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.
@@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...
If you want to buy rubbish then go ahead or buy something like infinix note pro 40 see specs on TH-cam...you will soon realise you can and will complain 😮
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.
@@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.
@@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.
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.
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
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
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.
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 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.
I'm cheap. I don't care to impress anyone and I think value is paramount. A phone like this can give you 70% of a flagship experience at 1/10th of the price. To me that is high value!
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.
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...
It's not just that, but Apple hardware is easier to optimize for than the hundred of Android models out there. Even still, a used iPhone (as long as the battery is still in decent condition) may be a better choice... as Android has been getting worse since version 10.
@@Elena_7839 isn't the moto g(2024) or moto g power(2024) a better upgrade? it only cost a little more but still cheaper than 2024 moto g stylus, unless you want a 5g then go for 2024 moto g stylus
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.
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.
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.
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 $1000/year when every flagship I've ever bought has been dead within two years anyway.
You spent 1000 every year the problem is you not the market or phones. I have iPhone 12 Pro Max since day one , and works great. Better that any 250$ phone
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 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
Honestly photos look fine since everyone just shares and filters it on Instagram so it's just a tiny photo on a phone anyways. Yes an iPhone is better but on Instagram it doesn't matter.
@jonfreeman9682 Yeah it's gone into the editing tools now and we can now add text to photos too. We could use something on a computer instead to edit photos. The best i know of is canva, befunky, and krita which have always been good. Krita can also be used for drawing too but it has some photo editing tools too, while canva and befunky can be used for various things. Still though the camera quality isn't the best in phones right now though do you think they had to lower the quality for the more powerful screens and processors?.
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.
@@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 $150.
@@vaultboy1419 Those 200$ 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.
@@vaultboy1419pray 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.
The days of buying and actually owning your phone are over there's no point i just found out, get a phone on contract for 2 years because you'd end up having to get a contract with a mobile company to get service anyway lol there's no pay as you go tariffs from the few mobile phone companies that still did it has ended now. You get the phone free going on contract and it's yours at the end of so you can sell it for a bit of cash, sure you end up paying £239 on the cheapest contract by the end of the 2 years that's more than double what the phones are worth, but by buying the phone then going on contract you're paying £90 to over another £100 just for the cheapest brands. So it's just not worth actually paying for the actual phone anymore.
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
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.
@@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
@@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
@@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.
@@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.
Definitely worth buying as a back up spare phone,the se budget friendly phones are great value today,if more people tried cheaper phones they'd be very surprised 😊
I got one of these for my dad and he had no issues until we switched to xfinity, only the ones they sell or give away work on that carrier for some reason. He loved its 'easy' mode.
I live in Guadalajara, Mexico - this is a modern country, but a large part of the population is overworked and underpaid. A $1000 USD phone is way out of range if you have a middle class job paying $1000 USD or less (often much less) a month. A good phone for $75 - $120 USD (that's the range with different memory and storage options here right now on Amazon 11/24) is great for a lot of people here. Thanks, Motorola!
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
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.
@@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
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.
Pocos and Redmi come with a ton of uninstallable bloatware. Been a long time moto user. If u maintain it well ages fine like a wine. Whereas poco and redmis of my colleagues crap out within a year. Moto software is clean AF
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.
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.
I just got my Moto G 5G I got for $49 on cricket today. I have had a lot of more expensive phones including iPhones for a long time and this phone is all I need. I had a Samsung A15 and this is the better phone. The A15 has a better screen but is a lot slower. Great Video.
I'm noticing that about my motorola g04 however it gets harder when you zoom in to keep it focused so for anyone who uses phones for professional photography it's a good idea to have a little tripod.
You can install apps on the SD Card. In developer options you can choose "Force allow apps on external", and then you can install to external (Micro SD) storage. Make sure you have a fairly fast mSD though, as you will notice a performance difference.
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.
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.
I like the way you present. No "O" mouth. Not presenting as if soemone sniffed white lines. And definitely no apple propaganda. Just cellphones and honest review. Good stuff. Are you planning on driving on Mount Akagi?
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.
Great video. Currently using a TCL 40nxtpaper 8GB ram 256GB. I paid £169 for it in the UK. I bought it primarily for the display, but I've been surprised by how little I've needed to pick up my Pixel 6 Pro. The TCL does its job without any fuss and it even has a stylus in the case. I'm definitely a convert to the budget/midrange market.
