This $150 Smartphone might be All You Need.

We all think that the best smartphones in 2024 are the most expensive. But what happens if I told you there's a smarphone that costs 1/10th the price of some flagships but gives 95% of their features? Well, say hello to a shockingly good option for almost everyone.
WARNING: WATCH OUT FOR THIRD PARTY SELLERS W/ REFURBISHED MODELS!!!
Buy The $150 Smartphone on Amazon: geni.us/THE150PHONE
The Arctic Liquid Freezer III Series on Amazon (Sponsor) - geni.us/FreezerIII240
GET MERCH ►hwcstore.com
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TIMESTAMPS
0:00 - 2024 Smartphones are too $$$
0:47 - Let’s go phone shopping
1:11 - So I Screwed Up...
2:19 - This is the RIGHT $150 Smartphone
2:32 - Design and Build Quality
3:19 - Hello old friend
3:44 - Sponsor Spot
4:15 - The Display is GOOD!?
5:43 - But is it Fast?
7:31 - How to Make an Android Phone Faster
8:10 - EXPANDABLE Storage!
8:39 - Can it run Crysis?
9:06 - The Software is simple BUT…
10:55 - Stellar Battery Life!
11:48 - Camera Performance
13:31 - The Perfect Phone for MOST People
This video is sponsored by Artic. As per Hardware Canucks guidelines, no review direction was received from manufacturer. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.
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#android #budgetphone

[@leophoenix1452]

Its funny that you can't install mobile android games on a micro SD but you can run God of war 2018 off a micro SD in a steam deck😅...

[@tarfeef_4268]

Probably about the protocol it supports. Ufs1 or smth

[@ElMarcoh]

with root you can install anything on SD, it's probably disabled on default installs in order to sell more phones with the pretext of "ensuring good user experience". I regret buying a samsung phone, my last one was also asmsung as was difficult to root, but my last one (s20) was practically impossible.

[@splashmoby]

Lol hilarious

[@xerzy]

@@ElMarcoh I would *tend to agree* that people buy shitty SD cards and only later regret how slow a phone feels and will end up buying a new one when it wasn't needed at all... BUT they could have just hidden it from the main UI. They could have kept it internally for third party apps to manage. They didn't. So I'm not sure what they win out of this, particularly as we reach storage sizes that make expansion unnecessary for most people...

[@leophoenix1452]

@@ElMarcoh thats if the SD port is available... Most phones do not have the SD port anymore.

[@flookaraz]

For $150 cant complain. Just shows how much people are willing to pay for branding and bells/whistles!

[@FromDkWithLove]

I'd go cheaper still. It's comparable to last gen Xiaomi Redmi or OnePlus Nord with a 50% mark up.

[@imwatchingyou6113]

If you want to buy rubbish then go ahead or buy something like infinix note pro 40 see specs on KZbin...you will soon realise you can and will complain 😮

[@ikram2512]

​@@imwatchingyou6113how much?

[@iambear.6526]

Yeah but how long is this $150 going to last?

[@lukas______]

At the rate these software supports (Google 7 years...) the hardware will burn out before then, like the batteries no doubt. ​@@iambear.6526

[@ThisisDD]

Moto phones have been amazing in the under $200 range for years. Moto X and G were mid range beasts for their time

[@SilvioBritto]

Yes, in that range Samsung's OneUI is a disadvantage, for example. Motos have such clean OS

[@ThisisDD]

@@SilvioBritto 💯 I generally detest Sanding phones regardless

[@SIPEROTH]

​@@SilvioBritto Yeah i had two cheap Samsung phones. Updates made them really slow and even killed one.

[@AlphaMachina]

I absolutely hate my Moto One 5G Ace. It's a terrible phone. It's thick as hell, weighs a ton, runs slow as hell, has terrible battery life. The OS is garbage. The screen looks like ass. Nothing about this phone is better than my Xioami Mi 9T that's a couple years older, and in fact, everything about the 9T is better. It has the same size screen, but is much thinner, has an Amoled display, more storage, better specs across the board, etc. and was about the same price. Moto needs to do better, imo.

[@TrinaMukherjee-ry6xf]

Totally agree

[@BoxBoxBoxGaming]

my man put Initial D on the phone to test it, mad respect

[@HardwareCanucks]

Rewatched the whole series, now into MF Ghost

[@stewiegilligangriffin4904]

@@HardwareCanucksis that your burner account? No one cares about initial d

[@deeptweshdm2536]

​@@HardwareCanuckswhere can we watch it ?

