The 2022 Moto G 5G is a $400 telephone (roughly changing to £320, AU$570) with 256GB of cupboard space. That is likely to be all you should know for those who’re simply on the lookout for an inexpensive telephone that may maintain your entire music, movies, apps, video games, images and extra. Other telephones on this worth vary do not even come shut when it comes to cupboard space, particularly the $429 iPhone SE, which has simply 64GB of storage. Plus, the Moto G 5G has 6GB of RAM to spice up efficiency, and you’ll add much more storage with a microSD card. Storage house is the clear spotlight for this 12 months’s Moto G 5G. But the telephone’s 6.5-inch 720p display screen with a 90Hz refresh price, long-lasting 5,000-mAh battery, headphone jack and Android 12 additionally present numerous flexibility and performance.
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But there are a variety of noticeable options that are not as nice as I had hoped. I’m largely speaking about photograph high quality, which is not nearly as good as I anticipated contemplating this telephone has a 50-megapixel digicam.
Like256GB of house for the value is a good valueDecent telephone efficiencyHeadphone jack
Don’t LikePictures and video lack elementNo NFCShort Android replace timeline
And there are options lacking from the Moto G 5G that — whereas typical for telephones at this worth — are more and more annoying to search out omitted. For occasion, there isn’t any NFC for contactless funds, which is especially regarding as extra grocery shops and transit techniques transfer towards this technique.But if $400 is probably the most you need to pay for a telephone, there’s a lot to love concerning the Moto G 5G. Just make sure you preserve your expectations in examine. You may even discover the Moto G 5G at a cheaper price, as Motorola mentioned it plans to supply the telephone at $350 for a restricted time. Motorola’s telephones usually get discounted even additional with time.The Moto G 5G has a 50-megapixel most important digicam.
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Android 12 on the Moto G feels quick, even when it isn’t as speedy as different telephonesThe Moto G 5G runs on a MediaTek Dimensity 700 chip. That’s much less highly effective than the Qualcomm chips usually included in telephones on this worth vary, such because the $449 Google Pixel 5A 5G or the $500 Moto G Stylus 5G. But I did not discover a lot lag or different points when opening and shutting apps.Multitasking on the Moto G 5G — which I typically check by video chatting in picture-in-picture mode whereas viewing different content material — additionally labored with none hiccups. Games additionally ran nice, however with the 720p decision show they don’t seem to be pushing intensely detailed graphics.While I am unable to say for certain, I believe this will likely need to do with the telephone’s 6GB of reminiscence, which is greater than succesful for dealing with telephone calls, video games, internet browsers and different apps at roughly the identical time. Having extra reminiscence makes it simpler to change between all of those, and 6GB can also be the quantity discovered contained in the Pixel 5A and the $450 Samsung Galaxy A53 5G.The Moto G 5G has a headphone jack.
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Motorola additionally consists of a number of of the customized gestures which have been current on its telephones for years, reminiscent of twisting the telephone to launch the digicam or making a chopping movement to activate the flashlight. The 5,000-mAh battery that powers all of this software program and {hardware} might very properly final for 2 days. I nonetheless had about 30% of the telephone’s battery left on a day by which I racked up simply over 5 hours of display screen time with the display screen working at 90Hz refresh price and medium brightness. During that point, I watched numerous YouTube, made video calls, browsed web sites and despatched textual content messages. On much less intensive days once I solely pulled out the telephone for extra occasional glances, I’d wrap with roughly 50% left. I have never run a full battery check on the telephone, however I had a comparable battery life with Samsung’s $160 Galaxy A03S which additionally runs on a MediaTek chip and powers a 720p show (however that telephone solely consists of 32GB of cupboard space; I did expertise some efficiency lag whereas utilizing it).The Moto G 5G helps each sub-6 and C-Band types of 5G connectivity, but it surely doesn’t assist millimeter wave. That’s fairly frequent for telephones on this worth vary, and millimeter wave frankly is not vital proper now, because it’s solely accessible in very particular areas like sports activities stadiums. Several of my colleagues clarify the variations between the assorted flavors of 5G in different explainers. But for now, sub-6 and C-Band ought to cowl most wants. Like most telephones, this system helps 4G LTE networks too. The Moto G 5G runs on Android 12.
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I nonetheless want Motorola offered an extended software program assist timeline for its Moto G telephones. This telephone will solely get one main software program replace to Android 13, however it can get three years of safety updates. This bothered me fairly a bit on the $500 Moto G Stylus 5G, however it’s kind of simpler to swallow at $400. However, Samsung is providing 4 to 5 years of safety updates for a lot of of its cheaper Galaxy A telephones. Having three years of safety assist is an efficient size for a telephone at this worth, but it surely’s nonetheless on the shorter aspect.Caveats begin with the camerasThe Moto G 5G consists of the identical 50-megapixel most important digicam because the Moto G Stylus 5G that I reviewed just a few weeks again. Accompanying that most important digicam are a 2-megapixel macro digicam, 2-megapixel depth sensor and a 13-megapixel front-facing digicam. I actually preferred the images on the Stylus 5G and hoped that I might expertise related high quality on this cheaper telephone. But the Moto G 5G simply lacked sufficient element for me throughout each indoor and outside images.The Moto G 5G at a waterfront on the South Street Seaport in New York.
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I examined the telephone’s digicam on a ferry journey to New York’s South Street Seaport on a really sunny day. While my images got here out superb, I did not really feel just like the digicam captured as a lot element as I anticipated. A avenue by the South Street Seaport, taken on the Moto G 5G.
