As one of many first new Motorola telephones of 2025, I used to be fairly excited to get my palms on the Moto G Energy 2025. At $299, it is under no circumstances a flagship telephone, so I knew very nicely what I used to be getting myself into. However whereas I’ve loads of expertise with flagships, just like the Galaxy S25 Plus I simply reviewed, I at all times get pleasure from seeing how telephones on the decrease finish enhance.
The Moto G Energy 2025 is a middle-of-the-road telephone for Motorola that leans towards the low-end. That is one thing to bear in mind when a telephone priced slightly below $300. There’s nothing notably groundbreaking about it, but it surely does include just a few surprises that we would not have anticipated to see on such an reasonably priced telephone.
Moto G Energy 2025: Worth, specs, and availability
Motorola launched the Moto G Energy 2025 on January 14, and the telephone went on sale on February 6. It may be bought unlocked immediately from Motorola.com or retailers comparable to Amazon and Greatest Purchase. The telephone can even be offered by way of carriers, together with T-Cellular, Metro by T-Cellular, Cricket, AT&T, Straight Discuss, Whole Wi-fi, Verizon, UScellular, and Client Mobile.
The Moto G Energy 2025 might be out there beginning at $299, though pricing could range relying on the retailer or service.
The telephone will solely are available two colorways: Leaf Inexperienced and Slate Grey. Availability of those colours may rely on the retailer or service.
|
Class |
Moto G Energy 2025 |
|---|---|
|
Show |
6.7-inch FHD+ (2388 x 1080), LCD, 120Hz refresh charge |
|
Chipset |
MediaTek Dimensity 6300 |
|
Storage |
128GB, expandable |
|
Reminiscence |
8GB |
|
Software program |
Android 15 |
|
Replace promise |
Two OS upgrades, three years of safety updates |
|
Rear Digicam 1 |
50MP wide-angle, f/1.8, 1.22μm (by way of pixel binning) |
|
Rear Digicam 2 |
8MP ultrawide+macro imaginative and prescient, f/2.2, 1.12µm |
|
Rear Digicam 3 |
Ambient gentle sensor |
|
Selfie Digicam |
16MP, f/2.4, 1.0μm |
|
Water Resistance |
IP68/IP69 |
|
Safety |
Gorilla Glass 5, MIL-STD-810H Certification |
|
Battery & Charging |
5,000mAh, 30W wired charging, 15W wi-fi charging |
|
Connectivity |
5G, Bluetooth 5.3, Wi-Fi 5, FM Radio |
|
NFC |
✔ |
|
Dimensions |
166.62 x 77.10 x 8.72mm |
|
Weight |
208g |
|
Colours |
Leaf Inexperienced, Slate Grey |
Moto G Energy 2025: What I like
For years, Motorola’s telephones have had very primary designs, particularly the funds Moto G sequence. The corporate has been switching that up in recent times, borrowing design cues from its higher-end Edge sequence like a seamless digicam housing and vegan leather-based finishes. The Moto G Energy 2025 is probably the best-looking Moto G telephone I’ve reviewed, in some ways trying extra like a flagship than a $300 telephone.
The telephone solely is available in two colours however the standout is the Leaf Inexperienced (to not be confused with the 2004 Pokémon sport of the identical title). It is extremely vibrant, and the smooth vegan leather-based is contrasted by the shiny digicam rings, which add a pleasant aptitude. The body of the telephone additionally matches the colour and sports activities a brushed end. Fingerprints are just about non-existent on this telephone.
But it surely’s not simply beauty that make this telephone stand out; it is the construct high quality. The Moto G Energy 2025 is among the least expensive telephones to sport an IP68/IP69 water and dirt resistance ranking. It might not seem to be an enormous deal, however it will make sure that the telephone can’t solely deal with being submerged however may face up to high-pressure jets of water. Has anybody ever had their telephone unintentionally fall right into a dishwasher proper earlier than they began a cycle? No? Simply me? Nicely, now, that is one much less factor you must fear about.
