If its efficiency was a smidge higher, this Moto can be a house run. It is price contemplating if cash’s tight, however spring for the Moto G Stylus in case you can (even in case you do not take care of the stylus). Consider, Motorola will doubtless announce a brand new model early in 2026.
Different Motorola Telephones to Take into account
I recommend you stick with the telephones above, however listed here are different alternate options in case you’re unhappy.
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{Photograph}: Julian Chokkattu
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{Photograph}: Julian Chokkattu
Motorola Edge 2025 for $430: Motorola is without doubt one of the few firms nonetheless making smartphones with waterfall shows, the place the perimeters of the display mix into the telephone’s body for a cool, virtually bezel-less impact. In style only a few years in the past, the pattern fell out of trend as a result of it was simply tougher to make use of the telephone (bezels could be good!). I have never had as many points with the touchscreen on this mannequin, and whereas I believe the general aesthetic is sweet with the vegan leather-based again, the Edge would not impress as a lot because the stiff competitors with its $550 MSRP. Efficiency is a little bit too uneven (I seen a number of lag within the digicam app). The primary digicam is strong, however the lackluster software program replace coverage makes it arduous to advocate. It is a significantly better deal when it dips throughout main sale occasions.
Motorola Razr+ (2025) for $700: The Razr+ is equivalent to the Razr+ (2024), besides it employs Motorola’s titanium-reinforced hinge for improved sturdiness. The specs are in any other case the identical, but it surely sits in an odd middle-ground the place it would not supply a large enchancment over the Razr 2025, however would not sit too removed from the Razr Extremely. You would possibly discover the dearth of an ultrawide digicam annoying, particularly for group selfies, and the battery right here is the smallest of the present lineup. You may all the time avoid wasting money and buy 2024’s Razr+ (7/10, WIRED Recommends), which has good efficiency and strong cameras, however I extremely advocate ready for a sale. This telephone has dipped as little as $580, which is improbable for a folding telephone.
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{Photograph}: Julian Chokkattu
Moto G 5G 2026 for $200: The Moto G 2026 is almost equivalent to the Moto G Play 2026 beneath, besides it has double the storage (expandable through microSD), helps barely quicker wired charging, and the entrance and rear cameras pack extra megapixels. It is a $20 distinction, so in case you’re eyeing both one, you actually ought to go for the Moto G 5G 2026. Efficiency is equally sluggish, although completely usable daily (in case you’re affected person). Even with extra megapixels, do not count on a lot from the cameras; they’ll take satisfactory photographs in good lighting, however battle loads in low gentle. I used to be capable of hit almost two days of battery life with common use, and I like that this telephone nonetheless has the headphone jack. Nonetheless, needless to say it can solely obtain two Android OS updates and three years of safety updates. I believe you are higher off shopping for the 2025 Moto G Energy or ready for the 2026 Moto G Energy and catching it on sale.
Moto G Play 5G 2026 for $180: Motorola’s least expensive telephone all the time sits in an ungainly spot. Sure, for underneath $200, this can be a serviceable handset that now options 5G connectivity. You get two-day battery life, a headphone jack, expandable storage, and a reasonably good design. However the MediaTek Dimensity 6300 chip with 4 GB of RAM may be very sluggish—prepare to attend a second or two, generally extra, for an app to launch or a webpage to load. Photograph high quality is satisfactory; most of my pictures have lackluster colours. I took a number of calls, and the individuals on the opposite finish usually complained about my audio high quality, which is not nice. It is good that this ultra-budget telephone will get two Android OS updates, however when the Moto G Energy 2025 is on sale for $200 on Amazon and usually gives quicker efficiency, double the storage, and higher digicam high quality, the Play is hard to justify.
What Motorola Telephones to Keep away from
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Motorola telephones diminish in worth pretty rapidly. It is best to keep away from shopping for Moto G telephones from 2024 or earlier. They doubtless received’t get any extra Android model updates, and the costs aren’t drastically totally different from the newest fashions. I additionally do not advocate shopping for the Moto G 2025 anymore since its successor is right here. Final 12 months’s Motorola Edge 2024 or the aforementioned Razr+ 2024 are the oldest I might go, so do not contemplate the rest.
The Competitors
{Photograph}: Julian Chokkattu
Motorola’s prime competitors comes from Google, Nothing, and Samsung. When you requested me what telephone to purchase, I’d level you to the Google Pixel 9a ($499). It has many of the options people need in a smartphone, together with wi-fi charging. Nothing additionally has new gadgets, the Phone (3a) and the Phone (3a) Pro. They’re enticing, elegant, and inexpensive handsets, although service compatibility is just not as simple. Nothing’s sub-brand CMF additionally has an equally wonderful $279 telephone, the CMF Phone 2 Pro.