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The lighting situations for the buildings and the water could not have been extra supreme, however I simply did not really feel like my images had a lot pop.An indoor bar scene shot with the Moto G 5G with out evening mode.
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The Moto G 5G consists of evening mode for capturing higher images at the hours of darkness, which is sweet to see at this worth. But it solely improved brightness marginally when taking images in dim indoor environments, like a bar. The identical indoor bar shot with evening mode turned on.
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Front-facing digicam photograph whereas indoors.
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The front-facing digicam’s photographs fared barely higher in each outside and indoor images, and the picture high quality was appropriate for video calls. Video high quality — which information at 1080p — can also be unimpressive. While recording on high of the windy ferry, audio sounded washed out whereas the video high quality solely captured some particulars of the water and buildings. I had the same criticism of the video high quality on the Stylus 5G. It’s acceptable for sharing in a bunch chat and even an Instagram put up, however I’d desire a separate digicam to report a milestone private occasion like a marriage. The Moto G 5G front-facing digicam photograph whereas outdoors.
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The telephone’s most important speaker additionally left loads to be desired. It made music and movies sound extra tinny to me, so I’d suggest utilizing wired or Bluetooth headphones. (Yes, this is likely one of the few telephones you should buy that also has a headphone jack).Though the telephone consists of Google Pay, you possibly can’t use it for contactless fee because the Moto G 5G would not have NFC. That means Google Pay is just helpful for Venmo-like cash transfers. With contactless funds turning into more and more handy, I hope cheaper telephones just like the Moto G begin adopting that know-how quickly.
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Excellent worth, however there are good causes to attendThe Moto G 5G’s greatest benefit is its 256GB, which is uncommon in a $400 telephone. Its closest opponents just like the $450 Galaxy A53 5G and final 12 months’s $449 Pixel 5A with 5G embrace half of that quantity of house — 128GB. If you’re searching for a telephone with a $400 funds ceiling, the Moto G 5G might be a superb selection. But if you’re trying throughout the $400 to $500 vary and needn’t exchange your telephone straight away, it is best to most likely wait till the lately revealed Pixel 6A arrives this July at $449. Once that telephone launches, we’ll have a greater thought of what is accessible this 12 months in that worth vary.
Moto G 5G vs. Moto G Stylus 5G vs. Samsung Galaxy A53 5G vs. Google Pixel 5A 5G
Motorola Moto G 5G (2022)
Motorola Moto G Stylus 5G (2022)
Samsung Galaxy A53 5G
Pixel 5A 5G
Display dimension, decision
6.5-inch HD+ LCD (1,600×720 pixels)
6.8-inch LTPS LCD FHD+; 2,460 x1,080 pixels; 120 Hz
6.5-inch AMOLED (2,400×1,080 pixels); 120 Hz
6.34-inch OLED; (2,400 x 1,080 pixels); 60 Hz
Pixel density
269 ppi
395 ppi
405 ppi
413 ppi
Dimensions (Inches)
6.51 x 2.98 x 0.37 in.
6.65 x 2.98 x 0.37 in.
6.28 x 2.94 x 0.32 in.
6.1 x 2.9 x 0.3 in.
Dimensions (Millimeters)
165.4 x 75.8 x 9.4 mm
168.9 x 75.8 x 9.3 mm
159.6 x 74.8 x 8.1 mm
156.2 x 73.2 x 8.8 depth (mm)
Weight (Ounces, Grams)
7.20 oz; 204g
7.58 oz.; 215g
6.67 oz.; 189g
6.45 oz.; 183g
Mobile software program
Android 12
Android 12
Android 12
Android 11
Camera
50-megapixel (most important), 2-megapixel (macro), 2-megapixel (depth)
50-megapixel (broad), 8-megapixel (ultrawide/macro), 2-megapixel (depth)
64-megapixel (broad), 12-megapixel (ultrawide), 5-megapixel (macro), 5-megapixel (depth)
16-megapixel (ultrawide), 12-megapixel (broad)
Front-facing digicam
13-megapixel
16-megapixel
32-megapixel
8-megapixel
Video seize
1,080p
1,080p
4K
4K
Processor
MediaTek Dimensity 700
Snapdragon 695 5G
Exynos 1280
Qualcomm Snapdragon 765G
RAM/Storage
6GB/256GB
8GB/256GB
6GB/128GB
6GB/128GB
Expandable storage
Up to 1TB
Up to 1TB
Up to 1TB
No
Battery/Charger
5,000 mAh (10W wired charger included)
5,000 mAh (10W wired charger included)
5,000 mAh (charger not included, doesn’t assist wi-fi charging)
4,680 mAh
Fingerprint sensor
Side
Side
In-display
Back
Connector
USB-C
USB-C
USB-C
USB-C
Headphone jack
Yes
Yes
None
Yes
Special options
5G-enabled
5G-enabled; OIS for most important digicam; NFC for Google Pay;
5G-enabled; IP67 ranking; helps 25W wired quick charging, Samsung Pay
5G-enabled, Titan M chipset (safety chip), Dual-pixel most important digicam’ IP67 water ranking, Dual Sim, Stereo audio system; 18W quick charging
Price off-contract (USD)
$400
$500
$450
$449
Price (GBP)
NA however converts to £320
NA however converts to £405
£399
NA however converts to £360
Price (AUD)
NA however converts to AU$570
NA however converts to AU$715
AU$699
NA however converts to AU$640