I am not courageous sufficient to check this out myself, however Android Central Telephones editor Nick Sutrich did simply that with the OnePlus 13, and it got here out unscathed. I will take his phrase for it.
The MIL-STD-810H certification can be a plus, particularly since I’ve not too long ago taken up snowboarding and have a tendency to maintain my telephone in my pocket regardless of nonetheless being fairly a novice on the slopes.
Motorola sticks with a Full HD+ LCD panel for the Moto G Energy 2025, which is a lot vibrant and responsive due to the 120Hz refresh charge. Regardless of not being the brightest at 1000 nits, I have never had any bother viewing the show in any lighting circumstances. The bezels are additionally fairly minimal regardless of the bigger chin and barely bigger brow.
The excessive refresh charge helps make Android 15 really feel very easy when scrolling by way of apps and pages. There are not any important modifications with Motorola’s model of Android 15 since shifting its software program to the brand new Hiya UX with Android 14. It is a pretty clear and easy taste of Android that does not function too many additional prospers, though it is dotted right here and there with a few of Motorola’s fixins, like the brand new dual-panel Management Heart/notification pane that extra Android telephones are adopting.
Motorola additionally retains its helpful gestures, which proceed to be a favourite of mine. Copping the telephone twice activates the flashlight, twisting twice allows the digicam, and a double faucet on the again can open apps or carry out sure actions. I additionally love the Sidebar, which can be utilized to accommodate your continuously used apps, and I believe each OEM ought to have one thing like this ( you, Google).
Efficiency is not as massive of a difficulty as one may suppose. I have never observed many issues on this space, but it surely’s vital to handle your expectations to some extent. For example, I can not get away with taking part in Honkai: Star Rail on its highest settings except I wanna wrestle by way of poor body charges and barely useful gameplay. However the telephone can surprisingly handle the sport at visible settings set to “Excessive” and at 60fps, which is actually nonetheless an effective way to play the sport.
You may even be pleased to know that battery life is kind of good. Whereas I wish to see a 6,000mAh battery on the telephone with “Energy” within the title, the 5,000mAh capability nonetheless will get the telephone by way of a full day of standard use with out subject. It is helped by 30W wired charging, which continues to be quicker than the likes of the Galaxy S25, and 15W wi-fi charging is a pleasant factor to have, even when it is not Qi2.
Motorola can be doing a greater job with its software program promise. Beforehand, the corporate would provide one OS improve with three years of software program updates. In 2025, the corporate is upping that for its funds telephones with one extra OS improve, which means the Moto G Energy 2025 will assist Android 17 when it launches, giving this $300 much more worth.
Moto G Energy 2025: What may use some work
Whereas I principally get pleasure from Motorola’s taste of Android, the draw back of shopping for a low-cost Android telephone like that is that you simply’re prone to discover some stage of bloatware. There are fairly just a few apps preinstalled that I do not need and wasn’t given an choice to decide out of. They’re straightforward to uninstall, however that is simply one other step within the setup course of that nobody needs to take care of.
The silver lining is that the annoying Look lock display screen is disabled by default, though it nonetheless lingers within the lock display screen settings. Nonetheless, a brand new annoyance has seemingly changed it in the way in which of the Climate app, powered by 1Weather. It is a fairly busy app stuffed with advertisements and the fixed ping of climate warnings that I largely do not care about or want. This one you may’t uninstall, however you may disable it or flip off the notifications as a result of, actually, your greatest guess is to stay with Google’s At a Look widget.
And when you’ll discover fairly a little bit of bloatware, one factor you will not actually discover is AI. The Moto G Energy 2025 is a reasonably barebones, simple telephone with not one of the aptitude you will discover on dearer fashions. Seemingly because of limitations with the chipset, you aren’t getting issues like Circle to Search, Magic Canvas, or any of the opposite cool Moto AI options. You do get Magic Editor and Magic Compose, though do not anticipate any on-device AI processing.
