Buying a smartphone on a tight budget is usually not fun. Most phones at this price look pretty much the same on paper, and may even be made by companies you’ve never heard of.
That’s where Moto G 5G 2024 comes in. Motorola is a well-known company with a great Android UI and one of the best update records the company has ever had. This year’s model has been upgraded with a vegan leather back, fast charging, faster 5G speeds, and NFC. Motorola certainly seems to be listening.
There are some odd decisions, like the 2MP macro camera being useless and the RAM boost doing more harm than good, but the overall experience is one of the better you’ll find at this price. The processor is fast enough to do most things, and even with a 720p display his 4GB of RAM is meager, but a little patience goes a long way. If you only have $200 to spend on a new phone, this is a good choice.
Moto G 5G 2024: Price and availability
Motorola will sell the unlocked Moto G 5G 2024 in the U.S. starting March 21 for $199.99 on Amazon, Best Buy, and Motorola.com. This is $50 cheaper than last year. Moto G 5G 2024 will be available in Canada on May 2 at motorola.ca and on select Canadian carriers in the coming months.
Or AT&T, Boost Infinite, Boost Mobile, Cox Mobile, Consumer Cellular, Google Fi Wireless, Metro by T-Mobile, Optimum Mobile, Simple Mobile, Straight Talk, T-Mobile, Verizon, Tracfone, USCellular, Verizon, Visible, Walmart Total by Family Mobile, Xfinity Mobile. Prices vary by carrier.
Moto G 5G 2024: Things I like
Believe it or not, the biggest difference between the Moto G 5G 2024 and basically every other Android smartphone under $200 is the design. The back isn’t some nasty shiny plastic that picks up fingerprints and dust every time you take it out of your pocket. Instead, it has a beautiful vegan leather finish that looks and feels beautiful.
Ironically, vegan leather is another strange form of plastic made in a way that resembles actual animal leather without the use of animal products.That’s not it that’s right It has the same feel as DBrand’s leather phone skins, but in my opinion is much better than plastic or glass.
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Vegan leather is much better than a plastic back.
This puts the Moto G 5G 2024 in a strange middle ground of design aesthetics and construction that no other $200 phone can compete with. I like this. It also works great with the new strong Gorilla Glass 3 on the front of the phone, which is more resistant to scratches and breakage than previous generations of budget Motorola phones.
The phone’s side rails are still a bit slippery plastic, but don’t expect metal or finer finishes at this price. At least the fingerprint scanner is built inside the power button, which is my favorite design, so I’d love to see it expanded. all Android smartphones are not limited to just a few models.
It’s faster, more accurate, and more comfortable to use than the cumbersome in-screen fingerprint scanners found on more expensive phones.
| Category | Moto G 5G 2024 |
|---|---|
| screen | 6.6-inch HD+ (1612 x 720), LCD, 269 ppi, 120Hz refresh rate |
| chipset | Qualcomm Snapdragon 4 1st generation |
| storage | 128GB, expandable |
| memory | 4GB |
| software | android 14 |
| rear camera 1 | 50MP, f/1.8, 1.28μm (via quad pixel binning) |
| rear camera 2 | 2MP macro, f/2.4, 1.75µm |
| selfie camera | 8MP, f/2.0, 1.12μm |
| water resistance | water repellent |
| battery charging | 5,000mAh, 18W wired charging |
| Connectivity | 5G, Bluetooth 5.1, Wi-Fi 5, FM radio, 3.5mm headphone jack |
| NFC | ✔ |
| size | Height 164.39 x Width 74.96 x Thinness 8.23 mm |
| weight | 194g |
| color | sage green |
| Software updates | 1 OS upgrade (to Android 15) and 3 years of bi-monthly security updates |
Motorola listened to the feedback and included important features like NFC in this year’s models.
It’s also worth noting that Motorola listened to feedback and included NFC in the Moto G 5G 2024. This omission plagued Motorola with the Moto G 5G 2023 and other low-priced his 2023 phone models. This means you can make contactless payments with Google Wallet.
Motorola has launched the Moto G 5G 2024 with Android 14 and guarantees that the phone will come with Android 15 and three years of security updates. This is great because the phone’s performance is lacking and will likely feel horribly slow in four years when support ends.
I also love Motorola’s gestures, like double-chopping the phone to toggle the flashlight function. These gestures have been on Motorola phones for a decade now and are still one of the best features of the Motorola experience.
