Technologies

Moto G 5G (2023) Hands-On: Are the Trade-Offs Worth the Lower $250 Price?

The Moto G gets reinvented with a cheaper price, and it shows.

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The $250 Moto G 5G marks a big reimagining of the phone since last year’s more-expensive $400 model. This year’s Moto G 5G scales back on storage and cameras to help hit its lower price but steps up the refresh rate on its 6.5-inch display to a smooth 120Hz. All that, while keeping the 5,000mAh battery and its roughly two-day battery life, should make the phone a decent value for its price.

The Moto G 5G has 4GB of memory, runs on a Snapdragon 480 Plus 5G chip and comes with 128GB of storage. This is a decent amount of storage space for this price and can be expanded up to 1TB with a microSD card. The phone’s stereo speakers and headphone jack are also quite nice for when I watch videos or listen to music. It ships with Android 13, and like other Moto G phones, will get only one major software update to Android 14 along with three years of security updates

I spent a few days with the Moto G 5G so far, and, while it looks and feels like it’s fallen down a few rungs of the price tier, the phone might meet enough essential needs to satisfy most people. However, by no means does it punch above its weight. The Moto G 5G has 4GB of memory, runs on a Snapdragon 480 Plus 5G chip and comes with 128GB of storage. This is a decent amount of storage space for the price and can be expanded up to 1TB with a microSD card. The phone’s stereo speakers and headphone jack are also quite nice for when I watch videos or listen to music. It ships with Android 13, and like other Moto G phones, will get only one major software update to Android 14 along with three years of security updates.

The back of the Moto G 5G. — The Moto G 5G has a main 48-megapixel camera and a 2-megapixel macro camera.

Mike Sorrentino/CNET

However, when testing other features, I can’t help but compare this phone to the slightly more expensive $300 Moto G Power 5G — which includes quite a bit more for that extra $50. For instance, the Moto G 5G’s 6.5-inch display runs at a 720p resolution. Even though that screen animates smoothly with its 120Hz refresh rate, I find that the lower-resolution makes photos and videos look rather plain. The Power 5G runs at a 1,080p resolution at the same refresh rate, and in my review of that phone the display was a particular highlight.

Performance also seems to take a noticeable hit during my early tests, which could be attributable to the phone having 4GB of memory compared with the 6GB available on the Power 5G. Often when I test phones, during casual use I play games while taking calls or texting. I find that when a call comes through while I’m playing a game, in this instance Marvel Snap, that the game needs to reload itself after I answer the call. Lighter multitasking, however, has been fine, for instance reading news articles while I’m listening to music has not led to any noticeable issues.

The Moto G 5G also moves down from three cameras on last year’s model to two, with this year’s phone including a 48-megapixel main camera and a 2-megapixel macro camera. This is an area that cheaper phones often struggle, and my early photos taken by the Moto G 5G don’t change that opinion. Like other cheaper phones, photos taken in outdoor environments or indoor locations with good lighting come out OK, but without much detail.

The Public Theater taken on the Moto G 5G. — Outdoor photo taken on the Moto G 5G of the Public Theater.

Mike Sorrentino/CNET

Twister Air demo station — Indoor photo taken on the Moto G 5G at a Twister Air demo event.

Mike Sorrentino/CNET

The 8-megapixel front-facing camera is similarly serviceable, but photos look a little plain.

Photo of Mike Sorrentino taken on the Moto G 5G. — Front-facing camera photo taken on the Moto G 5G.

Mike Sorrentino/CNET

I’ll reserve judgment after I have taken the Moto G 5G through more photo scenes, but my early indoor photos are comparable to the Moto G Power 5G — which is to say that they are fairly blurry and lack detail. Photos are usable but more for quick group chats and social posts.

Cocktail photo in kitchen — A cocktail photo taken at a friend’s house on the Moto G 5G.

Mike Sorrentino/CNET

The Moto G 5G’s 5,000mAh battery, however, easily lasted two days during my early tests, matching the performance that I saw on the Moto G Power 5G and the $200 Moto G Stylus. As we continue to test phones in the $300 price range, it has been comforting to see the 5,000mAh battery become a standard feature in 2023. However, I hope Motorola finds a way to speed up charging, as the Moto G 5G’s 15-watt max speed takes about 90 minutes to charge from 4% to 88%. It’s not awful, but is slow when compared with the 33-watt charging included on comparable phones like the OnePlus N300 and OnePlus N20.

Motorola has been releasing several phones over the last few weeks, with the Moto G 5G arriving alongside the $800 Motorola Edge Plus. The Moto G 5G appears to be offering a middle ground between the 4G-only Moto G Stylus and the Moto G Power. The main question as I continue testing is whether this phone’s trade-offs are worth the lower price, or if someone searching for a deal should consider paying slightly less for the Stylus or more for the Power.

Technologies

Today’s Wordle Hints, Answer and Help for July 5, #1477

Here are hints and the answer for today’s Wordle for July 5, No. 1,477.

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

Today’s Wordle puzzle is a pretty tough one. I grew up on a farm, so I know the word, but I didn’t put it together right away, even though the letters are common ones. If you need a new starter word, check out our list of which letters show up the most in English words. If you need hints and the answer, read on.

Today’s Wordle hints

Before we show you today’s Wordle answer, we’ll give you some hints. If you don’t want a spoiler, look away now.

Wordle hint No. 1: Repeats

Today’s Wordle answer has no repeated letters.

