Technologies

Moto G 5G (2023) Review: A Tough Buy, Even for $250

Motorola’s newest affordable phone provides plenty for $250, but you may want to consider cheaper options.

The $250 Moto G 5G is not a bad phone. It’s just that you might get more value looking around.

I kept returning to that feeling throughout my weeks reviewing the phone, despite the dramatically reduced price this year’s model hits compared with last year’s $400 Moto G 5G. For instance, I like the phone’s 6.5-inch 120Hz display. But the screen isn’t dramatically better than the 90Hz displays I see in $200 phones like the Moto G Stylus or the Samsung Galaxy A14 5G.

The 5G connectivity is noticeably fast compared with 4G-only phones like the Stylus, but the Moto G 5G’s slower Snapdragon 480 Plus processor coupled with 4GB of RAM aren’t quite enough to power resource-heavy multitasking that truly take advantage of 5G speeds.

Even though the Moto G 5G’s cameras are similar those on other Moto G phones, photos are hit or miss. Images come out nice in bright outdoor areas but struggle with getting detail in low-light environments. I took the phone on a sunny Central Park picnic and got a lot of vibrant photos that I’m super happy with. But the opposite was true when I took the phone to a Kim Petras performance thrown by Motorola, where my photos on the crowded indoor dance floor came out blurry, noisy and lacked a lot of detail. It’s typical for this price range, and is a similar issue across all of the Moto G phones that I’ve tested this year.

When I compare the Moto G 5G against phones that are just $50 more, I realize how much I’m sacrificing. If you can swing it, $300 phones offer a lot of perks that are worth the upcharge. The $300 Moto G Power 5G for instance doubles your available storage space to 256GB, which is the cheapest phone I’m currently aware of offering that much internal space. The $300 OnePlus Nord N30 5G can quickly recharge its battery from nothing to 100% in 45 minutes with its included charger. By comparison the Moto G 5G takes well over 90 minutes to do the same thing.

And whenever the Pixel 6A is on sale for $299 — its power, performance, photography and longer software support outshine all of these $300 and under phones.

The Moto G 5G tries to hit a strange middle ground between $200 phones and $300 phones, but I think it’s more likely you’ll spend slightly less money or slightly more money on a different phone. Again, that’s not to say the Moto G 5G doesn’t offer a lot for $250. It’s just that you can get a very similar phone and save $50, or get a substantially better phone by spending $50 more.

Moto G 5G design, specs, performance

The Moto G 5G is one of the cheapest phones I’ve seen that has a 120Hz refresh rate display. I found the phone animates very smoothly when reading websites, scrolling apps and playing games, and that’s quite appreciated even with the display’s lower 720p resolution. But like I mentioned earlier, due to that lower resolution I don’t feel like the screen looks that much better than the 90Hz 720p displays I see in phones that cost less. It also left me missing the more detailed 120Hz 1,080p displays I see on the $300 Moto G Power 5G and the OnePlus Nord N30 5G.

The phone’s otherwise basic design comes in two color options: Harbor Gray or Ink Blue. The display includes a hole punch for its 8-megapixel selfie camera. The back of the phone highlights its two cameras, a 48-megapixel main camera and a 2-megapixel macro camera. It’s a simple matte plastic design, which does pick up smudges.

Along the sides of the phone are a power button that doubles as a fingerprint sensor, a headphone jack, a SIM card tray and a microSD card slot. It continues to be notable that the headphone jack and microSD card remain standard features in this price range, as they are otherwise rare finds on more expensive phones.

The phone’s performance is adequate. I didn’t experience problems with most tasks such as making phone calls, reading articles, listening to music or playing games. However, more demanding apps might overwhelm the phone’s processor and 4GB of RAM, which I consistently experienced when I tried to play Marvel Snap while toggling between other tasks. The game reloaded whenever I switched apps, which was an issue because I usually like to play it while multitasking since Snap is a card game.

Those who just need a phone for making calls, sending texts, listening to music and reading news articles will likely be satisfied with the Moto G 5G. The phone’s 128GB of space should be plenty of room for storing apps, photos and media — but the option to expand with a microSD card means you can add more if you need to.

The issue with the Moto G 5G, however, is that its middling performance makes me question whether I get that much more value out of this it compared with the cheaper Moto G Stylus. In my Geekbench testing the Moto G 5G’s processor does run faster than the Stylus. Yet in real-world use, I felt like performance between the two phones was about the same — slightly sluggish but gets me through most tasks.