I used to work at Best Buy in their Mobile department. This was a popular budget phone for people to buy so I’ve sold and setup tons of them…It’s a solid phone if you’re really on a tight budget, an elderly person who hardly uses their phone, and/or just need a secondary throwaway phone, but that said, I wouldn’t recommend to the average person if you use your phone frequently or have a higher budget to play with.
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).
10:57 you know what else is exceptional? The sound quality of this video. Please tell what mic are you using when recording in your studio and if possible please make a video on what post audio editing settings you do. Thank you so much.
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.
Phones like these have tons of uses , people with small businesses; among other examples. I had a family member come from Europe and we quickly ran to Walmart, grabbed one of these, threw a prepaid sim into it and bam; within 10 min he could call an Uber; call me, order food, whatever.
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.
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.
My strategy for technology has always been: Pretend you live 5 years earlier than the current date! What is old to other folks is always new to me, and 1/4 the price. I'm on a Pixel 4a that works _great_ for me in 2024. All the very latest bells & whistles will be mine (on the cheap) around 2029. :^>
@@arisanz6071 Yeah, eh? I don't have a good basis for comparison. But for my moderate use case, the battery's been just fine. Heavier users may well have a different experience.
I'm actually blown away by the photos, probably because my old phone's camera is dying that the quality gets so bad. As a power user I'll still need a better phone but that phone is what most people "need", not "want".
As someone who buys these more affordable models the one downside is software and security support. To stay on top you'd have to buy one of these every two years. That's a lot of e-waste.
I really enjoyed your review. I used to use the Samsung Note phones, but when they went up to $900 & more, i had to start rethinking what i needed in a phone. I went out on a limb & tried a Moto G (about $200 at the time) and was blown away. You may not believe me, but i honestly couldn't tell the difference in my day-to-day use. For me, budget and mid-range phones (mostly for better camera options) are the way to go.
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
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.
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.
I switched from a Note 9 (512gb w/ 8GB RAM) to a Moto G Stylus (256GB w/ 6GB RAM) and I've zero regrets. Screen color doesn't pop, but my new phone gets brighter! My new phone also has a 5000mah battery, and last all day and some.
More phones like this need to exist. Most people don't need more than what this offers, me being one of them. The most intensive thing I do on my phone is watch TH-cam.
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.
I don't understand why would someone pay that much money for just a phone? I'm using a $49.99 phone and it does what it needs to do make phone calls watch movies go on social media what else do you need. Phone for?
Problem with phones that cheap is usually that they rapidly lose performance due to crappy flash memory, bloated app design and stretched thin performances to begin with, to the point that in two to three years you can't even use them anymore for basic tasks. I had a phone like that, in a bit more than two years it took it 30 sec to open my commute ticket app, which gave me strange looks from controllers, and was generally unpleasant to use due to omnipresent lag. That's why I try to put around 200 to 300€ into my new phones, so that I can be reasonably confident they will be usable enough for the duration of their lifespan. I can understand putting even more, like 300 to 400€ if you really want something nice for photos, longer battery life or better quality of materials, but 1k+ phones in my opinion serve no more purpose than boasting about your ability to part from your savings...
@@eldonad trust me I had high end phones they also go slow with time it doesn't matter a phone will fade it's performance like I said with time so I decided to go for cheaper phones I was tired of paying allot for a phone but if you like waisting money for a phone cool with me I been there. A phone is just a phone. I understand if you go with a more lower end brand that's a problem there I only go for Motorola, Samsung and Nokia TCL phones are no good I phones I had 5 in my life they go slow with time and I don't like them they get on my nerves. But your choice is your choice. My choice is my choice. You decide what is best for you.
@3xcalibur23_Music Yeah, unfortunately planned obsolescence doesn't limit itself to budget devices... Though I don't disagree with you at all, if I wasn't (over) relying so much on my phone for basically everything from transportation to work to entertainment, I wouldn't mind going as cheap as you. Also worth mentioning that in Europe there is way more choice of budget phones (50-300€) due to chinese brands being far more present than in the US market. Stuff like Oppo, OnePlus, Honor, Xiaomi, all have very nice offerings that are very hard to best for the price, altough I also had a Motorola phone that I miss very much because of the simply amazing software...