The Moto G Energy 2025 includes a triple twin digicam system with a 50MP main sensor and an 8MP ultrawide that doubles as a macro sensor. The cameras are… usable. In good lighting, you may get an honest picture, the shutter pace is fairly fast, and I do not hate the selfies taken with the 16MP front-facing digicam. Nonetheless, pictures are sometimes noisy and lack element. Lowlight pictures do not fare very nicely both.
One saving grace is the built-in Auto Improve function you can swap on with a faucet. It makes use of Google Pictures to mechanically enhance pictures proper after they’re taken, adjusting colours, lighting, and extra. Enhancements could be refined, however they assist to make the digicam extra usable.
Oh, and there is a third rear sensor, but it surely’s simply an ambient gentle sensor and it does not appear to truly be a lot assist right here.
However, one function you will wish to flip off if you arrange the Moto G Energy 2025 is the RAM Increase. I am already not a fan of digital RAM options, and it is turned on by default on the Energy, upping its 8GB to 12GB. Whereas it feels prefer it ought to assist, the telephone felt fairly sluggish in my preliminary use, particularly when gaming. It wasn’t till I turned off the RAM Increase that efficiency improved.
Moto G Energy 2025: Competitors
There are a good quantity of choices for anybody in search of a $300 telephone. The Moto G Energy 2025 competes with the likes of the CMF Cellphone 1, which comes from Nothing’s funds model. It comes with a singular design with changeable backplates, a reasonably good digicam, and an AMOLED show, which is not quite common at this worth level. That stated, there isn’t any NFC, and for those who’re within the U.S., community assist is pretty spotty.
The Galaxy A25 can be an possibility. Regardless that it is final 12 months’s mannequin, the A25 comes with an OLED show, a 50MP triple digicam system, and a formidable replace promise with 4 OS upgrades and 5 years of software program updates. Nonetheless, for those who’re PWM delicate, you might not discover the show very pleasing to make use of. It additionally has a dated design with a waterdrop notch, and the Exynos chip could be fairly sluggish.
Lastly, there’s the Redmi Word 13 Professional. That is additionally a 2024 mannequin that includes a formidable 200MP digicam, a modern design, and nice battery life. Nonetheless, it is held again by {hardware} limitations, you will discover loads of bloatware, and you might not wanna maintain out for well timed updates.
Moto G Energy 2025: Must you purchase it?
You should purchase this if…
- You are in search of an affordable, no-frills telephone.
- You desire a telephone with nice battery life and wi-fi charging.
- You desire a powerful telephone that can have the ability to take a beating.
You should not purchase this if…
- You need a fantastic digicam.
- You need entry to Google AI options like Circle to Search.
- You desire a telephone that may deal with high-quality gaming with out subject.
In 2025, AI is the secret, however you will not actually discover that right here. For $300, the Moto G Energy 2025 is a strong funds telephone that may get you thru the day with out weighing down the expertise with a ton of superfluous options. It is for somebody who simply needs a telephone that may do the fundamentals, possibly play some video games, and never a lot else. And actually, that is nice.
Perhaps the digicam could possibly be higher. Perhaps the bloatware is usually a little annoying. However these are the concessions you will should take care of at this worth level, and admittedly, the Moto G Energy 2025 could possibly be so much worse. As a substitute, Motorola appears to be making the most effective out of what it may get with the Energy, enhancing its software program assist, giving it flagship-level sturdiness, and making it look higher than every other $300 telephone in the marketplace.
Just like the Moto G 2025, this telephone stunned me, not due to how good it’s, however due to how a lot worse it could possibly be. It is not good, however you must take it for what it’s, and that is a reasonably good low-cost telephone.
Leafy inexperienced
The Moto G Energy 2025 is a reasonably middle-of-the-road funds telephone that will get all of the fundamentals proper whereas not getting too caught up within the AI sport. It has a sturdy design, vegan leather-based end, and nice all-day battery life.
