For the money this phone beats my Samsung S23 hands down, camera in my opinion is better and the phone functions really well, highly recommend it and if you’re like me and fed up with over priced Apple & Samsung phones give it a try.
This replaced my older Moto g 10 phone that was stuck on android 11 which no longer gets any new security updates or support. I need my phone to be secure, so as this Moto g54 5g was Motorola’s latest release at the time I bought it (released Sept. 2023 and bought Jan. 2024). It has great specs, and you get a lot for your money, 179.95 and down to 159.95 on January sale offer. It compares perfornance well with my son’s Google Pixel 7a, which cost 370. The only major pro and con between the phones is that the Google Pixel 7a came with android 14, and the Moto g54 has android 13. I expected this to upgrade to 14, as that is this year’s android release, but it hasn’t upgraded yet, but Motorola say It will be soon. It does state that the g54 gets at least 2 major upgrades and 3 years security updates and support. So I’m hoping this does update soon. The Pixel 7a gets 4 years+ support, but Google phones always get their software updates before other manufacturers. While I’m on the subject of software, Motorola seem to have discontinued the excellent Motorola Migrate app for some reason. There’s not much of an instruction book to show you how to transfer your apps and data. I quickly googled how to do it by a usbC to usbC cable, data, files and app transfer, but a pre installed app or clearer instructions would have been helpful. Apart from that, the Moto g54 is good, fast and responsive. I’m not sure the camera is any better than the one on my old Moto g10, and has lost its super wide angle lens. However, if I want to take great pictures I will use my camera instead. The phone camera is perfect for snapping unplanned photos.
The supplied 15 watt charger is an improvement over my old phone, and gets enough charge in fast (10 minutes from 10% to about 30%) when the battery is low and you’re in a hurry
Overall, the Moto g54 5g is a great phone, at an unbeatable value price. There’s not really any other phones from reliable manufacturers that offer the same specs in the same price range, apart from other Motorola phone models. It gets 5***** from me!
If you want to buy a cheap,
budget phone which is not particularly crippled in any way, look no further.
Lenovo as an owner of the Motorola brand is doing the better job with Motorola
than with the Lenovo itself.
It has 8GB RAM, 256GB ROM,
up to 1TB micro SD card support,
NFC, Bluetooth, WiFi, headphone jack
and more than enough for the price.
It’s just a shame that in the UK is not officially available the Power Edition of this phone.
The differences:
12 GB of RAM,
6000 mAh battery,
very slightly higher weight and thickness of the phone, 33W charging, and IT’S EVEN CHEAPER.
But what can we do, if it’s not available here.
If we’re fair and comparing this phone to the same, or very similar price category,
you can not buy a better phone right now for 149, the nearest, very slightly better is 199,
what is one quarter more, and if you want to go higher, it’s at least plus another 100.
This phone can be quite fast with the right settings and using.
Without one hundred apps
running on the background,
or without the unrealistic expectations,
because obviously,
it’s not an ultimate ultra cutting-edge flagship
and somewhere the edges were cut,
but overall, it’s an amazing phone.
No bloatware like in the cheapest phones elsewhere, just clean Android,
running smoothly and without any bugs.
It’s even easy to find the accessories as the cases
and screen protectors,
what is unusual for the phones in this price category.
On YouTube are videos about the settings and “tweaking” this phone,
so you can get maximum for your money.
I just strongly recommend changing the animations in the Developer Options menu
to 0.5x,
I’m doing this with all of my phones for ages already and it’s much faster.
So tap seven times on the build number,
it will unlock the Developer Options
and there find
Window animation scale,
Transition animation scale
and
Animator duration scale
and all of them set up to .5x.
Apart from the animations,
there are also other things to change
in the Developer Options to speed up the phone.
Switch on:
Enable Wi-Fi verbose logging,
Wi-Fi scan throttling,
NFC stack debug log,
Force 4x MSAA,
Force allow apps on external,
Force activities to be resizable,
Enable non-resizable in
Multi-window,
Don’t keep activities
and Standard limit.
Standard limit is about twenty processes running on the background,
so it’s enough for 95% situations.
Occasionally,
some apps or settings will tell you that you need to switch this off to keep them working smoothly.
