The 2022 Moto G 5G, Reviewed - A $400 Phone That May Have Everything You Need

The Moto G5G is one of the cheaper phones to ship with Android 12 and comes with new features like customizable menus, motorola's custom gestures, and 5G support on sub-6 and C band frequencies. However, it lacks support for millimeter wave, which is common in this price range.

Millimeter wave is only available in very specific areas, such as sports stadiums, and is not a crucial feature for most users. The phone's camera is also a point of contention, with the same 50-megapixel camera as the Moto G Stylus 5G but lacking optical image stabilization. The Moto G 5G comes with a lower-resolution 2-megapixel macro camera and 2-megapixel depth sensor, which can be useful for specific camera modes like portrait mode.

The phone's selfie camera is 13 megapixels, but it was tested on a ferry ride in New York's South Street Seaport, where the photos looked fine but were slightly downgraded in terms of image quality compared to those taken with the Moto G Stylus 5G. Motorola does include software enhancements like night mode, which is nice to see in a $400 phone.

Video quality on the Moto G 5G is also subpar, with washed-out audio and poor detail capture during video recording. The phone lacks an NFC chip, which is becoming more of a necessity as contactless payments become widespread. However, this omission may not be a deal-breaker for users who don't rely heavily on these services.

Despite its limitations, the Moto G5G performs well, thanks to its Mediatek processor and 6GB of RAM. The phone's six-inch screen has a 90Hz refresh rate, which can help reduce eye strain and provide a smoother experience.

The Moto G5G will only receive one major OS update to Android 13 and three years of security updates, which means users may need to upgrade their phone after about three years due to limited support from Motorola. This is worth considering for potential buyers who are looking at the $400 price point.

The Moto G5G could be a great pick for those with $400 as their ceiling, especially if storage is a top priority. The phone's 256GB of space is a fantastic value, and its performance, screen quality, and other features make it a solid option in this price range. However, for users shopping within the $400 to $500 range who are not currently looking for an Android phone, waiting until July may be the better option, as Google's Pixel 6A will arrive at that time, offering more choices in this competitive market.

The Moto G5G is now available in the $405 price range, making it a viable option for those shopping within this budget. The Samsung Galaxy A53 and Moto G Stylus 5G are also currently available in this price range, but each has its unique features and drawbacks. Ultimately, the decision will depend on individual preferences and needs.

