Motorola telephones usually play third (or fourth) fiddle to Samsung and Google, however the winds are altering. Motorola is now one of many fastest-growing cellular firms on this planet, and the corporate claims its Razr folding smartphones are the primary within the flip class in North America. The corporate has additionally been experimenting with colourful Android telephones and enjoyable textures, making its units stand out from the ocean of boring glass handsets.
When you’re an purchaser, choosing the most effective Motorola cellphone might be powerful as a result of the corporate launches many fashions yearly. I’ve examined virtually all of them, and on this information, I break down the professionals and cons and steer you towards my favourite Moto fashions—from the Moto Razr to the Moto G Stylus 2025.
Take a look at our cellular shopping for guides for extra, together with the Greatest Android Telephones, Greatest Samsung Telephones, Greatest Low cost Telephones, Greatest Pixel Telephones, and Greatest Telephones With a Headphone Jack.
Up to date April 2025: We have added the Moto G Stylus 2025 and Motorola’s new Razr units.
Desk of Contents
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What’s WIRED About Motorola Telephones
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{Photograph}: Julian Chokkattu
Motorola telephones have a easy Android interface. This implies the corporate hasn’t carried out a lot to gunk up the software program. It’s easy and simple to make use of. There’s more and more loads of bloatware, however you may simply uninstall virtually all of it.
They arrive with plenty of storage. The corporate stuffs 256 GB as normal into most of its smartphones, even a few of the low cost fashions. Most Android flagship units nonetheless include simply 128 GB. Motorola can also be one of many solely cellphone manufacturers to nonetheless embody a microSD card slot to increase storage on a lot of its units, and the Moto G telephones retain the headphone jack.
There’s broad provider assist. Whereas some Android cellphone manufacturers have inconsistent provider assist within the US, like Nothing, Motorola telephones usually work on most if not all networks (the corporate lists provider assist particulars within the Specs part of all its telephones). All of them work on the large three—T-Cellular, AT&T, and Verizon. Ensure you purchase them unlocked.
The costs dip very often. By no means purchase a Motorola cellphone at its MSRP. They virtually all the time go on sale just a few months (or weeks) after launch, generally at steep reductions.
What’s TIRED About Motorola Telephones
Motorola’s software program updates are lackluster. The corporate is slowly bettering right here—it guarantees to ship three Android OS updates and 4 years of bimonthly safety updates to its high-end smartphones however nonetheless lags behind its friends. Many of the Moto G telephones solely obtain one OS Android replace—although that is altering in 2025 with new units getting two upgrades—together with three years of safety updates. Fewer updates imply you miss out on new Android options shortly. Even when a cellphone is promised updates, they take a lengthy time to reach.
The cameras are lackluster. Among the many issues placing Motorola behind the likes of Samsung and Google are the cameras. Moto telephones can take advantageous images however they’re eclipsed by their friends. Motorola made some enhancements with its high-end telephones but it surely’s nonetheless behind.
There’s no always-on show. Most Android telephones have a setting you may toggle on if you’d like an always-on show that can present a clock in your display even when the display is “off.” Motorola has Peek Show, which requires you to maneuver the cellphone or faucet the display to see something. It’s not a giant deal, but it surely’s a characteristic you may miss if you happen to’re coming from one other cellphone. The 2024 Razr units lastly broke the mildew with always-on shows, but it surely’s nonetheless not current in different units.
The Greatest Motorola Cellphone
If you are going to purchase a Motorola and cash is not a lot of a priority, it ought to be a press release cellphone just like the Razr+ (2024). This third-gen folding flip smartphone (7/10, WIRED Recommends) is way more refined, including options you’ve got come to anticipate in a modern-day handset, like an IPX8 water resistance ranking that retains it secure from dips within the pool and a brilliant 165-Hz OLED display that’s simple to learn in sunny circumstances. And sure, you may flip open the cellphone to reply a name and flip it shut to finish it.
When closed, the enlarged 4-inch OLED cowl display can present you notifications, apps, and useful widgets to test the climate, calendar occasions, and information. It even permits you to play some enjoyable mini-games. You should utilize the superior main cameras—usually on the “again” of the cellphone however are actually on the entrance—to snap selfies and see previews on this exterior display. They’re a few of the sharpest selfies you’ll snap.
Open it up and there is a 6.9-inch display that capabilities like a regular cellphone. There’s nonetheless a crease on the display the place the gadget folds, however I did not discover it annoying. It is powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 chipset, a barely lesser-performing processor versus the flagship Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 discovered on different high-end Android units in 2024. That mentioned, efficiency was easy, due to the 12 GB of RAM, even when taking part in video games. You get different standard-fare accouterments like NFC for tap-to-pay through Google Pockets, wi-fi charging, and 256 GB of inside storage.
This Razr+ completely makes use of Motorola’s new Photograph Enhancement Engine, which the corporate says makes use of synthetic intelligence to provide higher photographs. Certainly, these images are a few of the finest you will snap on any Motorola cellphone, but it surely’s nonetheless taking part in catch-up with a lot of the competitors. Photographs take a while to course of, too, so you will must get used to that. It isn’t an ideal digicam system, however I used to be typically pleased with a lot of the outcomes.
I want Motorola had saved the ultrawide digicam. In its predecessor, utilizing the entrance display as a preview made it easy to take selfies with others. Now, with the default 50-MP fundamental digicam, becoming extra folks into the body is a problem. The ultrawide has been changed by a 2X telephoto lens. Whereas I am normally a fan of zooming in, the zoom degree is underwhelming, and the standard is mediocre.