Geekbench 6 Benchmarks

Moto G 5G (2023) 740 1,790Moto G Stylus (2023) 448 1,471OnePlus Nord N30 5G 893 2,037Moto G Power 5G 878 2,206

Single-core
Multi-core

Note: Higher scores are better.

For some people, a faster data connection is worth the extra money. 5G networks are starting to hit a point of maturity where many devices benefit from faster video streaming and downloading while on the go. However, 4G LTE is still quite capable and ubiquitous. Unless you plan on tackling cloud gaming or have a lot of large files to regularly upload from your phone, there’s hardly anything yet that truly requires a 5G connection.

Another miss for me is that the Moto G 5G, like all Moto G phones, will receive only one software update and three years of security updates.

Moto G 5G photography

The Moto G 5G’s photos are colorful with plenty of detail when taken in daylight. While on that aforementioned Central Park picnic, both regular pictures and portrait mode photos came out vibrant with a pronounced bokeh effect on the latter. However, the mix of bright highlights, like clouds and shadows under the trees show just how limited the Moto G 5G’s dynamic range is.

Mike Sorrentino in Central Park with beer, taken on Moto G 5G.

I took the photo below with the 8-megapixel front-facing camera. This was inside of a well-lit elevator, but the photos has more details than I would have expected.

Below are closeups of pets and food, which look OK.

Chicken gyro wrap, taken on the Moto G 5G.

And here are the pictures that I took at that Motorola event with Kim Petras and Cirque Du Soleil. The Moto G 5G struggled to document the action so poorly that I switched to my personal phone to share photos with friends.

Kim Petras on stage at Motorola's event.

But these camera pluses and minuses aren’t isolated to the Moto G 5G. I had the roughly the same camera challenges across the Moto G Stylus, Moto G 5G and the Moto G Power 5G. Since you’re not getting better camera quality by paying more for the Moto G 5G, Motorola’s cheaper option could be the better choice as long as you don’t mind sacrificing 5G.

In my comparison photos below of the grass wall in CNET’s office, all three phones were similarly able to differentiate between the different shades of green featured in the decoration.

Grass wall photo taken on the Moto G 5G.

Grass wall photo take on the Moto G Power 5G.

While I’m still in the process of testing the $200 Samsung Galaxy A14 5G, I took a comparison photo of the same grass wall, finding the image quality to be a little more saturated by comparison.

Grass wall taken on the Samsung Galaxy A14 5G.

Moto G 5G bottom line

The $250 Moto G 5G does include a lot of value for its price. You get a 120Hz display at one of the cheapest prices I’ve seen so far, along with 5G compatibility. Its processor can stand up to most tasks, even if it struggles with some multitasking. And if your carrier ends up subsidizing the phone to a price that’s free or close to free, it’s a very appealing option for someone that just wants a basic 5G phone.

But if you aren’t getting a carrier subsidy, I recommend you either consider Motorola’s cheaper Stylus or phones that are $50 more expensive. The 4G-only $200 Moto G Stylus includes much of the same functionality as the Moto G 5G along with a built-in stylus, but it comes with 64GB of storage, a noticeable step down.

There’s a lot to gain from stretching your budget beyond the Moto G 5G’s $250 price, if you can. For example, the $300 Moto G Power 5G offers twice the storage, while the $300 OnePlus Nord N30 provides exceptionally fast charging.

The Moto G 5G does include many essential features that I want to see in a cheaper phone, but it just feels lost compared with other options in this price range. In some ways it’s so similar to $200 phone options, that it doesn’t stand out enough to justify the extra money. Yet it also doesn’t stand out enough at $250 when phones that cost just a little bit more are including tangible features that can increase how useful your phone can be.

Moto G 5G vs. Moto G Stylus vs. Moto G Power 5G vs. OnePlus Nord N30 5G vs. Google Pixel 6A

