The Best Motorola Phones, From Razr to Moto G (2026)

Motorola phones often play third (or fourth) fiddle to Samsung and Google, but the winds are changing. Motorola is among the fastest-growing mobile companies in the world, and the company’s Razr handsets are the most popular folding smartphones in the US. Motorola has also been experimenting with colorful Android phones and fun textures, making its devices stand out from the sea of boring glass handsets.

If you’re an interested buyer, picking the best Motorola phone can be tough because the company launches several models each year. I’ve tested almost all of them, and in this guide, I break down the pros and cons and steer you toward my favorite Moto models—from the Razr Ultra to the Moto G Power 2026.

Check out our other mobile buying guides for more, including the Best Android Phones, Best Samsung Phones, Best Cheap Phones, Best Pixel Phones, and Best Phones With a Headphone Jack.

Updated July 2026: We’ve added the Moto G Stylus 2026, the entire new Razr lineup, and the Motorola Edge 2026.

The Razr Ultra is the best reason to get a Motorola phone over the likes of Samsung, Apple, and Google. It’s a statement piece, not just because it’s a compact folding flip phone, but because it’s stylish, whether you opt for the Alcantara finish or the elegant wood.

The spacious 4-inch OLED screen is quite customizable—you can add widgets for glanceable information, so you don’t need to open the phone constantly. Once you do, you’re treated to a large 7-inch AMOLED display that’s sharp, bright, and smooth thanks to the 165-Hz refresh rate. What you’re paying extra for over the other Razr models is things like the Gorilla Glass Ceramic 3 mixture for the cover screen, which makes it tougher to crack.

Frankly, there isn’t much new from this model over last year’s Razr Ultra 2025. You get the same Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset, 512 GB of storage, and 16 GB of RAM. (You can thank the memory crisis for that.) Motorola says the chipset is better optimized on this phone, though, and I haven’t found any performance issues, with apps and games operating smoothly.

The biggest and best improvement is the 5,000-mAh silicon-carbon battery. It’s remarkable to have a fairly compact phone with such a large battery capacity, and this is easily the longest-lasting Razr—even better than some Motorola candybar phones. I had no trouble getting this phone to last two full days, and with average use, that sometimes went into the third day on a single charge.

I am quite happy with the camera system here. I took dozens of photos over the course of several weeks, and the 50-MP delivered plenty of nice shots. You do still need to reduce movement and hand-shake as much as possible in low light; otherwise those photos can come out blurry. The best part is that you can use the superior primary cameras—typically on the “back” of the phone, but now at the front—to snap selfies and see previews on this external screen. They’re some of the sharpest selfies you’ll snap.

Video capture is also much better on the Ultra than on any other Motorola phone. Once you enable Dolby Vision (and you do have to tap it manually), you can get well-exposed footage that’s not too grainy or shaky. The camera results, whether in photo or video, still don’t quite match the competition at this price, but this is still Motorola’s best camera system to date.

The software experience is great, except for all the artificial intelligence features Motorola is marketing. Copilot! Perplexity! Gemini! Moto AI! There’s a boatload of options, even a dedicated AI button, though I haven’t found Moto AI too helpful. The best perk is Pay Attention, which sees the phone start recording with real-time transcriptions—handy for interviews, but that’s a common feature on most phones, and Motorola’s implementation isn’t as intuitive in some ways as Google’s Pixel Recorder app. It’s also unfortunate that Motorola’s software policy is still not as good as the competition’s—at $1,500, this phone should absolutely be supported for seven years.

As always, I recommend waiting for a big sale event, as Motorola phones are frequently discounted. If you want the best flip folding smartphone on the market, that’s the Razr Ultra. It barely takes up any room in your pocket or purse, looks more fashionable than any other smartphone, and you’ll feel super satisfied ending a phone call with a flip.

The Best Cheap Folding Phone

You don’t need to spend $1,500 to get a good folding flip phone. I used the Razr 2026 for several weeks and enjoyed my time with it. Performance from the slightly souped-up MediaTek chipset is adequate—you’ll notice a few slowdowns here and there, but I never found it frustrating or annoyingly slow. Like the Razr Ultra, there’s a small bump to the battery capacity, and while it wasn’t quite as long lasting, I still comfortably went through a full day, sometimes two, with average to light use.

