The Motorola Moto G06 is delivering premium looks and features at an accessible price point. The mobile phone is the latest device born from Motorola’s ongoing collaboration with PANTONE, offering curated, trend-driven colours, including the striking PANTONE Arabesque, the orange variant I trialed. On paper, it delivers a 6.88″ display (the largest ever on a Moto G), a 50 MP AI-powered camera, stereo speakers with Dolby Atmos, up to 12 GB RAM with RAM Boost, IP64 water protection, Gorilla Glass 3, a vegan leather textured back, and a 2-day battery — all within an accessible price range.

Given the price point, I wasn’t expecting much from the Moto G06. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not someone who needs a high-end powerhouse. I use my phone for the everyday essentials like texting, social scrolling, googling the best sales, ordering the finest beer, and taking too many photos of my dog. The Moto G06 is a solid little device that handles day-to-day tasks without any fuss, and it offers more than I thought.

Moto G06 First Impressions: Setup, Design & Pantone Arabesque Colour

I received the Moto G06 in “Arabesque” (“Orange” for those playing at home). I love seeing a colour with character. It reminds me of something 70s inspired and wonderfully retro.Let’s be honest, unboxing a phone doesn’t usually offer many surprises, it was simple and satisfying. I love that it came with a clear case already fitted, making it easy to show off the colour and keep it safe from day one.

Setup was straightforward:

  • Pop in the SIM
  • Power on
  • Follow the prompts to copy data from your old phone, connect to Wi-Fi, and sign into your Google account

Quick note: the Moto G06 gives you the option to copy from Android devices, Apple iPhones®, and iPads®.

Transferring from my old device only took a few minutes. I quickly set up PIN, fingerprint and face unlock. Thankfully I could choose which suggested apps to install instead of having my phone instantly clogged with unwanted ones. I also love that it lets you choose between using buttons or gestures for navigation. I’m unapologetically  ‘Team Buttons’.

Within 10 minutes of turning it on, it was fully set up and ready to use.

Motorola Moto G06 Display, Sound, and Build Quality

The phone is slightly bigger but narrower than my Samsung and is super comfortable to hold.

Motorola is really leaning into the “big entertainment screen” sell. The Moto G06 has a 6.88″ IPS LCD display with HD+ resolution and a 120 Hz refresh rate, so scrolling feels smooth.

It also boasts:

  • Water Touch technology, meaning you can still interact with the screen when your hands are wet

  • Enhanced brightness for outdoor viewing

  • Premium vegan leather finish

  • Gorilla Glass 3, which is better than standard glass at resisting scratches, minor impacts, and everyday wear

  • 3 colour options each bringing a different energy: calming “Tapestry” (teal), natural “Tendril” (green) and bold “Arabesque” (orange). It’s less about technical colour names and more about choosing a mood that fits you.

In day-to-day use, the screen feels big, bright, and friendly. It’s great for browsing, reading, and of course, flicking through photos. The size feels “large phone” without being unmanageable.

On the audio side, you get stereo speakers tuned with Dolby Atmos, which is impressive at this price. They’re more than good enough for social videos, music around the house, or gaming. And yes, there is still a 3.5 mm headphone jack, rarely found in new phones these days, which is a big tick for anyone who still likes wired headphones.

50MP AI Camera on the Moto G06: Reviewing the Budget Performance

The phone has a camera system built around an 8 MP front camera and a 50 MP Quad Pixel rear camera, with AI doing a lot of the heavy lifting to enhance low-light images and portraits. I’m no content creator, but if a phone can catch a constantly moving dog and make my beer and wings look Instagram ready, that’s a win in my world. The images are clear and bright, and the big screen makes framing easy without needing multiple retakes.

What I really appreciated was how easy it was to edit and share photos and videos straight away. Tools like Night Vision, Portrait mode, Panorama, Slow Motion, and Time Lapse make it fun to experiment. The phone also offers a dedicated QR scanner for those who need obvious functionality. Photos are simple to tidy up using the built-in Google Photos editing options like cropping, filters, brightness tweaks, and quick auto-enhance. Sharing to social media or messaging takes just a tap, which is perfect for those like me who hate to fiddle or fight in order to execute basic tasks.

Is it going to beat a $1,500 flagship? Of course not. But for a budget phone, the camera holds its own very well and delivers exactly what most everyday users need without complications.

Moto G06 Performance, Battery Life, and Key AI Features

Under the hood, the Moto G06 uses a MediaTek Helio G81 core with 4 GB of physical RAM and 64 GB storage, plus microSD expansion up to 1 TB. Motorola markets “up to 12 GB RAM” using RAM Boost, which means it uses part of the storage as virtual RAM to help with multitasking.

While that’s more than a mouthful, in real life, setting it up, downloading apps, playing games, and bouncing between social media and photos has felt smooth and snappy. For what I use a phone for it’s more than enough.

Battery-wise, you get a 5200 mAh battery, with Motorola claiming up to 2 days of use on a single charge. Charging is via USB-C. There are no wireless charging options which I wouldn’t expect in this price range.

You also get:

  • NFC for contactless payments
  • Moto Secure and system tools to help you manage storage and performance
  • Circle to Search with Google which allows you to circle or scribble over something on screen to search it directly
  • Google Gemini built-in as an AI assistant
  • Nice accessibility options (magnifier, captions, text-to-speech, light dimming)

I appreciate that Motorola hasn’t lost its sense of fun. While not my thing, you can double karate chop the screen to activate the torch. A little gimmicky, but it adds personality and people absolutely love that kind of thing.

Moto G06 Marketing Claims: What It Delivers and Compromises

What the phone does deliver (and the marketing is fair on):

  • Big 6.88″ screen. It really is huge for this price bracket.
  • 50 MP AI camera. Good quality with genuinely useful AI enhancements.
  • Stereo speakers with Dolby Atmos. Proper stereo!
  • Splash and dust resistance and enhanced protection, all of which feel well thought-out.
  • 2-day battery life on a single charge
  • AI features – good modern touches that make the phone feel current, not “cheap”.

Nuances and compromises worth noting:

  • The display resolution is not Full HD. If you’re used to very high-resolution screens, you may notice the difference.
  • The 12 GB RAM is RAM via storage. That’s not the same as having 12 GB of physical memory.
  • It is splash-resistant, not submersible. So if it falls in the pool, it drowns.
  • The materials and Gorilla Glass look and feel good, but they’re not as tough or fancy as the glass-and-metal combos found on your high-end phones.

None of these are deal breakers for me. It’s a budget phone and I feel it offers much more than expected at that price point. The RRP for the Moto G06 is $179AUD. At the time of writing, major retailers have it in roughly the $149–$179 range depending on promos and whether it’s locked to a provider or sold outright.

Final Verdict: Should You Buy the Motorola Moto G06?

For a budget-friendly smartphone, the Motorola Moto G06 gets a lot right:

  • Big, bright 6.88″ screen
  • Surprisingly good 50 MP AI camera
  • Stereo speakers with Dolby Atmos
  • 3.5 mm headphone jack
  • 2-day battery
  • Modern AI features
  • A fun, premium-looking design in a standout colour

I went in not expecting much of the budget phone. I found a device that feels simple, smooth, and genuinely enjoyable to use, especially for what I actually do on a phone every day.

It’s not a flagship, and it doesn’t pretend to be. But as a practical, good-value, everyday phone with a bit of personality, the Moto G06 absolutely hits the mark.

Thank you, Motorola, for the opportunity to review.

You can check out the official Motorola product page here.