Just two categories of people can be disappointed.
The hard-core players,
because it’s not a gaming device,
but you can still play the games,
just with the lower resolution.
The second category are the photographers,
because the cameras are not the best.
But it can be improved
with the future software update.
If we’re not expecting the 1,300 level for 149,
there is no any serious problem with this phone.
The only bad thing is the Motorola’s update policy, because they promised just two major system updates and it came out with
the Android 13,
even if the Android 14 has been already released and after about six months of Android 14, there is just the previous one,
even if my main phone,
the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra 5G has been updated in August 2023.
But of course,
not any manufacturer is treating
its budget phones as their flagships.
I have read the article saying that Motorola wants to return to the top three biggest players in the smartphone industry,
in just three years.
So they will must to change a lot of things,
and their update policy is one of them.
If you want to buy the phone with the better update policy, it’s at least the Samsung Galaxy A54 5G, and higher,
but it’s at least 100 more.
So I can recommend this phone for sure.
I bought this Moto G54 after reading a number of positive reviews and owning a Moto G9 Play for 3 years – I have not been disappointed. These are the pros and areas for development with this handset –
Pros
– Looks/feels well made for the price point – I like the vegan leather back finish.
– Slim profile for a phone at this price, the screen goes almost up to the edge with a minimal bezel.
– The screen quality is good (Full HD/120Hz) and bright, plus colours are vibrant but natural. Text is clear and sharp and the screen can be read in most sunlight.
– Generous memory, 8GB plus 256GB onboard plus a Micro SD card expansion slot for up to 1TB.
– Motorola hasn’t messed about with Android 13 except for including a few games that are easily deleted and the extra Moto app is useful.
– Call quality in both directions and network reception are good.
– Charging is fast enough, battery life is a good average from the 5000mAh cell – the phone easily lasts a 24-hour day with a few calls, internet browsing and viewing of emails. A fast charger is included in the box.
– Camera quality (front and back) is very reasonable for the price point plus the phone copes with low light quite well and has optical stabilisation built in. The macro is effective too.
– Sound quality is very reasonable and features Dolby Atmos.
– Headphone socket is provided – old school but useful!
Areas for development
– Limited choice of pre-loaded wallpapers/ringtones.
– Audio could go louder when used with corded earphones.
– Water repellent but not to a stated “IP” standard.
– Nothing much else, especially at the price!
I haven’t included wireless charging above, as although desirable, no other phones in this category (to my knowledge) offer the feature – you have to go up quite a few tiers until it’s likely to be included.
Overall, a really good value phone with decent performance.
Bought this for my son’s 10th birthday present. I’m very happy with this purchase. It’s a very good value for the money. Good quality built, attention to detail and very good battery life. It’s very easy to use for my son. Very good pictures even in a low light environment. Vegan leather from the back side of the phone it’s a big plus bringing a nice touch feel and good grip. Refresh rate of the screen makes it butter smooth. There are so many positive things to say about this smartphone, just go for it.
Highly recommend!
For the money this phone beats my Samsung S23 hands down, camera in my opinion is better and the phone functions really well, highly recommend it and if you’re like me and fed up with over priced Apple & Samsung phones give it a try.
So powerful with its memory.
Super fast processor.
All in all, a great phone that’s underestimated for the price.
The likes of samsung and iphone could learn a thing or two from motorola.
The supplied 15 watt charger is an improvement over my old phone, and gets enough charge in fast (10 minutes from 10% to about 30%) when the battery is low and you’re in a hurry
Overall, the Moto g54 5g is a great phone, at an unbeatable value price. There’s not really any other phones from reliable manufacturers that offer the same specs in the same price range, apart from other Motorola phone models. It gets 5***** from me!
budget phone which is not particularly crippled in any way, look no further.
Lenovo as an owner of the Motorola brand is doing the better job with Motorola
than with the Lenovo itself.
It has 8GB RAM, 256GB ROM,
up to 1TB micro SD card support,
NFC, Bluetooth, WiFi, headphone jack
and more than enough for the price.
It’s just a shame that in the UK is not officially available the Power Edition of this phone.