[@pranjaldubey3555]

Season 2 isn't coming soon !​@@HardwareCanucks

[@adityasarkar7172]

​@@deeptweshdm2536mf ghost? It's on netflix

[@gregharder2765]

It's really frustrating that you can get a cheap phone like this that performs just as well as one would need, but you can't get a cheap tablet with the same specs.

[@ravitejasikhakolli]

In India we can get decent tablet for $200, better specs than this mobile

[@Cantripping]

Redmi Pad SE.

[@ItsAssassin]

mi pads are really good in budget...been using them for 2 years now...no complaints

[@zelonfuentes966]

But... I mean new cheap phones have a space... But almost everytime is better buy a used ipad or mi pad or galaxy tab... My wife uses his tablet to watch media and read news and HATES iOS so I bought her a galaxy tab s6 for 180 bucks and it even got a free case... My 8yo wanna play and watch her shows I bought her an 8th gen ipad for 150 bucks

[@kklc5477]

Alldocube mini 50 pro Lincplus t3 Samsung a9 LTE Redmi Pad series any iPad series the first 2 will give 0 updates but will absoltuely max its budget on the hardware Samsung continues to give garbage hardware and pretty good software. Redmi Pad gives pretty good hardware and gives updates but MIUI OS on tablet is atrocious iPad software updates are good and hardware is unexpectedly good too but I personally wouldn't touch the atrocious iPad OS

[@WildWest83]

Motorola’s Achilles heel has always been lack of software/security support. But, you gotta remember this phone is $150(was $129.99 on Motorola the last time it went on sale). Cheap phones are getting really good and Motorola is a great, clean, stock android experience. Their phones are generally good value for the money and they’re dependable devices. Great review!

[@jonboy602]

Do you know what the support period (time of receiving security updates) is on these phones? That might the only dealbreaker for me.

[@FunFreakeyy]

That's why Motorola + LineageOS is the killer combo. Of course you need tech skills to do it but if you have them it's a great choice.

[@tamwilfred]

@@jonboy602 For their budget line it might just be two years. For their flagship line it's around 4 years. But Moto doesn't have a track record for timely updates.

[@darylpruitt53]

​@@jonboy602is 150 bucks. Just pickup another one in 2 years. That ain't enough money to care.

[@ChengHorn9]

4:40 As long as I can watch Initial D and it looks decent I'm sold.

[@stewiegilligangriffin4904]

Is this your burner account ? And sounds like this was a sponsored ad

[@ignaciotomasi]

@@stewiegilligangriffin4904 nah, i doubt it, initial d is a pretty old anime series. if it was an ad maybe he would have said MF Ghost which is the secuel, came out last year.

[@jiffonbuffo]

​@@stewiegilligangriffin4904It's quite a well known classic anime for people of certain ages. And might get more attention with the newer but lamer MF Ghost.

[@valkasolidor6727]

I've been using the MotoG power for a while now. Thankfully I don't have to worry too much about security updates since AT&T has already given the world all of my personal info.

[@bretislav9247]

I don't understand, what's AT&T?

[@appleusher]

​@@bretislav9247 It's the biggest telecommunication company in the US which had quite huge personal data leak on the dark web quite recently.

[@rimondas6729]

​@bretislav9247 massive data leak

[@joemama-mo5fi]

AT&t is a carrier company it gives sim cards and wifi

[@failfurby]

This is EXACTLY the kind of phone I will be looking for when my pixel 6a eventually dies. Good to see companies can still deliver solid devices without charging me an arm and a leg.

[@depbassist7848]

I agree, but I'd miss the camera too much.

[@ElementalITcc]

I have 10 ppl on my phone plan and most of them are young adults I am helping get on their feet or out of bad situations. buying a phone outright is the way to go, and giving them one that is serviceable for a reasonable price is awesome. I would love to see some perspective after extended use to see if these opinions change. Thanks for the great review.

[@HShango]

I always buy my phones out right

[@IcaroMorse]

After the Galaxy S8 (last "flagship" I bought) I started buying cheaper and cheaper and ended with the A04S as the lowest I could reasonably go. I've been using the Galaxy A04S for the past year and can't complain for the price I've paid. It does slow a little bit after months of use but if you don't have a lot of background apps and the storage full it's fine. After some time you just understand things aren't instantaneous. For communication, social media, banking and the normal internet browsing it's great.

