The best Motorola phones in 2024: which one should you buy?

We’re a long way from when Motorola ruled the mobile world, and these days, the company finds itself being eclipsed by smartphones from Samsung, Apple, and Google. But that doesn’t mean you can discount the industry veteran entirely. Far from being beaten, Motorola has continued to put out great phone after great phone, and fans who long for devices with the iconic “M” logo can still find phones worth their time and money.

Motorola has been particularly active in the foldable and budget ranges, but it’s also created some great flagships recently — specifically ones you may not have heard too much about. Let’s end that ignorance now; here are the best Motorola smartphones you can buy in 2024, with options for every budget.

Motorola Edge Plus (2023)

The best Motorola phone overall

Why you should buy this: It proves Motorola can make flagship phones just as good as Samsung’s and Google’s.

Who is it for?: Someone who wants the best Motorola phone.

Why we picked the Motorola Edge Plus:

Motorola’s flagships aren’t considered by enough people. The Motorola Edge Plus (2023) is a fabulous smartphone that’s more than capable of taking on Samsung’s and Google’s very best.

The highlights here are undoubtedly the display, design, and battery life. The display is a 6.7-inch pOLED panel with a 2400 x 1080 resolution and a variable refresh rate that goes up to 165Hz. That’s beyond what’s offered by most other flagship phones and matched only by high-end gaming phones, like the Asus ROG Phone 8 Pro. It’s smooth and responsive unlike anything else, but it doesn’t just offer speed — it’s also gorgeous. The design is softly curved and sits nicely in the hand, and because the screen curves around the edges, it looks like it has no bezel at all. Put succinctly, it’s beautiful.

It’s also capable of going two days on a single charge. The 5,100mAh battery is a beast. Screen time of almost four hours left the phone at 52%, with enough juice to make it through to the next evening, making this one of the best phones around for battery life. The Edge Plus also doesn’t hang around when it’s time to recharge, as the 68W fast charging makes short work of recharging the battery to full.

We have yet to mention performance, but that’s not because it’s not good. It’s powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chip, and it’s fast. It’s obviously not as fast as the newer Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, but you’re unlikely to notice the difference, as the Gen 2 devours even the most demanding 3D games. The camera is good, but nothing too exciting. It won’t challenge the best camera phones, but it won’t let you down. The Android interface is also pretty clean, with only a few preinstalled apps that can be removed easily.

The downsides? There’s no always-on display, and the speakers are a bit rubbish — but outside of that, the Motorola Edge Plus is a triumph. With prices starting at $800 for 512GB of storage, this is easily a phone that can challenge flagships from other brands, and if you’re a Motorola fan, there’s no finer flagship in your eyes.

Motorola Edge Plus (2023)

The best Motorola phone overall

Motorola Edge (2023)

The Motorola phone runner-up

**Why you should buy this:** It’s a cheaper version of the Edge Plus, with a lot of the same strengths.

Who is it for?: Anyone who wants a strong Motorola phone at a lower price.

Why we picked the Motorola Edge (2023):

The Motorola Edge is the companion phone to the Edge Plus, and it offers a lot of what makes the $800 phone great but does so at a lower price. As such, it’s our pick for the best runner-up Motorola phone.

It’s a little more complex than that, though, as the Edge exists in a strange little world. While it has a lot of the same strengths as the Edge Plus, it’s not quite as good, and it apes a lot of the same weaknesses, too.

We’ll start with the strengths. Like the Edge Plus, the regular Edge has a strong battery, with the 4,400mAh cell lasting for around a day and a half on a single charge. It has the same 68W charging rate, so it won’t stay on the charger for long. The Edge has soft curves with the same bezel-free design, and the addition of a vegan leather back is a nice touch. The 6.6-inch pOLED display is gorgeous, too, with a 144Hz variable refresh rate and a 2400 x 1080 resolution.

Performance is where it starts to fall down a little bit. The MediaTek Dimensity 7030 is a strong chip and performs well, but there were some hitches, like pauses when pulling down the notification shade. It’s not clear whether it’s the software or processor at fault, but these sorts of issues also crop up in the camera, with shutter presses taking a moment to register and the app itself being slow to start. The camera lenses also aren’t great, and while they’re serviceable, there’s nothing special about the stills you’ll take with this phone. Finally, the update policy isn’t up to standard, as it’ll only get one more Android update now, and the fingerprint scanner isn’t very reliable.

That reads as a veritable laundry list of complaints, but don’t make the mistake of thinking the Edge is a bad phone. It’s a flawed phone, yes — but what it’s good at, it’s very good at. If you can forgive the shortcomings and embrace its strengths, especially if you can grab it at a heavy discount, the Motorola Edge (2023) is a great phone.

