professionals and cons
- Improved digicam
- Lengthy-lasting battery
- Loud audio system
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“If it ain’t broke, do not repair it” — that easy phrase appears to have been Motorola’s mantra with the 2026 Moto Ga midrange smartphone that intently mirrors final yr’s mannequin. On one hand, that is an excellent factor. I preferred the 2025 Moto G quite a bit — it is a fantastic system with a long-lasting battery and options that made it a “pocket-sized theater”.
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The draw back to adhering so intently to the unique system, nevertheless, is that it retains lots of the similar points. Let’s check out the 2026 refresh of this eye-catching $200 Android smartphone.
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Modern and daring
One of the noticeable adjustments within the 2026 Moto G is its barely bigger type issue, measuring 167.15 x 76.40 x 8.44 mm (6.58 x 3 x 0.33 inches) and weighing 202 grams. This additional heft would not make a lot of a distinction, because it’s nonetheless smooth and light-weight. It is also comfy to carry, because of its rounded corners and gentle vegan leather-based backing, which supplies it a particular look.
Motorola made some daring design selections, too. The cellphone boasts a hanging Cattleya Orchid pink end, a way more eye-catching coloration scheme in comparison with the Forest Grey of the 2025 mannequin. I additionally recognize the inclusion of a headphone jack in an period dominated by Bluetooth earbuds.
Return of the pocket theater
The Moto G homes a 6.7-inch HD+ show with a decision of 1,604 x 720 pixels. Whereas the display is not 1080p, it nonetheless impresses with its shiny and correct colours, robust peak brightness of 1,000 nits, and a easy 120Hz refresh charge. This can be a strong mixture of options, enabling vibrant video playback and fluid scrolling.
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Just like the older mannequin, the 2026 Moto G has a sturdy speaker system fine-tuned by Dolby Atmos. Audio output is wealthy, detailed, and immersive. One in every of my favourite moments throughout testing the smartphone was kicking again and watching Area Jam on YouTube for the primary time in years. The film highlighted the speaker’s capability to churn well-balanced audio, from the soundtrack to character voices, with nothing feeling overshadowed or undertuned.
Improved digicam
Across the again of the cellphone, you can find a dual-camera system with a 50MP principal and a 2MP ultrawide lens. One in every of my largest points with earlier fashions was their tendency to oversaturate colours. That downside has largely been fastened.
Much like the 2026 Moto G Play (the opposite at present out there 2026 mannequin), colours seem extra balanced, leading to higher images — for me, anyway. Some individuals like the additional saturation. Moreover, not like the Play mannequin, the Moto G holds up higher in low-light conditions.
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Beneath is a picture I took with my smartphone, which I consider successfully illustrates its high quality. You possibly can see the squirrel within the shade pretty clearly. That is one thing that the G Play would’ve struggled to seize.
I like to recommend importing your images to Google Drive or one other cloud storage service and viewing them on a pc monitor. The Moto G’s HD show would not do justice to the photographs it captures. They’ll look much less detailed than they really are.
Light-weight efficiency
The efficiency of Motorola’s 2026 Moto G is a well-known story. The smartphone runs on the identical MediaTek Dimensity 6300 chipset as final yr’s mannequin, delivering the identical nice expertise. Leaping between a number of apps, streaming motion pictures on Netflix, and looking the web all felt seamless, helped alongside by the 120Hz refresh charge and RAM Increase characteristic.
For individuals who could not know, RAM Increase converts unused storage into digital reminiscence. It is extra helpful right here than on the Moto G Play, because of the larger 128GB storage drive. I must also point out you can broaden the quantity as much as 1TB by way of a microSD card. Nevertheless, lots of the similar limitations stay. It nonetheless struggles underneath heavier workloads. Graphically demanding video games like “Honkai: Star Rail” and “Genshin Affect” nonetheless set off stuttering and transient freezes on the system.
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Battery life is one other robust level. Motorola advertises as much as two days of steady utilization. To check this, I ran a YouTube livestream at 720p nonstop at a low display brightness till the battery gave out. And I managed to get an excellent 24 hours out of it. Not fairly the claimed two days, however nonetheless excellent.
ZDNET’s shopping for recommendation
Motorola’s 2026 Moto G is at present out there on the Motorola website for $200, making it a simple advice for buyers looking for a dependable low-to-midrange cellphone — particularly if you happen to want the daring pink end. If the colour is simply too garish, it is also out there in Slipstream blue.
In comparison with the Moto G Playthis mannequin provides extra storage, a greater digicam system, and barely stronger efficiency, making it the higher purchase between the 2 in my view. Selecting between it and the 2025 mannequin is trickier, since they’re largely the identical cellphone except for a couple of refreshes. Go for the newer cellphone if digicam upgrades are essential to you, or contemplate final yr’s Moto G for $150 if you happen to’re on a finances.