[@SIPEROTH]

​@@IcaroMorse Just avoid updates because those really slow it down.

[@AlphaMachina]

I use a service called Redpocket. I'm on AT&T towers with unlimited talk/text, 2GB of 5G/unlimited 3G for 10 doll hairs a month.

[@gaurav_0369]

these kinds of phones are common in developing countries mostly dominated by chinese brands, even better specs than this for same price like 120 hz oled screen with decent brightness and better processors as well

[@the.villan]

They're popular in Europe as well. It's been years since I've used a flagship phone. When you can pick up a decent android for under £200, my pay as you go service is £10 per month. All calls and texts free, 15GB mobile internet a month (I don't even use anywhere near that with WiFi at work and at home. It's an easy decision.

[@gaurav_0369]

@@the.villan is the pay as you go about the mobile data plans ? i honestly think we are spoiled in that department, 2gb per day for a month for just around 4 dollars, unlimited calls and sms is same, oh and unlimited 5g till june 2024 if you got a 5g phone, 5g coverage is really good as well even in small towns

[@the.villan]

@@gaurav_0369 You can choose to lock in for a 12 month contract for either slightly cheaper or with more data. Yes there is a scale for more data, going up to £25 a month for unlimited data on 12 month contract or £35 a monthly pay as you go, both unlimited free calls and SMS. It's 4G and 5G but 5G is still rolling out here. I'm in a town of around 170k people and it's not here yet but is next city over like 20 miles away

[@dorientjewoller113]

@@the.villan Correct ... bought me a couple of months ago a Motorola G13 with 128GB internal storage and a free SD Card of 128GB on top of it. Primal use of it is making calls, MP3 player, texting and once and a while taking a picture on the fly. Total price 130 Euro's.

[@the.villan]

@@dorientjewoller113 Bargain. Motorola make some nice cheap phones. As do Xiaomi, Huawei and Oppo.l, Samsung A series phones. Unless you are using your phone as a desktop (in which case why?), gaming at a competitive level (again why, when you could get a console or even a decent PC with the money you've saved) or the only actual reasons that makes sense, for business or you do youtube/tiktok/Instagram/OF as a career. In both cases you'd probably just get an iPhone.

[@3dge433]

For 200$ you can get a Samsung A15 with an amoled fhd display, 8gb/256gb, and five years of updates

[@Zomeone]

Even the f15 model with 6k battery

[@squatch545]

The A15 only has 4 GB of memory.

[@3dge433]

@@squatch545 there is an 8gb/256gb option

[@squatch545]

@@3dge433 Not in Canada. The 8 GB version must be a global/International version.

[@IrisFox97]

I got the A13 5G and it's been fine with me

[@UpgradeLemonade]

Well it's like 10x less the cost of a flagship. So i guess just buy a new one when updates stop coming 😅

[@SIPEROTH]

Even cheap phones get at least 2 years of updates. Replacing something so cheap every 2 years isn't hard and about what one expects before needing some more performance.

[@czkmeister]

@@SIPEROTH It sounds nice when you say 2 years, but those 2 years (especially for brands like Motorola, Sony, Xiaomi etc.) look like this: Release the phone at the end cycle of an android version, so the phone already ships with and update waiting, which already counts as the first year of those 2 years of updates, and then usually ONLY get only the second update about year and a half later to another android version and that's it. One untimely android version update and no bug fixes or security patches in-between. Premium brands now offer 7 years of updates (older models still 5 years which is more than enough) with new android version on time AND with monthly security and bug patches. You can buy a 3 year old premium phone for less than $200 and still be better off for YEARS than buying a brand new almost nothing for $150.

[@overflow7276]

@@czkmeister Those 200$ are only a whish, I am afraid. I think the sweet spot lays somewhere in the middle. Get a phone with at least 3 years of software support left and use it for 4 years. Android development has slowed down quite a lot since about Android 10. You don't miss out on much if you just use your last version for just a year longer than google wants you to.

[@namele55777]

@@czkmeisterpray tell which 3-year old flagship android could you get for $200? let's be strict and quote me any 2021 flagship, with at least 5 years of promised updates from the factory (meaning 2 years left to go), without a busted screen, battery, camera etc, that you can buy under $200.