Hardware Canucks such a nostalgia hit for me, loved the "Can it run Crysis?" chapter, HWC forums helped me build the computer I built to play Crysis back in the day :)
Instead of an iPhone 15 for $750, I bit the bullet and chose the Motorola G34 for a mere $125. It does 80% of a flagship phone for 80% less price. That's plenty enough. Functionality over symbolism.
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
I've got a Motorola G62 5G, it's got bare Android 13, no bloatware, headphone jack and memory card slot. I absolutely LOVE it !! 👍 Android runs so much faster and nicer without all the crap most companies add !!
If or wasn't for the shitty camera the Poco X6 pro 512GB would be a deal. UFS4, 12GB RAM and a decent SoC. But because of the cameras I am still stuck on my Note 9...probably forever. I refuse to bend over for Samsung or any other tech giant ramming ridiculous prices and devices down our throat.
I used to be the person that upgraded every year until I realized what a waste of money it is. I have a 3 year old Iphone 13 Pro. I want to go back to Android but will wait to get more use out of this phone. I think the key is for the value too drop. Last year's Samsung Galaxy s23 can be found for almost half the price. Same with the Pixels. OnePlus has great deals too.
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.
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.
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.
Thank you for the reminder that we don't need the latest, greatest, top-of-the-line flagship. All we need is a phone that will do its job. My budget phone of five plus years crapped out two weeks ago and this video snapped me out of the TH-cam "what's the best phone?" rabbit hole. I got another budget Motorola and even though it's a budget phone, it still does everything I need and is a significant upgrade over my old phone. (By the way, this Motorola 2024 came with Android 14 out of the box) This video was very helpful. 90% of a flagship's capability is still pretty good. Practicality is important. Thank you again.
Nice review 👍 Personally, I DO NOT buy ANY phone over $300. 1. Affordability 2. Even if I could afford a "flagship phone" I would NOT. Rather give the $$ to someone less fortunate . ( just my opinion)🎸🎸🎸 I currently use an older model Moto G7 Play (paid $129 unlocked new) at the time and very happy with it . When it craps out , I'll buy another Motorola. I use Mint Mobile for carrier MInt DOES NOT fund/sponsor me in any way........just a happy starving musician who can afford their plan)🎸🎸🎸
As for me, I would maybe consider buying a flagship... as long as it meets my list of required features (but most don't these days) and I would be using it for many years (5-10 years) before even considering an "upgrade".
So NICE to see the new phone not having that useless 2MP macro camera every budget phone seem to come with. Honestly such an ingenious design as well to have the flash like that.
My Poco F3 cost around US $250 in 2021, and it still thrive with SD 870 powering any games and most importantly emulator nowadays out of the box just fine. Also with SD 684G (or snapdragon in general) it will live a long life by the community Cutom ROM and security updates
It depends. I rarely ever use the phones camera. For taking photographs I use an actual real camera (shocking, I know). Phone cameras are here for rapid snaphots and QR codes.
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.
It's refreshing to see a high quality and tempered review of a true entry level phone. More technology reviewers should follow suit in giving space for lower end devices to illustrate how you can have an enjoyable experience without having to sacrifice much
Got a moto, and I love it!! Great interface and fast enough. Have mine 2.5 yrs no problems. And if it breaks, an easy 150 to replace it. No way would I waste money on Apple products, and I make over 100k a year. Smarter with my money.
My iPhone is a used iPhone SE 1st Gen (last iPhone to have a heaphone jack). It's still working. I wouldn't say it a waste of money. Android often suffers more than iPhones (with older iOS versions) when on an older version, as Google Play Developers are forced to follow Google's crap standards that kill support too fast for older versions... leaving people with older phones (or phones that don't get updates) unable to install a lot of apps. TBH if Google actually cared about security, they would give users a built-in firewall app... but as of now even older rooted devices can be more secure than the latest flagship running the latest version of Android, if they run certain root apps like AFWall that apply a firewall at the system level (which can be used to block apps that shouldn't normally have internet access - like those sketchy "flashlight" apps that used to be so popular that would spam ads and download malware payloads). Likely the reason Google doesn't give user that ability is because it would hurt their ad revenue. Meanwhile, even Windows gives users a functional firewall.
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😅...
Probably about the protocol it supports. Ufs1 or smth
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.
Lol hilarious
@@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...