	Moto G 5G (2023)	Moto G Stylus (2023)	Moto G Power 5G (2023)	OnePlus Nord N30 5G	Google Pixel 6A
Display size, resolution	6.5-inch HD Plus LCD display (720p resolution); 120Hz refresh rate	6.5-inch IPS LCD; 1,600×720; 90Hz refresh rate	6.5-inch LCD display; 2,400×1,080 pixels; 120Hz refresh rate	6.72-inch FHD (1080p resolution); 120Hz refresh rate	6.1-inch OLED; (1,080 x 2,400); 60Hz
Pixel density	269 ppi	269 ppi	405 ppi	391 ppi	429 ppi
Dimensions (inches)	6.45 x 2.95 x 0.33 in.	6.41 x 2.91 x 0.36 in.	6.41 x 2.94 x 0.33 in.	6.51 x 2.99 x 0.32 in.	6.0 x 2.8 x 0.35 in.
Dimensions (millimeters)	163.94 x 74.98 x 8.39mm	162.9 x 74.1 x 9.2mm	163 x 75 x 8.45mm	165.5 x 76 x 8.3mm	152.2 x 7.18 x 8.9mm
Weight (ounces, grams)	189g (6.66 oz.)	195 g	185 g (6.52 oz.)	195g (6.97 oz.)	6.3 oz.; 178g
Mobile software	Android 13	Android 13	Android 13	Android 13	Android 12
Camera	48-megapixel main, 2-megapixel macro	50-megapixel (main), 2-megapixel (macro)	50-megapixel (main), 2-megapixel (macro), 2-megapixel (depth sensor)	108-megapixel main, 2-megapixel macro, 2-megapixel depth sensing	12.2-megapixel (wide), 12-megapixel ultra wide)
Front-facing camera	8-megapixel	8-megapixel	16-megapixel	16-megapixel	8-megapixel
Video capture	720p at 30 fps	1080p at 30 fps	720p at 60 fps	1080p at 30 fps	4K
Processor	Snapdragon 480 Plus	MediaTek Helio G85	MediaTek Dimensity 930	Qualcomm Snapdragon 695	Google Tensor
RAM/Storage	4GB + 128GB	4GB + 64GB; 4GB + 128GB	4GB RAM + 128GB; 6GB RAM + 256GB	8GB + 128GB	6GB RAM/128GB storage
Expandable storage	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	None
Battery/Charger	5,000 mAh (15W charging)	5,000 mAh (15W charging)	5,000 mAh (15W wired charging speed, 10W adapter included)	5,000 mAh (50W wired charging)	4,410 mAh capacity; 18-watt fast charging (adapter sold separately)
Fingerprint sensor	Side	Side	Side	Side	Under display
Connector	USB-C	USB-C	USB-C	USB-C	USB-C
Headphone jack	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	None
Special features	5G enabled, dual stereo speakers, Moto Gestures	Stylus, Moto Gestures	Estimated 38-hour battery life, Moto Gestures, stereo speakers	50W SuperVooc fast charging, 108-megapixel main camera, game mode, dual stereo speakers	5G-enabled, 18W fast charging, WiFi 6E, security updates for 5 years, Android OS updates for 3 years, dual SIM, IP67 water resistance
Price off-contract (USD)	$250	$200	$300	$300	$349 ($299 when on sale)
Price (GBP)	N/A, Converts to £195	Converts to £158	Converts to £240	Converts to £238	£349
Price (AUD)	N/A, Converts to £380	Converts to AU$295	Converts to AU$445	Converts to AU$443	AU$599

How we test phones

Every phone tested by CNET’s reviews team was actually used in the real world. We test a phone’s features, play games and take photos. We examine the display to see if it’s bright, sharp and vibrant. We analyze the design and build to see how it is to hold and whether it has an IP-rating for water resistance. We push the processor’s performance to the extremes using both standardized benchmark tools like GeekBench and 3DMark, along with our own anecdotal observations navigating the interface, recording high-resolution videos and playing graphically intense games at high refresh rates.

All the cameras are tested in a variety of conditions from bright sunlight to dark indoor scenes. We try out special features like night mode and portrait mode and compare our findings against similarly priced competing phones. We also check out the battery life by using it daily as well as running a series of battery drain tests.

We take into account additional features like support for 5G, satellite connectivity, fingerprint and face sensors, stylus support, fast charging speeds, foldable displays among others that can be useful. And we balance all of this against the price to give you the verdict on whether that phone, whatever price it is, actually represents good value.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Friday, Sept. 19

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for Sept. 19.

Looking for the most recent Mini Crossword answer? Click here for today’s Mini Crossword hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Wordle, Strands, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

I didn’t get off to a great start with today’s Mini Crossword, completely blanking on 1-Across. Thankfully, the other clues were easy, and that answer filled itself in. Need some help? Read on. And if you could use some hints and guidance for daily solving, check out our Mini Crossword tips.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: Tips and Tricks for Solving The New York Times Mini Crossword

Let’s get to those Mini Crossword clues and answers.

