A Week With the Motorola G45 5G: Notes From Someone Who Wasn't Expecting Much

By M Akshay

My old phone died on a Tuesday. Not dramatically, no cracked screen, no water damage, just three years of battery cycles finally giving up and refusing to hold a charge past noon. I needed a replacement fast, and I needed it to not cost more than a month’s rent. That’s how the Motorola G45 5G ended up on my desk, in a shade of blue the box calls “Brilliant” and I’d honestly just call “confident.”

I didn’t research it much before buying. ₹12,448, 8GB RAM, 128GB storage, 5G, good enough numbers, I figured, for a phone I mostly needed to survive daily use without embarrassing me. What follows is what I actually noticed after living with it for a week, not a spec sheet dressed up as an opinion.

The First Thing I Noticed Wasn’t the Phone – It Was How Little I Thought About It

That sounds like a strange compliment, but hear me out. A phone that constantly reminds you it’s “budget” is exhausting: the lag when you open three apps back to back, the little stutter scrolling through Instagram, the moment the camera app takes two extra seconds to load. None of that happened here. Opening WhatsApp while music streamed in the background, flipping to my banking app, checking email, it moved the way I expect a phone costing three times as much to move. I stopped noticing the hardware, which is honestly the highest compliment I can give any device in this price range.

I Almost Didn’t Charge It on Day Three

I’m someone who charges overnight out of habit, not necessity. But on the third day, I forgot- genuinely forgot- and the phone still had close to 30% left by the following evening after a full day of use: music during my commute, an hour of scrolling, a video call, some light gaming while waiting for a delivery. The 5000mAh battery isn’t a marketing number here; it’s the reason I’ve stopped carrying a power bank in my bag for the first time in years.

The Camera Surprised Me at a Family Dinner

I wasn’t planning to test the camera seriously, but my sister’s birthday dinner happened mid-week, and the lighting in that restaurant was the kind that ruins most budget phone photos: warm, dim, inconsistent. I took a few shots anyway, half-expecting grain and blur. What came back was usable. Not flagship-tier, but genuinely shareable, the 50-megapixel rear sensor pulled in enough detail that I didn’t cringe posting them later. The front camera handled a video call the next morning just as well, without that waxy, over-smoothed look a lot of budget selfie cameras default to.

The Screen Made Me Rewatch a Show I’d Already Finished

I ended up rewatching an episode of something I’d already seen, purely because the 6.5-inch display made the colours pop in a way my old, dimmer screen never did. It’s an LCD panel, not the OLED you’d get on a pricier phone, but the way it renders colour feels intentional rather than compromised. Reading, scrolling, watching- none of it felt like a downgrade from what I was used to.

Also, read | Moto Edge 70 Pro Launched: 6500mAh Battery Beast with 144Hz AMOLED at ₹38,999

5G Actually Meant Something This Time

I’ve owned “5G phones” before that never once connected to an actual 5G network in my area. This time, in the parts of the city with decent coverage, downloads genuinely felt faster, and video calls held together without the usual buffering wheel of doom. It’s a small thing until you experience the difference, and then it’s suddenly hard to go back.

Where I’d Manage Expectations

I won’t pretend this phone does everything. If you’re the kind of person editing 4K footage on your phone or chasing the highest frame rates in mobile games, you’ll eventually hit its ceiling. The display resolution, while pleasant, isn’t going to compete with premium panels under close scrutiny. This is a phone built for the 90% of daily use cases, not the demanding 10%.

Quick Facts, For Anyone Comparing on Paper

Android 14, 8GB RAM, 128GB storage
2.3 GHz processor
6.5-inch LCD display
50MP rear + secondary sensor, 16MP front camera
5000mAh battery
5G connectivity
Brilliant Blue finish
₹12,448

So, Would I Recommend It?

A week in, my honest answer is yes, specifically to the person I was on that Tuesday when my old phone died. Someone who needs a dependable daily device, doesn’t want to overspend, and isn’t chasing bragging rights over spec sheets. The Motorola G45 5G doesn’t try to convince you it’s a flagship in disguise. It just quietly does the job, day after day, and lets you stop thinking about your phone altogether, which, in the end, might be the best thing any phone can do.

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👉 Check the current price and buy the Motorola G45 5G here