The links to CNET's review of the Moto G5G and other relevant information can be found in the description.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enthe 400 moto g5g includes a lot of great features chief among them a huge amount of storage space for the price but that's as long as you can deal with a lot of other features that it doesn't have let me explain the moto g5g includes some key features that might fulfill and even surpass your expectations for a 400 phone it has 256 gigs of space which is practically unheard of in this price range by comparison last year's pixel 5a with 5g and this year's galaxy a53 5g both ship with 128 gigs of space and cost slightly more at 450. it's still a good value but half what motorola is offering if somehow that's not enough storage you can even throw in a micro sd card to add even more it also includes six gigs of ram which matches samsung's galaxy a53 the phone's 6.5 inch screen allows you to set a 90hz refresh rate which is plenty smooth for scrolling through websites and apps and the phone's 5 000 milliamp hour battery should last you an entire day possibly two depending on your usage i racked up five hours of screen time in one of my days of testing where i had the phone streaming youtube taking video calls playing games and reading articles and i still had roughly 30 percent of battery left after that there's a headphone jack too which is important for audio flexibility lately it seems like every time i report that a phone in this price range still has the headphone jack another one seems to take it away like the upcoming 449 pixel 6a the moto g5g is also one of the cheaper phones to ship with android 12 and with that you'll get new features like customizable menus the phone also includes motorola's custom gestures like the chopping motion for turning on the flashlight and a twist motion for quickly accessing the camera 5g support on this phone also includes sub 6 and c band but there's no support for millimeter wave that's pretty common in this price range and frankly millimeter wave is only available in very specific areas like sports stadiums several of my colleagues have explainers on cnet about the different flavors of 5g if you're interested in that all of these features could very well be everything you need in a phone and in some cases like the huge amount of storage be even more than you need but there are caveats and they start with the camera the moto g5 g includes the same 50 megapixel camera as the 500 moto g stylus 5g but lacks optical image stabilization the moto g 5g also comes with a lower resolution 2 megapixel macro camera and 2 megapixel depth sensor that helps with other camera modes like portrait mode there's also a 13 megapixel selfie camera i took the phone on a ferry ride in new york south street seaport and my photos look fine but they are clear step down in terms of image quality from the photos taken with the stylus 5g considering the main camera on each phone is otherwise the same i was a little bit surprised by the differences i wish my moto g 5g photos just had better detail motorola does include several software enhancements in its camera app including a night mode which is very nice to see in a 400 phone video quality is not good which is the same criticism that i had on the moto g stylus 5g while i was shooting video on top of a windy new york city ferry audio sounded washed out and the video quality only captured some details of the water or the buildings it's good enough to share in a group chat but i consider finding a separate video camera if i were taping an event the phone also lacks an nfc chip and considering how contactless payments are now being taken everywhere from convenience stores to transit systems i feel like a 400 phone should include that feature it's becoming more of a necessity and it's worth pointing out in case it's something you need many phones 400 and less also don't include nfc but it's time for that feature to hit those price ranges i'm not big on the phone's main speaker either music and video sounded a bit tin like but that's easily alleviated using headphones over bluetooth or wire the phone also ships with a mediatek processor and i actually had no issues with lag or speed when using it across apps and games while the phone is technically less powerful than the moto g stylus 5g's qualcomm chip its performance is likely aided by its six gigs of memory the moto g5g will only get one major os software update to android 13 and three years of security updates this means after about three years you'll likely want to move on to a different phone when motorola stops providing support against security vulnerabilities for its price that might be totally okay for you but if you're hoping to hold onto this phone for longer you should keep that in mind the moto g5g could be a great pick for 400 especially if storage is your primary concern a phone with 256 gigs of space for 400 is a fantastic value plus it runs well and the screen's 90 hertz refresh rate is a nice bonus on top of that motorola told us that the phone we discounted even further to 350 for a limited time so you might even find it for less depending on when you get it but we now know that google's pixel 6a is arriving this july at 449 as well looking much like google's pixel 6 and including its in-house tensor chip if you're shopping with 400 as your ceiling the moto g 5g could be a good option for you but if you're shopping within the 400 to 500 range and you aren't in need of an android phone right now it'll be best to wait until july at which point we'll have a better idea of what's available this year in that price range for more about the moto g5g check out my review on cnet or check out the links in the description and so far in the 405 range we now have this moto g5g the samsung galaxy a53 and the moto g stylus 5g which of these phones are you the most into tell me about that in the comments and for more guides and review videos like these like and subscribe to cnet on youtubethe 400 moto g5g includes a lot of great features chief among them a huge amount of storage space for the price but that's as long as you can deal with a lot of other features that it doesn't have let me explain the moto g5g includes some key features that might fulfill and even surpass your expectations for a 400 phone it has 256 gigs of space which is practically unheard of in this price range by comparison last year's pixel 5a with 5g and this year's galaxy a53 5g both ship with 128 gigs of space and cost slightly more at 450. it's still a good value but half what motorola is offering if somehow that's not enough storage you can even throw in a micro sd card to add even more it also includes six gigs of ram which matches samsung's galaxy a53 the phone's 6.5 inch screen allows you to set a 90hz refresh rate which is plenty smooth for scrolling through websites and apps and the phone's 5 000 milliamp hour battery should last you an entire day possibly two depending on your usage i racked up five hours of screen time in one of my days of testing where i had the phone streaming youtube taking video calls playing games and reading articles and i still had roughly 30 percent of battery left after that there's a headphone jack too which is important for audio flexibility lately it seems like every time i report that a phone in this price range still has the headphone jack another one seems to take it away like the upcoming 449 pixel 6a the moto g5g is also one of the cheaper phones to ship with android 12 and with that you'll get new features like customizable menus the phone also includes motorola's custom gestures like the chopping motion for turning on the flashlight and a twist motion for quickly accessing the camera 5g support on this phone also includes sub 6 and c band but there's no support for millimeter wave that's pretty common in this price range and frankly millimeter wave is only available in very specific areas like sports stadiums several of my colleagues have explainers on cnet about the different flavors of 5g if you're interested in that all of these features could very well be everything you need in a phone and in some cases like the huge amount of storage be even more than you need but there are caveats and they start with the camera the moto g5 g includes the same 50 megapixel camera as the 500 moto g stylus 5g but lacks optical image stabilization the moto g 5g also comes with a lower resolution 2 megapixel macro camera and 2 megapixel depth sensor that helps with other camera modes like portrait mode there's also a 13 megapixel selfie camera i took the phone on a ferry ride in new york south street seaport and my photos look fine but they are clear step down in terms of image quality from the photos taken with the stylus 5g considering the main camera on each phone is otherwise the same i was a little bit surprised by the differences i wish my moto g 5g photos just had better detail motorola does include several software enhancements in its camera app including a night mode which is very nice to see in a 400 phone video quality is not good which is the same criticism that i had on the moto g stylus 5g while i was shooting video on top of a windy new york city ferry audio sounded washed out and the video quality only captured some details of the water or the buildings it's good enough to share in a group chat but i consider finding a separate video camera if i were taping an event the phone also lacks an nfc chip and considering how contactless payments are now being taken everywhere from convenience stores to transit systems i feel like a 400 phone should include that feature it's becoming more of a necessity and it's worth pointing out in case it's something you need many phones 400 and less also don't include nfc but it's time for that feature to hit those price ranges i'm not big on the phone's main speaker either music and video sounded a bit tin like but that's easily alleviated using headphones over bluetooth or wire the phone also ships with a mediatek processor and i actually had no issues with lag or speed when using it across apps and games while the phone is technically less powerful than the moto g stylus 5g's qualcomm chip its performance is likely aided by its six gigs of memory the moto g5g will only get one major os software update to android 13 and three years of security updates this means after about three years you'll likely want to move on to a different phone when motorola stops providing support against security vulnerabilities for its price that might be totally okay for you but if you're hoping to hold onto this phone for longer you should keep that in mind the moto g5g could be a great pick for 400 especially if storage is your primary concern a phone with 256 gigs of space for 400 is a fantastic value plus it runs well and the screen's 90 hertz refresh rate is a nice bonus on top of that motorola told us that the phone we discounted even further to 350 for a limited time so you might even find it for less depending on when you get it but we now know that google's pixel 6a is arriving this july at 449 as well looking much like google's pixel 6 and including its in-house tensor chip if you're shopping with 400 as your ceiling the moto g 5g could be a good option for you but if you're shopping within the 400 to 500 range and you aren't in need of an android phone right now it'll be best to wait until july at which point we'll have a better idea of what's available this year in that price range for more about the moto g5g check out my review on cnet or check out the links in the description and so far in the 405 range we now have this moto g5g the samsung galaxy a53 and the moto g stylus 5g which of these phones are you the most into tell me about that in the comments and for more guides and review videos like these like and subscribe to cnet on youtube\n"