@@ElMarcoh thats if the SD port is available... Most phones do not have the SD port anymore.
my man put Initial D on the phone to test it, mad respect
Rewatched the whole series, now into MF Ghost
@@HardwareCanucksis that your burner account? No one cares about initial d
@@HardwareCanuckswhere can we watch it ?
Season 2 isn't coming soon !@@HardwareCanucks
@@deeptweshdm2536mf ghost? It's on netflix
For $150 cant complain. Just shows how much people are willing to pay for branding and bells/whistles!
I'd go cheaper still. It's comparable to last gen Xiaomi Redmi or OnePlus Nord with a 50% mark up.
If you want to buy rubbish then go ahead or buy something like infinix note pro 40 see specs on TH-cam...you will soon realise you can and will complain 😮
@@imwatchingyou6113how much?
Yeah but how long is this $150 going to last?
At the rate these software supports (Google 7 years...) the hardware will burn out before then, like the batteries no doubt. @@iambear.6526
Moto phones have been amazing in the under $200 range for years. Moto X and G were mid range beasts for their time
Yes, in that range Samsung's OneUI is a disadvantage, for example. Motos have such clean OS
@@SilvioBritto 💯 I generally detest Sanding phones regardless
@@SilvioBritto Yeah i had two cheap Samsung phones. Updates made them really slow and even killed one.
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.
Totally agree
4:40 As long as I can watch Initial D and it looks decent I'm sold.
Is this your burner account ? And sounds like this was a sponsored ad
@@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.
@@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.
@@ignaciotomasiMF Ghost is also sick. They got Ryosuke's original VA, which was a nice surprise.
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.
In India we can get decent tablet for $200, better specs than this mobile
Redmi Pad SE.
mi pads are really good in budget...been using them for 2 years now...no complaints
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
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
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.
I don't understand, what's AT&T?
@@bretislav9247 It's the biggest telecommunication company in the US which had quite huge personal data leak on the dark web quite recently.
@bretislav9247 massive data leak
AT&t is a carrier company it gives sim cards and wifi
😅
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!
Do you know what the support period (time of receiving security updates) is on these phones? That might the only dealbreaker for me.
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.
@@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.
@@jonboy602is 150 bucks. Just pickup another one in 2 years. That ain't enough money to care.
@@LeroyChamoy Cool if you don't care about eWaste
I'm cheap. I don't care to impress anyone and I think value is paramount. A phone like this can give you 70% of a flagship experience at 1/10th of the price. To me that is high value!
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.
Nonsense
@@langserv There's nothing "nonsense" at what he said. You are obviously mentally inept.
@@langserv you are nonsense
@@budgetking2591
I paid around £120 ($150) in the UK for a Nokia 5110 in 1999
@@budgetking2591
I paid around £120 (= USD $150) in the UK for a Nokia 5110 in 1999
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...
I bought my iPhone SE 3 for $100, that deal is still available. Life is to short to use an Android clown phone.
It's not just that, but Apple hardware is easier to optimize for than the hundred of Android models out there.
Even still, a used iPhone (as long as the battery is still in decent condition) may be a better choice... as Android has been getting worse since version 10.
10:00 "There's one big problem...the phone runs on Android 13"
Me stuck on Android 11: ok 😂
Same.
I have a Moto G Stylus 2021 - Android 11 on it.
Switching over to the Moto G Play 2024 soon, so it'll be a nice upgrade.
Also me : wait that's a problem ??
@@Elena_7839 isn't the moto g(2024) or moto g power(2024) a better upgrade? it only cost a little more but still cheaper than 2024 moto g stylus, unless you want a 5g then go for 2024 moto g stylus
And that's fine. I'm stuck on 10 and apps work fine. You don't need the latest OS.
Android 8, anyone? xD
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.
I always buy my phones out right
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.
@@IcaroMorse Just avoid updates because those really slow it down.
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.
God bless you 🙂
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.
I agree, but I'd miss the camera too much.
@@depbassist7848 9 times out of 10 the photos will look the same on social media. Seriously. But it's all in what is important to you.
I use GrapheneOS, so I'm stuck with pixels for awhile.
I also use Pixel 6a. But I will buy whatever phone that supports GrapheneOS, it's just amazing
Pixel 3axl going strong :)
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.
