Which Motorola Phone Is for You? Pros, Cons, and Features (2024)

If idiosyncratic asked what benignant of favored you want, you’d astir apt accidental a feline oregon a dog. In this analogy, Motorola phones are hamsters. They're inactive cute and decidedly pets, but not needfully the archetypal oregon 2nd 1 that comes to mind. The company’s Android smartphones often play 3rd (or fourth) fiddle to the likes of Samsung and Google. If you’re an funny buyer, picking the champion Motorola telephone tin beryllium pugnacious due to the fact that the institution launches galore models successful a year. I’ve tested astir each 1 of them, and successful this guide, I interruption down the pros and cons and steer you toward my favourite Moto models.

Be definite to cheque retired our different mobile buying guides, including the Best Android Phones, Best iPhones, Best Cheap Phones, Best Pixel Phones, and Best Phones With a Headphone Jack.

Updated May 2024: We've added the Moto G Stylus 5G 2024 and Motorola Edge 50 Pro.

Table of Contents

• The Pros and Cons of Buying a Motorola
• Best Motorola Phone: Motorola Edge+ 2023
• A Folding Moto: Motorola Razr+
• Best Moto G Phone: Moto G Power 5G 2024
• If You Want a Stylus: Moto G Stylus 5G 2024
• Other Good Motorola Phones
• Avoid These Phones
• The Competition
• Our Favorite Motorola Features

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The Pros and Cons of Buying a Motorola

Here’s what’s WIRED and TIRED astir Motorola phones. This breakdown tin assistance you determine whether to instrumentality with Moto oregon bargain thing else.

What’s WIRED About Motorola Phones

Motorola phones person a elemental Android interface. This means the institution hasn’t done overmuch to gunk up the software. It’s elemental and casual to use. There’s progressively a batch of bloatware, but you tin easy uninstall astir each of it.

They person immoderate of the champion artillery life. The institution stuffs large batteries into these slim phones, and they’re often capable to eke retired adjacent to 2 afloat days of usage connected a azygous complaint with mean use, besting astir each of the competition.

There’s wide bearer support. While immoderate Android phones person inconsistent bearer enactment successful the US, Motorola phones often enactment connected astir if not each networks (the institution lists carrier enactment details successful the Specs conception of each its phones). They each enactment connected the large three—T-Mobile, AT&T, and Verizon. Make definite you bargain them unlocked.

The prices dip rather often. Never bargain a Motorola telephone astatine its MSRP. They astir ever spell connected merchantability a fewer months (or weeks) aft launch, sometimes astatine steep discounts.

What’s TIRED About Motorola Phones

Motorola’s bundle updates are lackluster. The institution is dilatory improving here—it promises to present 3 Android OS updates and 4 years of bimonthly information updates to its high-end smartphones—but it inactive lags down its peers. Worse yet, the phones successful the Moto G bid lone person 1 OS Android update (with 3 years of information updates), truthful they miss retired connected new Android features reasonably quickly. Even if a telephone is promised updates, they instrumentality a long clip to arrive.

Most Moto G phones deficiency NFC. Near-field connection sensors are what alteration tap-to-pay connected your phone, allowing you to usage contactless payments astatine participating retailers. Phones arsenic cheap arsenic $200 person this feature, but Motorola has agelong excluded it connected (most) of its Moto G range. This is starting to change, with galore of the 2024 Moto G models sporting NFC.

The cameras are lackluster. Among the things putting Motorola down the likes of Samsung and Google are the cameras. They tin instrumentality fine photos, but they’re easy eclipsed by the competition.

There’s nary always-on display. Most Android phones person a mounting you tin toggle on if you privation an always-on show that volition amusement a timepiece connected your surface adjacent erstwhile the surface is “off.” Motorola has Peek Display, which requires you to determination the telephone oregon pat the surface to spot anything. It’s not a large deal, but that’s a diagnostic you mightiness miss if you’re coming from different phone.

Best Motorola Phone

Editor's Note: A 2024 mentation of Motorola's Edge volition apt beryllium making its mode to the US soon, truthful portion the Edge+ 2023 is inactive a coagulated smartphone purchase, I urge waiting.

The champion Motorola telephone close present is the Motorola Edge+ (2023). It’s a tall, constrictive instrumentality with a 6.7-inch OLED show that curves into the edges for a much immersive screen. I usually dislike these kinds of “waterfall displays” due to the fact that my fingers thin to disrupt the screen, but I didn’t person galore issues connected this phone.

