6.5/ 10 SCORE Moto G Play (2026) Pros
Google Circle to Search at a low worth
5G and NFC set an vital customary for cheaper telephones
Long-lasting battery
Cons
Camera is kind of compromised
Little onboard storage and reminiscence
Noticeably sluggish with out RAM Boost
Motorola’s $170 Moto G Play for 2026 is getting some particular consideration this 12 months. Despite being $30 cheaper than the newest model of the Moto G, it matches lots of its specs, similar to 5G connectivity, NFC for wi-fi funds, the identical MediaTek Dimensity 6300 processor, and a 5,200-mAh battery.But belief me, this cellphone definitely cuts corners. It’s one of many few new handsets releasing in 2025 with simply 64GB of onboard storage, and that is going to refill quick if you happen to obtain music, movies and video games onto your private cellphone. It additionally has simply 4GB of onboard reminiscence, which made establishing the cellphone a problem — easy duties like logging into apps and syncing my WhatsApp message historical past proved onerous. Motorola does provide easy options for each of these issues. You can set up a microSD card to increase storage and use the RAM Boost setting to transform a portion of your slim storage into 8GB of further digital reminiscence, which assists with loading apps in addition to multitasking.But it then prompts the query — if you are going to spend extra money to increase the storage, possibly it’s best to think about spending the additional $30 for the brand new Moto G that begins at 128GB. There are individuals who will discover the $170 Moto G Play a great match. It’s simply succesful sufficient if in case you have easy wants out of your gadget and plan to make use of it primarily for texting, voice calls and video chats. Maybe even to play a few video games. But, though this gadget meets the necessities, it has a low ceiling of functionality, so patrons ought to preserve their expectations in test. Turning up RAM Boost is a necessity on the Moto G Play. Joe Maldonado/CNETMoto G Play (2026) design, battery, software programThe Moto G Play is available in a single coloration known as Pantone Tapestry, which is a blueish-green hue with a textured vegan leather-based backing. I like this shade because it provides a splash of persona to this lower-cost cellphone and positively clothes it up greater than the plastic designs in boring black coloration that we are likely to see on this worth vary from different cellphone firms.Along with the aforementioned microSD card slot, the Moto G Play comes with a headphone jack and twin stereo audio system — the latter of which I discovered made my music and YouTube watching sound fairly good.The cellphone’s 6.7-inch show, alternatively, is an space the place you may really feel the cellphone’s lower cost. It does run at a 120Hz refresh fee, however that smoothness is tough to note as a result of its decrease HD (1,604 by 720 pixels) decision results in a grainy feeling, whether or not I’m scrolling by the house display or studying web sites. The show’s 1,000-nit peak brightness is on the decrease facet, however nonetheless excessive sufficient for me to search out the display usable in outside settings.The cellphone runs on Android 16 and options Motorola’s customizations, together with its signature gestures similar to twisting to open your digicam and a chopping movement for turning on the flashlight. Having entry to Google’s Circle to Search in such a low-cost cellphone can be nice, and I discovered it to work simply as nicely on this cellphone because it does on costlier telephones. The cellphone will get two years of main software program updates and three years of safety updates, which is on the decrease facet in comparison with the six years of help Samsung gives its Galaxy A telephones. However, this help degree is corresponding to equally priced telephones from TCL. The Moto G Play has an 8-megapixel front-facing digicam. Joe Maldonado/CNETAlso very good are the inclusion of 5G connectivity and NFC, each first-time inclusions on the lower-cost Moto G Play sequence. While TCL and different firms have these options on different sub-$200 telephones that had been tied to particular carriers, it is nice to see Motorola now present them on an unlocked gadget. With 5G mobile networks now prevalent and NFC used in every single place, from transit techniques to supermarkets for purchases, it is good that these applied sciences are value together with in telephones of all worth ranges.The 5,200-mAh battery can be appreciated, because it simply will get by two days of medium use. This could be as a result of the Moto G Play is a much less highly effective gadget, however if you happen to’re certainly a lightweight cellphone consumer, having a large-capacity battery that flippantly drains away throughout informal use will go a good distance. Its 18-watt most charging pace is not significantly quick — in CNET’s 30-minute wired charging take a look at, it slowly climbed from 0% to 35% — however with a battery of its dimension, it’s going to probably get sufficient cost for the day by plugging it in for an hour whereas preparing.Geekbench v.6.0 Motorola Moto G Play (2026) 790 2,032Motorola Moto G (2025) 784 1,970TCL 60 XE NxtPaper 5G 732 1,855 Note: Longer bars point out higher efficiency
3DMark Wild Life Extreme Motorola Moto G Play (2026) 383Motorola Moto G (2025) 384TCL 60 XE NxtPaper 5G 378 Note: Longer bars point out higher efficiency
While I did not expertise points with the MediaTek Dimensity 6300 chip as soon as I activated RAM Boost, it is nonetheless value noting that the processor struggles to deal with extra complicated duties. In Geekbench 6.0, which stresses the processor, and 3D Wild Life Extreme, which pushes the graphics, the Moto G Play’s benchmark scores are fairly low, however common for a cellphone on this worth vary. Again, it is a matter of setting expectations: This is a cellphone that is nice for texting and calling, but it surely will not be in any respect perfect for taking part in video games like Fortnite at their medium to excessive graphics settings. The Moto G Play has a single 32-megapixel essential digicam on the again. Joe Maldonado/CNETMoto G Play camerasThe Moto G Play’s cameras are the most important compromise you may must take care of on this low-cost cellphone. This should not be a shock, as typically the most important motive telephones value extra is due to extra superior digicam techniques.By the usual of a $170 cellphone, the 32-megapixel essential digicam and the 8-megapixel front-facing digicam are simply wonderful. But by the usual of utilizing a digicam to take images of vital life moments, stunning park settings or your subsequent delicious meal — that is extra of a digicam that may allow you to share these in group chats. I took the Moto G Play for a night stroll in New York’s Central Park, the place there was nonetheless simply sufficient daylight to probably give the cameras loads of visibility to work with. But most of those images nonetheless look fairly muddy, blurry or have picture noise.