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
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
@@Rresenden bro is mad someone is happy with a cheap phone
@@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
Buy a 1k phone every year might be a problem that needs to be fixed. Glad you've done that
It’s not really the camera but the person using it. Those pictures look sick even though it was shot on a budget phone.
Now imagine a camera that does that regardless of the person.
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
Honestly photos look fine since everyone just shares and filters it on Instagram so it's just a tiny photo on a phone anyways. Yes an iPhone is better but on Instagram it doesn't matter.
@jonfreeman9682 Yeah it's gone into the editing tools now and we can now add text to photos too. We could use something on a computer instead to edit photos. The best i know of is canva, befunky, and krita which have always been good.
Krita can also be used for drawing too but it has some photo editing tools too, while canva and befunky can be used for various things. Still though the camera quality isn't the best in phones right now though do you think they had to lower the quality for the more powerful screens and processors?.
Well it's like 10x less the cost of a flagship. So i guess just buy a new one when updates stop coming 😅
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.
@@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.
@@vaultboy1419 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.
@@vaultboy1419pray 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.
The days of buying and actually owning your phone are over there's no point i just found out, get a phone on contract for 2 years because you'd end up having to get a contract with a mobile company to get service anyway lol there's no pay as you go tariffs from the few mobile phone companies that still did it has ended now.
You get the phone free going on contract and it's yours at the end of so you can sell it for a bit of cash, sure you end up paying £239 on the cheapest contract by the end of the 2 years that's more than double what the phones are worth, but by buying the phone then going on contract you're paying £90 to over another £100 just for the cheapest brands. So it's just not worth actually paying for the actual phone anymore.
Great video presentation. Sensible is smarter and gratifying when we pause and take a closer look.
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
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.
@@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
@@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
@@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.
@@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.
Definitely worth buying as a back up spare phone,the se budget friendly phones are great value today,if more people tried cheaper phones they'd be very surprised 😊
0:24 you guys put CAD twice instead of 1299 USD
CAD stands for Californian American Dollar
@@TominiOfficial, says the DUNCE who is unable to spot an obvious joke.
@@JagadguruSvamiVegananda or you're the dunce that can't see an editing error.
@@MrMega200, kindly repeat that in ENGLISH, Miss.☝️
Incidentally, Slave, are you VEGAN? 🌱
American dollars are worth less than Canadian Pesos at this point 😂
I got one of these for my dad and he had no issues until we switched to xfinity, only the ones they sell or give away work on that carrier for some reason. He loved its 'easy' mode.
Editing & cinematography is much better than other youtubers seriously hats offf
I live in Guadalajara, Mexico - this is a modern country, but a large part of the population is overworked and underpaid. A $1000 USD phone is way out of range if you have a middle class job paying $1000 USD or less (often much less) a month. A good phone for $75 - $120 USD (that's the range with different memory and storage options here right now on Amazon 11/24) is great for a lot of people here. Thanks, Motorola!
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
Theirs matte screen technology is sick
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.
@@Jbzy3000 I wanna try somadas the matte screens from TCL
tcl is terrible. i know them as a government phone brand lol
H E A D P H O N E J A C K
Great review - but honestly, doesn’t this apply to all Redmi’s and Poco’s as well?
Those aren't sold in electronic stores in US and Canada, so most people know nothing about them
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
@@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
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.
Pocos and Redmi come with a ton of uninstallable bloatware. Been a long time moto user. If u maintain it well ages fine like a wine. Whereas poco and redmis of my colleagues crap out within a year. Moto software is clean AF
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.
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.
I just got my Moto G 5G I got for $49 on cricket today. I have had a lot of more expensive phones including iPhones for a long time and this phone is all I need. I had a Samsung A15 and this is the better phone. The A15 has a better screen but is a lot slower. Great Video.
Samsung is good at installing a ton of bloatware on their phones.
These days, I hate Samsung.
as an iphone pro user i'm jealous of that minimal camera bump
I'm noticing that about my motorola g04 however it gets harder when you zoom in to keep it focused so for anyone who uses phones for professional photography it's a good idea to have a little tripod.
You can install apps on the SD Card. In developer options you can choose "Force allow apps on external", and then you can install to external (Micro SD) storage.
Make sure you have a fairly fast mSD though, as you will notice a performance difference.
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.
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.
Me too! It sucks that newer phones have no sd card slot, so I may be even buy it again if it breaks.
