Moto E32s First Impressions: A Good Looking Budget Smartphone

The Moto E32s is the first addition in 2022 to the budget E series from Motorola. It features a new design and is powered by the MediaTek Helio G37 SoC. The Motorola E32s also offers a 90Hz LCD display and runs Android 12 out of the box. These features are quite interesting for the price, making the Moto E32s a worthy option for those on a budget. I spent some time with the Moto E32s and here are my first impressions.

One look at the Moto E32s and you'll find it hard to believe that it is a budget smartphone. It looks a lot more premium than the price it commands. The Moto E32s has a plastic construction but feels sturdy in the hand. The back panel of the device is made of a glossy acrylic that resembles glass, adding to the appeal of the Moto E32s. However, it does pick up smudges rather easily, so you should be better off using it with the case provided in the box.

The acrylic back panel gives the Moto E32s a premium look

The frame of the Moto E32s is boxy and measures 8.49mm in thickness. It has a side-mounted fingerprint scanner which is easy to reach and this sits almost flush with the frame. Motorola has curved the corners of the frame, so it doesn't dig into your palm while holding it. The Moto E32s weighs 185g which I found to be manageable. The phone is IP52 rated for dust and water resistance.

The Moto E32s sports a 6.5-inch HD+ IPS display. It has a 90Hz refresh rate, a peak brightness of 500 nits, and Panda glass for scratch protection. It has a hole-punch cutout at the top for an 8-megapixel selfie camera. The display has noticeably thick bezels but these are acceptable in the budget segment.

Motorola has picked the MediaTek Helio G37 SoC to power the Moto E32s which is the same SoC used in the Moto G22 in India. The two variants of the Moto E32s include one with 3GB of RAM and 32GB of storage, and the other with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage. As a part of an introductory offer, Motorola is offering the base variant at Rs. 8,999 for a limited time. The higher variant is priced at Rs.9,999. Motorola hasn't clarified what the prices will be post the introductory offer.You can pick the Moto E32s in either Slate Gray or Misty Silver.

The triple camera setup on the Moto E32s includes a 16-megapixel primary camera

You get a triple camera set up on the Moto E32s consisting of a 16-megapixel primary camera, a 2-megapixel macro camera and a 2-megapixel depth camera. The off-centre camera module does protrude causing the phone to wobble when trying to use it on a flat surface. You get a 5,000mAh battery in the Moto E32s and it is capable of 15W fast charging. However, Motorola only bundles a 10W charger in the box.

The SIM tray of the Moto E32s has dual nano-SIM slots and a dedicated slot for the microSD card. The Moto E32s supports Bluetooth 5, dual-band Wi-Fi, and dual 4G VoLTE support.

In terms of software, the Moto E32s runs Android 12 out of the box with its custom MyUX customisations on top. Motorola promises two years of Android security updates for this smartphone. The Moto E32s has some preinstalled apps such as Dailyhunt, Facebook, and Josh. I also came across a notification for Glance lockscreen wallpapers but couldn't find it in the settings. You also get a fair amount of Google apps preinstalled. If you don't have much use for them, you would be better off uninstalling these apps to free up some internal storage.

The side-mounted fingerprint scanner sits almost flush with the frame of the Moto E32s

With the addition of the Moto E32s, consumers now have a new option of a budget smartphone running near stock Android. Motorola has designed the E32s well and it looks more premium than the price it commands. It faces competition from the Redmi 10A which is priced lower than the base variant of the E32s. The Realme C31 and the Redmi 10 also compete in the same price segment. The Moto E32s does show promise, but does it deliver good performance on all fronts? I will be testing out the performance, battery life and the cameras in the full review, so stay tuned to Gadgets 360.