Which Motorola Phone Should You Buy?

Motorola phones often play third (or fourth) fiddle to Samsung and Google, but the winds are changing. Motorola is among the fastest-growing mobile companies in the world, and the company claims its Razr folding smartphones are number one in the flip category in North America. It has also been experimenting with colorful Android phones and fun textures, making its devices stand out from the sea of boring glass handsets.

If you’re an interested buyer, picking the best Motorola phone can be tough because the company launches several models each year. I’ve tested almost all of them, and in this guide, I break down the pros and cons and steer you toward my favorite Moto models—from the Razr Ultra to the Moto G Power 2026.

Check out ourother mobile buying guides for more, including the Best Android Phones, Best Samsung Phones, Best Cheap Phones, Best Pixel Phones, and Best Phones With a Headphone Jack.

Updated January 2026: We've added the Moto G Power 2026 and mentioned the upcoming Razr Fold and Moto G Stylus 2026.

What’s WIRED About Motorola Phones?

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Photograph: Julian Chokkattu

Motorola phones have a simple Android interface. This means the company hasn’t done much to gunk up the software. It’s simple and easy to use. There’s increasingly a lot of bloatware, but you can easily uninstall almost all of it.

They come with lots of storage. The company stuffs 256 GB as standard into most of its smartphones, even some of the cheap models. Most Android flagship devices still come with just 128 GB. Motorola is also one of the only phone brands to still include a microSD card slot to expand storage on many of its devices, and the Moto G phones retain the headphone jack.

There’s broad carrier support. While some Android phone brands have inconsistent carrier support in the US, like Nothing, Motorola phones often work on most networks, if not all (the company lists carrier support details in the Specs section of all its phones). They all work on the big three—T-Mobile, AT&T, and Verizon. Make sure you buy them unlocked.

The prices dip quite often. Never buy a Motorola phone at its MSRP. They almost always go on sale a few months (or weeks) after launch, sometimes at steep discounts.

What’s TIRED About Motorola Phones?

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Motorola’s software updates are lackluster. The company is slowly improving here—it promises to deliver three Android OS updates and four years of bimonthly security updates to its high-end smartphones but still lags behind its peers. Most of the Moto G phones only receive one OS Android update—though this is changing with newer devices getting two upgrades—along with three years of security updates. Fewer updates mean you miss out on new Android features quickly. Even if a phone is promised updates, they take a long time to arrive.

The cameras are lackluster. Among the things putting Motorola behind the likes of Samsung, Apple, and Google are the cameras. Moto phones can take fine photos, but they’re eclipsed by their peers. Motorola made some improvements with its high-end phones but it's still behind.

There’s no always-on display. Most Android phones have a setting you can toggle on if you want an always-on display that will show a clock on your screen even when the screen is “off.” Motorola has Peek Display, which requires you to move the phone or tap the screen to see anything. It’s not a big deal, but it's a feature you might miss if you’re coming from another phone. Newer Razr devices finally broke the mold with always-on displays, but it's still not present in the company's other products.

When's the RIght Time to Buy?

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If you're looking for a budget Moto G smartphone, the company releases them at the beginning of the year in January (often announcing them in December the year prior). However, that's not necessarily the best time to buy those phones, as Moto G devices are often deeply discounted during major sale events. Wait for the next big sale event and check for slashed prices.

As for its Razr folding phones, expect a spring launch, around April or May. In 2026, we can also expect a new type of folding phone: The book-style Razr Fold. That device is expected to launch this summer, likely timed to the start of the FIFA World Cup.

The Razr Ultra is the best reason to get a Motorola phone over the likes of Samsung, Apple, and Google. It's a statement piece, not just because it's a compact folding flip phone, but because Motorola offers it in several snazzy and stylish designs. There's the Mountain Trail, which employs sustainably sourced wood; Scarab, the first use of Alcantara on a smartphone; Rio Red, a leather-inspired finish; and Cabaret, which feels like satin. You'll be hard-pressed to find a phone that looks this fashionable these days.

The spacious 4-inch OLED screen has more customization options than ever, with the ability to add more widgets for glanceable information, so you don't need to constantly open the phone. Once you do, you're treated to a large 7-inch AMOLED display that's sharp, bright, and smooth thanks to the 165-Hz refresh rate. Motorola has enhanced the Razr Ultra's durability with a new Gorilla Glass Ceramic mixture for the screens, which makes it tougher to crack. The titanium-reinforced hinge design is also reportedly stronger. It now has an IP48 rating, offering some proper dust protection.