One of the reasons I like mid range phones because they have a headphone jack
For 200$ you can get a Samsung A15 with an amoled fhd display, 8gb/256gb, and five years of updates
Even the f15 model with 6k battery
The A15 only has 4 GB of memory.
@@squatch545 there is an 8gb/256gb option
@@Adnyeus Not in Canada. The 8 GB version must be a global/International version.
I got the A13 5G and it's been fine with me
I like the way you present.
No "O" mouth.
Not presenting as if soemone sniffed white lines.
And definitely no apple propaganda.
Just cellphones and honest review.
Good stuff.
Are you planning on driving on Mount Akagi?
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
This phone honestly sounds like a high-end phone you could get 2 or 3 years ago. $150 is a steal
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.
Great video.
Currently using a TCL 40nxtpaper 8GB ram 256GB. I paid £169 for it in the UK. I bought it primarily for the display, but I've been surprised by how little I've needed to pick up my Pixel 6 Pro. The TCL does its job without any fuss and it even has a stylus in the case. I'm definitely a convert to the budget/midrange market.
I used to work at Best Buy in their Mobile department. This was a popular budget phone for people to buy so I’ve sold and setup tons of them…It’s a solid phone if you’re really on a tight budget, an elderly person who hardly uses their phone, and/or just need a secondary throwaway phone, but that said, I wouldn’t recommend to the average person if you use your phone frequently or have a higher budget to play with.
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).
I literally just use my phone to text, call, go online and youtube 😂
Same, I have the same phone and don't understand why people spend so much $$ on expensive phones
10:57 you know what else is exceptional? The sound quality of this video. Please tell what mic are you using when recording in your studio and if possible please make a video on what post audio editing settings you do. Thank you so much.
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.
Who buys a 9 yr old an iphone 🙄🤦🏻♀️
Phones like these have tons of uses , people with small businesses; among other examples. I had a family member come from Europe and we quickly ran to Walmart, grabbed one of these, threw a prepaid sim into it and bam; within 10 min he could call an Uber; call me, order food, whatever.
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.
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
Insanely good video, a master piece and probably the best one you will ever do, cheers.
4:34 The Initial D reference is what solidified smashing that Like button for me.
Very unique style of reviwing a mobile phone liked it ❤
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.
My strategy for technology has always been: Pretend you live 5 years earlier than the current date! What is old to other folks is always new to me, and 1/4 the price. I'm on a Pixel 4a that works _great_ for me in 2024. All the very latest bells & whistles will be mine (on the cheap) around 2029. :^>
Did Thanos do that to you?
Pixel 4a it's a good smartphone, except for the battery. It barely last an entire day
@@arisanz6071 Yeah, eh? I don't have a good basis for comparison. But for my moderate use case, the battery's been just fine. Heavier users may well have a different experience.
I'm actually blown away by the photos, probably because my old phone's camera is dying that the quality gets so bad. As a power user I'll still need a better phone but that phone is what most people "need", not "want".
As someone who buys these more affordable models the one downside is software and security support. To stay on top you'd have to buy one of these every two years. That's a lot of e-waste.
With my family we keep our phones until they stop working I use a ZTE Majesty Z796C from 2013 as my mp3 player and for going on a news app called NPR
I really enjoyed your review. I used to use the Samsung Note phones, but when they went up to $900 & more, i had to start rethinking what i needed in a phone. I went out on a limb & tried a Moto G (about $200 at the time) and was blown away. You may not believe me, but i honestly couldn't tell the difference in my day-to-day use. For me, budget and mid-range phones (mostly for better camera options) are the way to go.
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
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.
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.
Amazing video, really love this kind of content and comparison.
This is amazing! I'm currently in the search of a budget friendly, well powered Android phone. Maybe I'll actually pick this up!
I switched from a Note 9 (512gb w/ 8GB RAM) to a Moto G Stylus (256GB w/ 6GB RAM) and I've zero regrets. Screen color doesn't pop, but my new phone gets brighter! My new phone also has a 5000mah battery, and last all day and some.
More phones like this need to exist. Most people don't need more than what this offers, me being one of them. The most intensive thing I do on my phone is watch TH-cam.
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.
Nope those are two different chips. 695 has a faster cpu and gpu alongside 5g support
This video was so relaxing and informative. I watched it while having my morning coffee. Keep up yhe great work guys!