You’re paying significantly less for lesser materials and components. The cameras, for example, aren’t as strong as the Razr Ultra, especially in low light and high-contrast scenes. But I was still surprised and happy with many of the results I captured.

The cover glass here is decidedly smaller than the Razr Ultra (or even the in-between Razr+). You can still customize it to show glanceable information, but it’s not quite as roomy, so you might find yourself using it a little less. Still, considering Samsung’s latest folding phones got a price increase, it’s incredible that you can get this folding flip for just $800.

Best Moto G Phone

The Moto G Stylus 2026 is the best Moto G phone, which might be a given considering it’s the priciest model in the family. Motorola even jacked up the price this year to $500, a move echoed throughout the electronics industry. That makes it not as strong a proposition—I prefer the Google Pixel 10a at that price—but what’s unique here is that this is one of the only smartphones at this price with a built-in stylus. The only other phone with such a feature is Samsung’s $1,300 Galaxy S26 Ultra.

It has the same Qualcomm processor as last year’s model, and performance is pretty good. There’s some lag in the camera app, and you’ll see limits when running graphics-intensive games, but I used it for more than a month with no major problems. It’s a shame that Motorola has slashed the base storage from 256 to 128 GB this year, despite the price increase, but again, this phone uniquely has a microSD card slot, so you can at least expand space if you need to.

You get a 120-Hz AMOLED 6.7-inch screen that’s plenty bright in sunny conditions. Battery capacity got a bump to 5,200 mAh, and I easily went two full days with light to average use. One day, I had a very high screen-on time of nine hours, and I had to recharge the phone by 7 pm. That’s still pretty impressive, and I also like that there’s wireless charging in case you don’t want to fish for a cable.

Can you find smartphones with better cameras for $500? Yes, absolutely. Motorola’s Stylus has problems in low light and indoor conditions, especially with moving subjects like a little kid or a pet. In high-contrast scenes, it can struggle, sometimes losing details in the shadows or overexposing scenes. It’s reliable in strong daytime lighting conditions, though.

If you want a headphone jack, a microSD card slot, and a built-in stylus, there’s almost no other phone on the market that delivers. That’s who this Motorola smartphone is for. If you don’t care much for the stylus, you can opt for a cheaper Moto G device, which often frustrates with performance. It’s way too expensive at $500, but if you can find it for $400 or $350, this is a strong handset. It’s a shame Motorola only promises two Android OS upgrades and three years of security updates.

A Bigger Moto Fold

If you have pined for a larger folding phone from Motorola, well, you’re in luck. The Razr Fold is the company’s first-ever book-like fold, so now folks in the US have options from Samsung, Motorola, and Google.

Unlike its Razr flip phones, Motorola’s bigger foldable isn’t my favorite. It’s certainly not too different from its peers in how it operates. The main front screen feels very much like a normal phone, and it’s where you’ll spend most of your time. Open it to enjoy the vast 8.1-inch display. The Razr Fold doesn’t have the top-end processor of the year, but a chipset that’s a rung below. It can handle anything you throw at it and has lots of storage, but the phone shouldn’t cost as much if it’s not going to have the best smartphone chip.

Its best feature is the massive 6,000-mAh battery, which easily stretched this phone to nearly three days of use for me (though much depends on how often you use the large, inner screen). It’s also great that the phone will receive seven years of blanket updates, rightly so at this price, matching its peers. I do like that you can open three apps side by side; it’s a little cramped, but it’s a great way to juggle a few tasks at the same time. The software experience overall has been solid; just get ready to uninstall a lot of bloatware.

This is the only Motorola folding smartphone with a telephoto zoom camera, offering up to 3X zoom, and I used it quite often. The results are strong overall from this camera system; it’s not my absolute favorite—the Pixel 10 Pro Fold takes the cake—which adds to why I don’t think it should cost $1,900. It can struggle with white balance, skin tones, and motion.

There’s not much that’s groundbreaking here. The phone feels slim and has a bigger battery than the competition, and that last bit is the main reason to choose this fold over the others. But I prefer Samsung’s new Galaxy Fold8 design and shape, and Google’s software experience on its own Pixel 10 Pro Fold; to me, this Razr Fold sits in third place.