[@OverlordActual]

Thanks for making this video by the way. Always like seeing what these super budget phones are doing these days. The storage space alone would limit a lot of people I feel but otherwise seems like an ok buy.

[@rmking_beats]

It’s not really the camera but the person using it. Those pictures look sick even though it was shot on a budget phone.

[@gintoki_sakata__]

Now imagine a camera that does that regardless of the person.

[@IrisFox97]

Yeah I was confused when he said they aren't really good but that could be because I'm used to using not so good cameras

[@northernwing8191]

I daily drive a Motorola Edge (2021 model) - 8GB of RAM, 256GB of storage + SD, 5G, 8-core Snapdragon 778G. You can still find them new for ~$250 these days and it still sinks anything I've ever wanted to do with it. I'm done wasting $1000/year when every flagship I've ever bought has been dead within two years anyway.

[@Rresenden]

You spent 1000 every year the problem is you not the market or phones. I have iPhone 12 Pro Max since day one , and works great. Better that any 250$ phone

[@twilekcustodian]

I was using a flagship phone, the samsung s7. But then i got the idea, instead of using a flagship phone for years and years, why not just buy budget phones and you can upgrade more often. So i got the a15 for 200 bucks. I can upgrade it 5 times before it reaches the price of going for a flagship

[@priyanshusharma1812]

@@Rresenden bro is mad someone is happy with a cheap phone

[@jordanpulciani1526]

@@priyanshusharma1812 i think you missunderstood his comment. Expensive phones are good since they last long. He's saying that whats wrong is buying a 1000$ phone every year

[@darkkforest]

Buy a 1k phone every year might be a problem that needs to be fixed. Glad you've done that

[@corpclarke]

I'm nearly 40 years old and the idea you can get a handheld high performance computer for 150 is still mind blowing. We used to pay several times this for a phone that could only talk and text and was the size of a breeze block.

[@y55en45]

0:24 you guys put CAD twice instead of 1299 USD

[@CollectionLearning.]

CAD stands for Californian American Dollar

[@JagadguruSvamiVegananda]

@@TominiOfficial, says the DUNCE who is unable to spot an obvious joke.

[@MrMega200]

@@JagadguruSvamiVegananda or you're the dunce that can't see an editing error.

[@JagadguruSvamiVegananda]

@@MrMega200, kindly repeat that in ENGLISH, Miss.☝️ Incidentally, Slave, are you VEGAN? 🌱

[@MyNameIsUnavailable]

American dollars are worth less than Canadian Pesos at this point 😂

[@Paulie8K]

Nice review. I've mostly bought mid to upper-midrange phones over the years. I have the Pixel 6 now and may challenge myself to get the best phone I can for around $400 max. Midrange phones often get the latest SOC but a few compromises compared to the top end. Give me good performance, 3-4 years of software updates, and a decent camera and I'm set.

[@lunchie80]

Bought my 9yo daughter one of these(cheap but decent smartphone like this). She uses it constantly, it has good battery life, handles thr apps she uses(simple games etc). Absolutely no need for her to use a more expensive device yet. Better low end phones are also good for older folks. Ive seen some older people struggle with smart phones and often its because they're using garbage tech that already makes it hard. Something responsive and smooth with a good display is all they need.

[@Kreeschon]

Absolutely phones of this price class are still relevant! And I think you guys should cover more of them!! TCL has been putting out a lot of interesting stuff in the budget space lately but there aren't many quality video reviews of anything they put out

[@SilvioBritto]

Theirs matte screen technology is sick

[@Jbzy3000]

I've got a tcl and it's decent. Not so sold on it and there are things that gets on my nerves but it's jthe fact the keyboard seems slow and inaccurate but it's decent v android auto isn't good either.

[@SilvioBritto]

@@Jbzy3000 I wanna try somadas the matte screens from TCL

[@PowerTower25]

Great review! I bought this phone after watching your review so I can have a backup phone if my Pixel 4a fails. I ended up switching since it's faster than the Pixel 4a (super easy process on Google Fi).

[@Punk661]

Amazing video, really love this kind of content and comparison.

[@cael_1303]

I literally bought this phone Friday (spur of the moment but was planning to do it. Didn't know what brand I was going to get before I went) to replace my old one. I actually got it on discount thanks to the MetroPCS assistant for $109 (about $145 with a case and screen cover). I got the 2023 version but considering the 24 version has no charger and it was still an upgrade I'm content with it.

