Indian Express’ Anuj Bhatia reviews Motorola Signature
Every year, I review flagship smartphones and return to the same question, though the answer is different each time. In a sea of high-end phones, some models make the list year after year, but with each passing year, more devices join the list – ones I never imagined would rank so high. In my opinion, this is a good thing, as more competition leads to better devices and more options for consumers. That brings me to Motorola, a household brand best known for its Razr flip phones. However, the company hasn’t been able to produce a flagship that goes head-to-head with the iPhone and the Galaxy S series. Motorola believes its new Signature series could change that perception.
Here is my review of the Motorola Signature.
What: Motorola Signature| Price: Rs 54,999 onwards
Luxury aesthetics provides a nice visual break from overexposed phone designs
To be completely honest, I have to admit that I never expected to like the Motorola Signature’s design as much as I did in person. I am a huge fan of Apple- and Nothing-esque design language, and I have loved their products. But I was totally enamoured by the Signature – the design really got to me, and how. Maybe it’s because I have been eyeing a jewellery watch for a while now, and Pinterest keeps recommending two-tone watches to me all day. It’s a personal preference, and I see nothing wrong with a phone that looks fancy, like a jewellery watch. After all, design is a personal preference. That being said, the Signature still retains the strong identity Motorola is known for.
There are three cameras onboard: a 50-megapixel main camera with OIS, paired with a 50-megapixel telephoto camera featuring a 3× zoom lens and OIS, and a 50-megapixel ultra-wide camera. (Image: Anuj Bhatia/The Indian Express)
The Signature is thin (6.99mm, to be precise), but not shockingly thin like the iPhone Air. Pick it up, and it feels more comfortable in the hand and easier to grip. It looks slick but not fragile, as if it would break if kept in a jeans pocket. By comparison, the Google Pixel 10 Pro XL feels like a brick next to the Motorola Signature. The Motorola phone feels almost weightless at 186 grams, especially when most flagships tip the scales at over 200 grams. I like the twill-inspired finish (as Motorola calls it), which gives the phone a distinctly luxurious feel. The Martini Olive colour I received for review (also available in a linen-inspired finish) has an expensive look to it, making it stand apart from the cold, business-like feel of most modern flagships.
The Signature ships with Android 16 and promises seven years of OS and security updates. (Image: Anuj Bhatia/The Indian Express)
That combination of an ultra-thin body, flat edges, a luxurious back, and brushed metal around the camera island makes the Signature feel like a truly high-end device – at least from a design perspective. The Signature feels like something that genuinely belongs in your hand. And the phone is also rated IP68 and IP69 for dust and water resistance, like most flagships.
Big screen and the ‘pro’ sound quality
Meanwhile, the display itself is terrific. It’s a 6.8-inch AMOLED panel (1,264 × 2,780 pixels) that gets extremely bright (up to 6,200 nits) for supported HDR content, and features a fast, adaptive refresh rate that tops out at 165Hz. This means everything you do feels buttery smooth, while the refresh rate scales down when you are viewing static content to help save battery life. Over the weekend, I finished watching Nuovo Olimpo on Netflix, and the display really brought the characters and the 1970s Rome to life. Honestly, I was not expecting this level of display from a Motorola smartphone.
It’s a 6.8-inch AMOLED panel (1,264 × 2,780 pixels) that gets extremely bright (up to 6,200 nits) for supported HDR content. (Image: Anuj Bhatia/The Indian Express)
My favourite thing about the Motorola Signature is the audio hardware it comes packed with. Whether I was watching a YouTube video or streaming a Netflix show, there was no need for external speakers or Bluetooth headphones unless I was on a flight or a train. The Bose-tuned stereo speakers just sound impossibly loud and clear, with no distorting rattle or tinny hiss even at high volume. It’s easily the best sound quality I have heard on a phone in a very long time.
Powerful performance and long battery life
The performance here is very impressive. Everything feels fast, with no waiting or lag, and apps and the camera open with a snap. The Signature will happily flit between WhatsApp Groups, LinkedIn, rounds of Asphalt Legends, Spotify and regular web browsing without breaking a sweat. The phone is powered by a flagship Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 chipset (which sits below the 8 Elite Gen 5) and is paired with 16GB of RAM and 1TB of storage on my review unit.
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As for battery life, it’s been fine for me. Despite being a heavy user, the 5,200mAh battery lasted a full day, from a 7 am charge to around 11 pm, when I called it a day. I don’t think most people would need to carry a power bank. The device supports 90-watt wired charging and 50-watt wireless charging.
Despite being a heavy user, the 5,200mAh battery lasted a full day. (Image: Anuj Bhatia/The Indian Express)
The Signature ships with Android 16 and promises seven years of OS and security updates, matching Google and Samsung while surpassing OnePlus. I’ve already discussed Moto AI in detail in my other reviews, so there’s nothing new here. The phone features a dedicated hardware AI button on the side that triggers Moto AI.
Motorola has executed the thin concept this well with a flagship. (Image: Anuj Bhatia/The Indian Express)
What I like about Moto AI is the choice of AI platforms on offer, including Perplexity, Google’s Gemini, Microsoft’s Copilot, and Meta’s Llama AI. It’s a clever way to bring leading AI platforms under one roof. That said, I personally use only a handful of AI features on a day-to-day basis (Circle to Search, for example). Others, however, may appreciate features like Remember This, which lets you take a photo or screenshot and ask the AI about it later, or Pay Attention, which is essentially a recorder and transcriber.
Three cameras, plenty of smarts
Perhaps what drew me to the Motorola Signature, something the team also conveyed during a trip to Phuket, Thailand, a few days ago, was the camera system. Motorola seems pretty confident about the cameras on the Signature.
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Motorola Signature camera sample. Image resized for web
Motorola Signature camera sample. Image resized for web
Motorola Signature camera sample. Image resized for web
Motorola Signature camera sample. Image resized for web
Motorola Signature camera sample. Image resized for web
There are three cameras onboard: a 50-megapixel main camera with OIS, paired with a 50-megapixel telephoto camera featuring a 3× zoom lens and OIS, and a 50-megapixel ultra-wide camera. All three cameras use Sony sensors, which further piqued my interest in a Moto phone, especially its camera system.
From the very first shot, it was evident that Motorola has made meaningful improvements to its cameras compared to previous smartphones. The Signature has an undeniably good camera system. Colours look natural, and focus is reliable whether it’s textured clothing or close-ups of a cat (I found a kitten at a pier). The camera also remains impressively versatile, even in low-light conditions. The camera is effective and enjoyable, and most people will be happy with it. That said, Google and Apple are still far ahead in image processing, which results in more consistently better shots.
So, should you buy the Motorola Signature?
Frankly, the Motorola Signature blends craftsmanship and practicality in a beautiful way, especially in today’s oversaturated smartphone market, where phones are often seen as commodities. It’s a refreshing change, but Motorola, like its peers, is looking to sell the Signature to mainstream users like you and me. In many ways, this is what a Motorola flagship should have been all along. And at a starting price of Rs 54,999, it still hits a sweet spot of accessibility for many buyers. Motorola has executed the thin concept this well with a flagship, and it made me excited about where it takes candy-bar phone design next.
