Motorola phones: a guide to the best Moto smartphones

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Motorola phones, alongside Nokia phones, and certain LG phones, are champions of the budget smartphone market. That means if you’re looking for a decent handset that won’t break the bank, you’re in the right place.

Motorola’s smartphones run the gamut of lower-end price points, but each has impressive features that may convince you to pick one up. The Moto Z handsets can support additional features – including 5G – with Moto Mods; the Moto G range consists of budget devices with certain impressive specs each; and the Motorola One handsets are wacky and interesting in even more novel ways.

Of course, these phones won’t compete with the likes of the iPhone 11 Pro or the Samsung Galaxy S10, but they won’t cost you as much either. They’re reliable, with impressive specs for their price tag.

The exception, of course, is the Motorola Razr, a throwback to the original’s iconic design with a flexible inner screen that technically makes this a foldable. Despite its hefty pricetag – it’s fully three times the cost of a Moto Z4 – it isn’t the fastest phone; instead, it folds into a footprint half the size of any regular smartphone.

We’ve reviewed it and included it in our rundown, but you might be surprised where we’ve placed it after all the hype.

Motorola has a lot of phones, and tends to release a bunch of new ones at the same time, so it can be a little tough getting your head around the products. That’s why we’ve made this list of the best Moto phones to guide your hand.

We also update this list regularly, when Motorola releases a new phone, or when software updates cause the rankings to shift, so keep checking back to see which devices we recommend the most.

Table of Contents

Best Moto phones 2020 at a glance:

Moto Z4
Motorola One Zoom
Motorola One Macro
Moto G8 Plus
Motorola One Hyper
Motorola One Action
Moto Z3
Motorola One Vision
Moto G7
Motorola Razr
Moto Z2 Force
Moto G7 Plus

Best Moto phones 2020

1. Moto Z4

The Moto Z4 is the top Moto phone and 5G-capable

Cameras are better

Supports Mods, including one for 5G

Chipset is solidly midrange

Same old Moto design

The Moto Z4 is a safe move from Motorola – it looks nearly identical to its predecessors, with only minor shifts in size and shape – but that likely arises from the company’s decision to keep supporting the Moto Mods, which require phones to keep roughly the same shape.

Thus, the phone doesn’t look like it’s changed. Look closer and you’ll find some improvements, like an expanded 6.4-inch screen to the edges (around a top notch), an in-screen fingerprint scanner, and the return of a 3.5mm headphone jack.

Gone also is the dual 12MP lenses in the rear camera bump; instead, the Moto Z4 follows the midrange (and Google Pixel-like) trend of dropping lenses and using software to make up for it. We found the Moto Z4 took slightly better photos with its lone 48MP rear camera, and similar improvements with its 25MP selfie lens.

The phone is speedy enough, though its performance might drag on over the years: instead of packing an older but still flagship chipset like its predecessor, the Moto Z4 opted for a Snapdragon 675 – a new, but definitively midrange option. This is more speculation – we’ll have to see whether this chipset lasts longer than we expect – but the phone’s 4GB RAM (only option) isn’t promising for longevity either.

Read our in-depth review: Moto Z4

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2. Motorola One Zoom

A Moto phone with a great camera

3. Motorola One Macro

Software and price are on point with the Macro

Slick design

Decent battery life

Cameras aren’t great

No NFC

Motorola’s One range all run Android One – so are guaranteed security updates monthly for at least two years. This is a great reason to go for the One Macro that sports a camera designed to excel with close-up images.

Unfortunately, as this is a budget phone, the cameras are not as good as we’d hoped and shouldn’t be the phone you buy if you want a premium camera smartphone. But the solid design, decent battery life and clean, up to date Android software mean the One Macro has a lot going for it.

The display is better than the price suggests and performance is surprisingly good, too but there’s no NFC for mobile payments. It’s a fine Moto phone if you’re on a budget, just don’t buy it expecting amazing cameras, despite the marketing.

Read the Motorola One Macro review.

(Image credit: Amazon)

4. Moto G8 Plus

Minimal bezels

Triple cameras

Middling performance

No wide-angle camera

Considering the price it’s amazing that the G8 Plus fits in small bezels, triple rear cameras, stereo speakers and decent battery life. It looks great too, with an attractively simple version of Android 9 Pie to boot.

The Snapdragon 665 means the phone has decent battery life but we found the performance wasn’t as good as hoped with occasional stuttering. You can forget high-end gaming, too.