The Full HD+ surface is crisp and colorful, it gets agleam capable to presumption connected sunny days, and the refresh complaint tin ratchet up to 165 Hz. It makes the surface look and consciousness much responsive, though I acceptable it to 120 Hz, which is plentifulness for maine and doesn’t suck up arsenic overmuch battery. The backmost of the telephone has a glistening plan that looks snazzy, and some the beforehand and backmost are protected by the scratch-resistant Gorilla Glass Victus.

The Edge+ impresses with its earthy specs. It’s powered by the 2023's high-end Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor (along with 8 GB of RAM), and I seldom saw stutters, adjacent with the astir demanding apps and games.

There are dual stereo speakers astatine the apical and bottommost of this instrumentality to pump retired large tunes that dependable beauteous good, NFC for making contactless payments, dual SIM support, IP68 h2o resistance, and a whopping 512 GB of storage—well much than you’ll find connected immoderate different smartphone astatine this price. There’s nary microSD paper slot to grow that storage, nor a headphone jack successful lawsuit you privation to plug in.

Most awesome is artillery life. There’s a 5,100-mAh cell, and this telephone easy lasted 2 afloat days of mean use. Even dense users should expect to get done a afloat time without requiring a top-up. When you do request to recharge, you tin usage the included 68-watt charging adapter oregon a wireless charger. Motorola is 1 of the fewer telephone makers to see a charger successful the box, though it has started to alteration this signifier successful 2024.

Where it loses points is the camera system. A 50-megapixel superior camera is joined by a 50-MP ultrawide and a 60-MP selfie camera. In my photograph comparisons, the Edge+ took immoderate crisp shots, but it had a hard clip keeping up with the cheaper Google Pixel 7A. Motorola’s results are often oversaturated and overly brightened, and they thin to present somewhat off tegument tones. In debased light, I often had to retake photos due to the fact that the archetypal effect was blurry. If the camera is important to you, I’d debar buying immoderate Motorola phone. Consider the Pixel 7A oregon Samsung Galaxy S24 instead.

Motorola promises 3 Android OS upgrades and 4 years of bimonthly information updates.

A Folding Moto

Editor's Note: A 2024 mentation of Motorola's Razr+ and Razr are rumored to arrive soon. The 2023 exemplary is simply a bully bargain astatine $700, but it's worthy waiting to spot what's new.

Motorola’s archetypal folding smartphone from 2020 had a lot of flaws, but its 2023 successor levels up the crippled successful a fewer ways. The Razr+ (7/10, WIRED Recommends) is simply a folding flip phone—it's the smartphone successor to Paris Hilton's iconic pinkish flip phone. Yes, you tin flip unfastened the telephone to reply a telephone and flip it unopen to extremity it.

When it’s closed, the larger 3.6-inch OLED exterior surface tin amusement you notifications, apps, and useful widgets to cheque the weather, calendar events, and news. It adjacent lets you play elemental games. You tin besides usage the superior superior cameras—which would typically beryllium connected the “back” of the telephone but are present astatine the front—to drawback selfies and usage this outer surface arsenic a viewfinder. They’re immoderate of the sharpest selfies you’ll snap.

With the telephone open, you person a 6.9-inch surface you tin usage arsenic you would a modular phone. This instrumentality has specs akin to the Lenovo ThinkPhone, with a Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 chipset and 8 GB of RAM astatine the core, though the surface gets bumped backmost up to a 165-Hz refresh rate. There’s 256 GB of storage, NFC for making payments with your phone, dual stereo speakers, and wireless charging. It ran perfectly successful my tests; my main gripe is that the show doesn’t get arsenic agleam arsenic I’d like, which tin marque it pugnacious to work connected sunny days outside.

Where it falls abbreviated is connected h2o resistance, artillery life, and the cameras. Folding phones are much fragile than their non-folding counterparts, and the Razr+ lone has an IP54 standing for h2o resistance, which isn’t arsenic bully arsenic you’ll find connected Samsung’s Galaxy Z Flip5. The humble size of the instrumentality besides means it has a smaller 3,800-mAh artillery compartment and volition hardly get done a afloat time of mean use. (There’s nary charger successful the box.) As expected, the 12-MP superior camera and 13-MP ultrawide tin instrumentality immoderate wholly good photos, but they won’t impress.

Still, the main payment of this benignant of folding telephone is that it’s ace compact. If you often person occupation stuffing your smartphone into a pocket, the Razr+ is simply a bully alternative.

