MyUx, which adds enough customisation and personalisation options. There is support for a couple of Moto gestures for flash and screenshots.

The phone does not offer the full suite of options that you get in other Motorola handsets that run the standard version of Android but the important privacy-centric features provided by Google in Android 13 are available. You get visual indicators for camera and microphone indicator at the top right are of the display, whenever an app uses them. You’re also alerted when an app is using the location in the background.

The Moto E13 does come with a few third-party apps preinstalled such as ShareChat and Moj, which is something not commonly seen in other Motorola phones. You can uninstall these apps if you wish.

Moto E13 performance and battery life

When it comes to handling day-to-day tasks, the Moto E13 does a good job. The 4GB version that we tested had no trouble switching between apps or loading them quickly. The phone could handle routine tasks too quite well. There were a few instances when apps would take a second or two extra to load, and  I did notice some stutter across the UI, especially when going back to the home screen. My guess is that the 2GB RAM variant would probably not offer the smoothest experience, so if you are thinking of getting this phone, you should ideally consider the 4GB variant. 

While the Moto E13 is not targeted at gamers, I did try Call of Duty: Mobile and Subway Surfers on the phone. While the latter game was quite easy and smooth to play, Call of Duty: Mobile struggled to run well, as expected. To be fair, the phone is not designed to run this sort of game at all.

The Moto E13 runs Android 13 (Go Edition) out of the box

I performed a few benchmark tests as well. The Moto E13 scored 1,82,498 points on AnTuTu, and in Geekbench 6, the device scored 376 and 1,354 points in the single-core and multi-core tests. 

Battery life is also quite decent on the Moto E13. The phone can last a day easily on a full charge. In our HD video battery loop test, the phone lasted for 15 hours and 54 minutes. The E13 takes about a couple of hours to charge fully from empty using the 10W charger. 

Moto E13 cameras

The Moto E13 has a 13-megapixel single rear camera sensor with an LED flash on the back. For selfies, the waterdrop notch in the display has a 5-megapixel front camera. The rear camera is a hit or miss when it comes to getting a decent image. At times, it overexposed the highlights or crushed the shadows while trying to expose the subject well. When it does get the colours right, the highlights are sort of blown out.

Night mode is available only in the 4GB RAM variant of the Moto E13 and it does a decent job when it comes to overall exposure. However, the details are soft and there is noticeable noise in the shadows.

The Moto E13 has a single rear camera

It’s the same case with the front camera, which has even worse dynamic range. Edge detection works well in most cases and the blur looks fairly natural too. But then again, considering the price, the phone’s camera performance is acceptable.

Shot on Moto E13’s rear camera

Shot on the Moto E13’s front camera

In terms of video, the Moto E13 can shoot 1080p 30fps videos using the front and rear cameras. The overall video performance is just average. The camera exposes the subject well but the dynamic range performance is poor.

Verdict

The Moto E13 aims at getting the basics right. It has a fairly big display, an ergonomic design, and a big battery. The inclusion of dual-band Wi-Fi and a USB Type-C port at this price are a plus. The phone’s performance unit is also quite good for the price, especially when other devices with the same SoC are priced higher by at least Rs. 1,000. To top it all off, you also get the latest Android 13 software, even if it is the trimmed down version. Camera performance could have been better though.

For someone who wants a budget smartphone under Rs. 8,000 that does all the basic tasks and offers a clean, near-stock Android experience, the Moto E13 can be considered.