Despite this Motorola is promising two years of security updates and a software update to Android 10 making it a good, large-screened Moto option. The triple cameras and great stereo speakers add some excellent upgrades over the G7 range, too.

Read the Moto G8 Plus review.

(Image credit: Motorola)

5. Motorola One Hyper

Great price for an all screen phone with solid camera

All-screen design

Excellent main camera

Screen crops when gaming

Cheap plastic feel

The Motorola One Hyper adds to the company’s burgeoning smartphone range with an all-screen design and pop up camera. It’s a shame there’s no telephoto camera considering there’s two main rear cameras but the main 64MP sensor makes up for this with amazing detail in shots.

A Snapdragon 675 processor means decent mid-range performance for the price and battery life is solid, if not spectacular.

Unfortunately the notch-less screen struggles when trying to display many games, cropping the action incorrectly in many instances. It means if you are a keen mobile gamer this is one to avoid. For everyone else, it’s yet another solid Motorola phone.

Read the Motorola One Hyper review.

(Image credit: Motorola)

6. Motorola One Action

A great budget phone for video-makers

Smooth, easy-to-shoot video

Crisp Android One OS

Camera isn’t phenomenal

21:9 isn’t widely supported enough

The Motorola One Action has lots in common with the other Motorola One phones, like its chipset and screen quality, but it has one novel feature that makes it an interesting prospect for phones buyers.

As well as its main and depth sensing cameras on the back of the device, the Motorola One Action has an ‘action cam’ which is designed for impressive video recording. You can record in landscape while holding the phone in portrait, and the camera is great at picking up video detail: all in all it’s a great device for people who take a lot of videos.

On top of that the handset is actually cheaper than lots of other Motorola ones, so you could do a lot worse if you’re looking for a device with an intriguing extra feature.

Read our in-depth review: Motorola One Action

Motorola Moto One Action…

Motorola – Moto One Action…

Motorola Moto One Action…

(Image credit: Motorola)

7. Moto Z3

The Moto Z3 is still powerful – and the cheapest option to access 5G

(Image credit: Motorola)

8. Motorola One Vision

One of the oldest Motorola One handset

(Image credit: Motorola)

9. Moto G7

The more widely-available, and still good, mid-range Moto

(Image credit: Motorola)

10. Motorola Razr

Its flaws outweigh the nostalgia

Slick foldable design

Useful front display

Supremely expensive

Poor battery and camera

The allure of the new Motorola Razr is undeniable. Recalling the original 2004 flip phone, the new version puts a foldable 6.2in display on the inside and tries to free us from the monotony of yet another black glass rectangle.

But the thing is incredibly expensive and has somehow arrived at that price with a bad camera, mid-range processor and bad battery life. Add to that potential issues with the display and it’s not a phone most people should consider buying.

If you really want a folding phone and were obsessed with the Razr back in the day then the nostalgia might be too much to resist. But for most people, any other Moto phone on this list will serve you better.

Read the Motorola Razr review.

(Image credit: Motorola)

11. Moto Z2 Force

An upper mid-range phone that feels premium

Still powerful

Works with mods

Two years old

Thick top and bottom bezels

If you’re looking for the ultimate Moto value, think about digging back into the reserves. The Moto Z2 Force came out in mid-2017, but it’s still a relative powerhouse – and you can find it for a bit cheaper than the newer Moto Z3.

Despite over a year between releases, the Z2 Force packs the same Snapdragon 835 processor as its successor. Its screen is even higher resolution at 2560 x 1440, though its 5.5 inches are smaller than the Z3’s display.

Unfortunately, the Z2 Force shows its age in its chin and top bezels, which are significantly larger than those on phones released today. But if you don’t mind not sporting the sleekest phone on the block, the Z2 Force has most of the newest top-tier Moto phone at a lower price.

And it works with Moto Mods — including, eventually, the Moto Mod 5G, which will expand functionality to the earlier Z2 phones at some point after it’s released on April 11.

Read our in-depth review: Moto Z2 Force

Motorola Moto Z2 Force XT1789…

Motorola Moto Z2 Force…

(Image credit: Motorola)

12. Moto G7 Plus

A powerful budget phone striving for mid-range cred

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Best Moto phones 2020 at a glance:

Best Moto phones 2020

1. Moto Z4

2. Motorola One Zoom

3. Motorola One Macro

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