[@IMUSTHCOOSEANEWNAMEB]

Insanely good video, a master piece and probably the best one you will ever do, cheers.

[@zacmorri]

Why would it be a let down that it doesn’t come with a charger? Do you seriously not have one? Have you not seen the used electronic wasteland in agbogbloshie? 2:33

[@PaladinOfHope]

Rocking the Motorola G84 for the last few months, a bit more expensive but the overall idea is the same, this cheap phone can do it perfectly fine in almost all everyday situations for a fraction of the price of a flagship.

[@samridhabarman7292]

Very unique style of reviwing a mobile phone liked it ❤

[@thefumigator]

Snapdragon 680 is the 4G version of Snapdragon 695 5G. And is still a respectable processor. A couple more gigabytes of real ram and it would be a low spec killer. While hybrid ram may do the trick, real ram still makes real difference.

[@nfriedly]

I'm on a Moto g100 that I got for about $300 a year or so ago, and I'm really happy with it. All the benefits that you mentioned for the g play (including a headphones jack and a MicroSD slot), plus twice the storage and RAM, and official LineageOS support, so up-to-date Android.

[@FunFreakeyy]

Me too! It sucks that newer phones have no sd card slot, so I may be even buy it again if it breaks.

[@IrisFox97]

One of the reasons I like mid range phones because they have a headphone jack

[@hasselblad445]

Editing & cinematography is much better than other youtubers seriously hats offf

[@sbuuby]

as an iphone pro user i'm jealous of that minimal camera bump

[@internziko]

This video was so relaxing and informative. I watched it while having my morning coffee. Keep up yhe great work guys!

[@Bitbiscuit]

Interesting vid, enjoyed it!

[@ace_of_laze]

Yeah, i would gladly get something like this. Not looking for anything fancy, just to cover well all the basics and give me good experience using it

[@drewnewby]

The Snapdragon 680 4G is a nice upgrade from the Helio G37 in last years model, about 50% faster, but as little as $150 is, you can find the 2023 for next to nothing.

[@kajobluemane]

This looks like the perfect phone for my mother that doesn't game at all and uses it primarily for light browsing or messaging. The camera looks very decent as well. Thank you for this review. I'll definitely take a closer look at it.

[@freeloaderfs]

great video keep them coming

[@Scarbir]

Great review - but honestly, doesn’t this apply to all Redmi’s and Poco’s as well?

[@keithmooore]

Those aren't sold in electronic stores in US and Canada, so most people know nothing about them

[@gogetablue7905]

Yeah I was so disturbed they acting like this is so cool, While a similar price like the Poco M6 Pro or Redmi 13 can dominate this Moto G Play

[@NarcolepticRaccoon7]

@@gogetablue7905 While tech enthusiasts would enjoy having Redmi and Poco, it's not available in the US and Canada. They have to be purchased on places like AliExpress. Even if we were to buy those, they lack all the network bands used for mobile carriers in the US

[@wes.9353]

They aren't capable of using our broadband frequencies. As an American, it's some bullshit. We have the worst mobile phone market in the free world by far.

[@titaniumtitan7093]

Ive had a redmi 9T for a while, had it as a secondary phone for media and some games but last week it died. Tried to reboot it and it didnt come back. Ill be looking for its replacement now thanks to this video

[@FromDkWithLove]

I'd go for last gen OnePlus Nord 5G. It's 50 usd less than this one, with the same specs. Decent enough oxygen os, with minimal bloatware and no ingrained ads.

[@ShakeelAhmad-qj5rm]

Excellent review ❤smile and peace bro

[@OverlordActual]

I use my Stylus and 30x zoom in my S24 Ultra. I use a lot of the features of my phone. Including photo editing stuff (that does not require connection). I do use the 100x occasionally when I am trying to read something really far away and figured it would actually be clear enough. Also 32gb would be very very limiting.

[@keiserious]

They need to improve the camera since it’s the most important part today…love that EK9😊

[@MG-mb6mj]

Honest review! Probably hated by smartphone companies… like to see other KZbinrs get their hands on the similar priced phones

[@saadjameel1820]

Mann those photos look REALLY GOOD for the price ♥ I guess it can be used for photography if you have a good eye for it.