I don't understand why would someone pay that much money for just a phone? I'm using a $49.99 phone and it does what it needs to do make phone calls watch movies go on social media what else do you need. Phone for?
Problem with phones that cheap is usually that they rapidly lose performance due to crappy flash memory, bloated app design and stretched thin performances to begin with, to the point that in two to three years you can't even use them anymore for basic tasks. I had a phone like that, in a bit more than two years it took it 30 sec to open my commute ticket app, which gave me strange looks from controllers, and was generally unpleasant to use due to omnipresent lag. That's why I try to put around 200 to 300€ into my new phones, so that I can be reasonably confident they will be usable enough for the duration of their lifespan. I can understand putting even more, like 300 to 400€ if you really want something nice for photos, longer battery life or better quality of materials, but 1k+ phones in my opinion serve no more purpose than boasting about your ability to part from your savings...
@@eldonad trust me I had high end phones they also go slow with time it doesn't matter a phone will fade it's performance like I said with time so I decided to go for cheaper phones I was tired of paying allot for a phone but if you like waisting money for a phone cool with me I been there. A phone is just a phone. I understand if you go with a more lower end brand that's a problem there I only go for Motorola, Samsung and Nokia TCL phones are no good I phones I had 5 in my life they go slow with time and I don't like them they get on my nerves. But your choice is your choice. My choice is my choice. You decide what is best for you.
@3xcalibur23_Music Yeah, unfortunately planned obsolescence doesn't limit itself to budget devices... Though I don't disagree with you at all, if I wasn't (over) relying so much on my phone for basically everything from transportation to work to entertainment, I wouldn't mind going as cheap as you. Also worth mentioning that in Europe there is way more choice of budget phones (50-300€) due to chinese brands being far more present than in the US market. Stuff like Oppo, OnePlus, Honor, Xiaomi, all have very nice offerings that are very hard to best for the price, altough I also had a Motorola phone that I miss very much because of the simply amazing software...
Hardware Canucks such a nostalgia hit for me, loved the "Can it run Crysis?" chapter, HWC forums helped me build the computer I built to play Crysis back in the day :)
Instead of an iPhone 15 for $750, I bit the bullet and chose the Motorola G34 for a mere $125. It does 80% of a flagship phone for 80% less price. That's plenty enough.
Functionality over symbolism.
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
Can't forgive Xiaomi for bending to Google and removing the shut of screen feature when playing TH-cam.
True
The colours on those photos were so beautiful, much nicer than the overprocessed hdr nonsense that flagships spit out these days
I still use iPhone 5 for my basic mobile needs, sms and calls. I guess that answers the last question 😅
I've got a Motorola G62 5G, it's got bare Android 13, no bloatware, headphone jack and memory card slot.
I absolutely LOVE it !! 👍
Android runs so much faster and nicer without all the crap most companies add !!
increase ur budget from 150 to 300 and u will get everything and extremely value for money phones
300 and used will get you a flagship phone that can do everything
Great overview , too many people are brand obsessed & would rather pay over the odds to think they are cool than to just get what they need ! 😂😂
If or wasn't for the shitty camera the Poco X6 pro 512GB would be a deal. UFS4, 12GB RAM and a decent SoC. But because of the cameras I am still stuck on my Note 9...probably forever. I refuse to bend over for Samsung or any other tech giant ramming ridiculous prices and devices down our throat.
The camera is not that terrible, specially if you compare with note 9
S21 FE for 399 wasn't a bad deal last year
Thankfully i don't care for cameras .
Security updates😢
I used to be the person that upgraded every year until I realized what a waste of money it is. I have a 3 year old Iphone 13 Pro. I want to go back to Android but will wait to get more use out of this phone. I think the key is for the value too drop. Last year's Samsung Galaxy s23 can be found for almost half the price. Same with the Pixels. OnePlus has great deals too.
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.
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.
Wow. That's not cool
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.
Great, thorough, succinct review... I may grab one of these.
HELLO MOTO …. lol is this 2002. Great video
That was,a very informative and helpful review and I appreciated the mature reviewer. Thank you.
A used Google Pixel 6A will still be 10 times better than this.
Except battery...
6a is trash - A 6a user.
Thank you for the reminder that we don't need the latest, greatest, top-of-the-line flagship. All we need is a phone that will do its job.
