The Moto G 2025 is a budget smartphone that embraces its limitations while delivering just enough to make it a compelling selection for the correct emptor . At this price , sacrifice are always inevitable , but the grownup question is whether those sacrifices align with your priorities . I ’ve used the newfangled Moto G ( 2025 ) to receive out if it ’s worth buying , or if you should spend a piffling more to get a telephone set that ’s a set better .
Moto G 2025: specs
Moto G 2025: design
At first glance , the Moto G 2025 does n’t shout out “ budget earphone ” and that ’s a huge selling power point . It ’s tall , strikingly slender , and light all the while miss any sort of insincerity inside the body . A distinct feature is the Forest Gray vegan leather backing that adds a contact of sophistication while also providing a better - than - normal grip . That backing add together an refined feel to the uniquely aristocratic sloping of the signature camera bump .
The pliant mid - frame of reference has a two - tone face with metallic blusher wrap up half of the soma while the shinier plastic surround meet up with the methamphetamine showing on the front . Even though it ’s not make with agio materials , the design so convincingly mimicker exchange premium progress quality that I almost mistook the chassis for aluminum , enhancing the overall impression of a more expensive gadget .
The sturdy world power button double as a fingerprint scanner and works reliably , though its placement on the side head me to accidentally unlock the machine often while treat the phone . In contrast , the bulk rocking chair above it feel mawkish and lack the power button ’s refined feedback , a subtle departure that prompt me of the gadget ’s budget nature . On the left side , you ’ll find a single card slot for SIM and microSD cards , while the bottom houses a USB - C larboard and a 3.5 mm phone jack . There are two stereophonic speaker featuring Dolby Atmos reenforcement , and I must admit to being impressed by the loudness , clarity , and spatial profoundness while diddle YouTube videos and music in the room .
Jason Howell / Digital Trends
Moto G 2025: display
The Moto G 2025 sports a 6.7 - column inch LCD HD+ display with a resolution of 1604×720 ( 263ppi ) and while this resolution might seem modest by today ’s standards , the screenland looks acute enough for everyday role . The 120Hz refresh rate , a feature once reserved for more premium devices , goes a long means in helping this display look its dependable in day-after-day usance , however occasional performance issue likely impute to the underpowered SoC and minimal RAM seemed to shatter the smoothness at prison term . As for uniformness , the bezels are a bit mismatched and offset but that did n’t bother me as much as I count that to be an acceptable tradeoff for gimmick of this caliber .
protect by Corning Gorilla Glass 3 , the video display should hold up well against start but is by no means shatterproof if dropped . At 1000 nits peak brightness , the Moto G 2025 was brilliant enough for most of the showery days where I live but was sometimes a challenge in bright sunlight .
Moto G 2025: performance
Under the hood , the Moto gram 2025 features MediaTek ’s Dimensity 6300 chipset from nearly one class ago , built on a 6 nm operation , and couple with just 4 GB of RAM . While this processor is respectable for low - to - mid - range gadget , the limited RAM resulted in inconsistency in performance .
Everyday labor like unlocking the phone or set up apps sometimes feel sluggish , while transitions from the ignition lock cover to the home filmdom and app shift often felt stuttery and highly strung . It was n’t a constant botheration but cropped up enough times to know it was n’t a fluke . astonishingly , gambling performance was decent in my time playing PUBG at its high-pitched resolution setting . Still , these moments of liquid operation felt discrepant with the unpredictable carrying out in daily economic consumption .
Comparing the Moto G 2025 to the likewise pricedSamsung Galaxy A35and the slightly more expensiveNothing CMF Phone 1 , some of the equipment ’s performance shortcomings hail into horizon a mountain clearer . unluckily , the twist wo n’t start the top 3DMark test we often like to include .
Jason Howell / Digital Trends
As a workaround , the speech sound include Motorola ’s RAM Boost feature , which can apportion an extra 8 Gi of intimate storage as practical RAM to better multitasking . It ’s set by default to dynamically determine how much random-access memory to give at sure mental process , but I encounter that setting this to its maximal 8 GB scene helped ameliorate public presentation middling . I would n’t say that the RAM Boost lineament solves all of the Moto G 2025 ’s performance hiccups , but it did make a detectable improvement .
Moto G 2025: camera
The Moto G 2025 come equip with a 50MP main sensor ( f/1.8 aperture ) , that bins down to 12.5MP images by default option , and quality is mixed . On one hand , snapping pictures in bright , sunny environments can bring out some solid output , especially for a phone of this gauge . On the other script , dynamical reach is severely lack and can sometimes result in dark , schmalzy darkness that reveal very little consistency in detail .
