I’ve reviewed greater than a dozen Motorola telephones over the previous few years, most of which have been funds telephones costing $400 or much less. Whereas I was very vocal about how Motorola simply wasn’t doing a very good job making its low-end telephones remotely useable, the corporate has come a good distance in recent times, proving that customers can nonetheless have a very good expertise with out spending $1,300 for a telephone. And issues are solely going to get higher for low cost Android telephones.
Final yr, my high Android telephone was the Razr Plus 2024, which retailed for $999, and it is nonetheless my every day driver as a result of I completely love the shape issue. Nevertheless, proper earlier than I obtained my fingers on it, I reviewed the Moto G Stylus 5G 2024, a telephone that I used to be fairly positive I might neglect virtually as quickly as I ended utilizing it. As an alternative, I did not wanna put the telephone down, even once I needed to swap gears to the Razr.
The Stylus simply felt like a flagship in a telephone that price half as a lot as a Galaxy S25 would price you as we speak and with fairly comparable specs. It has a Full HD+ OLED show, a 5,000mAh battery with 30W wired charging and 15W wi-fi charging, and a reasonably succesful 50MP major digital camera. To not point out, Motorola’s signature vegan leather-based end simply appears to be like and feels nice.
Certain, efficiency might not match as much as as we speak’s Snapdragon 8 Elite and all its AI thrives, however the mid-range Snapdragon chip within the Stylus was no slouch both. Mixed with nice efficiency and a strong total package deal, I might continuously neglect that it is a mid-range telephone. The truth is, my mum needs a brand new telephone, and I am tempted to simply get her the Stylus 5G 2024, as I would not get her a telephone that I personally would not use.
2025 is beginning off on a very good be aware
We’re simply two months into 2025, and Motorola has already launched two telephones in North America. On the floor, they do not appear to be a lot, however they’ve managed to exceed our expectations in regards to the form of expertise one can count on on a telephone that prices $200. Android Central Telephones editor Nick Sutrich discovered himself stunned at how a lot he favored the Moto G 2025, particularly when in comparison with his expertise with its predecessor.
“Final yr’s Moto G 5G 2024 was a reasonably horrible telephone, even for the low worth, however Motorola has turned issues round and addressed almost each grievance I had with out elevating the value for this yr’s mannequin,” he states in his evaluate. Sutrich highlights a shiny, eye-friendly show, nice design, and strong battery life as main promoting factors for the telephone.
I had an analogous expertise with the Moto G Energy 2025, which launched alongside the Moto G 2025. The design is a welcome enchancment over its predecessor, particularly with the improved sturdiness and IP69 score. It additionally handles gaming surprisingly nicely and comes outfitted with wi-fi charging, which is not quite common at this worth level.
That is to not say these telephones are excellent. The MediaTek chip can really feel sluggish the primary time you do one thing new on the telephone, but it surely appears to catch up very quickly. Motorola additionally improved its software program replace promise to now embrace two OS upgrades, though that is nonetheless a far cry from what you will get on Samsung telephones, for instance.
Nonetheless, for what you are paying for, these telephones could possibly be a lot worse than they’re. But it looks as if Motorola and different firms are upping the requirements for reasonable Android telephones. Even this $100 telephone from NUU is ready to present customers with a half-decent expertise with zero bloatware, a 90Hz show, nice battery life, and extra.
That is nice for individuals who do not want all the most recent AI options or to spend $800+ on the very best of the very best. It is particularly nice for fogeys who need to purchase their children their first telephone.
This was additionally one thing that OnePlus understood with its Nord N-series telephones, which provided surprisingly good worth. And after seeing what the corporate did with the OnePlus 13R, I can solely think about what a brand new Nord N telephone can be like. In case you’re studying this, OnePlus, now would most likely be a very good time to introduce a brand new one.
Low-cost Android telephones are about to get an AI increase
That is solely the start, and to this point, I am very enthusiastic about what’s to return. In any case, Motorola altered my expectations about low cost Android telephones with final yr’s Stylus 5G 2024. Issues can solely go up from right here as parts get cheaper and higher, and extra succesful chips trickle right down to the decrease finish.
Qualcomm is already setting the stage for a brand new technology of midrange telephones with extra AI capabilities. The brand new Snapdragon 6 Gen 4 is an upgraded model of the identical chip utilized in final yr’s Stylus, and it guarantees higher efficiency in addition to on-device AI processing, which is a primary for the 6-series. This implies we’ll begin seeing extra options usually reserved for flagship telephones powered by the Snapdragon 8 Elite on telephones that price half the value.
Qualcomm says Realme, OPPO, and Honor will probably be among the many first to introduce telephones with the brand new chip. There is not any phrase on whether or not or not the following Moto G Stylus will sport the brand new Snapdragon 6 Gen 4, however I am trying ahead to no matter we get, regardless.
As somebody who nonetheless loves high-end telephones just like the Razr and Galaxy S25 Plus, 2025 appears to be like like a fantastic yr to begin taking a look at cheaper telephones, particularly with the menace of tariffs looming over.