[@strykar4744]

Got $250 2022 Motorola Edge and have been using it since. I think Motorola has solid price to performance/use case phones for most people. More than 128GB storage was my primary concern and that was the cheapest option for that. Been a happy user.

[@janmortensen9314]

4 year old Motorola One Action. It is still doing all that i need. Paid 180$ for it; I see no reason to pay more. And EU now want 3 year OS updates + 5 year security patches... yeah

[@JonasPalas]

Do you know any similar phone but with a good video camera? Im looking for a vloging device but not much more. Really nice video!

[@ValentinoNicko]

Just get used last year / last two year flagship smartphone. It is technically still out power and more feature-rich than this year midrange / entry level.

[@allawa]

I'm rocking a ulefone about 400 bucks and nearly indistructable. comes with 8gb ram 8 core possessor laser range finder and massive battery. I've dropped it 30 feet into concrete and it was fine... would love to see a review of one of them! not many have done so

[@a1000island]

I'm not mad at that side mounted fingerprint reader So simple always works and they add additional functionality as well

[@SolidSnake4Ever2003]

A sincere thanks for this thoughtful and in-depth review. Honestly, as I'm getting older in my mid 30s now, this is all I personally would want or need in a phone. Something that can do the occasional call, occasional cat pic, browse social media, browse online, watch youtube, and text/IM while having decent battery life. Even if the update cycle isn't the longest, it's so cheap that in ~2 years or whenever, another new cheap model can just be purchased then. I've been around the block as a budget phone connoisseur over the years and it's truly remarkable to see how good budget phones have gotten over time. I'd wager I could keep this thing running very smoothly with a weekly or bi-weekly cache clear, SD maid run, reboot, and greenify usage or outright just disabling/sleeping stuff I simply don't use. I have a very ailing 2nd gen iPhone SE 2020 and something like this is right up my ally, having a bigger screen to type on will be very welcome, I personally always found the 4.7in iPhone's screen small, cramped to type on as a grown man, and non immersive for media. The SE's battery life is also horrid. I'll actually gain some features back with this phone in the SD card and headphone jack, while also not feeling tethered to the charging cable...yay lol.

[@dave-000]

10:00 "There's one big problem...the phone runs on Android 13" Me stuck on Android 11: ok 😂

[@Bless3757]

its a good thing you realized your mistake at the beginning lol im a phone saleperson and ive sold a decent amount of Moto G Play 2023's and i noticed an immediate EXTREMELY notable improvement to the smoothness of the experience

[@azenyr]

10:40 - "Apple, even their cheapest iPhone supports all updates" - well the fact is that the "cheapest" iPhone from Apple is still $500-$600 .... with those huge profit margins, any brand can give 10 years of updates .. but you are talking about a $150 NEW in-box phone here...

[@Audibleknight]

The price point is great, and the specs are good enough to be really attractive for those with tight budgets or used for a cheap secondary phone. The lack of software updates though feel like a deal-breaker.

[@kettusnuhveli341]

Funnily enough you can get the OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite 5G for around 150 EUR here all the time. Wonder how that would compare to this?

[@russellvonastel7111]

Very good review,thank you

[@Richniques]

Well done review.

[@Kinsypoo]

i use a pixel 6 i bought refurbished on Amazon for like 120$ and i dont see myself needing to upgrade anytime soon. I think buying used couple generations old flagship phones is the way to go.

[@ninjanerdstudent6937]

13:20 it is commendable. Sounds very ChatGPT.

[@forthelichkingsname]

When I'm getting into a new phone, the first I thing do is enable developer options and change the animations speed. But there are some apps now that doesn't work when dev options is enabled. And it sucks because that app is a cash app for my country.

[@i2ohit]

I have one of these, i use it for all phone needs except for the camera, which yes is an obvious trade off here but i already have a company provided Samsung which takes great pictures. So if Camera is something you can be okay with taking decent pictures in good lighting, this phone has everything else nailed down correctly. Display - 7/10, performance 10/10 for the price, its light weight, looks clean, UI is clean and slick, NO ADS, NO BLOATWARE

[@russ4AGE]

Best episode of initial d! Done, sold. Leaving to go to Best Buy right now

[@FIVESTRZ]

I used to have the G7 for one of my extra lines, made life easy, and felt really good knowing that it was only $150 and that i didn't need to be aa careful 99% of the time it did what i needed how i needed it done.