Motorola promises 3 Android OS upgrades and 4 years of bimonthly information updates.

This is the cheapest folding phone you tin buy, and I'm frankly amazed that it often sits astatine $500 connected Amazon. Compared to the Razr+, the modular Razr lacks the larger beforehand screen, truthful successful its closed authorities it's lone utile for getting notifications, checking the time, and swiping to the upwind widget. Inside, you're getting an OLED 6.9-inch screen, with an up to 144-Hz surface refresh rate. Performance is snappy, contempt the lesser Snapdragon 7 Gen 1 chipset. There's lone 128 GB of storage, and the camera is thing to constitute location about, but the beefier 4,200-mAh compartment makes this easy past longer than the Razr+, astatine slightest a afloat time with dense use. There's wireless charging, and it'll get the aforesaid bundle enactment arsenic its pricier sibling.

Best Moto G Phone

This is the champion Moto G telephone Motorola has ever made (8/10, WIRED Recommends). For nether $300, you get a beauteous telephone with a bully vegan leather textured backmost that resists fingerprints. The 6.7-inch LCD is crisp and bright, and you get a fingerprint scanner, a 3.5-mm headphone jack, and adjacent wireless charging. It's astir unheard of to spot wireless charging connected a sub-$400 smartphone, but present we are. More astonishing is however this low-priced Moto G yet supports NFC, meaning you tin pat to wage anyplace it's supported. Ditch the cablegram and the wallet!

The Moto G Power 2024 is powered by MediaTek's Dimensity 7020 chipset with 8 GB of RAM. While you volition spot immoderate slowdowns present and there, it's mostly creaseless sailing. I utilized it for astir a period with nary qualms, juggling betwixt my favourite apps, navigating, streaming music, and taking pictures. The 5,000-mAh artillery doesn't past arsenic agelong arsenic erstwhile Moto G Powers—you tin easy get a afloat time retired of it, and a small other if you're conservative.

The camera strategy consists of a 50-megapixel main camera and an 8-MP ultrawide, and they're adequate. It tin instrumentality immoderate decent pictures adjacent successful debased airy (make definite you usage nighttime mode), but successful general, these photos aren't going to sound your socks off.

The problem? While it has everything you request each astatine a debased price, this telephone volition lone get 1 Android OS update (to Android 15) aboriginal this twelvemonth oregon aboriginal successful 2025. It'll inactive get 3 years of information updates, truthful portion that means the telephone volition enactment patched and secure, you won't get caller Android features past a year. There's besides much bloatware connected this instrumentality than ever before, but astatine slightest overmuch of it is casual to uninstall oregon disable. It comes with 128 GB of interior storage, but you tin upgrade that acknowledgment to a microSD paper slot.

If you tin get past those flaws, the Moto G Power 5G 2024 is 1 of the champion phones you tin bargain for little than $300, and amended yet, it has already dipped arsenic debased arsenic $282, truthful hold for a sale.

Motorola promises 1 Android OS upgrade and 3 years of bimonthly information updates.

If You Want a Stylus

The Moto G Stylus doesn't consciousness drastically antithetic from the Moto G Power. It's conscionable arsenic bully with the vegan leather backmost and delivers comparatively creaseless show with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 6 Gen 1 chipset and 8 gigs of RAM. Sure, determination are immoderate hiccups present and there, peculiarly erstwhile you juggle betwixt apps, but it's an different snappy phone.

For $100 much than its sibling, you do get immoderate other perks. Namely, the stylus. You tin propulsion it retired of the bottommost of the telephone to jot notes, motion documents, oregon doodle erstwhile bored. Motorola doesn't person decent thenar rejection, truthful don't expect comfy sketching sessions connected this handset, but it's useful to person astir for those reasons.

I eked retired somewhat amended artillery life, contempt the aforesaid 5,000-mAh capableness arsenic the Moto G Power 2024. It comfortably lasted a afloat time with dense use, and a time and a fractional for mean use. There's inactive wireless charging, a headphone jack, NFC for contactless payments, and the aforesaid size 6.7-inch screen, though present you're treated to a superior OLED sheet that offers deeper blacks and richer colors. The surface has a 120-Hz refresh rate, conscionable similar the Moto G Power.

Other upgrades see a bump to 256 GB of interior storage, dual stereo speakers, and a nicer camera system: a 50-MP main camera with a 13-MP ultrawide, positive a 32-MP selfie camera. The cameras are so amended than what you get connected the Moto G Power, with much vibrant colors and sharper details, particularly with the ultrawide. However, it's inactive not arsenic bully a camera arsenic the Google Pixel 8A.

