Motorola’s latest handset, the Moto G7 Power, is great value and is packed with brilliant features.
Running Google’s Android operating system, it has a large, bright 6.2-inch screen, 3.5mm headphone jack (something increasingly rare on smartphones) and best of all a battery that lasts three days. If you're considering this phone or already have it, here are some tips to help you get the most from it.
Illuminate with a chop of your wrist
If you’ve ever fumbled for the front door in the dark with your key, or struggled to find something hidden in your bag, you’ll know how useful a phone torch is.
With the G7 Power, it is even easier to use. Look for Moto in the menu, select Moto Actions (these are basically shortcuts) scroll down to Fast torch and turn the slider on. When you need to use the torch simply turn it on with two karate chops or flicks of the wrist.
Never miss a photo-worthy moment
The Moto Actions menu includes lots of useful shortcuts, such as the Quick capture option.
Turn this on and by twisting your wrist twice you can launch the camera – a really useful feature to ensure you don’t miss those spontaneous photo opportunities.
Capture artistic people pictures
It’s really easy to take professional looking portraits with the Moto G7 Power. Launch the camera, tap Menu (it looks like 9 small squares just above the shutter button) and select Portrait.
A yellow slider appears at the bottom; drag it to the right to blur the background and create what’s called a bokeh effect. It works for selfies and portraits.
Unlock your phone with your face
In the Settings menu look for Security & location – Face unlock and the phone will scan your face - it happens quickly so be prepared!
On the next screen you can choose to bypass the screen lock. Activate this and if your face matches the stored likeness, the phone can be unlocked simply by holding down the power key.
Set a bedtime schedule and relax
To help you relax as you get ready for bed you can set up a Wind Down schedule. At the start of Wind Down mode, the screen will change from colour to greyscale to give your eyes a rest, and do not disturb mode kicks in so you won’t get notifications until the phone exits Wind Down mode.
To set it up head to Settings – Digital wellbeing – Wind Down and follow the instructions. You can change the start and end time to suit your sleeping habits.
Quickly silence unwanted phone calls
Whether it's during a meeting or halfway through a gripping TV show, everyone's phone rings when they least want it to from time to time. But instead of fumbling for the silence button, the G7 Power has some clever shortcuts to help you keep the peace.
Head to Settings – Moto Actions and scroll down until you see Pick up to silence and Flip for DND.
Turn these on and next time you get an unwanted call you can easily silence it by picking up the G7 Power or turn it over.
Get help reading your favourite websites
The Moto G7 Power has some really useful features designed to make it easier to use. Go to Settings - Accessibility and you’ll see options which let you adjust things like the Font size and Display size, and activate the ability to zoom in by triple-tapping with the Magnification feature.
Select to Speak is a clever feature that reads aloud certain things on the screen. Turn it on and you’ll see a new person icon on the bottom homescreen. Tap this, hit Play and the contents of the screen will be read out.