The secondary tv camera is a dissatisfactory 2MP macro lens of the eye that feel like it was supply more for the spec sheet than for timbre images . I could sometimes get what looked like a decent close - up if only I had more megapixels to function with .
On the front , there ’s a 16MP selfie camera that do admirably for its class . Portrait pellet are decent with only minor edge - detection issues around hair or other fine inside information .
Jason Howell / Digital Trends
Aside from mental image timber , my bigger complaint is with public presentation issue that extend to the photographic camera app itself . Shutter lag is common , with pic sometimes snatch up one to two seconds after tapping the clitoris result in blurred motion from tight - motivate field . Night Vision modality exacerbates this wait further and requires steady hands to avoid fuzzy consequence , though I was able to get some usable images by being very patient and still . consistence issues plagued my experience with the camera system .
Moto G 2025: software
The Moto G 2025 ship with Android 15 and keeps modifications minimal compare to stock Android — a plus for purist like myself . Hello UI stick pretty close to vanilla , with some modifications that have become staple fiber to the Moto experience . It ’s been a while since I had the luck to relish Motorola ’s visceral and direct Chop activity to activate the flashlight . concealed functionality like tap and hold three fingers on the screen to take a screenshot made me find like a reliable Moto insider . However , there ’s some pre - installed bloatware that can thankfully be removed as needed .
Hello UI offers a loose suite of UI personalization tools including Themes , Fonts , and Icon Shapes . Motorola ’s default font option has a tight kerning that makes the text difficult to scan in some areas of the experience , including the app drawer . I ’m certain my aging eyes are at least partly to pick for that , but thankfully , having the ability to tweak these setting gave me instant relief .
Motorola promises two year of software update and three age of surety patch , which is an melioration over last year ’s model . rival like Samsung ’s Galaxy A15 offer four years of OS updates and five long time of protection speckle by comparison . Though Motorola is moving in the proper guidance , buyers should still expect to have to supercede the phone three years down the line to detain safe .
Jason Howell / Digital Trends
Moto G 2025: battery and charging
Battery anxiety is one thing that I never felt with the Moto G 2025 . Its declamatory 5000mAh shelling easily endure through a full day of heavy exercise or even two days with restrained usage . This is , of path , little surprisal as it ’s mate with an effective processor and small-scale display closure . Charging speed are also respectable at 30W pumped up charging — slenderly faster than some flagship devices like my trusty Google’sPixel 9 Pro — and Motorola include the charger in the boxful for my reassessment unit , though only certain carriers will offer that special accessory .
I found that 30 minutes of mission bring the telephone up from empty to about 50 % of the battery . With one hour and 15 minutes , I could go from all in to full which is telling for a low-down - tier twist like this one . The Moto G 2025 is an first-class choice for anyone who hat worrying about shelling life history .
Moto G 2025: pricing and availability
The Moto G is currently available for $ 199.99 on the Motorola internet site . Motorola also turn the Moto G Power 2025 , a gradation up from this variant that include 15W wireless charging , IP68 and IP69 piddle resistance , and a slightly larger show .
Moto G 2025: my verdict
Ultimately , the Moto GB 2025 delivers what you ’d expect from a $ 200 smartphone . It is n’t endeavor to compete with flagship twist or even mid - range options . It ’s plan for those who demand an affordable equipment without gimcrack or mellow expectations . For those who value design and barrage fire life above all else , this could be an splendid selection at an unvanquishable monetary value .
But if suave performance or great tv camera are non - assignable for you , it might be deserving spend more on something a bit higher up the chain . The nothingNothing CMF Phone 1($239 ) boast an improved Mediatek Dimensity 7300 mainframe , 8 GB of RAM , an AMOLED display , and a 50 - megapixel camera . instead , theGoogle Pixel 7a(under $ 300 ) offers Google ’s Tensor G2 chip shot , an exceptional television camera system , and guaranteed software update until 2028 , despite being almost two years previous .
As long as you are aware of its limitations and how they align with your priorities going in , the Moto GB 2025 should serve its purpose .
Jason Howell / Digital Trends
Jason Howell / Digital Trends
Jason Howell / Digital Trends
Jason Howell / Digital Trends
Jason Howell / Digital Trends
Jason Howell / Digital Trends
Jason Howell / Digital Trends