Motorola has packed flagship features throughout (which explains the high price), from 512 GB of internal storage to the Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset powering it all. Performance is not a problem at all, with apps and games operating smoothly. This Razr Ultra also has the biggest battery ever in a Razr at 4,700 mAh, and it reliably lasted me a full day with average use. That said, power users who rack up screen time may find themselves reaching for the charger before bedtime. At least it supports fast charging speeds, wired and wirelessly.

The cameras are a nice improvement—you can get pretty great photos from the 50-megapixel primary camera and the 50-megapixel ultrawide. You need to stay still in low light, especially since Motorola confusingly hides the Night mode function in the “More” tab of the camera app. (It doesn't automatically kick in in low light.) The best part is that you can use the superior primary cameras—typically on the “back” of the phone, but are now at the front—to snap selfies and see previews on this external screen. They’re some of the sharpest selfies you’ll snap.

Video capture is also much better on the Ultra than on any other Motorola phone. Once you enable Dolby Vision (and you do have to tap it manually), you can get well-exposed footage that's not too grainy or shaky. The camera results, whether in photo or video, still don't quite match the competition at this price, but this is still Motorola's best camera system to date.

The software experience is great, except for all the artificial intelligence features Motorola is marketing. Copilot! Perplexity! Gemini! Moto AI! There's a boatload of options, even a dedicated AI button, though I haven't found Moto AI too helpful. The best perk is Pay Attention, which makes the phone start recording with real-time transcriptions—handy for interviews, but that's a common feature on most phones, and Motorola's implementation is inferior. It's also a shame that Motorola's software update policy is still not as good as the competition.

As always, I recommend waiting for a big sale event, as Motorola phones are frequently discounted. The Razr Ultra is the most expensive Razr to date, but you can regularly catch it on sale for around $900. It barely takes up any room in your pocket or purse, looks more fashionable than any other smartphone, and you'll feel super satisfied ending a phone call with a flip.

You don't need to spend $1,300 to get a good folding flip phone. The Razr 2025 wins the “Most Improved” award because performance is finally not as choppy as on prior models. Mind you, it'll still stutter here and there, but that's not a defining aspect of this phone anymore. My experience with it wasn't massively different from the Razr Ultra—battery life is roughly the same, lasting a full day with average use, and the screens are nice and bright, even if they're slightly smaller.

Cameras are its weak point compared to the Ultra. You can get some nice photos, but they'll struggle more in high-contrast scenes, look grainy in low light, and feel a bit more processed. Skin tones and colors are also not as accurate as with the pricier sibling, and video capture is noticeably worse. Still, considering the $700 price for a folding smartphone (often on sale for $600), it's an incredible value, while still managing to look gorgeous.

Motorola recently announced a new FIFA World Cup Edition for this Razr model; if the green 2026 design catches your eye, it'll go on sale February 12.

Photograph: Julian Chokkattu

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Motorola

Moto G Stylus 2025

$400 $372 (7% off)

Amazon

$400 $350 (13% off)

Motorola

Editor's note: Motorola has announced many of its 2026 Moto G models already, from the Moto G Power 2026 to the Moto G Play 2026. This means the Moto G Stylus 2026 should arrive any day now, so it's worth waiting.

The Moto G Stylus 2025 is the best Moto G phone, which might be a given considering it's the priciest model in the family. Still, for $400 (typically on sale under $300), it's one of the best smartphone values on the market. As the name suggests, it comes with a built-in stylus—the only other phone with that feature is Samsung’s $1,300 Galaxy S25 Ultra.

This is a slim and beautifully blue phone. My mom said it looked nice. Even a stranger stopped me to ask what phone I was using! The Surf the Web blue really pops with the vegan leather back, though you can get it in a more muted Gibraltar Sea color. You'll notice a headphone jack on the bottom, a rarity in today's smartphone climate, and pop open the SIM tray to find a spot to add a microSD card, another rapidly disappearing feature. Motorola also includes 256 GB of storage, a nice bump compared to pricier smartphones that offer only 128 GB.

You get a 120-Hz AMOLED 6.7-inch screen that's plenty bright in sunny conditions, and satisfactory, stutter-free performance with the Snapdragon 6 Gen 3 chipset. It might not feel the speediest, but this is the smoothest-performing Moto G; I've rarely seen choppy animations in the interface. Speaking of, there's a good deal of bloatware apps in the Android 15 operating system (which has now been upgraded to Android 16), but they're easy to uninstall.