Wordle hint No. 2: Vowels

There is are two vowels in today’s Wordle answer.

Wordle hint No. 3: First letter

Today’s Wordle answer begins with the letter B.

Wordle hint No. 4: Down on the farm

Today’s Wordle answer describes a piece of farm equipment.

Wordle hint No. 5: Meaning

Today’s Wordle answer refers to a machine for making paper, hay, or cotton into bales.

TODAY’S WORDLE ANSWER

Today’s Wordle answer is BALER.

Yesterday’s Wordle answer

Yesterday’s Wordle answer, July 4, No. 1476 was CURVE.

Recent Wordle answers

June 30, No. 1472: BLINK

July 1, No. 1473: MOLDY

July 2, No. 1474: INCUR

July 3, No. 1475: POPPY

Technologies

Today’s NYT Strands Hints, Answers and Help for July 5, #489

Here are hints and answers for the NYT Strands puzzle for July 5, No. 489.

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

The theme of today’s NYT Strands puzzle isn’t terribly tough, but at least one of the words is unusual and really, really long to unscramble. If you need hints and answers, read on.

I go into depth about the rules for Strands in this story.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections and Mini Crossword answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: NYT Connections Turns 1: These Are the 5 Toughest Puzzles So Far

Hint for today’s Strands puzzle

Today’s Strands theme is: Every second counts.

If that doesn’t help you, here’s a clue: Does anybody really know what time it is?

Clue words to unlock in-game hints

Your goal is to find hidden words that fit the puzzle’s theme. If you’re stuck, find any words you can. Every time you find three words of four letters or more, Strands will reveal one of the theme words. These are the words I used to get those hints but any words of four or more letters that you find will work:

DIAL, SOLE, MOLE, MOLES, SHAKE, CHEEP, ROLE, HOME, LOCK, MEAT, TAME, TAMES, ROLES, ROON, TRON

Answers for today’s Strands puzzle

These are the answers that tie into the theme. The goal of the puzzle is to find them all, including the spangram, a theme word that reaches from one side of the puzzle to the other. When you have all of them (I originally thought there were always eight but learned that the number can vary), every letter on the board will be used. Here are the nonspangram answers:

CLOCK, WATCH, SUNDIAL, HOURGLASS, CHRONOMETER

Today’s Strands spangram

Today’s Strands spangram is TIMEKEEPERS. To find it, look for the T that’s four letters down on the far left, and wind across.

Technologies

Microsoft Is Eliminating Passwords in August: Here’s What You Need to Do to Prepare

Microsoft Authenticator has already stopped autofilling passwords, but the biggest change comes next month.

In June, Microsoft Authenticator stopped letting users create new passwords. In July, it turned off the autofill password function. And in August, the login app will stop supporting passwords entirely, moving to more secure passkeys, such as a PIN, fingerprint or facial recognition.

Attila Tomaschek, CNET’s software senior writer and digital security expert, says that passkeys are a safer alternative to the risky password habits practiced by 49% of US adults, according to a recent survey by CNET.

«Passwords can be cracked, whereas passkeys need both the public and the locally stored private key to authenticate users, which can help mitigate risks like falling victim to phishing and brute-force or credential-stuffing attacks,» Tomaschek said.

Using the same password for several accounts or adding personal hints can be a convenient way to remember your login. But that puts you at a big risk for scammers, identity theft and fraud. Here’s more on Microsoft’s plan for eliminating passwords and how to make the switch to passkeys before August.

When will Microsoft Authenticator stop supporting passwords?

Microsoft Authenticator houses your passwords and lets you sign into all your Microsoft accounts using a PIN, facial recognition like Windows Hello, or other biometric data like a fingerprint. Authenticator can be used in other ways, such as verifying you’re logging in if you forgot your password, or using two-factor authentication as an extra layer of security for your accounts. In June, the company stopped letting users add passwords to Authenticator, but here’s a timeline of other changes you can expect from Microsoft.

July 2025: You won’t be able to use the autofill password function.
August 2025: You’ll no longer be able to use saved passwords.

If you still want to use passwords instead of passkeys, you can store them in Microsoft Edge. However, CNET experts recommend adopting passkeys during this transition. «Passkeys use public key cryptography to authenticate users, rather than relying on users themselves creating their own (often weak or reused) passwords to access their online accounts,» Tomaschek said.

Why are passkeys a better alternative to passwords?

So what exactly is a passkey? It’s a credential created by the Fast Identity Online Alliance that uses biometric data or a PIN to verify your identity and access your account. Think about using your fingerprint or Face ID to log into your account. That’s generally safer than using a password that is easy to guess or susceptible to a phishing attack.

Passkeys aren’t stored on servers like passwords. Instead, they’re stored only on your personal device. More conveniently, this takes the guesswork out of remembering your passwords and the need for a password manager.

How to set up a passkey in Microsoft Authenticator

Microsoft said in a May 1 blog post that it will automatically detect the best passkey to set up and make that your default sign-in option. «If you have a password and ‘one-time code’ set up on your account, we’ll prompt you to sign in with your one-time code instead of your password. After you’re signed in, you’ll be prompted to enroll a passkey. Then the next time you sign in, you’ll be prompted to sign in with your passkey,» according to the blog post.

To set up a new passkey, open your Authenticator app on your phone. Tap on your account and select «Set up a passkey.» You’ll be prompted to log in with your existing credentials. After you’re logged in, you can set up the passkey.