I’ve reviewed more than a dozen Motorola phones over the past few years, most of which have been budget phones costing $400 or less. While I used to be very vocal about how Motorola just wasn't doing a good job making its low-end phones remotely useable, the company has come a long way in recent years, proving that users can still have a good experience without spending $1,300 for a phone. And things are only going to get better for cheap Android phones.
Last year, my top Android phone was the Razr Plus 2024, which retailed for $999, and it's still my daily driver because I absolutely love the form factor. However, right before I got my hands on it, I reviewed the Moto G Stylus 5G 2024, a phone that I was pretty sure I would forget almost as soon as I stopped using it. Instead, I didn't wanna put the phone down, even when I had to switch gears to the Razr.
The Stylus just felt like a flagship in a phone that cost half as much as a Galaxy S25 would cost you today and with pretty comparable specs. It has a Full HD+ OLED display, a 5,000mAh battery with 30W wired charging and 15W wireless charging, and a pretty capable 50MP primary camera. Not to mention, Motorola's signature vegan leather finish just looks and feels great.
Sure, performance may not match up to today's Snapdragon 8 Elite and all its AI flourishes, but the mid-range Snapdragon chip in the Stylus was no slouch either. Combined with great performance and a solid overall package, I would constantly forget that this is a mid-range phone. In fact, my mum wants a new phone, and I'm tempted to just get her the Stylus 5G 2024, as I wouldn't get her a phone that I myself wouldn't use.
2025 is starting off on a good note
We're just two months into 2025, and Motorola has already launched two phones in North America. On the surface, they don't seem like much, but they've managed to exceed our expectations about the kind of experience one can expect on a phone that costs $200. Android Central Phones editor Nick Sutrich found himself surprised at how much he liked the Moto G 2025, especially when compared to his experience with its predecessor.
"Last year's Moto G 5G 2024 was a pretty terrible phone, even for the low price, but Motorola has turned things around and addressed nearly every complaint I had without raising the price for this year's model," he states in his review. Sutrich highlights a bright, eye-friendly display, great design, and solid battery life as major selling points for the phone.
I had a similar experience with the Moto G Power 2025, which launched alongside the Moto G 2025. The design is a welcome improvement over its predecessor, especially with the improved durability and IP69 rating. It also handles gaming surprisingly well and comes equipped with wireless charging, which isn't very common at this price point.
That's not to say these phones are perfect. The MediaTek chip can feel sluggish the first time you do something new on the phone, but it seems to catch up in no time. Motorola also improved its software update promise to now include two OS upgrades, although that's still a far cry from what you'll get on Samsung phones, for example.
Still, for what you're paying for, these phones could be much worse than they are. Yet it seems like Motorola and other companies are upping the standards for cheap Android phones. Even this $100 phone from NUU is able to provide users with a half-decent experience with zero bloatware, a 90Hz display, great battery life, and more.
This is great for people who don't need all the latest AI features or to spend $800+ on the best of the best. It's especially great for parents who want to buy their kids their first phone.
This was also something that OnePlus understood with its Nord N-series phones, which offered surprisingly good value. And after seeing what the company did with the OnePlus 13R, I can only imagine what a new Nord N phone would be like. If you're reading this, OnePlus, now would probably be a good time to introduce a new one.
Cheap Android phones are about to get an AI boost
This is only the beginning, and so far, I'm very excited about what's to come. After all, Motorola altered my expectations about cheap Android phones with last year's Stylus 5G 2024. Things can only go up from here as components get cheaper and better, and more capable chips trickle down to the lower end.
Qualcomm is already setting the stage for a new generation of midrange phones with more AI capabilities. The new Snapdragon 6 Gen 4 is an upgraded version of the same chip used in last year's Stylus, and it promises better performance as well as on-device AI processing, which is a first for the 6-series. This means we will start seeing more features normally reserved for flagship phones powered by the Snapdragon 8 Elite on phones that cost half the price.
Qualcomm says Realme, OPPO, and Honor will be among the first to introduce phones with the new chip. There's no word on whether or not the next Moto G Stylus will sport the new Snapdragon 6 Gen 4, but I'm looking forward to whatever we get, regardless.
As someone who still loves high-end phones like the Razr and Galaxy S25 Plus, 2025 looks like a great year to start looking at cheaper phones, especially with the threat of tariffs looming over.
