Motorola might not attract the frenzied hype of Apple and Samsung devices, but its smartphones are usually great alternatives, especially if money is a bit tight. The numbers don’t lie, either: in terms of UK sales, Motorola is currently sitting in fourth place, and there’s no doubt that these market gains will continue in 2022.
Catering to lighter wallets doesn’t mean that Motorola phones are lacking in quality, either. The ever-popular G-series models often have features that were previously unheard of for the price, while the mid-range Edge series of handsets offer extra quality for a little extra money, too. There’s even a rugged Moto for accident-prone buyers.
With so much to choose from, we’ve saved you time and listed our favourite Motorola models below, considering all-important factors from cost to battery life. After a read of our rundown, you’ll know which Motorola phone is best-suited for your needs and budget in 2022.
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The best Motorola smartphones to buy
1. Motorola Moto G50: The best value G series Motorola smartphone
Price: £170 | Buy now from Argos
Sitting comfortably between the pricier Moto G100 and the ultra-budget G30, the mid-range G50 is the undisputed king of value in the G-series family.
With a battery that lasted almost 26 hours in our looped video test – the seventh-best phone we’ve ever tested – a decent suite of cameras and 5G support, the Moto G50 has a lot of things to get excited about for less than £200.
Performance-wise, it’s a huge improvement on the G30 and G10, despite the small increase in price. There’s even a microSD card slot to top up the 64GB of internal storage, should you run out of room.
The slight negatives are the low-resolution screen for the size, and an awkwardly placed fingerprint reader. Still, for a 5G-ready smartphone, there aren’t many handsets – if any at all – that offer equally high performance and battery life at this price.
Read our full Motorola Moto G50 review for more details
Key specs – Processor: Octa-core 2GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 480; Display: 6.5in 1,600 x 720; Storage: 64GB; Camera: 48MP, 5MP (macro), 2MP (depth); Operating system: Android 11; Weight: 192g
2. Motorola E7i Power: The best budget Motorola smartphone
Price: £85 | Buy now from Argos
Motorola or otherwise, the Moto E7i Power is one of the best smartphones you can get for less than £100. With a large 6.1in 720p screen, fast USB-C charging and decent performance, the E7i Power’s battery life might not be as good as the Moto G10, but it still clocked in at above the 15-hour mark during our tests, which is great.
The only real downside is the lack of 5G (which is almost always the case with sub-£100 phones anyway) and a basic camera. Still, if you’re tightening the purse strings on your smartphone spending, the Motorola E7i Power really has no competition.
Read our full Motorola E7i Power review for more details
Key specs – Processor: Octa-core 1.6GHz Unisoc SC9863A; Display: 6.1in 1,600 x 720; Storage: 32GB; Camera: 13MP, 2MP (macro); Operating system: Android 10; Weight: 200g
3. Motorola Defy (2021): The most durable Moto
Price: £200 | Buy now from Argos
The Motorola Defy isn’t like other smartphones. As rugged and hard-wearing as it gets, the Moto Defy is built to withstand military standards of pressure from extreme temperatures and repeated drops (tested from heights of 1.8m onto a steel surface). Despite all this, it somehow retains a smartphone-style appearance, even it is a bit on the thick side.
In terms of performance, our tests showed it to have similar speeds to the G30 – not the greatest, but not out of the ordinary either – while retaining a massive battery life of over 20 hours on a single charge.
If you’re after a high-performance phone, the G50 is a better bet for the price, but if you live an outdoorsy life or you’re just a bit clumsy, then the Motorola Defy is a great fit for your day-to-day needs.
Read our full Motorola Defy (2021) review for more details
Key specs – Processor: Octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 662; Display: 6.5in 1,600 x 720; Storage: 64GB; Camera: 48MP, 2MP (macro), 2MP (depth); Operating system: Android 10; Weight: 232g
4. Motorola Moto G100: The best G-series Motorola
Price: £350 | Buy now from Very
As you steadily go through from G10, G30 to G50, the quality uptick is noticeable, and the same can be said of the most powerful (and expensive) G of them all: the Motorola Moto G100.
In terms of looks, it really stands apart, coming in either Sky (white) or Ocean (blue). The back of the phone gently curves inwards towards the 6.7in FHD+ display on the front, and there are six cameras – two on the front, four on the back – with the main 64MP lens capturing great quality photos.
Performance is where the Moto G100 pulls ahead, though, with its Snapdragon 870 processor producing better results than the similarly priced Pixel 4a 5G and Galaxy A52 5G. It’s also 5G-ready, and while battery life is a tad disappointing, it’s still comfortably the best G-series handset to date.
Read our full Motorola Moto G100 review for more details
Key specs – Processor: Octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 870; Display: 6.7in 2,520 x 1,080; Storage: 128GB; Camera: 64MP, 16MP (wide), 2MP (depth), Time-of-Flight (ToF) sensor; Operating system: Android 11; Weight: 207g
5. Motorola Moto G30: The best budget G series
Price: £140 | Buy now from Argos
The Moto G30 is another top pick if value is at the top of your buying agenda. Costing just a little bit more than the G10, you get a lot more processing grunt, as well as improvements with the main and selfie cameras. It also benefits from a 90Hz screen and double the base storage (128GB vs 64GB).
Another bonus is that the Moto G30’s battery life reached 22hrs during our tests and the display is nice and large, too, measuring 6.5in across the diagonal. For less than £150, this is yet another dependable and affordable alternative.
Read our full Motorola Moto G30 review for more details
Key specs – Processor: Octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 626; Display: 6.5in 1,600 x 720; Storage: 128GB; Camera: 64MP, 8MP (ultra-wide), 2MP (depth), 2MP (macro); Operating system: Android 11; Weight: 197g
This article originally appeared on https://www.expertreviews.co.uk/mobile-phones/1415292/best-motorola-phone