Finally, I’d like to commend Motorola for having an LCD with no noticeable PWM dimming flicker. Phones like the Samsung Galaxy A15 have better-looking AMOLED panels, but Samsung’s display flickers unlike other displays on the market. Most people don’t suffer any ill effects from this, but if you’re like me, just a few minutes of looking at a flickering display like this can cause hours of headaches and eye pain.
The Moto G 5G 2024’s LCD has no perceptible PWM flicker, and Ople Light Master IV says the frequency is between 28,000Hz and 40,000Hz, with very low modulation. This is the friendliest kind of display you’ll find on modern phones (period).
Moto G 5G 2024: What’s not good about it?
First of all. If you buy Moto G 5G 2024, please turn off the RAM boost feature. Motorola included this to “effectively” expand the phone’s RAM beyond the meager 4GB it comes with, but it ends up making the overall experience worse. When I was using the phone, I found that the RAM boost made switching between apps erratic and, at worst, unreliable.
Turning off the RAM boost made the phone noticeably easier to use, even if it wasn’t the fastest device I’ve ever used. You won’t be playing Fortnite on your Moto G 5G 2024, but all other daily tasks like web browsing, messaging, and phone calls will work just fine.
Boosting RAM will make things worse, not better. Please turn it off immediately.
Beyond that, it’s clear that Motorola had to skimp a little on camera quality to include a processor that actually works. do Something that doesn’t require saintly patience.motorola very is overhyping the Moto G 5G 2024’s main camera, claiming that you can use it to “take perfect shots day or night.”
That’s not true, but the camera isn’t completely useless either. All the photos I took with my phone were very soft, even in broad daylight.
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I don’t expect a $200 phone to be able to take photos that I can print and display on my wall, but this one doesn’t quite live up to the hype that Motorola is trying to sell. The flower photo above is the best photo I’ve taken with my phone. Most of the others didn’t even come close.
Additionally, the 2MP macro camera Overall It’s useless. I wish a company like Motorola would get rid of these stupid gimmicks and put the extra savings into a better main camera.
Similarly, the selfie camera is very weak and provides soft images day and night. I thought it was because the low resolution of 720P made the image look soft, but when I looked at it closely on the monitor, I found that to be true. That’s fine, but don’t expect too much from the camera on this phone.
Moto G 5G 2024: Competition
I choose this phone over Samsung’s similarly priced model for two main reasons: display and performance. AMOLED “looks” better, but it flickers and gives me a headache.
Samsung’s choice of a lower-performance processor means that while day-to-day use is pretty miserable on the Galaxy A15, the Moto G 5G 2024’s Snapdragon 4 Gen 1 is a much more usable option. That aside, Motorola’s phones are well made, even if they don’t get many software updates.
If you can wait to buy a phone, the OnePlus Nord N30 is often on sale for $229, making it a good value $30 more than the Moto G 5G 2024. many Faster processors, better cameras, faster charging. I don’t like the glossy plastic back, but at least the screen is PWM free and easy to see.
Moto G 5G 2024: Should you buy it?
People like this should buy this…
- I need a good cell phone for $200.
- You like Motorola’s gestures and MyUX features.
- I’m tired of cell phones with nasty slippery plastic backs.
- Requires a PWM-free display.
People like this shouldn’t buy…
- Excellent camera quality is required.
- Do you like graphics-intensive mobile games?
- You need a waterproof cell phone.
Building a quality phone for $200 is difficult because companies need to balance components that don’t cost that much and still provide a “good enough” experience that feels worth the purchase. is. In most cases, the Moto G 5G 2024 will meet your requirements, but there are some drawbacks to be aware of.
Performance requires some patience, but it’s nowhere near the dismal levels we’ve seen in budget Moto smartphones in 2022. Unfortunately, faster performance meant Motorola had to make concessions on camera quality. It’s not terrible, but (ironically) it’s not as good as we’ve seen in the 2022 Moto.
But thankfully, as long as you turn off that stupid RAM boost feature, it’s fine for daily use. Equipped with NFC means you can use it for mobile payments and other important modern features. And with a 3.5mm headset jack, all-day battery life, and 18W fast charging, you won’t have to worry about the little things you might find on other phones. Please be stingy. All in all, if you’re on the upper end of your budget for a new phone, $200 is a solid buy.
Premium look, affordable price
Motorola has redesigned its affordable lineup with a vegan leather back for a touch of luxury without adding price. Plus, it comes with important features like NFC, fast charging, and Motorola’s handy gestures, making it a great phone for everyday use at this price.
