Motorola Moto G
Hacker ApprovedRanked 4 of 6 Android phones by recommenders
Recommended as a cheap, reliable Android phone with long battery life that handles everyday use well. Common caveat: preinstalled apps and ads.
Recommended as a cheap, reliable Android phone with long battery life that handles everyday use well. Common caveat: preinstalled apps and ads.
29 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 25
- criticize it
- 4
- approval share
- 86%
Recommended in 10 of 13 months
- November 2025: recommended
- December 2025: recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: recommended
- March 2026: recommended
- April 2026: recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: recommended
- September 2026: recommended
- October 2026: recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it carries the badge
- 25 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 6.3 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 10 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Low price for the value
“You can get a year old Moto G for under $100. There's no reason it shouldn't last two years”
Comment from 24 Nov 2025 in “My Life Is a Lie: How a Broken Benchmark Broke America” “probably the best cheap Android phone available that could fit into my hand properly”
Comment from 22 Aug 2026 in “Initial focus for our partnership with Motorola is a regular non-folding device” “cheap and worked great, had everything one could wish for in a daily smartphone”
Comment from 19 Aug 2026 in “GrapheneOS in 2027 available on high-end Motorola phones” - Comment from 29 Apr 2026 in “Phone is about to stop being yours”
- Comment from 15 Nov 2025 in “Being poor vs. being broke”
- Comment from 19 Mar 2026 in “Denmark was reportedly preparing for full-scale war with the US over Greenland”
- Comment from 9 May 2026 in “Google Broke reCAPTCHA for De-Googled Android Users”
- Comment from 26 May 2026 in “Motorola phones have started hijacking the Amazon app to insert affiliate codes”
Fast enough and does everything needed
“cheap and worked great, had everything one could wish for in a daily smartphone”
Comment from 19 Aug 2026 in “GrapheneOS in 2027 available on high-end Motorola phones” “moved to Moto G which was the best phone I had so far”
Comment from 2 Dec 2025 in “Apple to beat Samsung in smartphone shipments for first time in 14 years” “They're fast enough for anything I do with a phone.”
Comment from 2 Mar 2026 in “Motorola announces a partnership with GrapheneOS Foundation” - Comment from 3 Mar 2026 in “Motorola announces a partnership with GrapheneOS Foundation”
- Comment from 24 Nov 2025 in “My Life Is a Lie: How a Broken Benchmark Broke America”
- Comment from 2 Mar 2026 in “Motorola announces a partnership with GrapheneOS Foundation”
Long-lasting battery
“The G84 has a very good battery by default though, judging from its predecessor.”
Comment from 31 Oct 2026 in “Molly (Signal fork) has not been updated since 3 months and is vulnerable” “cheap and cheerful with long lasting battery”
Comment from 26 May 2026 in “Motorola phones have started hijacking the Amazon app to insert affiliate codes”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Preinstalled apps and ads
“Seems I have more junk (gambling apps, linked in, etc.) to scrub off them each time though.”
Comment from 22 Sep 2026 in “There's a high chance of devices being sold with GrapheneOS preinstalled in 2027” “every phone we bought after that did have ads/came with prepackaged apps”
Comment from 3 Mar 2026 in “Motorola announces a partnership with GrapheneOS Foundation” Ships only to Ukraine
“The drop down menu for destination country has a single option, Ukraine.”
Comment from 19 Mar 2026 in “Denmark was reportedly preparing for full-scale war with the US over Greenland” “Motor-g doesn't seem to ship outside of Ukraine.”
Comment from 19 Mar 2026 in “Denmark was reportedly preparing for full-scale war with the US over Greenland”
Other Android phones people recommend
The four most recommended other Android phones, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Google Pixel | 388 | 338 | 53% | 12 | 1 yr31 owners | — |
| Samsung Galaxy S series | 70 | 51 | 58% | 12 | 3 yrs13 owners | — |
| OnePlus 15 | 31 | 9 | 78% | 9 | 7 yrs6 owners | Approved |
| Motorola Moto GThis page | 25 | 4 | 86% | 10 | — | Approved |
| Google Pixel 10a | 20 | 5 | 80% | 8 | — | Approved |
What people said
32 of the 34 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“The G84 has a very good battery by default though, judging from its predecessor.”
“Seems I have more junk (gambling apps, linked in, etc.) to scrub off them each time though.”
“Motorola has a Moto G series that it would likely use.”
“probably the best cheap Android phone available that could fit into my hand properly”
“cheap and worked great, had everything one could wish for in a daily smartphone”
“it's my favorite phone ever”
“Main downside is the relative lack of RAM honestly”
“cheap and cheerful with long lasting battery”
“you can actually get mot 5Gs for $30 at walmart”
“I'm currently using a low end Motorola moto g 5G 2023 which lets me turn off Play Services... I couldn't be happier.”
“It also did diddly squat in the market place and the company producing it ran out of business.”
“you could buy a cheap Android like a Moto G for that indispensable banking app”
“The drop down menu for destination country has a single option, Ukraine.”
“the price is right and the quality is extremely high”
“Motor-g doesn't seem to ship outside of Ukraine.”
“they're inherently superior when it comes to audio just working”
“they were great for the price, besides the fact that each generation it got bigger and bigger”
“every phone we bought after that did have ads/came with prepackaged apps”
“it ended up fitting the bill perfectly”
“The chop chop gesture is amazing.”
“They've found a market fit and this shows they know their audience.”
“They're fast enough for anything I do with a phone.”
“I regretted that decision because soon that phone developed a bunch of warts”
“which was a brilliant phone”
“I had to go with a Motorolo G, as it had both of those features.”
“I keep a hot swappable spare phone on me”
“certain brands that have helped me solve a problem in the past”
“moved to Moto G which was the best phone I had so far”
“They do everything necessary.”
“You can get a year old Moto G for under $100. There's no reason it shouldn't last two years”
“A new Motorola phone is cheaper than a 5 year old used iPhone”
“it was comfortable with my Moto G 2”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.