Motorola Signature review: Value for money, 'Flagship Killer' smartphones are back!

When you hear the word “flagship”, the image that is presented in your head is probably of a large screen, thick, expensive and multi-camera-ed monolith, a device whose aesthetics are compromised for top-of-the-line performance. 

If that is not the case, and aesthetics are a focus, then the device gets compromised on its battery or its camera… all while still holding an exorbitant price tag. 

“i-object!” says Motorola. 

With the launch of their new flagship smartphone, the Motorola Signature, the rules of ‘what defines a flagship’ have been tweaked. A phone that many are already hailing as the new ‘flagship killer’. At Business Today, we have been using the device for a few weeks now to see if  Motorola has managed to pull off a masterstroke, offering a device that undercuts the competition significantly while the rest of the industry is hiking prices due to global RAM supply shortages. 

Is it truly the latest incarnation of the fabled “flagship killer” or is it another entry into Motorola’s often indistinguishable line-up of smartphones? We will answer that question for you.

Design & Display

The first thing everyone in the office noticed was the sheer thinness. At just 6.99mm and weighing 186g, it’s remarkably easy to handle. Motorola’s use of aircraft-grade aluminium and a unique linen-inspired textured back gives it a sophisticated, "anti-fingerprint" finish that feels better than the generic glass slabs we usually see. The phone comes in 2 pantone validated colours: Pantone Martini Olive and Pantone Carbon.

After seeing its sleek design, the first thing we did was compare it to the iPhone Air. To our surprise, it came quite close, and the iPhone was only slightly slimmer (6.1mm). 

With that said, we loved the Signature’s design, and by no stretch of the imagination can you call it “thick”. It is sleek and stunningly slim. It feels very nice to hold, does not press against your palm at all and is also incredibly light. It is a device you would want to carry coverless. 

Which you can, given its MIL-STD-8H protection and Gorilla Glass Victus 2 screen.

Speaking of which, you get a stunning 6.8-inch 1.5K Extreme AMOLED panel with a 165Hz refresh rate. With a peak brightness of 6,200 nits, it’s easily one of the brightest screens on the market. Whether we’re reviewing documents under harsh office lights or checking emails in direct sunlight, the legibility is flawless. 

Processor & Performance

The Signature is powered by the Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 chipset, paired with up to 16GB of LPDDR5X RAM. In our testing, multitasking felt instantaneous.  We tested with gaming titles like Genshin Impact, COD Mobile and even Real Racing on the highest possible settings, and the phone did not stutter even once.

One thing we did note is that while booting Genshin Impact, the phone got slightly warm, and the frames did not feel as smooth in the game's UI/menu. 

The performance shot back up once we began gameplay. So overall, the device offered an optimal performance. 

Given that RAM prices have been soaring globally, seeing Motorola offer a 12GB RAM variant starting at under Rs 60,000 is commendable. It comfortably beats competitors that are charging nearly 20-30% more for similar specifications.

Camera

The camera system is a triple-threat of 50MP sensors: a main Sony LYTIA 828, a 50MP periscope telephoto (3x optical zoom), and a 50MP ultra-wide. The photos are sharp, and the colour science, validated by Pantone, is incredibly natural.

Motorola has really worked on cameras, and it shows. There is a lot of improvement, and the photos look beautiful and instantly post-worthy. 

Here are some photos we were able to take: 

However, we have to address the elephant in the room: the camera cutout. It is obnoxiously big. While the lenses are high-quality, the sheer size of the module takes away slightly from the otherwise ultra-premium, slim aesthetic. It’s a minor gripe in the grand scheme of things, but it’s hard to ignore. Plus, the design looks familiar to some of Motorola’s budget offerings, so personally, we would have preferred a smaller camera cutout, just to differentiate the device. 

Battery & Charging

Motorola managed to squeeze in a 5,200mAh silicon-carbon battery. It easily lasted through a full 14-hour workday, with about 20% battery left. 

Note that we did push the device quite hard with performance tests and camera usage. Everyday regular use will see the phone make it through to the next day without needing a charge. 

When you do need to top up, the 90W TurboPower charging is remarkably fast, and so is the 50W wireless charging; a luxury usually reserved for much more expensive devices.

Another thing to note: the phone does tend to heat up during rapid charging. It’s likely a trade-off for having such a thin body with such high wattage, but it's something to keep in mind if you're using the device while charging, a practice we do not condone.

UI & Software

Software is where Motorola truly wins hearts. It runs Android 16 with the new Hello UI, which is clean, near-stock, and completely free of the "bloatware" that plagues other brands. Motorola has also committed to 7 years of OS and security updates, ensuring this "value for money" investment stays relevant until 2033.

Moto AI and Gemini are both valuable additions to the device, and Motorola has added some really well-thought-out features with Moto AI. 

There is a dedicated ‘Signature Club’ app pre-installed (one of the very few pre-installed apps), which gets you exclusive signature club privileges such as golf course reservations, dining reservations, airport pickups, lost passport protection and other wellness privileges. 

The benefits are worth up to Rs 20,000, and your first service avail is on Motorola. 

Verdict

The Motorola Signature is an absolute blind buy. In a market where prices are increasing by the minute, and flagships are starting at the Rs 70-80,000 mark, Motorola has delivered a device with a strong processor, a class-leading display, and a software promise that matches the best in the business. This is indeed, 2026’s “Flagship Killer”. 

While the camera cutout is a bit loud, and it can get warm on the charger, the sheer value here, starting at Rs 59,999 (plus discounts), is unmatched. If you want flagship power without the "flagship tax," this is the phone to get.