Best Moto G Under $300

I have good news and bad news. First, the good: Motorola’s latest Moto G Power 2026 is a pretty solid smartphone. Unlike last year’s model, performance isn’t super stuttery. It’s a little odd because Motorola didn’t actually change the processor inside the Power—it still employs the MediaTek Dimensity 6300 with 8 GB of RAM. I’m chalking it up to performance optimizations and the latest Android 16 version.

That leads us to the bad news: There’s not much difference between this phone and its predecessor; Motorola even removed wireless charging, which irks me, and the phone’s fun, bold colors are no longer available. It may not hit the highs of the 2024 Moto G Power, but at least it’s not a stuttery mess. What has been upgraded, then? The selfie camera now has a 32-megapixel sensor, and the battery capacity is slightly higher at 5,200 mAh. Battery life is truly excellent, as I managed to squeeze two full days of use out of this phone, though that’s with average use.

I like the fake leather texture on the back, which gives this phone some character. The 6.8-inch LCD is sharp and bright, and you get a reliable fingerprint scanner, a 3.5-mm headphone jack, and a microSD card slot. It’s still IP68/69 rated, meaning it will be fine in heavy rain and even submerged in water for some time. Motorola also promises two Android OS upgrades and three years of security updates.

The camera system consists of a 50-megapixel main camera, an 8-MP ultrawide, and a 32-MP selfie camera. Photos from the primary shooter have washed-out colors and look processed, almost as if someone dialed up the “detail” slider to make the photo appear sharper. It can struggle with high-contrast scenes, and you generally have to stay very still during capture to avoid a blurry photo. If you’re patient, you can end up with decent images, but cameras are not the Moto G Power’s strong suit. Even the upgraded selfie camera is just fine.

There’s not a ton of competition at this price, especially considering that the Moto G Power 2026 will dip to $250 or even $200 over the next few months during major sale events. If you can grab it on sale, it’s a decent Android phone, but I recommend saving up for the Moto G Stylus 2026.

Other Motorola Phones to Consider

I suggest you stick to the phones above, but here are other alternatives if you’re unsatisfied.

Motorola Edge 2026 for $600: I surprisingly enjoyed my month with the new Motorola Edge. It’s amazingly lightweight at just 160 grams, and the 6.3-inch screen size feels fairly compact. If you hate big, heavy phones and have longed for the days of smaller handsets, the Edge is worth a look; it’s not as small, but it feels great to use one-handed. Performance is more than capable, though you will feel some sluggishness here and there. The cameras are reliable—there’s even a 3X optical zoom telephoto alongside the 50-MP ultrawide and 50-MP primary—but it’s not going to knock your socks off. It will only get two Android OS upgrades and three years of security updates, which is not really acceptable for a $600 phone. Get it on sale!

Motorola Razr+ 2026 for $1,100: The Razr+ is the awkward middle child of the Razr lineup. I’ve never liked it. It doesn’t have all the bells and whistles or top-notch specs of the Ultra, but still costs more than $1,000. You can get very nearly the same experience with the cheaper Razr and save hundreds. Even battery life is the least impressive of the lot, because it has the smallest capacity. The cover glass isn’t the ceramic glass mixture as on the Razr Ultra, and I found out the hard way. I dropped the phone once, roughly a four-foot drop onto asphalt, and the front screen shattered. Get a screen protector!

Moto G 5G 2026 for $299: The Moto G 2026 is nearly identical to the Moto G Play 2026 below, except it has double the storage (expandable via microSD), supports slightly faster wired charging, and the front and rear cameras pack more megapixels. It’s a $50 difference, so if you’re eyeing either one, you really should go for the Moto G 5G 2026. Performance is similarly sluggish, though perfectly usable day to day (if you’re patient). Even with more megapixels, don’t expect much from the cameras; they can take passable photos in good lighting, but struggle to do so in low light. I was able to hit nearly two days of battery life with average use, and I like that this phone still has the headphone jack. However, keep in mind that it will receive only two Android OS updates and three years of security updates. I think you’re better off buying the Moto G Power 2026 on sale. It’s worth noting that Motorola suddenly jacked up the prices of this device and the Moto G Play.