Motorola Edge (2023)

The Motorola phone runner-up

Motorola Razr Plus

The best Motorola folding phone

Why you should buy this: Folding phones are the future, and Motorola created a great one.

Who is it for?: Anyone who wants a great folding phone from Motorola.

Why we picked the Motorola Razr Plus:

Motorola made the most popular and arguably the most famous flip phone of all time in the Moto Razr V3, so it’s fitting that the company would come with a smartphone successor in the Moto Razr range. The Razr Plus isn’t the best smartphone you can buy, but it’s gorgeous, very capable, and an awful lot of fun.

As mentioned, this is a stunning phone. All flip phones are a special kind of pretty, but Motorola dialed it up to 11 with the Razr Plus. The Viva Magenta color is a particular highlight, with a vegan leather back and a strong, bright red hue. The other colorways don’t have the vegan leather back, using frosted glass instead, but they’re still gorgeous.

But we know what you want to hear about: the flip. It’s great. The hinge isn’t as stiff as Samsung’s Z Flip phones, and as a result, the Razr Plus won’t sit at as many angles as the Galaxy phone will, but it’ll still sit open in Flex View, and you can comfortably flip it open and closed with a single hand. That’s very important for those of us who remember the satisfying feel of closing a Razr V3, and it’s great Motorola managed to bring that across.

There are two screens here, and they’re both excellent. The inner display is a 6.9-inch pOLED panel with a 2640 x 1080 resolution and a max refresh rate of 165Hz. The crease is there, but it’s very well hidden and not as visible as the crease on its contemporaries, like the Galaxy Z Flip 4. The outer display is where the real magic happens, though. It’s a 3.6-inch pOLED with a 1056 x 1056 resolution and a 144Hz refresh rate. Specific apps are optimized for the smaller screen, but you also have the option to run any app on the cover screen. That point can’t be over stated, because it’s amazing. Sure, you won’t want to use every app on here, but scanning your Starbucks card, checking messages, or changing a podcast? More than possible, and ideal too.

There’s a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 under the hood, which is far from the latest processor now, but it’s still more than powerful enough for most people’s needs. It gets hot, though, especially when playing more demanding games. The battery is good. It manages a day and change, which is acceptable if nothing special. The software is clean and Pixel-like, which is to say, great.

On the flip side (see what we did there?), you have a camera that’s so-so. It’s not bad, but it’s definitely not up to the standard of alternative options. It won’t let you down a lot, but there are a lot of better choices in this price range. Also, charging only goes up to 30W, which is a bit of a disappointment. Still, there are plenty of 2024 flagships still running charging speeds around here, like the iPhone 15 Pro, so we can’t hold it against the Razr Plus that much.

We’ve squeezed a lot into this section, and that’s because there’s a lot to discuss when the Razr Plus comes up. But in short, this is a very good smartphone with a gorgeous design, a pair of displays, and some software tricks that Samsung is only really just catching up to. It’s definitely the choice if you want a folding Motorola smartphone.

Motorola Razr Plus

The best Motorola folding phone

Motorola Razr (2023)

The best cheap Motorola folding phone

Why you should buy this: It’s a great flip phone at a very reasonable price.

Who is it for?: Someone who wants a flip phone but at a lower price.

Why we picked the Motorola Razr (2023):

The Razr Plus is the choice for a folding Motorola phone, but it’s not the only choice. The standard Razr may be missing some of the bells and whistles that make the Razr Plus so good, but it’s still a great flip phone — and a solid choice if you want a flip phone at a lower price.

Like the Plus, the Razr is a gorgeous phone with a solid-feeling hinge and vegan leather material on the back. The first sacrifice can be seen here though, and it’s the cover screen. It’s a much smaller display than that on the Razr Plus, measuring just 1.5 inches and being relegated mainly to just swiping through notifications and a few select widgets. It’s nowhere near the same level of usefulness as the cover screen on the Plus, and that’s a real shame. The inner display is beautiful, though, being 6.9 inches in size with a maximum refresh rate of 144Hz.

The cameras are good, though not a match for any of Samsung’s flagships, and the cover screen can be used as a viewfinder, so you can use the main camera system for selfies. Performance is solid, even though the phone uses a midrange Snapdragon 7 Gen 1. It’s prone to getting hot when it’s pushed and when playing games, but that’s a problem the Plus version also shares, so we can’t blame this specific processor for that.