There is a 4,000-mAh battery on the Razr+, and it will get you thru a full day with common use, however heavy customers almost certainly might want to prime up earlier than the day’s finish. That is nearly the one fundamental gripe I’ve with this cellphone. It is tremendous enjoyable and satisfying to make use of, appears nice within the new sizzling pink coloration, and runs properly with a stable digicam system. My professional tip? Watch for a sale.
That is the most cost effective folding cellphone you should purchase within the US, particularly on sale. In comparison with the Razr+, the Razr (7/10, WIRED Recommends) has a barely smaller entrance display. You may’t see as a lot data at a look, but it surely’s nonetheless large enough to view some apps, notifications, and entry widgets. Inside is an analogous OLED 6.9-inch display with as much as a 120-Hz refresh price. It retains the ultrawide as a substitute of the telephoto, and the digicam system is general stable—not horrible, not superb. The 4,200-mAh battery does last more than the Razr+, although the gadget falls quick in efficiency. Powered by the MediaTek Dimensity 7300 with 8 GB of RAM, I simply encountered extra sluggish conduct that generally made it annoying to make use of.
The Greatest Trad Moto Cellphone
This cellphone is often on sale for $330, and it is a no-brainer for anybody on a price range. You get a big 6.6-inch AMOLED display with a 144-Hz display refresh price and speedy efficiency due to the Qualcomm Snapdragon 7s Gen 2 chipset. It isn’t a flagship chipset, however sufficient to ship snappy app launches and lag-free gameplay, and it is leagues higher than the efficiency you will discover on the opposite Motorola telephones featured beneath.
It has all of the fundamentals from NFC so you may pay together with your cellphone through Google Pockets, plus an IP68 water resistance ranking, guaranteeing it will not succumb to a drop within the pool. It helps wi-fi charging, comes with 256 GB of storage, and packs some fairly loud Dolby Atmos stereo audio system. I used it as my every day cellphone for 2 weeks, and it carried out remarkably properly. The 5,000-mAh battery comfortably lasts a full day with common use and infrequently can go properly into the second day earlier than a top-up. Use the Edge closely, and it is firmly within the charge-once-a-day territory.
I do have just a few gripes, although. The Edge makes use of a so-called waterfall show, the place the glass on the entrance curves into the perimeters for a extra immersive look. It definitely appears fancy, however I’ve had a number of moments the place my fingers holding the cellphone’s edges disrupted an motion I used to be attempting to finish with my different hand. This has lengthy been a difficulty on telephones with curved screens. It is easy to get used to and regulate your grip shortly, but it surely’s annoying.
Second, the 50-MP fundamental digicam has a little bit of shutter lag, which might be irritating if you’re attempting to seize shifting topics (like my canine, who will not sit nonetheless). The pics you may get out of it are stable, completely acceptable photographs throughout the day. The distinction is a bit of too robust generally, and it would not deal with high-contrast scenes all that nice, however there’s good element. In low mild, you will encounter just a few extra blurry images as a result of that shutter lag and shaky fingers, but when the circumstances are proper, you may get some sharp, in-focus pictures. That is the place a cellphone just like the Google Pixel 9a handily beats the Edge 2024.
Sadly, Motorola guarantees solely two Android OS upgrades (as much as Android 16) and three years of safety updates to the Edge 2024. The Pixel 9a will get seven years of software program assist. That is one among Motorola’s greatest weaknesses, however this might not be as a lot of a difficulty at its frequent $330 sale value. When you’re questioning a few successor, the Motorola Edge launched in June 2024, so you may anticipate a follow-up this summer season.
Greatest Moto G Cellphone
The Moto G Stylus 2025 is the most effective Moto G cellphone proper now, which is likely to be a given contemplating it is the priciest mannequin within the household. Nonetheless, for $400, it is top-of-the-line smartphone values available on the market. Because the identify suggests, it comes with a built-in stylus—the one different cellphone with that characteristic is Samsung’s $1,300 Galaxy S25 Extremely.
It is a slim and superbly blue cellphone. My mother mentioned it appeared good. Even a stranger stopped me to ask what cellphone I used to be utilizing! The Surf the Internet blue actually pops with the vegan leather-based again, although you may get it in a extra muted Gibraltar Sea coloration. You may discover a headphone jack on the underside, a rarity in at the moment’s smartphone local weather, and pop open the SIM tray to discover a spot so as to add a microSD card, one other quickly disappearing characteristic. Motorola additionally contains 256 GB of storage, a pleasant bump in comparison with pricier smartphones that supply solely 128 gigs.
You get a 120-Hz AMOLED 6.7-inch display that is loads brilliant in sunny circumstances, and passable, stutter-free efficiency with the Snapdragon 6 Gen 3 chipset. It may not really feel the speediest, however that is the smoothest-performing Moto G; I’ve not often seen uneven animations within the interface. Talking of, there’s a great deal of bloatware apps within the Android 15 working system, however they’re simple to uninstall.
The 5,000-mAh battery in tow has often lasted a full day for me with roughly 35 p.c left by bedtime, with common to excessive use. It isn’t fairly a two-day cellphone. You may prime it again up pretty shortly with Motorola’s 68-watt TurboPower charging system, however I’ve largely juiced it with my Qi wi-fi charger with no issues.