My budget phone of five plus years crapped out two weeks ago and this video snapped me out of the TH-cam "what's the best phone?" rabbit hole. I got another budget Motorola and even though it's a budget phone, it still does everything I need and is a significant upgrade over my old phone. (By the way, this Motorola 2024 came with Android 14 out of the box)
This video was very helpful. 90% of a flagship's capability is still pretty good. Practicality is important. Thank you again.
No comments yet let me fix that.
Oohh sporting a Seiko Alpinist GMT! I see you are a man of culture yourself! 👏🏻
You bought the wrong phone two times.
Moto G84. 200€, OLED 120Hz, SD695, 12GB RAM, 5000mAh, MicroSD, everything you want for 200€.
That's 300$ Canadian, bud. The only mistake here is your comment.
@@armorclasshero2103 Moto G Play 2024 costs 189€ in Europe, so the price is bad compared to G84.
Who cares about Camadian Rupees.
I recently got a Samsung A15 5G for $99. All the phone I need.
Nice review 👍 Personally, I DO NOT buy ANY phone over $300. 1. Affordability 2. Even if I could afford a "flagship phone" I would NOT. Rather give the $$ to someone less fortunate . ( just my opinion)🎸🎸🎸 I currently use an older model Moto G7 Play (paid $129 unlocked new) at the time and very happy with it . When it craps out , I'll buy another Motorola. I use Mint Mobile for carrier MInt DOES NOT fund/sponsor me in any way........just a happy starving musician who can afford their plan)🎸🎸🎸
msu
As for me, I would maybe consider buying a flagship... as long as it meets my list of required features (but most don't these days) and I would be using it for many years (5-10 years) before even considering an "upgrade".
Best episode of initial d! Done, sold. Leaving to go to Best Buy right now
I think we as consumers are driving the cost of smartphones to ridiculous prices asking for (useless) things to be added to smartphones.
So NICE to see the new phone not having that useless 2MP macro camera every budget phone seem to come with.
Honestly such an ingenious design as well to have the flash like that.
One day my comment will be viral.
sorry, all i could give you is one thumb up
@@SuPerDuPerKorean2 Thanks! Dude
My Poco F3 cost around US $250 in 2021, and it still thrive with SD 870 powering any games and most importantly emulator nowadays out of the box just fine. Also with SD 684G (or snapdragon in general) it will live a long life by the community Cutom ROM and security updates
your voice itself sold me over buying this phone for my nephew and friend. thanks for the recommendation.
Bought Samsung M14 4G for $100 in SriLanka Yesterday.
Pretty Sweet Deal
400 dpi 90Hz 1080p with SD680
Myself got $300 phone 2 years ago, with 8GB + 128GB + snap 888.
This should last decade
They need to improve the camera since it’s the most important part today…love that EK9😊
It depends. I rarely ever use the phones camera. For taking photographs I use an actual real camera (shocking, I know). Phone cameras are here for rapid snaphots and QR codes.
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.
It's refreshing to see a high quality and tempered review of a true entry level phone. More technology reviewers should follow suit in giving space for lower end devices to illustrate how you can have an enjoyable experience without having to sacrifice much
Got a moto, and I love it!! Great interface and fast enough. Have mine 2.5 yrs no problems. And if it breaks, an easy 150 to replace it. No way would I waste money on Apple products, and I make over 100k a year. Smarter with my money.
My iPhone is a used iPhone SE 1st Gen (last iPhone to have a heaphone jack). It's still working. I wouldn't say it a waste of money. Android often suffers more than iPhones (with older iOS versions) when on an older version, as Google Play Developers are forced to follow Google's crap standards that kill support too fast for older versions... leaving people with older phones (or phones that don't get updates) unable to install a lot of apps.
TBH if Google actually cared about security, they would give users a built-in firewall app... but as of now even older rooted devices can be more secure than the latest flagship running the latest version of Android, if they run certain root apps like AFWall that apply a firewall at the system level (which can be used to block apps that shouldn't normally have internet access - like those sketchy "flashlight" apps that used to be so popular that would spam ads and download malware payloads). Likely the reason Google doesn't give user that ability is because it would hurt their ad revenue. Meanwhile, even Windows gives users a functional firewall.
Got my Moto G73 for 200$ brand new in store no contract.
Best phone buy in my life.
I wish more people used such phones for 4-5 years, and not buy expensive phones for a status symbol.