[@IrishWolf]

My OnePlus 7 pro finally gave up after almost 5 years of use, absolutely loved every minute of using it. Bought the Moto G84 for €220 on sale. Battery life has been absolutely fantastic and just an all round great phone to use.

[@mayureshpatil1873]

It's about perspective, that's what I learnt from you.

[@madsisak]

kick it up a notch, and get the Edge 40. Replaced my broken Pixel 7 with it... and damn.. I'm in love. 'Ready for assistant' is also uber sweet. The included 68W charger is nice, and the finish on the back.. geeez

[@vvvios]

How'd you get it? AliExpress?

[@matthewahn3663]

Currently rocking a OnePlus 12R but I think these truly budget phones interest me as there aren't that many good options in the US. You are right though security is the one thing that is kinda keeping me from getting these as my backup phone

[@SIPEROTH]

Security is a worthless concern unless you are visiting some really sketchy sites and download weird stuff. I have old devices that haven't got an update for years now and never had any issues.

[@matthewahn3663]

@@SIPEROTH interesting point 😁

[@tarfeef_4268]

Would pay double for software support and a faster soc if needed. Maybe 1080p as well. Otherwise looks great

[@paulhannawi7169]

The e5 play used to allow the capability of installing apps on an SD card but they took that away on the more recent models. Its not a complete deal breaker but it is a handy feature. Nonetheless the Moto G Power is only $50 more or so than the G-play and it does an amazing job for a mid range smart phone

[@itshelpa]

I appreciated the "Can it run Crysis?" reference 🙂

[@DreuVince-if1wg]

I was rocking a moto g power 2022 for a hot minute, great for older games, awesome multi day battery life, and installing a custom rom made it that much better. Motorola doesn't install a ton of bloatware but for under $200 one of the best phones I've ever used

[@elchamber]

This reminds me of the Droid X after a long term experience. I basically had to learn how to be able to get it to work correctly and give up on having widgets.

[@forte7991]

Great video. Phone are easy to expensive. I just picked a galaxy gold 4. I'm happy with it

[@sultanabran1]

this phone is all i really need. all i use my pixel 6 for is whatsapp, messaging, phone calls, spotify and android auto. any phone can handle that. oh and the camera. the pixel does have an awesome camera which is important to me.

[@bengt_axle]

Moto does not lock the bootloader like Samsung. Have you tried flashing Graphene, Lineage or Calyx OS on this phone? If it works well with these custom ROMS, then it would make sense, because after two years, you could flash it with an OS that is maintained, and still have something functional and secure. You should try these custom Roms and make a video about it. I think the camera is good enough for taking pictures of signs, travel photos and scanning QR codes.

[@AzureRT456]

App incompatibility will never be a problem for this phone since it's on Android 13. Again, that's relatively recent. I've also heard performance dropping for users (on any phone) when upgrading to a new Android version. Never had it happen to me but still.

[@KyleRuggles]

Great review, sucks bout the updates, but I'm sure there's a custom rom for it.

[@gmax876]

I would have to look hard to find a wired headset, the last one I had needed an amp to perform well, I'm not sure if there's any point to the jack anymore.

[@user-cf6eo3ru6s]

Motorolla is really improved it’s budget and midrange phone lineup ❤

[@josephmuniz9959]

I do believe that those cheaper devices have a space. Especially for a kid or older person, heck even a decent backup is hard to find. It’s super nice to have the option and not have to spend $1000+ on a phone and get all the necessities.

[@sameerpharma4906]

this seems to be the US version of the Moto g34, in India, we get it with the charger. Motorola has amazing smartphones over here. My friend recently got the g54 and it has a massive 6000 mah battery.

[@keithstrickland6311]

I appreciate you making this video. I have a Pro iPhone and a Surface Duo, but I believe phones like this are a great value.

[@callmerahro]

It's really interesting how companies limit options for NA market

[@stevestruthers6180]

A friend gave me his old iPhone XR and it functions flawlessly. When that phone gives up the ghost in a few years from now, I'll be looking at getting something like a cheap Moto G to replace it. All I really need is a basic means of communicating when I'm outside of my home. A camera is simply a bonus, and I can use it for utility purposes - to take pictures of receipts or posters advertising an event or service, etc. If I need to take a high-quality photo, I will take my digital camera with me. Sometimes, less is more.