The 4,200mAh battery is a good performer, and it’ll definitely last the day, even when pushed relatively hard with three or four hours of screen time. It’s possible for this to last two days, but only with relatively light use. Don’t expect it to last two days as a matter of course, but it should easily last a day on one charge. The recharging rate is capped at 30W, which isn’t great, but it’s okay.

The Motorola Razr (2023) debuted at a cost of $700, which was a pretty good deal already. These days, it’s common to find it well discounted, so you can grab it for an even better price, with $500 not being uncommon. It’s an absolute steal for a phone this good, let alone one that’s a flip phone.

Motorola Razr (2023)

The best cheap Motorola folding phone

Moto G Stylus 5G (2023)

The best value Motorola phone

Why you should buy this: Stylus phones are a dying breed, but the Moto G Stylus is a shining example.

Who is it for?: Anyone who wants a great value phone or a stylus phone at a good price.

Why we picked the Moto G Stylus 5G (2023):

It’s always nice when a phone surprises you, and the Moto G Stylus certainly did that. Released last year, the G Stylus offers a large screen, solid performance, and a gorgeous display — as well as a stylus — for just $400. Is there a better bargain to be had in smartphones? There might be better phones in this price bracket, sure, but what isn’t arguable is how excellent the Moto G Stylus is.

We’ll start with the performance. A stylus phone needs snappy response times, and the G Stylus’s Qualcomm Snapdragon 6 Gen 1 chip certainly manages that. That combines with the display’s 120Hz refresh rate, making daily use feel smooth and quick. It’s an LCD, but don’t hold that against it, as it still looks great.

The battery continues this impressive streak. It’s a 5,000mAh cell capable of managing two days on a single charge. However, the charging rate is limited to just 20W, which is a disappointment. Motorola doesn’t include a 20W charger in the box, so you’re initially limited to a 10W charger if you don’t already have a faster charger on hand.

There have to be downsides, of course, and that’s encapsulated handily in the camera. It’s okay in most scenarios, with results being acceptable. However, drop the lights, and the quality goes down heavily. It’s certainly not going to match a Google Pixel 7a in quality by any means, and if a strong camera is a must for you, then the Moto G Stylus may be one to avoid.

That small point aside, the Moto G Stylus 5G (2023) is an extremely capable phone. There’s a lot to love about Motorola’s midrange smartphones, and the G Stylus is a great example of that. A strong battery, great-looking screen, and solid performance mean this phone is a real winner—and the best Motorola value you can get.

Moto G Stylus 5G (2023)

The best value Motorola phone

Moto G Power (2024)

The best battery life Motorola phone

Why you should buy this: For its strong battery life — but nothing else.

Who is it for?: Travelers, businesspeople, or anyone who needs a long-lasting phone.

Why we picked the Moto G Power (2024):

The reason you should buy the Moto G Power is right there in the name: It’s because you need battery power. The Moto G Power has always specialized in battery life, and this year’s model is no different. This year, Motorola upped the ante even higher by adding faster charging options, but really, it’s also worth keeping in mind that strong battery power is pretty much all this phone does.

It would be folly to start with anything other than the battery. At 5,000mAh, it’s one of the largest batteries around, and thanks to the lower specs, it’s very efficient. On average, one charge will net you two days of life, with three days being possible if you’re conservative with how much you use your phone. Charging has been upgraded, with a 30W charging rate as standard and 15W wireless charging, too. A 30W charging speed is great on a $300 phone, and 15W wireless charging is excellent.

The design is solid, too. It’s made from plastic but doesn’t feel like plastic, thanks largely to the vegan leather backing. There’s also room for 1TB of storage expansion, 128GB of onboard storage, NFC support for contactless payments, and even a headphone jack.

But it’s largely there that the upsides end. The Moto G Power’s display specs are great, with a 1080p display and a 120Hz refresh rate. But in real use, it has bad viewing angles and poor visibility in sunlight, even if the 120Hz refresh rate means it feels smooth. Performance also isn’t great, and the MediaTek Dimensity 7020 struggles with any tasks more demanding than scrolling social media. The camera is also a big disappointment, with the main lens being only mostly useable. Every shot will have something wrong with it, and it’s not reliable at all. Finally, the G Power will get one major Android upgrade. When some manufacturers are expanding their update promises enormously, just getting one is close to an insult.

It’s hard to recommend the Moto G Power because it’s not much more than a basic smartphone strapped to an enormous battery. If you absolutely need a long-lasting smartphone from Motorola, then this is your phone. However, we wouldn’t recommend it to many people outside of that.

Moto G Power (2024)

The best battery life Motorola phone

Editors’ Recommendations