Photograph: Julian Chokkattu

Photograph: Julian Chokkattu

The 5,000-mAh battery in tow has frequently lasted a full day for me with roughly 35 percent left by bedtime, with average to high use. It's not quite a two-day phone. You can top it back up fairly quickly with Motorola's 68-watt TurboPower charging system, but I've largely juiced it with my Qi wireless charger with no problems.

I've been impressed with the 50-megapixel main camera. It takes crisp photos in good lighting, and in low-light settings, Motorola's Night mode does a nice job of preserving details and shadows. The catch is you need to be very still—any movement and you'll end up with a blurry shot. (I have a few of those in my camera roll.) I think most people will be happy with the results.

The problem? There is a significantly better phone for just a little more: the Google Pixel 9a. Google will support that device for seven years, and it also comes with flagship-grade performance, better cameras, and more smart software features. The Moto G Stylus will only get two Android OS upgrades and three years of security updates. This is precisely why you should buy it on sale.

I have good news and bad news. First, the good: Motorola's latest Moto G Power 2026 is a pretty solid smartphone. Unlike last year's model, performance isn't super stuttery. It's a little odd because Motorola didn't actually change the processor inside the Power—it still employs the MediaTek Dimensity 6300 with 8 GB of RAM. I'm chalking it up to performance optimizations and the latest Android 16 version.

That leads us to the bad news: There's not much difference between this phone and its predecessor; Motorola even removed wireless charging, which irks me, and the phone's fun, bold colors are no longer available. It may not hit the highs of the 2024 Moto G Power, but at least it's not a stuttery mess. What has been upgraded, then? The selfie camera now has a 32-megapixel sensor, and the battery capacity is slightly higher at 5,200 mAh. Battery life is truly excellent, as I managed to squeeze two full days of use out of this phone, though that's with average use.

I like the fake leather texture on the back, which gives this phone some character. The 6.8-inch LCD is sharp and bright, and you get a reliable fingerprint scanner, a 3.5-mm headphone jack, and a microSD card slot. It's still IP68/69 rated, meaning it will be fine in heavy rain and even submerged in water for some time. Motorola also promises two Android OS upgrades and three years of security updates.

Photograph: Julian Chokkattu

Photograph: Julian Chokkattu

The camera system consists of a 50-megapixel main camera, an 8-MP ultrawide, and a 32-MP selfie camera. Photos from the primary shooter have washed-out colors and look processed, almost as if someone dialed up the “detail" slider to make the photo appear sharper. It can struggle with high-contrast scenes, and you generally have to be very still during capture to avoid a blurry photo. If you're patient, you can end up with decent images, but cameras are not the Moto G Power's strong suit. Even the upgraded selfie camera is just fine.

There's not a ton of competition at this price, especially considering that the Moto G Power 2026 will dip to $250 or even $200 over the next few months during major sale events. If you can grab it on sale, it's a decent Android phone, but I recommend saving up and waiting for the Moto G Stylus 2026.

I suggest you stick to the phones above, but here are other alternatives if you're unsatisfied.

Motorola Edge 2025 for $500: Motorola is one of the few companies still making smartphones with waterfall displays, where the edges of the screen blend into the phone's frame for a cool, almost bezel-less effect. Popular just a few years ago, the trend fell out of fashion because it was just harder to use the phone (bezels can be good!). I haven't had as many issues with the touchscreen on this model, and while I think the overall aesthetic is nice with the vegan leather back, the Edge doesn't impress as much as the stiff competition with its $550 MSRP. Performance is a little too choppy (I noticed a lot of lag in the camera app). The main camera is solid, but the lackluster software update policy makes it hard to recommend. It's a much better deal when it dips during major sale events.

Motorola Razr+ (2025) for $800: The Razr+ (2025) is identical to the Razr+ (2024), except it employs Motorola's titanium-reinforced hinge for improved durability. The specs are otherwise the same, but it sits in an odd middle-ground where it doesn't offer a massive improvement over the Razr 2025, but doesn't sit too far from the Razr Ultra. You might find the lack of an ultrawide camera annoying, especially for group selfies, and the battery here is the smallest of the current lineup. You can always save some cash and buy 2024's Razr+ (7/10, WIRED Recommends), which has good performance and solid cameras, but I highly recommend waiting for a sale. This phone has dipped as low as $580, which is fantastic for a folding phone.