The differences:
12 GB of RAM,
6000 mAh battery,
very slightly higher weight and thickness of the phone, 33W charging, and IT’S EVEN CHEAPER.
But what can we do, if it’s not available here.
If we’re fair and comparing this phone to the same, or very similar price category,
you can not buy a better phone right now for 149, the nearest, very slightly better is 199,
what is one quarter more, and if you want to go higher, it’s at least plus another 100.
This phone can be quite fast with the right settings and using.
Without one hundred apps
running on the background,
or without the unrealistic expectations,
because obviously,
it’s not an ultimate ultra cutting-edge flagship
and somewhere the edges were cut,
but overall, it’s an amazing phone.
No bloatware like in the cheapest phones elsewhere, just clean Android,
running smoothly and without any bugs.
It’s even easy to find the accessories as the cases
and screen protectors,
what is unusual for the phones in this price category.
On YouTube are videos about the settings and “tweaking” this phone,
so you can get maximum for your money.
I just strongly recommend changing the animations in the Developer Options menu
to 0.5x,
I’m doing this with all of my phones for ages already and it’s much faster.
So tap seven times on the build number,
it will unlock the Developer Options
and there find
Window animation scale,
Transition animation scale
and
Animator duration scale
and all of them set up to .5x.
Apart from the animations,
there are also other things to change
in the Developer Options to speed up the phone.
Switch on:
Enable Wi-Fi verbose logging,
Wi-Fi scan throttling,
NFC stack debug log,
Force 4x MSAA,
Force allow apps on external,
Force activities to be resizable,
Enable non-resizable in
Multi-window,
Don’t keep activities
and Standard limit.
Standard limit is about twenty processes running on the background,
so it’s enough for 95% situations.
Occasionally,
some apps or settings will tell you that you need to switch this off to keep them working smoothly.
Just two categories of people can be disappointed.
The hard-core players,
because it’s not a gaming device,
but you can still play the games,
just with the lower resolution.
The second category are the photographers,
because the cameras are not the best.
But it can be improved
with the future software update.
If we’re not expecting the 1,300 level for 149,
there is no any serious problem with this phone.
The only bad thing is the Motorola’s update policy, because they promised just two major system updates and it came out with
the Android 13,
even if the Android 14 has been already released and after about six months of Android 14, there is just the previous one,
even if my main phone,
the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra 5G has been updated in August 2023.
But of course,
not any manufacturer is treating
its budget phones as their flagships.
I have read the article saying that Motorola wants to return to the top three biggest players in the smartphone industry,
in just three years.
So they will must to change a lot of things,
and their update policy is one of them.
If you want to buy the phone with the better update policy, it’s at least the Samsung Galaxy A54 5G, and higher,
but it’s at least 100 more.
So I can recommend this phone for sure.
Pros
– Looks/feels well made for the price point – I like the vegan leather back finish.
– Slim profile for a phone at this price, the screen goes almost up to the edge with a minimal bezel.
– The screen quality is good (Full HD/120Hz) and bright, plus colours are vibrant but natural. Text is clear and sharp and the screen can be read in most sunlight.
– Generous memory, 8GB plus 256GB onboard plus a Micro SD card expansion slot for up to 1TB.
– Motorola hasn’t messed about with Android 13 except for including a few games that are easily deleted and the extra Moto app is useful.
– Call quality in both directions and network reception are good.
– Charging is fast enough, battery life is a good average from the 5000mAh cell – the phone easily lasts a 24-hour day with a few calls, internet browsing and viewing of emails. A fast charger is included in the box.
– Camera quality (front and back) is very reasonable for the price point plus the phone copes with low light quite well and has optical stabilisation built in. The macro is effective too.
– Sound quality is very reasonable and features Dolby Atmos.
– Headphone socket is provided – old school but useful!
Areas for development
– Limited choice of pre-loaded wallpapers/ringtones.
– Audio could go louder when used with corded earphones.
– Water repellent but not to a stated “IP” standard.
– Nothing much else, especially at the price!
I haven’t included wireless charging above, as although desirable, no other phones in this category (to my knowledge) offer the feature – you have to go up quite a few tiers until it’s likely to be included.
Overall, a really good value phone with decent performance.
Highly recommend!