Don't pass on this one

At $240, the Motorola One Action is a low-key great Black Friday deal

29 Nov 2019, 13:34 by Joe Maring

Black Friday is a season of endless tech deals, especially when it comes to smartphones. After a year of excellent releases from a myriad of companies, many of them take advantage of this time of year to discount their phones to get them in as many hands as possible before a new batch of them is released next year.

It can be easy to have your attention stolen by discounts on popular phones like the Galaxy Note 10 and Pixel 4, but one device that may happen to slip under your radar is the Motorola One Action.

The One Action launched in the U.S. without much fanfare earlier in 2019, and while it represented a pretty good value with its regular retail price, it's Black Friday discount makes it rather hard to ignore.

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Underdog value

Motorola One Action

Tons of features at an incredible price

At this price, the Motorola One Action is a seriously compelling low-cost Android phone. Its 21:9 display is great for watching movies, the GoPro-like camera allows for unique video-recording capabilities, and you further benefit from features like Google Pay and a lot of internal storage.

$239.99 $349.99 $110 off

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There are a few reasons why the One Action is worth picking up, the first of which has to do with its display. You get a large 6.3-inch screen size with a crispy Full HD+ resolution, but the real highlight is the 21:9 aspect ratio. That's quite a bit taller than most other phones, and this has a huge benefit for content consumption.

A lot of movies are filmed in that narrower 21:9 form factor, and when you watch them on the One Action, they end up looking extremely cinematic and immersive. For anyone that likes to use their phone to catch-up on the latest films, the One Action is perfectly suited for it.

Something else we're especially fond of is the One Action's camera setup. You'll find three cameras on the back, consisting of a 12MP main camera, 5MP depth camera, and a 16MP action camera. The first two cameras are used for both photos and videos, but the 16MP action camera is reserved exclusively for shooting video.

https://www.androidcentral.com/sites/androidcentral.com/files/styles/large_wm_brw/public/article_images/2019/08/motorola-one-action-8.jpg?itok=saZ9-eUW — *Source: Android Central*

On most smartphones, when you record a video holding the phone upright, the final clip has huge black bars on either side that make the whole thing look rather unsightly. This is what we call "vertical video," and it's something we recommend you avoid at all times. On the Motorola One Action, it's impossible to do that. The 16MP action camera is placed sideways inside the phone, so when you hold the One Action upright to record a video, it captures it horizontally rather than vertically. It's a first-of-its-kind feature that we've yet to see on any other device, and for people that like to capture a lot of video on their phone, makes the One Action one of the most compelling options out there.

Along with the display and camera, the One Action manages to offer a slew of other features we typically don't see in this price range. There's an NFC chip that allows you to use Google Pay for in-store purchases, a generous 128GB of internal storage that can be expanded up to 512GB, and a large 3,500 mAh battery.

Finally, and perhaps even more important, the Motorola One Action can be used on AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, and Verizon. This is something you can't say about all unlocked phones being discounted during Black Friday, giving the One Action yet another area in which it stands out.

Some may argue that Google's Pixel 3a is the better Black Friday smartphone deal, but if you're looking for something a bit more unique and will help keep even more cash in your wallet, the Motorola One Action for $240 is hard to ignore.

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