Photograph: Julian Chokkattu

Moto G 5G 2026 for $200: The Moto G 2026 is nearly identical to the Moto G Play 2026 below, except it has double the storage (expandable via microSD), supports slightly faster wired charging, and the front and rear cameras pack more megapixels. It's a $20 difference, so if you're eyeing either one, you really should go for the Moto G 5G 2026. Performance is similarly sluggish, though perfectly usable day to day (if you're patient). Even with more megapixels, don't expect much from the cameras; they can take passable photos in good lighting, but struggle a lot in low light. I was able to hit nearly two days of battery life with average use, and I like that this phone still has the headphone jack. However, keep in mind that it will only receive two Android OS updates and three years of security updates. I think you're better off buying the Moto G Power 2026 on sale.

Moto G Play 2026

Photograph: Julian Chokkattu

Moto G Play 5G 2026 for $180: Motorola's cheapest phone always sits in an awkward spot. Yes, for under $200, this is a serviceable handset that now features 5G connectivity. You get two-day battery life, a headphone jack, expandable storage, and a pretty nice design. But the MediaTek Dimensity 6300 chip with 4 GB of RAM is very sluggish—get ready to wait a second or two, sometimes more, for an app to launch or a webpage to load. Photo quality is passable; most of my images have lackluster colors. I took several calls, and the people on the other end generally complained about my audio quality, which isn't great. It's nice that this ultra-budget phone will get two Android OS updates, but I'd wait for the Moto G Power 2026 to eventually dip to $200 during major sale events.

Motorola Moto G 2025

Photograph: Julian Chokkattu

Motorola phones diminish in value fairly quickly. You should avoid buying Moto G phones from 2024 or earlier. They likely won’t get any more Android version updates, and the prices aren’t drastically different from the latest models. I also don't recommend buying the Moto G 2025 or Moto G Power 2025 anymore since their successors are here. Last year's Motorola Edge 2025 or the aforementioned Razr+ (2025) are the oldest I'd go, so don't consider anything else.

Photograph: Julian Chokkattu

Motorola’s top competition comes from Google, Nothing, and Samsung. If you asked me what phone to buy, I’d point you to the Google Pixel 9a ($499). It has most of the features folks want in a smartphone, including wireless charging. Nothing also has new devices, the Phone (3a) and the Phone (3a) Pro. They're attractive, elegant, and affordable handsets, though carrier compatibility is not as straightforward.

But the best bang for your buck? That'd be hunting for used flagship phones from the prior year. Make sure you check sites like Swappa, Back Market, and Gazelle. Read our Best Cheap Phones and Best Android Phone guides for more options.

Photograph: Julian Chokkattu

Moto AI/Qira: Originally called Moto AI, Motorola will soon be rolling out a next-gen version called Qira. This is a cross-device artificial intelligence assistant that will also be available on Lenovo laptops (Lenovo owns Motorola) and bundles many of the existing capabilities into one platform. Right now, Moto AI is Motorola's version of Apple Intelligence. There are several core artificial intelligence features, like Remember This, which lets you ask Moto AI to remember something (even a screenshot), and allows you to ask about it later on. Pay Attention is another that enables audio recording, real-time transcribing, and a summary after the meeting is over. Catch Me Up summarizes your notifications when you come back to your phone after some time. We'll have to see how things change once Qira enters the picture.

Moto Gestures: One of the first proper smartphones I bought was the Moto X, and that’s when (then Google-owned) Motorola debuted Moto Actions, which let you use physical gestures to trigger some features on the phone. They are still very much a part of a Motorola phone’s identity, even if they’re now called Moto Gestures. You can head to the Moto app on the phone to find all of them or go to Settings > Gestures. The ones I use most often are the double-chop gesture to trigger the flashlight and the double-twist action to launch the camera.

Smart Connect: Formerly known as Ready For, this isn't available on some cheaper Motorola phones. It lets you wirelessly connect the phone to a nearby display, where you can see mobile apps, use your phone as a webcam, and share files. If your Moto is supported, you can find it by heading to Settings > Connected devices > Smart Connect. If you’re connecting it to a PC, you’ll need to download the desktop client (Windows only) or the Smart Connect app if you’re connecting an Android tablet. If you’re using a TV, it needs Miracast support to connect wirelessly, but you can use a USB-C or HDMI cable as well. Meta recently announced that Smart Connect will also be available for virtual reality headsets in the Meta Store, so you don't have to take a Meta Quest VR headset off just to look at your phone's notifications.

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