[@chrislee8970]

Good review. Sounds like a solid entry level phone, hits pretty much all the important needs but doesn't go overboard on trying to match the premium phones. Software update life is one of the things I've truly been annoyed with about Android; most phones are dead after a few years, while I've got an iPhone 6s I use to play games via wifi that just went EoL after almost 15.

[@SkyYukiGuy]

The phone you already have is always the best one. Poco F3 still going strong after 3 years. We have already come to the point where better processors aren't really needed anymore and people are faking picture with AI anyway so they could be used to enhance the vaseline detail too.

[@davidsfc9]

I used to daily drive a moto Gplay, the only reason I upgrade it, was to have better performance with wireless android auto. Other than that was ok for my use case

[@telepathicdragon]

As soon as i saw him show costco and walk in to buy the phone, i knew immediately he was grabbing the wrong model LOL

[@LarryAsberryJr]

I'm glad HC considers budget phones. I have never owned a flagship phone because I don't believe I have to. My Xiaomi Mi 1q Lite 5G NE is great! It just updated to Android 14 and, like Motorola, more than meets my needs on a daily basis. The cameras are also fantastic

[@SIPEROTH]

Can't forgive Xiaomi for bending to Google and removing the shut of screen feature when playing KZbin.

[@xash06]

True

[@pinsandscrews6459]

My problem isn't with the phone, it's with the Version of Android that Lenovo provides. I have been daily driving a Moto G phone since 2019. Lenovo just does not optimize Android to run on their lower end Moto G phones. In my experience, Lenovo runs 2-3 months behind Android security updates. Even if your phone model is released after the new version of Android is released, it's a crap shoot if they will even update your phone to the new version. My current phone for instance, was released 2-3 months after 13 was available. It is still stuck running 12.

[@anthonywilliams9415]

Wow. That's not cool

[@czkmeister]

Well you get what you pay for. More premium phones do cost more, but customers are looked after better. That's what you pay for. Been running a Galaxy S series phone for past couple of years, different models, and I've zero complaints. Updates come on time, sometimes even earlier than on Pixel phones. A couple months ago I sold my S21 Ultra, because I moved to a newer model, and it still had the latest monthly security patch, along the latest android version.

[@selohcin]

5:27 I'm glad to know that koala quality is "pretty solid" 😃

[@bolland83]

I love my moto G power, the big selling point for me was that I can own the phone outright and get a year of mint mobile service for less than the cost of a lower end samsung. Moto phones are generally pretty tough too, with a good case + screen protector you can get a few years out of one. It's a phone, I need it to make calls and send texts, a bit of web browsing and music streaming is nice as well. Beyond that I don't really do much else with it, so why spend more than that on features I don't use?

[@riksinha1053]

I have moto g34 5g which is india version of moto g it has 8 gb ram, 128 gb storage, snapdragon 695g processor, dual sim support, android 14, 5000mah battery, came with charger brick and also under 130 dollar also it never freezes.

[@socksonfeet8125]

Camera can capture full megapixels, its in the advanced options of the camera. Files are like 7-10MB though, the average user is gonna eat up their memory pretty fast.

[@curousity]

An audio jack ? Im sold

[@PrivateVoid1]

I've finally replaced my moto g6 (from 2018!) with the motorola edge 40 neo and I'm really happy with it. A bit more expensive than the g play at £300 but still fantastic value imo. Oh and yes it did come with a charger :)

[@GraphicalRanger]

And a 68W Charger at that. also recently got the Edge40 Neo, very nice mobile phone!

[@bradye21playsIndieHorror]

If theyre going to have a bottom bezel, i wish they also put a top bezel with the selfie cam in it. Then we would get the full package of things missing from modern phones. Headphone jack, sd card slot, and uninterrupted screen.

[@eilegz]

i would add normal rectangular screen without gutted corners.

[@bradye21playsIndieHorror]

@@eilegz That was a criteria for me for a long time, but now that I have one with curved corners I don't mind it. The majority of what I watch is 16:9 and occasionally 18:9, which never even approaches the curves (so it has square corners). Anything greater, I tend to full screen, and it feels futuristic because the content seems to blend seamlessly to the outside of the phone. Hard to describe I suppose.

[@DanRobards]

Always been a fan of the Motorola Moto series. Glad they are still pumping out great affordable phones!

[@IrisFox97]

My grandma has a moto z play Droid and it's been a good phone for her