Is this Budget Android Smartphone Now a Villain?

In November 2013, Motorola introduced the first Moto G, a smartphone that completely changed the way we think about budget Android devices.

Before the Moto G, the Android market for affordable devices was disappointing. Low-quality screens, weak processors, and chaotic software made owning a phone under $200 a painful experience.

However, the Moto G surprised everyone. While a 4.5-inch 720p display might seem ordinary today, back in 2013, it was superior to anything else in its price range.

Powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 processor and 1GB of RAM, the Moto G delivered surprisingly good performance. It also received software updates from Android 4.3 Jelly Bean to Android 5.1 Lollipop.

The best part? It wasn’t a fluke. Motorola continued to release successful Moto G models, making it a reliable choice for users.

The Moto G in 2024?

The problem started with Motorola’s change in its Moto G business strategy.

Initially, they released one Moto G model per year, which was enough. But now we have Moto G Play (2024), Moto G Stylus 5G (2023), Moto G (2023), Moto G Stylus (2023), Moto G Power 5G (2023), Moto G Play (2023), Moto G Power 5G (2024), and Moto G 5G (2024).

Can you spot any differences between these models? Probably not.

As a writer specializing in smartphones, I can’t even tell you the main difference between the Moto G Play (2024) and Moto G 5G (2024) without carefully checking the specifications and user manuals.

This strategy undeniably affected the overall quality of the Moto G today.

In 2023, Digital Trends rated the Moto G Power 5G (2023) and Moto G 5G (2023) with 6/10 and 3/10 respectively. This year, they gave similarly negative ratings to the Moto G Power 5G (2024) and Moto G 5G (2024) with 5/10 and 4/10.

All these smartphones have low-quality screens, underpowered processors, and subpar software.

Why did this happen? I believe it’s because Motorola used to treat the Moto G as a special product. They put a lot of effort into the first models, and the results spoke for themselves.

However, when they released 13 Moto G models in one year, particularly in 2023, it wasn’t surprising that attention to detail suffered.

But that’s not the only concern I have about the future of the Moto G. Motorola’s software is another rising issue. While it’s clean and updated, the updates often stop at one major Android version.

Furthermore, these smartphones are filled with “bloatware,” which serves as an excuse for intrusive advertisements.

I still vividly remember the excitement of using the first Moto G and thinking it would forever change the budget smartphone landscape. Sadly, it’s now just a disappointment.

It’s frustrating because I know Motorola is capable of doing better. In 2023, they competed with Samsung and Google with the Motorola Edge Plus and Razr Plus, creating the most exciting products in the market. But when Motorola doesn’t focus, we are left with cheap and bland smartphones.

[Vài năm 2012, gã khổng lồ Google đã gây bất ngờ cho giới công nghệ khi mua Motorola với giá 12,5 tỷ USD.
Thế nhưng khi hợp đồng này còn chưa thực hiện xong, mọi người lại thêm một phen bất ngờ nữa khi Motorola được đẩy sang cho một tập đoàn Trung Quốc là Lenovo với mức giá chỉ 2,91 tỷ USD.] Business Today

In 2012, Google surprised the tech world by acquiring Motorola for a staggering $12.5 billion. However, before this deal was completed, another surprise occurred when Motorola was sold to Lenovo, a Chinese conglomerate, for just $2.91 billion.