Motorola promises 1 Android OS upgrade and 3 years of bimonthly information updates.

Other Good Motorola Phones

I suggest you instrumentality to the phones above, but if your fund is tight, the phones beneath are OK buys. The Moto G phones person 1 Android OS update and 3 years of bimonthly information updates.

Moto G Play 2024 for $150: It works connected 4G LTE lone and doesn't person NFC for contactless payments, not to notation it receives lone 1 Android OS update. Still, this Moto G Play delivered reasonably decent show for the money. The Qualcomm Snapdragon 680 feels quick, the 6.5-inch LCD is plentifulness bright, and there's adjacent a 90-Hz surface refresh rate.

Motorola Edge 50 Pro for £600: The caller Motorola Edge 50 Pro (7/10, WIRED Review) is simply a midrange contender with a triple-lens camera, silky creaseless screen, and lightning-fast wired and wireless charging successful a compact waterproof body, but constricted bundle updates and a deficiency of processing powerfulness fto it down. Available globally (except successful the US and Canada), it's worthy a look for Motorola stans.

Lenovo ThinkPhone by Motorola for $400: This 2023 telephone is simply a uncommon (public) concern betwixt Motorola and its genitor company, Lenovo. If you’re acquainted with Lenovo’s fashionable enactment of ThinkPad concern laptops, the ThinkPhone (7/10, WIRED Recommends) tries to emulate the look, down to a red, customizable fastener connected the near broadside of the telephone that’s meant to look similar the reddish nub connected a ThinkPad’s keyboard. There's a 6.6-inch OLED surface with a refresh complaint of up to 144 Hz. It’s powered by the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 chipset, which is inactive a flagship-grade processor but isn’t arsenic almighty arsenic the Gen 2 oregon existent Gen 3. And the 5,000-mAh artillery lasts 2 days. Motorola promises 3 Android OS upgrades and 4 years of information updates. It's a heck of a telephone astatine this permanently discounted price.

Avoid These Phones

You should debar buying immoderate Moto G telephone from 2023 oregon earlier. They won’t get immoderate much Android mentation updates, and the prices aren’t drastically antithetic from the latest models. The 1 I notation beneath is simply a 2024 exemplary I didn’t like.

Moto G 5G 2024 for $200: This handset is disposable lone astatine T-Mobile and Metro by T-Mobile astatine the moment, but I wouldn't bother. The show is conscionable excessively sluggish and the cameras are noticeably worse than the Moto G Power 5G. Save your currency for 1 of the supra picks.

The Competition

Motorola’s apical contention comes from Google, Nothing, and Samsung. If you asked maine what telephone to buy, I’d constituent you to the Google Pixel 8A ($499). It has astir of the features folks privation successful a smartphone—including wireless charging. The Nothing Phone 2a is besides a worthy contender. If your fund tin stretch, look astatine the Samsung Galaxy S23 FE ($600) oregon OnePlus 12R ($500). If you privation to walk arsenic small arsenic possible, past the Galaxy A35 5G ($400) is different alternative. Read our Best Cheap Phones and Best Android Phone guides for much options.

Our Favorite Motorola Features

Moto Gestures: One of the archetypal due smartphones I bought was the Moto X, and that’s erstwhile (then Google-owned) Motorola debuted Moto Actions, which fto you usage carnal gestures to trigger immoderate features connected the phone. They are inactive precise overmuch a portion of a Motorola phone’s identity, adjacent if they’re present called Moto Gestures. You tin caput to the Moto app connected the telephone to find each of them oregon spell to Settings > Gestures. The ones I usage astir often are the double-chop motion to trigger the flashlight and the double-twist enactment to motorboat the camera.

Moto Connect: Formerly known arsenic Ready For, this isn't disposable connected the cheaper Motorola phones. It lets you wirelessly link the telephone to a adjacent display, wherever you tin spot mobile apps, usage your telephone arsenic a webcam, and stock files. If your Moto is supported, you tin find it by heading to Settings > Connected devices > Ready For. If you’re connecting it to a PC, you’ll request to download the desktop lawsuit (Windows only), oregon the Ready For Assistant if you’re connecting an Android tablet. If you’re utilizing a TV, it needs Miracast support to link wirelessly, but you tin usage a USB-C oregon HDMI cablegram arsenic well.