DT English journalist Joe Maring talks straight about why you shouldn’t buy a Motorola cell phone in 2024, and he leaves his arguments here.
A few years ago I bought a phone Moto G was This what to do if you need a quality Android phone on a budget. Since the first Moto G in 2013, this product line has a rich history. In many ways this is good, but in recent years it has also been bad.
Motorola’s Moto G strategy has raised concerns, especially in 2024. By March, the company had already introduced and launched three new Moto G models, but none of them stood out for their quality. Between low-resolution displays, poor performance, subpar cameras and other issues, Motorola seems to have lost its mojo in the budget phone market.
Fortunately, with the launch of the new Moto G Stylus 5G (2024), this is clearly not the case. The new Moto G Stylus has a fantastic screen, very good performance and a surprisingly decent camera. It’s a very good Android phone and it’s priced at $400. But despite how much it has improved compared to other Moto G smartphones in recent months, there are still two issues holding it back from greatness. These are the problems I’ve been complaining about for years, and these are the problems that Motorola needs take on.
Software updates? What software updates?
The first of these problems is an issue that’s been plaguing cheap Motorola phones for years: software updates.
In recent months we have seen some companies upgrade their game to big. Last October, Google released the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro with a promised seven years of software support. Last month Google Pixel 8a $500 launched with the same seven-year promise.
Samsung is also offering seven years of support for its Galaxy S24 series. Galaxy A35 and Galaxy A55 budgets include four major operating system updates and five years of security updates. He OnePlus 12R reduces this time to three years of operating system updates and four years of security updates, but it’s still the same good.
Motorola doesn’t even try to compete. All four Moto G phones released this year, including the new Moto G Stylus 5G, will only receive one Android update. For three of this year’s phones, that means upgrading from Android 14 to Android 15 (launching later this summer). In that Moto G Play (2024), its only update will move from Android 13 to Android 14. Oh, were you expecting an Android 15 update? Very bad! Motorola extends security updates to three years, but they are released every two months at a reduced price.
This is a problem for several reasons. Of course, you’re missing out on new Android features. While Google doesn’t reinvent the wheel every year, Android updates they can still be interesting and bring new/useful features. Another factor is addressing security vulnerabilities and software bugs. These are often resolved with security patches, and while Motorola promises three years of bimonthly updates, it hasn’t done a very good job here. Take a look at Reddit and you’ll find plenty of Motorola smartphone users complaining about slow or non-existent updates.
On top of that, it’s also a bad look at Motorola. The company has always had problems in this department, but now that Samsung and Google are increasing software support for their budget phones and Motorola is sitting on the sidelines, the feeling is worse than ever. It’s obvious that Maybe support for a cheaper smartphone with multi-year updates. Motorola still chooses not to do this, and the longer this problem persists, the harder it will be to ignore.
Advertising, advertising and more advertising
Motorola’s second problem is more recent: advertising. For years, one of the hallmarks of Motorola’s budget phones has been clean, uncluttered software. The old Moto G looked like “stock” Android and wasn’t marred by annoying bloatware. It was great!
The Moto Gs released this year still have a standard user interface, but Motorola is starting to fill them with bloated, ad-heavy apps, and it’s a terrible experience.
How can it be? When you set up the 2024 Moto G, Motorola pre-sets a few “folders” for you. They look like folders you might create for your apps, but in reality they’re just an excuse to show you ads. Did you know that Zedge, MISTPLAY and NewsBreak are among the “Top 10 Apps in the US”? Probably not, and you probably don’t care. However, thanks to the Entertainment Folder on this year’s Moto G, you’ll get a reminder every time you open it. Additionally, folders may display random news articles that probably won’t interest you. This is insidious!
Want to keep the weather app on your phone from only not only show the time, but also show advertising for cryptocurrency sites? What if your seven-day forecast came with an ad for veterinarian-recommended dog food? Weather radar is good, but only if there are advertisements for payday loans in the top. Lucky for you, the default weather app on this year’s Moto G phones has it all!
“There are already too many ads and unwanted items in the application folders and the Weather app,” I hear. “What Motorola should do is add these things to the lock screen too!” Well, I have amazing news for you.
When you purchase a Moto G 2024 smartphone, a service called “View” is enabled on the lock screen. This is an optional service that allows you to share your location and data to display information such as weather, sports scores and news. It doesn’t provide much value, and its design takes up so much space on the lock screen that it doesn’t allow you to view specific notification details without interacting with the corresponding icons.
In favor of Motorola no you must don’t use any of this. You can remove annoying folders and the Very Bad Weather app, and disable Glance if you don’t want to use it. However, not everyone knows how to do this, and Motorola clearly wants you to interact with them. The “average” or “regular” smartphone user will almost certainly install/enable these things and not know how to get rid of them.
Motorola needs to fix this
What makes these issues especially annoying this time is how good the rest of the Moto G Stylus 5G (2024) is. The Moto G 5G and Moto G Power 5G, released earlier this year, were also plagued by faulty hardware, so a lack of updates or ad-filled apps wasn’t the final nail in their coffin.
I would wholeheartedly recommend the new Moto G Stylus because almost everything about the phone is great for its $400 price. But with virtually no updates and a lot of unnecessary advertising, my phone recommendation has to come with a couple big ones. warnings. Are you happy that your phone only receives one major Android update? Do you agree that security updates take a long time to arrive? Do you agree with ads and malware creeping into every crevice of your phone?
This is even more annoying since it would be relatively easy to fix these problems. Select good hardware components, package them into a well-made case, and price it competitively? This is the hardest part! And Motorola has proven that it can overcome this. By comparison, it’s easy to expand software support without littering people’s phones with junk, but Motorola has shown no desire to change its methods.
I want to continue to recommend Motorola phones, especially since the company makes phones as good as the new Moto G Stylus. But when you have such a clear solution to fix these few lingering problems, and you continually refuse to do so, and your competitors stay away from these things, the less I want to advise anyone to spend money on a new Motorola phone.
If Motorola doesn’t value your time and money due to poor update policies and intrusive advertising, why would you bother?
Source: Digital Trends