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Taken on the Moto G Play’s huge digicam. Mike Sorrentino/CNETThis picture, exhibiting autumn leaves alongside a lake, does provide the oranges and reds, however zooming in even somewhat shortly reveals pixelation.
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Taken on the Moto G Play’s front-facing digicam. Mike Sorrentino/CNETThis selfie picture, taken in the identical spot, exhibits the solar fading behind me, with the vegetation and a few of the particulars of my face seen. However, a fast zoom-in and you may see that the grass behind me is kind of fuzzy.Taking images indoors didn’t assist. This up-close picture of a beer is totally crammed with picture noise, though there was loads of lighting contained in the bar.
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Taken on the Moto G Play’s huge digicam. Mike Sorrentino/CNETWhile we’ve not but examined the $200 Moto G for 2026, that cellphone has a 50-megapixel huge digicam alongside a 2-megapixel macro digicam. While I’d favor to see it paired with an ultrawide lens, hopefully, the 50-megapixel shooter will do a greater job of capturing particulars.I ought to notice that I had no complaints utilizing the Moto G Play for video calling. I took a number of calls over Facebook Messenger, and whereas I knew I did not look pretty much as good as I might on costlier telephones, I did come by clearly and will simply multitask whereas taking the decision. So, if utilizing the cameras for communication is extra vital than utilizing them for images, the Moto G Play can do the job. The Moto G Play has a headphone jack on the underside. Joe Maldonado/CNETMoto G Play: The backside lineThe $170 Moto G Play is as easy a cellphone as it’s best to go. And so far as discount telephones go, if all you want is a tool for cellphone calls, video chats, texting and light-weight media use, it might be fairly viable for these easier wants.However, if you happen to attempt to do something extra superior than that, you may shortly attain some extent the place it’s best to think about a costlier gadget. If you want greater than 64GB of area (and truthfully you in all probability do), then as a substitute of shopping for a microSD card it’s best to simply take that cash and put it in direction of a $200 cellphone that comes 128GB of onboard space for storing. If you need a gadget that takes nicer images, this is not it. And if you need a cellphone that punches above its worth, look elsewhere, because the Moto G Play meets expectations for a $170 handset.On the intense facet, by together with options like 5G connectivity, NFC and Google’s Circle to Search, the Moto G Play units a regular for what all telephones ought to have, no matter their beginning worth. Just do not attempt to race even additional to the underside, as a result of I do not assume you may make any extra trade-offs than the Moto G Play does and have a purposeful gadget.How we take a look at phonesEvery cellphone examined by CNET’s critiques group was really utilized in the actual world. We take a look at a cellphone’s options, play video games and take images. We look at the show to see if it is vivid, sharp and vibrant. We analyze the design and construct to see how it’s to carry and whether or not it has an IP-rating for water resistance. We push the processor’s efficiency to the extremes utilizing standardized benchmark instruments like GeekBench and 3DMark, together with our personal anecdotal observations navigating the interface, recording high-resolution movies and enjoying graphically intense video games at excessive refresh charges.All the cameras are examined in a wide range of circumstances, from vivid daylight to darkish indoor scenes. We check out particular options like evening mode and portrait mode and examine our findings towards equally priced competing telephones. We additionally try the battery life by utilizing it every day, in addition to operating a sequence of battery drain checks.We have in mind further options like help for 5G, satellite tv for pc connectivity, fingerprint and face sensors, stylus help, quick charging speeds and foldable shows, amongst others, that may be helpful. We steadiness all of this towards the worth to provide the verdict on whether or not that cellphone, no matter worth it’s, really represents good worth. While these checks might not at all times be mirrored in CNET’s preliminary overview, we conduct follow-up and long-term testing in most circumstances.