Mini across clues and answers

1A clue: Cancel on plans at the last moment
Answer: FLAKE

6A clue: Shade of light purple
Answer: LILAC

7A clue: ___ acid (protein builder)
Answer: AMINO

8A clue: Sarcastic «Yeah, sure»
Answer: IBET

9A clue: Sardonic boss on «Parks and Recreation»
Answer: RON

Mini down clues and answers

1D clue: Stylish panache
Answer: FLAIR

2D clue: Party game that tests how low you can go
Answer: LIMBO

3D clue: Visitor from outer space
Answer: ALIEN

4D clue: Philosopher who posed the question «What can I know?»
Answer: KANT

5D clue: Environmentally friendly prefix
Answer: ECO

Technologies

Your Old Android Isn’t Dead. These Tweaks Can Bring It Back to Life

Clear space, optimize your battery and update the basics. These quick changes can make an old Android phone feel snappier.

You don’t need the latest Android flagship to get good performance.

Thanks to longer software support from brands like Google and Samsung, older models can still run smoothly, as long as you give them a little attention. Clearing out unused apps, updating your software and tweaking a few settings can breathe new life into a device that feels sluggish. These quick fixes can help your phone last longer and save you from spending on an early upgrade.

Before you start shopping for a replacement, try a few simple adjustments. You might be surprised by how much faster your phone feels once you free up space, optimize battery use and turn off background drains.

Whether you use a Samsung Galaxy, Motorola or OnePlus phone, chances are you can still improve battery life and overall speed without buying something new. Just remember that Android settings vary slightly from brand to brand, so the menus may look a little different depending on your phone.

Don’t miss any of CNET’s unbiased tech content and lab-based reviews. Add us as a preferred Google source on Chrome.

Settings to improve your battery life

Living with a phone that has poor battery life can be infuriating, but there are some steps you can take to maximize each charge right from the very beginning:

1. Turn off auto screen brightness or adaptive brightness and set the brightness level slider to under 50%

The brighter your screen, the more battery power it uses.

To get to the setting, pull down the shortcut menu from the top of the screen and adjust the slider, if it’s there. Some phones may have a toggle for auto brightness in the shortcut panel; otherwise, you need to open the settings app and search for «brightness» to find the setting and turn it off.

2. Use Adaptive Battery and Battery Optimization

These features focus on learning how you use your phone, including which apps you use and when, and then optimizing the apps and the amount of battery they use.

Some Android phones have a dedicated Battery section in the Settings app, while other phones (looking at you, Samsung) bury these settings. It’s a little different for each phone. I recommend opening your settings and searching for «battery» to find the right screen. Your phone may also have an adaptive charging setting that can monitor how quickly your phone battery charges overnight to preserve its health.

Why you should use dark mode more often

Another way to improve battery life while also helping save your eyes is to use Android’s dedicated dark mode. Any Android phone running Android 10 or newer will have a dedicated dark mode option.

According to Google, dark mode not only reduces the strain that smartphone displays cause on our eyes but also improves battery life because it takes less power to display dark backgrounds on OLED displays (used in most flagship phones) than a white background.

Depending on which version of Android your phone is running, and what company made your phone, you may have to dig around the settings app to find a dark mode. If your phone runs Android 10 or newer, you’ll be able to turn on system-wide dark mode. If it runs Android 9, don’t despair. Plenty of apps have their own dark mode option in the settings that you can use, whether or not you have Android 10.

To turn it on dark mode, open the Settings app and search for Dark Mode, Dark Theme or even Night Mode (as Samsung likes to call it). I suggest using dark mode all the time, but if you’re not sure, you can always set dark mode to automatically turn on based on a schedule, say from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. every day, or allow it to automatically switch based on your location at sunset and sunrise.

Keep your home screen free of clutter

Planning to hit up the Google Play Store for a bunch of new Android apps? Be prepared for a lot of icon clutter on your home screen, which is where shortcuts land every time you install something.

If you don’t want that, there’s a simple way out of this: Long-press on an empty area of your home screen and tap Settings. Find the option labeled something along the lines of Add icon to Home Screen or Add new apps to Home Screen and turn it off.

Presto! No more icons on the home screen when you install new apps. You can still add shortcuts by dragging an app’s icon out of the app drawer, but they won’t appear on your home screen unless you want them to.

