I'm not a big fan of Motorola phones because of the company's lack of long-term support, but I know some models, like 2020s Moto G Power, were really good phones for the money. It's tough to find a great phone without spending more than $500. Having said that, I'm here to tell you not to get lured in by the new Moto G Pure because it's not a really good phone for any amount of money.
The Moto G Pure should never have been made.
Some of the specs and parts are really good, like the 4,000 mAh battery and the rear capacitive fingerprint sensor. Others are OK, like the 6.5-inch 1600 x 620 LCD. But others are, well, pure junk.
You're getting a modern Android phone with just 3GB of RAM and a bottom-of-the-barrel MediaTek Helio G25 SoC. If you aren't sure what any of that means you can just think of it as a recipe for disaster because that's what it feels like to actually use a Moto G Pure. A few excerpts from our review of the phone tell the story:
The "gaming-focused" MediaTek Helio G25 struggled to do anything beyond basic tasks.Scrolling through social media seemed to give the phone trouble. The experience was jittery, and the phone often lagged to respond to my input.The app experience was far from ideal given the lagging processor, dim display, and middling 32GB internal storage.
If you need a burner phone or something to keep in your car's glove box in case your real phone dies, then go for it I guess. But for anything else, there is a much better solution: The OnePlus Nord N200.
The Nord N200 is not a great phone when you compare it to anything expensive, but it is not a horrible phone. It's a great value and one of the best budget Android phones It's also a whole lot better than the Moto G Pure and will cost just $50 - $90 more depending on where and when you buy it.
The Nord N200 isn't the very best phone you can buy but it is a great phone for the price.
The big differentiator here is the SoC — the Nord uses a Qualcomm Snapdragon 480 — but there are other differences that matter. The 1080p display is a lot better. The GPU still isn't going to be great for gaming, but it's miles better than what you'll find in the Moto G Pure. There's more RAM, the cameras are better, and the battery is bigger. These make a big difference while you use your phone and are well worth the small price increase.
I know that a lot of us want or need a dependable phone in the $200 price range. It's great that companies are addressing the need, even if they're only doing it so they can make a few more bucks. But cutting corners has to happen somewhere to get a phone in that price range and Motorola is cutting the wrong ones.
The OnePlus Nord N200 5G is a good phone that makes 5G cheaper and more accessible than ever before. It's the phone I recommend if you are looking for a budget-friendly device.