Moto G Play 5G 2026 for $250: Motorola’s cheapest phone always sits in an awkward spot. It was originally under $200, but Motorola increased the price to $250. I don’t think it’s worth it at that price, but for under $200, it’s a serviceable handset that now features 5G connectivity. You get two-day battery life, a headphone jack, expandable storage, and a pretty nice design. But the MediaTek Dimensity 6300 chip with 4 GB of RAM is very sluggish—get ready to wait a second or two, sometimes more, for an app to launch or a webpage to load. Photo quality is passable; most of my images have lackluster colors. I took several calls, and the people on the other end generally complained about my audio quality, which isn’t great. It’s nice that this ultra-budget phone will get two Android OS updates, but I’d wait for the Moto G Power 2026 to eventually dip to $250 during major sale events.

What Motorola Phones to Avoid

Motorola phones diminish in value fairly quickly. You should avoid buying Moto G phones from 2025 or earlier. They likely won’t get any more Android version updates, and the prices aren’t drastically different from the latest models. Last year’s Motorola Edge 2025 or the Razr (2025) series are the oldest I’d go, assuming prices are a good deal lower than the latest models, so don’t consider anything else.

The Competition

Motorola’s top competition comes from Google, Nothing, and Samsung. If you asked me what phone to buy, I’d point you to the Google Pixel 10a ($499). It has most of the features folks want in a smartphone, including wireless charging. Nothing also has a new device: the Phone (4a) Pro. It’s an attractive, elegant, and affordable handset, though carrier compatibility is not as straightforward.

But the best bang for your buck? That’d be hunting for used flagship phones from the previous year. Check sites like Swappa, Back Market, and Gazelle. Read our Best Cheap Phones and Best Android Phone guides for more options.

Top Motorola Features

Moto AI/Qira: Originally called Moto AI, Motorola will soon be rolling out a next-gen version called Qira. This is a cross-device artificial intelligence assistant that will also be available on Lenovo laptops (Lenovo owns Motorola) and bundles many of the existing capabilities into one platform. Right now, Moto AI is Motorola’s version of Apple Intelligence. There are several core artificial intelligence features, like Remember This, which lets you ask Moto AI to remember something (even a screenshot) and allows you to ask about it later on. Pay Attention is another that enables audio recording, real-time transcribing, and a summary after the meeting is over. Catch Me Up summarizes your notifications when you come back to your phone after some time. We’ll have to see how things change once Qira enters the picture.

Moto Gestures: One of the first proper smartphones I bought was the Moto X, and that’s when (then Google-owned) Motorola debuted Moto Actions, which let you use physical gestures to trigger some features on the phone. They are still very much a part of a Motorola phone’s identity, even if they’re now called Moto Gestures. You can head to the Moto app on the phone to find all of them or go to Settings > Gestures. The ones I use most often are the double-chop gesture to trigger the flashlight and the double-twist action to launch the camera.

Smart Connect: Formerly known as Ready For, this isn’t available on some cheaper Motorola phones. It lets you wirelessly connect the phone to a nearby display, where you can see mobile apps, use your phone as a webcam, and share files. If your Moto is supported, you can find it by heading to Settings > Connected devices > Smart Connect. If you’re connecting it to a PC, you’ll need to download the desktop client (Windows only) or the Smart Connect app if you’re connecting an Android tablet. If you’re using a TV, it needs Miracast support to connect wirelessly, but you can use a USB-C or HDMI cable as well. Meta announced that Smart Connect will also be available for virtual reality headsets in the Meta Store, so you don’t have to take a Meta Quest VR headset off just to look at your phone’s notifications.

Global Connect: This feature doesn’t apply to Motorola devices in the US—yet—but in select markets, Motorola phones will start shipping with an app called Global Connect. It’s a built-in travel eSIM powered by Gigs, and you get 1 GB to use for free when you sign up. It should make snagging a travel eSIM even easier before your next trip.

Power up with unlimited access to WIRED. Get best-in-class reporting and exclusive subscriber content that’s too important to ignore. Subscribe Today.