Read more: Best Android Phones You Can Buy in 2024

Set up Do Not Disturb so that you can better focus

If your phone routinely spends the night on your nightstand, you probably don’t want it beeping or buzzing every time there’s a call, message or Facebook alert — especially when you’re trying to sleep. Android offers a Do Not Disturb mode that will keep the phone more or less silent during designated hours. On some phones, this is referred to as the Downtime setting or even Quiet Time.

Head to Settings > Sounds (or Notifications), then look for Do Not Disturb or a similar name. If you can’t find it, search for it using the built-in search feature in your settings.

Using the feature, you can set up a range of hours when you want to turn off the digital noise. Don’t worry, any notifications you get while Do Not Disturb is turned on will still be waiting for you when you wake up. Also, you can typically make an exception that allows repeat callers and favorite contacts’ calls to go through. Turn that on. If someone is calling you in an emergency, odds are they are going to keep trying.

Always be prepared in case you lose your phone or it’s stolen

Is there anything worse than a lost or stolen phone? Only the knowledge that you could have tracked it down if you had turned on Google’s Find My Device feature.

To prepare for a successful recovery, here’s what you need to do: Open the Settings app and then search for Find My Device. It’s usually in the Security section of the Settings app.

If you have a Samsung device, you can use Samsung’s Find My Mobile service, which is found in Settings > Biometrics and security > Find My Mobile.

Once that’s enabled, you can head to android.com/find from any PC or mobile device and sign in to your account. Samsung users can visit findmymobile.samsung.com to find a lost phone.

If you have trouble setting any of this up, be sure to read our complete guide to finding a lost Android phone.

Assuming your phone is on and online, you should be able to see its location on a map. From there, you can make it ring, lock it, set a lock screen note to tell whoever has it how to get it back to you, or, worst-case scenario, remotely wipe the whole thing.

And always keep your phone up to date

As obvious as it may seem, a simple software update could fix bugs and other issues slowing down your Android device.

Before you download and install the latest software update, make sure your device is connected to Wi-Fi, or else this won’t work.

Now, open the Settings application and type in Update. You’ll then either see Software update or System update — choose either one. Then just download the software, wait for a few minutes and install it when it’s ready. Your Android device will reboot and install the latest software update available.

There’s a lot more to learn about a new phone. Here are the best ways to boost your cell signal, and here’s a flagship phone head-to-head comparison. Plus, check out CNET’s list of the best cases for your Samsung phone. More of an Apple fan? We have tips for boosting your iPhone’s performance, too.

Technologies

Your Pixel 10 Might Have Issues With Older Wireless Chargers

You might want to try taking the case off your phone in order to successfully charge it.

When Google introduced the Pixel 10 lineup in August, it became one of the first major Android phones to receive the Qi 2 wireless charging standard, which Google calls Pixelsnap. However, users noticed issues with wireless charging on the Pixel 10 almost immediately after its release.

Some people are having trouble charging their phone with the new Pixelsnap charger, and others are having issues with older wireless chargers, including Google’s own Pixel Stands. The bulk of the problems happen when a case is on the phone — whether it has the magnet array or not.

I own both the first and second generation Pixel Stands and both will charge my Pixel 10 Pro XL without an issue if there’s no case on it. However, when I add a case to my phone, the problems begin.

I have three cases for my phone, the Mous Super Thin Clear Case, the Magnetic Slim Case Fit by Grecazo, and a no-name soft TPU case. If my phone has any of those cases on and I attempt to charge it while it’s vertical, it starts to charge and then stops after a second or two, and keeps doing that.

I can fix this for the first-generation Pixel Stand by turning the phone horizontal, but it will still charge very slowly. I can’t seem to fix it at all for the Pixel Stand 2 — vertical, horizontal, it doesn’t charge.

Not everyone has this issue

The problem doesn’t seem to be universal. CNET editor Patrick Holland said he had no issues charging the Pixel 10 Pro during his time with it.

A Google spokesperson told me the Pixel 10 lineup is not optimized for older Qi wireless charging standards, but that doesn’t necessarily mean the phones won’t work with older wireless chargers.

Qi 2 is backwards-compatible with older standards, but the phone’s height and charging coil placement on both the phone and the charger are still factors. If you’re having problems, you might see if removing the case helps.

The prospect of potentially needing to replace your older wireless chargers with newer ones isn’t ideal, especially if you shelled out $80 for one or both of Google’s own Pixel Stands. Still, if you want the best wireless charging speed for your brand new Pixel 10 phone, it won’t be with wireless chargers that only support older Qi standards.